GTO3 Radiator Cowl Upgrade
Discussion
I wondered if anyone here could help with some info on the radiator upgrade.
Mine is an early GTO3 which (as far as I can tell) hasn't had the upgrade. Was the upgrade simply an additional cowl over the existing radiator, or were there other bits, like additional fans, or an upgraded radiator?
I had a "flicking" overheating temp gauge whilst sat in Xmas shopping traffic the other day.. so I'm considering the upgrade - assuming I can still source the parts from the factory or a dealer. The temp gauge did the same thing last time I switched on the air-con (obviously some time back now..).
Anyone been through the upgrade and is it an easy DIY job?
Thanks guys
A
Mine is an early GTO3 which (as far as I can tell) hasn't had the upgrade. Was the upgrade simply an additional cowl over the existing radiator, or were there other bits, like additional fans, or an upgraded radiator?
I had a "flicking" overheating temp gauge whilst sat in Xmas shopping traffic the other day.. so I'm considering the upgrade - assuming I can still source the parts from the factory or a dealer. The temp gauge did the same thing last time I switched on the air-con (obviously some time back now..).
Anyone been through the upgrade and is it an easy DIY job?
Thanks guys
A
Interesting one this, I don't know how the cowl was developed but the aero experts at Mira told us the best thing we could do with it was "throw it in the bin" as all it did was restrict airflow and generate drag. as it hold the fans on I drilled mine full of large holes.
How many fans have you got?
How many fans have you got?
My 2.5 never overheated with the original fans (I know of other also). I upgraded mine and I kept blowing the fan switch (not sure if the early 3 has this). As you probably have an MBE ECU I would Hope its the ECU that controls your fans. If this is the case the the upgrade will be fine. Quite easy to fit and think it costs around 150-200.
AFAIK the fan shroud allows the air blown from the fans to spread over the whole rad rather than blow the areas that the fan covers in the old set-up.
Bondy
AFAIK the fan shroud allows the air blown from the fans to spread over the whole rad rather than blow the areas that the fan covers in the old set-up.
Bondy
Interesting stuff guys. I'm pretty sure it's not a faulty rad - the car has 26k miles now, half of which were mine, with no major incidents. There are two fans attached directly to the rad.. both look the same, and I think both come on when it's up to temperature.
I've been crawling in stop-start traffic the 2 times this has happened, never had a problem sitting at idle. I thought the cowl may have been designed just with this in mind. I can well believe it's an aerodynamic drag - I think most of the car is (perhaps that's a little unfair.. mine doesn't have an aerial).
If the rad's OK and the fans operating correctly, maybe there's some other problem (blockage?). I definitely had this problem when I switched on the air-con (in traffic) - the air-con needs re-charging, don't know if this would be a factor. The car has been used pretty infrequently over the last few months, but it had a major 24k service just 2k back, so the last I was expecting was an overheating problem.
I've been crawling in stop-start traffic the 2 times this has happened, never had a problem sitting at idle. I thought the cowl may have been designed just with this in mind. I can well believe it's an aerodynamic drag - I think most of the car is (perhaps that's a little unfair.. mine doesn't have an aerial).
If the rad's OK and the fans operating correctly, maybe there's some other problem (blockage?). I definitely had this problem when I switched on the air-con (in traffic) - the air-con needs re-charging, don't know if this would be a factor. The car has been used pretty infrequently over the last few months, but it had a major 24k service just 2k back, so the last I was expecting was an overheating problem.
mgbond said:
My 2.5 never overheated with the original fans (I know of other also). I upgraded mine and I kept blowing the fan switch (not sure if the early 3 has this). As you probably have an MBE ECU I would Hope its the ECU that controls your fans. If this is the case the the upgrade will be fine. Quite easy to fit and think it costs around 150-200.
AFAIK the fan shroud allows the air blown from the fans to spread over the whole rad rather than blow the areas that the fan covers in the old set-up.
Bondy
Thanks Bondy. Yes, the ECU is an MBE.. and looking at previous threads, the way the gauge needle was behaving (flicking all the way to the right) would fit with this too.AFAIK the fan shroud allows the air blown from the fans to spread over the whole rad rather than blow the areas that the fan covers in the old set-up.
Bondy
What you say about the shroud makes sense. A 'Heath Robinson' fix to make the fans more efficient..
If I can find a shroud, I'll put one on and hope it fixes the problem.
Just been and had a look. There are two of these:
SPAL VA09-AP8/C-27A
The interweb thing tells me these are:
Pull 11" Straight Blade Low Profile Axial Motor Fan
Part no. 30100364
http://www.spalusa.com/fans/automated/lowprofile_1...
Are these the larger fans then? My guess was they would be.. I think my build date was May 2003.
I'll post any info I have on NobleParts once I have some larger fans or the shroud, whichever I need.
SPAL VA09-AP8/C-27A
The interweb thing tells me these are:
Pull 11" Straight Blade Low Profile Axial Motor Fan
Part no. 30100364
http://www.spalusa.com/fans/automated/lowprofile_1...
Are these the larger fans then? My guess was they would be.. I think my build date was May 2003.
I'll post any info I have on NobleParts once I have some larger fans or the shroud, whichever I need.
m12_nathan said:
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
I'd be surprised if there are any 3's that haven't got the bigger fans etc. I thought the changes were in the 2.5 production run.
My 3 didn't, it overheated on track and Noble sorted the upgrade FOC.Had another look to check the fans were both the same and it now looks obvious to me that they're only operating across about half the surface of the rad (if that).
They both have straight blades, and I'd be interested if you have the same ones.. or much larger ones. If later cars have bigger fans as well as the cowl then I think my car needs an early Xmas present.
Any details on fan size, spec, no,, etc would be much appreciated.
THX
They both have straight blades, and I'd be interested if you have the same ones.. or much larger ones. If later cars have bigger fans as well as the cowl then I think my car needs an early Xmas present.
Any details on fan size, spec, no,, etc would be much appreciated.
THX
DissidentX said:
Had another look to check the fans were both the same and it now looks obvious to me that they're only operating across about half the surface of the rad (if that).
They both have straight blades, and I'd be interested if you have the same ones.. or much larger ones. If later cars have bigger fans as well as the cowl then I think my car needs an early Xmas present.
Any details on fan size, spec, no,, etc would be much appreciated.
THX
Just popped out and took a couple of pics of mine.They both have straight blades, and I'd be interested if you have the same ones.. or much larger ones. If later cars have bigger fans as well as the cowl then I think my car needs an early Xmas present.
Any details on fan size, spec, no,, etc would be much appreciated.
THX
Hope they help.
Just found this online:
Spal Ref: VA10-AP50/C-61A Spal Code: 3010.1522 Diameter: 305 mm Depth: 63 mm Airflow: 2270 m3/hr Current: 12.4 Amps Suction type
Edited by MrCredit on Monday 22 December 14:34
That's very useful, MrCredit. Much appreciated
Here's a quick comparison.
Original fans: 2x3010.0364 = 1,620 cfm sucking power
Upgrade/later fans: 2x3010.1522 = 4,540 cfm sucking power
Plus the cowl to improve distribution, that's a pretty significant upgrade in radiator cooling. Is it overkill, or do you think they were just guessing the first time round.
The traffic overheating might not happen again, but I think I'll play safe. I found the bigger fans for £87 each.. it will be interesting to see what a dealer asks for.
I can't thank all of you enough for all the input/help.
Here's a quick comparison.
Original fans: 2x3010.0364 = 1,620 cfm sucking power
Upgrade/later fans: 2x3010.1522 = 4,540 cfm sucking power
Plus the cowl to improve distribution, that's a pretty significant upgrade in radiator cooling. Is it overkill, or do you think they were just guessing the first time round.
The traffic overheating might not happen again, but I think I'll play safe. I found the bigger fans for £87 each.. it will be interesting to see what a dealer asks for.
I can't thank all of you enough for all the input/help.
i had the fans + rad upgraded on the 3 i used to own. it was built march '03. again like others it overheated on track, the week before a trip to le mans which made the timing of getting it fixed pretty tight. i was told that although the 2 fans were much better than the single i had previously, the main problem was the rad design, which was prone to getting blocked up with sediment + therefore not working. only really happened on track so hopefully you'll be able to get away with just upgrading the fans
conleth
conleth
Adrian W said:
Interesting one this, I don't know how the cowl was developed but the aero experts at Mira told us the best thing we could do with it was "throw it in the bin" as all it did was restrict airflow and generate drag. as it hold the fans on I drilled mine full of large holes.
How many fans have you got?
Two replacement engines in my 2.5 is the answer on how it was developed. All I can say is the third one lasted....How many fans have you got?
You can see the difference here (see the 20th November 2003 entry)
http://www.lotus-elise.org.uk/noble/diary.htm
J
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