Quieter cooling fans??????

[moorcroft]

Has anybody tried replacing the electric cooling fans with quieter models. New car fans are so quite you can hardly hear them when their on, but my fans on my Griff can be heard when their on with the roof down and sometimes even with just the windows open. I would love to lower the noise so their not as intrusive. Any ideas who might be able to supply different quiet fans??? Thanks.

[yellowgriff]

Most of the noise from fans are from the air flow over the blades & through the rad,, Take the blades of & chances are they will be silent..
If you have loads of wind noise its showing that it doing it job......

[steve-V8s]

To be honest I struggle to hear my fans when the engine is running and need a light to reassure me that they are working. However aside from that with a couple of relays you can configure the fans to be wired in series and hence run at half speed when they make, well… about half the noise. With a bit of thought you can have them come on half speed at a slightly lower temperature than normal activation, if that fails to get the temperature under control the normal system can take over and give them a run at full power for a while.

I have up a couple of relays and a few components that plug into the existing connectors close to the rad, I believe some people sell a similar arrangement.

You do make a good point about the fans themselves. If you look at the many cooling fans for electronics they do indeed vary in noise level for a given air flow, it does seem that lower noise ones need more power input for a given airflow.

[moorcroft]

I have been tempted to fit the Modwise 2 stage cooling, was it easy to fit? Does it replace the job of the otter switch?

[RichB]

moorcroft said:

I have been tempted to fit the Modwise 2 stage cooling, was it easy to fit? Does it replace the job of the otter switch?

Yes, no. It's very simple to fit and you still retain the otter switch which switches the fans on a full speed around 90 deg. You also fit an adjustable thermostat to the rad pipe which I have set to around 80 deg, it is this that switches the fans on at half speed.

[FlipFlopGriff]

moorcroft said:

I have been tempted to fit the Modwise 2 stage cooling, was it easy to fit? Does it replace the job of the otter switch?

Yes and no. Easy to fit and they run at 1/2 speed at a set temp. The otter still kicks in as normal for full speed. There are 2 kits; one which you set the temp the half speed kicks in and a superior kit which you can set the temp the full speed kicks in also. Got the basic kit on the 500 and it has been brilliant. Set the temp to approx 80 and the fans rarely come on at full speed. Been fitted atbout 3 years now and used daily. Great bit of kit, easy to fit, and cheap. David Beer is on here so drop him a line.
FFG

[RichB]

Quinny said:

RichB said:

moorcroft said:

I have been tempted to fit the Modwise 2 stage cooling, was it easy to fit? Does it replace the job of the otter switch?

Yes, no. It's very simple to fit and you still retain the otter switch which switches the fans on a full speed around 90 deg. You also fit an adjustable thermostat to the rad pipe which I have set to around 80 deg, it is this that switches the fans on at half speed.

Yes and no again then

My kit must be slightly different to yours Rich.

... and agree with everything else you say, my Griff also stayed cool at Le mans a few years ago (2006?) when queuing to get in and I'm sure the air temperature was close to 40 deg! They key, as has been said, is that it starts a movement of air under the bonnet and keeps the engine bay cooler before it all gets too hot under there by which time it's too late

[kbear]

steve-V8s said:

To be honest I struggle to hear my fans when the engine is running and need a light to reassure me that they are working. However aside from that with a couple of relays you can configure the fans to be wired in series and hence run at half speed when they make, well… about half the noise. With a bit of thought you can have them come on half speed at a slightly lower temperature than normal activation, if that fails to get the temperature under control the normal system can take over and give them a run at full power for a while.

I have up a couple of relays and a few components that plug into the existing connectors close to the rad, I believe some people sell a similar arrangement.

You do make a good point about the fans themselves. If you look at the many cooling fans for electronics they do indeed vary in noise level for a given air flow, it does seem that lower noise ones need more power input for a given airflow.

Along the lines of Steve-V8s comments. I made my old simple version of the Modwise kit. I bought a new two stage otter switch with three legs. The first stage is a little cooler than the old otter switch and the second a little hotter. The first stage is connected to the factory system and turns on the fans via the old fuse box. I have a simple relay box mounted by the fans which is normally set to series (slow and whisper quiet), this relay box is also connected to the second stage of the otter switch so when it gets hotter they switch to parallel and come on at full blast. As per the comments with the Modwise kit, the car never overheats, and you only hear the fans come on at full speed when it’s really hot and you’re stuck in traffic. I have a standard exhaust, and I was tired of the fans making more noise than the engine at tickover

New otter switch was 15 Euro and two relays a few Euros each, small box, some connectors and job done for under 30 Euro. Installation was really quick and easy as you don’t need to strap on external sensors.

This site can help you with the series / parallel relay logic if you need help
http://www.the12volt.com/relays/page5.asp

I also built a separate run on timer with a 555 timer and relay, also very cheap but not so easy...

regards

[FlipFlopGriff]

TBH the basic kit isn't much (about £35-£40) so it's not worth the fannying about IMO.
FFG

[RichB]

FlipFlopGriff said:

TBH the basic kit isn't much (about £35-£40) so it's not worth the fannying about IMO.
FFG

Agreed, plus it comes with Daivd's "plain & simple" instructions so you don't have to actually have to understand the details of what your doing you just follow the instructions and it works

[kbear]

RichB said:

FlipFlopGriff said:

TBH the basic kit isn't much (about £35-£40) so it's not worth the fannying about IMO.
FFG

Agreed, plus it comes with Daivd's "plain & simple" instructions so you don't have to actually have to understand the details of what your doing you just follow the instructions and it works

For most people you’re probably right, I just enjoy mucking around and trying to work things out on my own. For me its part of the TVR fun.

[spend]

kbear said:

For most people you’re probably right, I just enjoy mucking around and trying to work things out on my own. For me its part of the TVR fun.

But at least you understand its nothing magical

[davetherave1970]

Just spoken to David Beer and ordered the kit.
I shouldn't come on here and read these threads, it just makes me spend money!!!!!

Mr Beer is a very nice man
Thank you.

[RichB]

davetherave1970 said:

Just spoken to David Beer and ordered the kit.
I shouldn't come on here and read these threads, it just makes me spend money!!!!!

Mr Beer is a very nice man
Thank you.

But it was Moorecroft who was asking

[davetherave1970]

All singing all dancing version ordered
If you're gonna do it you may as well do it right
Mine had the hot start mod when I bought it.

Now.......Brighter lights kit, Boot and Glove box kit, Amplified Aerial kit (not sure why this one is needed, never have the radio on), Fuse, relays, high performance bulbs next......maybe

Edited by davetherave1970 on Wednesday 6th May 16:02

[davetherave1970]

Mr Beer can eat again tonight then

and not just beans on toast

[moorcroft]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I already have a lower temp otter switch fitted (supplied from Leven), so if I was to fit one of these two stage cooling kits would it be best to revert back to a higer temperature otter switch to control full speed fans??