Aluminum Radiators and Low Profile Fans
02-22-2013, 12:39 PM
#1
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Aluminum Radiators and Low Profile Fans
A little back story first... I am currently running a base Comptech kit at 6 PSI with the stock radiator and fans. I have a custom adapter that I made for the aftercooler to fit a Tial Q blow off valve (more info on that in this thread: https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/992246-bov-install/). The Tial has minimal clearance to the stock driver-side fan shroud.
My stock radiator has developed the small leak associated with the plastic top tank beginning to separate from the metal core. Therefore, I am looking at upgrading to a Mishimoto/Koyo/Fullblown/etc radiator and my many options as far as fan selections. My main concern is that with the thicker radiator and even the standard 2x12" low profile fan setup that Mishimoto and other companies sell (see this: http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-a...nda-s2000.html) that I would still have interference issues with the tip of the Tial Q BOV in its current arrangement.
So I took a few measurements of where the tip of the Tial Q sits in relation to the stock radiator, grabbed some measurements off Mishimoto's website (and a few assumptions here and there) for the radiator, and started modeling in SPAL fans using dimensions from their website and slapping them together. In the series of pictures that follow, the small circle towards the upper-left side of the radiator core is approximately where the tip of the Tial Q sits, so the key would be to keep that area clear to give it clearance. All these pictures are viewed from the engine compartment looking out towards the front of the car (i.e. the left is the driver's side and the right is the passenger's side).
Mishimoto with 2x 12" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 10" and 13" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 10" and 14" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 10" and 16" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 11" and 13" SPAL fans:
I was a little surprised to see that the 2x 12" fan setup extended over the edge of the radiator core, even when put tangent to each other. These SPAL fans must be larger than the Mishimoto fans used in their fan shroud setup, or else Mishimoto's fans do not sit over the core in the same fashion. However, you can see how the Tial Q interference point is right in the driver's side fan, so this is no good for me.
Switching to a 10" and 13" setup gives me the clearance I need and keeps both fans to a size that can fit directly onto the radiator core and actually has zero overhang. This one looks promising.
Increasing to a 10" and 14" setup gains more surface area covered, but now I have a bit of overhang on the sides but more importantly the 14" fan starts to interfere with the tanks at the top/bottom. This means I would have to either trim the fan shroud at the top/bottom or mount this fan further back away from the core, resulting in potentially less effectiveness. It looks like this one could work after a bit of trimming though.
Just for fun, I threw a 16" fan in there to see how large it was. Obviously this would have to be mounted on the tanks and not up against the core, and it has a good amount of overhang that might cause clearance issues with other things. No bueno.
Lastly, I think I found a good fit by increasing the 10" fan up to an 11" and bringing back the 13" fan as its partner. This setup looks like it still has the clearance I need for the Tial, it covers a very good amount of core area, and only overhangs a tiny bit while staying within the vertical constraints of the core. This is the setup I think I will purchase and try out first.
Here are links to specs on all the radiators and fans I looked at for this study. Hopefully this will be useful to anyone in the future, and I will update this thread once I have purchased and installed these items to let you guys know how it worked out.
Mishimoto Radiator: http://www.mishimoto.com/honda-s2000...nce-00-05.html
Mishimoto fan shroud setup: http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-a...nda-s2000.html
Mishimoto fan mounting kit: http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-s...t-tie-kit.html
TH Motorsport's selection of SPAL fans: http://thmotorsports.com/spal/spal_fans/g-64587.aspx
SPAL 10" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100360
SPAL 11" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100411
SPAL 12" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100467
SPAL 13" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100398
SPAL 14" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100385
SPAL 16" low profile puller fan: http://thmotorsports.com/spal/spal_f.../i-520128.aspx
My stock radiator has developed the small leak associated with the plastic top tank beginning to separate from the metal core. Therefore, I am looking at upgrading to a Mishimoto/Koyo/Fullblown/etc radiator and my many options as far as fan selections. My main concern is that with the thicker radiator and even the standard 2x12" low profile fan setup that Mishimoto and other companies sell (see this: http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-a...nda-s2000.html) that I would still have interference issues with the tip of the Tial Q BOV in its current arrangement.
So I took a few measurements of where the tip of the Tial Q sits in relation to the stock radiator, grabbed some measurements off Mishimoto's website (and a few assumptions here and there) for the radiator, and started modeling in SPAL fans using dimensions from their website and slapping them together. In the series of pictures that follow, the small circle towards the upper-left side of the radiator core is approximately where the tip of the Tial Q sits, so the key would be to keep that area clear to give it clearance. All these pictures are viewed from the engine compartment looking out towards the front of the car (i.e. the left is the driver's side and the right is the passenger's side).
Mishimoto with 2x 12" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 10" and 13" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 10" and 14" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 10" and 16" SPAL fans:
Mishimoto with 11" and 13" SPAL fans:
I was a little surprised to see that the 2x 12" fan setup extended over the edge of the radiator core, even when put tangent to each other. These SPAL fans must be larger than the Mishimoto fans used in their fan shroud setup, or else Mishimoto's fans do not sit over the core in the same fashion. However, you can see how the Tial Q interference point is right in the driver's side fan, so this is no good for me.
Switching to a 10" and 13" setup gives me the clearance I need and keeps both fans to a size that can fit directly onto the radiator core and actually has zero overhang. This one looks promising.
Increasing to a 10" and 14" setup gains more surface area covered, but now I have a bit of overhang on the sides but more importantly the 14" fan starts to interfere with the tanks at the top/bottom. This means I would have to either trim the fan shroud at the top/bottom or mount this fan further back away from the core, resulting in potentially less effectiveness. It looks like this one could work after a bit of trimming though.
Just for fun, I threw a 16" fan in there to see how large it was. Obviously this would have to be mounted on the tanks and not up against the core, and it has a good amount of overhang that might cause clearance issues with other things. No bueno.
Lastly, I think I found a good fit by increasing the 10" fan up to an 11" and bringing back the 13" fan as its partner. This setup looks like it still has the clearance I need for the Tial, it covers a very good amount of core area, and only overhangs a tiny bit while staying within the vertical constraints of the core. This is the setup I think I will purchase and try out first.
Here are links to specs on all the radiators and fans I looked at for this study. Hopefully this will be useful to anyone in the future, and I will update this thread once I have purchased and installed these items to let you guys know how it worked out.
Mishimoto Radiator: http://www.mishimoto.com/honda-s2000...nce-00-05.html
Mishimoto fan shroud setup: http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-a...nda-s2000.html
Mishimoto fan mounting kit: http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-s...t-tie-kit.html
TH Motorsport's selection of SPAL fans: http://thmotorsports.com/spal/spal_fans/g-64587.aspx
SPAL 10" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100360
SPAL 11" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100411
SPAL 12" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100467
SPAL 13" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100398
SPAL 14" low profile puller fan: http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30100385
SPAL 16" low profile puller fan: http://thmotorsports.com/spal/spal_f.../i-520128.aspx
My vote is for the 10/13 configuration (ac/regular fan, respectively)
02-22-2013, 02:46 PM
#3
Good information in here! When you install the fans, do not use the zip tie method. Take the time and build brackets, this way vibration will not slowly destroy the radiator.
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02-22-2013, 02:59 PM
#4
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The zip ties come with foam squares some of them. I don't see how the radiator would get destroyed using these
02-22-2013, 04:18 PM
#5
If you trim the 14" and 10" fan to fit flush, that is the way I would go. Gives you a lot of radiator surface area covered and should keep you from getting hot. If you can mount them flush.
ROD
ROD
02-22-2013, 05:54 PM
#6
You can go to Home Depot and buy strips of aluminum which are very easy to bend to make any necessary brackets. So a drill, a dremel, and some pliers to bend the aluminum.
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02-22-2013, 06:35 PM
#9
CoolGuy I want to how it fits cuz I still think that you might be able to make 1 of those fans a medium profile instead of a slim. It is only .4" thicker with a hell of a lot more CFM. Glad you are doing all this as it directly applies to my build. Let me know when 1 of your weekends is not so full, I have a ton of parts to install!