{"id":15969,"date":"2022-04-22T10:09:05","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T14:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/?p=15969"},"modified":"2022-04-22T11:08:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T15:08:20","slug":"deciding-which-electric-fan-your-ride-really-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/2022\/04\/22\/deciding-which-electric-fan-your-ride-really-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Deciding Which Electric Fan Your Ride Really Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"randybolig\"<\/a><\/div>\n

By\u00a0<\/span>RANDY BOLIG<\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>APRIL 19, 2022<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Now that winter is making a departure, it\u2019s time to place our classic rides back to the front of the priority list of things to do \u2014 or in this case, enjoy. If last year\u2019s summer cruising saw your car\u2019s temperature gauge reading higher than you think it should, maybe it\u2019s time to take a look at your car\u2019s cooling system.<\/p>\n

While cooling issues can vary, this time, I decided we needed to discuss cooling fans. Specifically, electric fans. There are many bad choices that can be made when trying to decide what cooling fan a particular car needs, and to alleviate that situation, I decided to reach out to the folks at\u00a0<\/span>SPAL USA<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>to get some solid information we can all use.<\/p>\n

While the OE mechanical fan in your classic might be adequate for your car while cruising down the highway, sometimes, situations arise that warrant an upgrade to an electrical unit. But have you looked at what sizes and styles of electric fans are available? Talk about a confusing decision.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s What?<\/h3>\n

If you want to add an electric fan setup you first need to figure out which electric fan(s) will best work for your application. For instance, can a puller-style fan fit between your engine and radiator, or do you need a pusher? Fitment is a big issue for many who want to add electric fan(s).<\/p>\n

\"electric<\/a> <\/p>\n

There are a couple of issues here. For starters, it\u2019s better to mount the fan behind the radiator. As shown, the fan will only move air through a small section of the radiator, right where the fan is mounted, the rest of the radiator does not benefit from the fan\u2019s airflow.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I checked out the SPAL website and found both pusher and puller fans as available options. The pusher-style fan mounts on the front of the radiator, and as its name indicates, pushes air through the radiator. Pusher fans are typically installed when there just isn\u2019t enough room to mount the fan between the radiator and engine. Unfortunately, mounting a fan in front of the radiator also restricts airflow through the radiator. A puller fan is by far, the more popular choice. It\u2019s more efficient, because it mounts on the back of the radiator, draws air through, and does not block airflow.<\/p>\n

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A puller fan is generally viewed as the best practice due to the motor\/fan being a resistance after the radiator. \u2013 Brent Chuck, SPAL USA<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cA puller fan is generally viewed as the best practice due to the motor\/fan being a resistance after the radiator,\u201d says Brent Chuck application engineer at SPAL USA. \u201cPuller fans generally affect highway-speed ram-air cooling less than pusher fans. Our [fan] motors are a 5-inch diameter circle, so when you put a pusher fan in front of the radiator you can imagine a 5-inch \u2018dead circle\u2019 where the fan sits. This dead circle still occurs in the puller fan application, but it doesn\u2019t have as much effect on the high-speed cooling of the vehicle. A pusher fan is usually acting on colder\/more dense air, so you usually get a higher mass flow rate through the system with a pusher fan. The fan motor also exists in a colder environment (in a pusher configuration) which usually increases motor life as the motor runs cooler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brent continues by saying, \u201cPushers can\u2019t really use a shroud, so you lose the efficiencies that could be gained by a good shroud design ducting airflow from the entire face of the radiator with a puller. You get better dispersion of airflow to the radiator face with a puller fan and a good shroud design.\u00a0 Pushers basically just force a circle of airflow through the radiator.\u201d<\/p>\n

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