Mod wise fan kit

[Tyre Smoke]

Along with Water Wetter this used to be a popular modification back in the early 00s.

Is it still worthwhile? Does it make a difference?

Or if your cooling is pretty much OK, with an ACT alloy rad, leave well alone?

And if I do decide to get one, how hard is it to fit? Looks straightforward enough.

[spitfire4v8]

I still see some cars coming through with the modwise kits on and they're still performing just as they always did so they are certainly robust. David Beer is on here and will no doubt comment on availability these days.

[hoofa]

Depends how much fettling you want to do, for me it’s the heat soak when you stop the car restart in a short time. So this winter

1. Brushless rad fans, pull less current on start up and pwm speed controlled, made by Steele racing
2. Auxiliary electric water pump to boost circulation at low speeds, and timed shutdown with pump and fans after ignition off for cool down

All motec ecu controlled

To answer your alloy rad question , don’t bother too fragile and with a good recore and upgrade , it’s pointless going alloy

[Tyre Smoke]

I already have the ACT alloy rad. It came with the car. Doesn't look fragile to me.

I'm not planning any ecu changes in the immediate future, if I do, it will be with an engine refresh.

I'm more interested in the half speed fans coming on earlier and starting the cooling sooner. Seems like a logical and relatively cheap modification.

[hoofa]

They don’t look fragile, it’s vibration that kills them, my alloy rad failed on a weld and ended up weeping. If you already have one fine but I see no advantage over the standard rad

[RobXjcoupe]

Tyre Smoke said:

I already have the ACT alloy rad. It came with the car. Doesn't look fragile to me.

I'm not planning any ecu changes in the immediate future, if I do, it will be with an engine refresh.

I'm more interested in the half speed fans coming on earlier and starting the cooling sooner. Seems like a logical and relatively cheap modification.

Turning fans on earlier isn’t going to do much. Look at the thermostat and see if it’s working properly. A little mod you can also do is put a little hole that matches the one already on it that usually has a little plastic bung. Remove that plastic float/bung also. So even if the thermostat plays up you still have a flow of coolant around the engine. This will help give an even warm up and cool down as the coolant can move around the engine even with a closed thermostat.

[David Beer]

More importantly, as you slow down, the fans come on at half speed. Stay on until you get going. Keeping air moving under bonnet.

[Tyre Smoke]

David Beer said:

More importantly, as you slow down, the fans come on at half speed. Stay on until you get going. Keeping air moving under bonnet.

With the kit?

I don't have any cooling issues as yet. Now that I've bled the system. I was just trying to assist cooling further.

[David Beer]

Tyre Smoke said:

With the kit?

I don't have any cooling issues as yet. Now that I've bled the system. I was just trying to assist cooling further.

Yep!

[citizen smith]

Why not just fit a Manual Override switch.

[Tyre Smoke]

Well, because I prefer it to be automatic. And a switch is on or off. I like the idea of half speed at a lower start temp.

[Classic Chim]

Tyre Smoke said:

Along with Water Wetter this used to be a popular modification back in the early 00s.

Is it still worthwhile? Does it make a difference?

Or if your cooling is pretty much OK, with an ACT alloy rad, leave well alone?

And if I do decide to get one, how hard is it to fit? Looks straightforward enough.

Since when did Tvr have cooling issues.
Leave well alone.
If your fans come on and more importantly off when sitting in traffic your cooling system is working fine.
Watching the engine temps on a computer whilst cycling the cooling system for a good 40 minute showed my temps rising to 92, fans kick in and quickly off ( within 20-40 seconds ) as temps drop to 88. A few minutes later the same deal.
Mostly in Uk weather as soon as your moving temps will drop to around 80 and lower on cold days. My fans never come on unless in traffic or cars running in a static situation.
The twin fans are very effective.
The reason for this test was my gauge often crept up in traffic and showed 95 if stood running, importantly fans always came on and OFF.
The gauge displayed the same readings whilst doing this static test so creeping up and up until just over 95 yet the engine water was constantly reading 88-92 and back down via fan inputs.
This convinced me it’s just resistance/ a bit of heat soak which effects the gauges accuracy.
The mechanic would always ask me if fans came on/ off which I’d always confirm with a yes.
Nothing to worry about was the answer.
It stands to reason if your fans come on then off your temps are being controlled though your gauge might leave you sweating, especially in traffic!
The only time the cars getting to hot is if the fans stay on for prolonged periods of time as Tvr actually cool very well.

I can’t see any good reason to change things unless you are using the engine to extremes.

[Tyre Smoke]

TVR cooling issues are legendary.

Why do you think the mod wise kit and alloy radiators are freely available?

Anyway, as far as I am concerned, anything that aids cooling, particularly under bonnet temps is a good thing.

[Loubaruch]

Tyre Smoke said:

TVR cooling issues are legendary.

Only under fault conditions!

I agree with Classic Chim, if the cooling system is fine leave well alone, having owned a Griffith 500 for 20 years the only time I have had a cooling problem was due to a fault condition namely the overflow pipe from the swirl pot being blocked completely with a white deposit thought to be due to a previous owner adding something to possibly cure a leaking radiator.

[Classic Chim]

Tyre Smoke said:

TVR cooling issues are legendary.

Why do you think the mod wise kit and alloy radiators are freely available?

Anyway, as far as I am concerned, anything that aids cooling, particularly under bonnet temps is a good thing.

Really… even when these pages were full of contributors say a decade ago when the cars were still current and actually being used did you see people complaining of over heating issues.
They might have been complaining of high temps and a sense of everything being close to over heating but actually over heating

Heat related issues are rarely the cooling systems fault more the ancient electronic tech used to control it all which fails.
If you are ever considering an engine re fresh and then onto a modern controlling system I’d say that’s the best solution to many a TVR heat related problem being removed entirely.
I replaced my old rad for Alloy based on it being lighter and possibly more efficient, oh and it looks the part
Considering the ecu adds/ removes fuel / timing as part of its efficiency/ cooling strategy a re freshed engine responds very positively to these modern ecu upgrades and surely adds to engine life expectancy as it would any engine.
My emissions are very very low for type and fuel economy improved in nearly every area expect flat out where it still only manages 5-7 mpg

If the engine operates at its best around 78-85d isn’t that where you want it to run at most of the time so in effect you want it to heat up to that temp as quick as possible then maintain it within that window. Tvr probably run at 75 and lower very often on runs and only gets to the 90’s when slow moving or traffic laden where heat soak makes it seem intense and worse than it is. Heat soak is the problem on older operating systems using very old 20 + year wiring. This is largely removed with a new Ecu system imho.
All big engined high performance cars suffer heat bellowing out from underneath, ours just comes out the top of the bonnet too. There’s very little difference, they all get hot in traffic.
The simple fact is the fans are large and effective at keeping temps within tolerance of it’s operating window.
If anything it’s one of the over engineered aspects of the car :Rofl:
Unless your thrashing or running extra power the cooling system is upto the job IMO.
I think temp gauge creep up (false reading) is what causes more stress than the reality

Heat soak is when other things go down so use your temp gauge as a guide to when those components temps are rising and about to melt as it’s not likely to be an accurate reading of the engines water temp at that time
Get your ecu mate or Rovergauge from your ecu temp sender and see what it’s really saying to you over a number of differing runs then make your choices. Good luck.

Edited by Classic Chim on Saturday 3rd September 11:07

[RobXjcoupe]

Tyre Smoke said:

TVR cooling issues are legendary.

Why do you think the mod wise kit and alloy radiators are freely available?

Anyway, as far as I am concerned, anything that aids cooling, particularly under bonnet temps is a good thing.

Aluminium radiators are available for many different vehicles this isn’t an indicator of a cooling issue though. Neglected maintainance is a more common issue of engine overheating.
Poor coolant mix, aged thermostat not opening, clogged radiator, just the usual suspects so to speak.

[Tyre Smoke]

Ok, fair enough. I'll leave it alone.

[Classic Chim]

Tyre Smoke said:

Ok, fair enough. I'll leave it alone.

On the contrary I’m actually all in favour of adding whatever an owner feels will improve things especially using the original systems but you did mention considering engine refresh/ Ecu change which is hellishly expensive but having driven many modern sports cars with upto 10 cylinders
all on feverishly clever ecu and electronic control systems that inspire confidence with there linear power delivery I can honestly say my Chims performance and linear power curve is right there on a par with many of them since an ecu change, rolling roaded and mapped. My power used to come in a bit hard and difficult to control wheel spin in the wet on the Cux but now the throttle feels mm perfect and control is way more confidence inspiring.
It’s almost like the engine is modern and I can add or remove 1 hp at a time. Mapping by Jason at Powers or Joolz is the way to go and worth every penny if you actually use the car and want years of less trouble,,, that’s the theory which I was testing out quite successfully until a chassis re furb now I don’t want to drive it any distance at all

[Tyre Smoke]

I have no plans for an engine refresh any time soon. It's driving beautifully and has great oil pressure. There might be a slight tick from the cam, but equally it might be a slight exhaust leak from the manifold to Y join.

[rigga]

I'd get rid of the unreliable otter switch at a minimum.

Went through so many over the years.

Rest of the system has been reliable , aside from a blocked expansion pot exit as noted above , the week after I purchased the car. Funnily enough the rad leaking onto the works car park floor prompted some investigation , and a recored alloy rad.

Aside from eliminating the fan control , I've not had any other issues in 14 years.