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i can only speak from my experience with my car. If i unplug my fans or turn them off when i'm just cruising on the freeway the water temps will climb super fast. I'm sure if my radiator had clean air and did not have my huge intercooler /oil cooler/ac condenser blocking all the air that it would not even need fans at freeway speeds. But this is not the case. My water temps are the coolest when not moving and only go up and are harder to control as the speed goes up.
The huge voltage spike when the spal extrem/high performance fans kick can stall the engine if your ideling. If the ac is running it makes it even worse. I as well my tuner have tried everything to tune this out with no success. I first tried to add a huge capacitor to the fan and that did help but did not solve the issue. The only solution that i came up with over the years is to run a fan controller that starts the fans slow and slowly ramps up the speed as the water temp climbs.
Originally Posted by RAIN H8R
The bottom line is you need airflow flowing through the radiator. If the intercooler blocks flow, a fan will assist even above 40. Ideally, you want direct fresh air to hit the radiator.
Originally Posted by echofilter
I disagree about a fan hurting airflow. They are pull type fans, the only negative thing it should do is freewheel and achieve basically nothing (which would still be a reason for OEMs to deactivate them).
It is very important to have an undertray for cooling. If you can, make a ramp from the bottom of the intercooler to the bottom of the radiator support that will help ensure you're getting max airflow through the radiator. Additionally, aftermarket rads may help but they usually do not seal passages adjacent to the radiator like the OEM foam does. You can help remedy this with a foam spray.
There is little reason to use an aftermarket fan unless you NEED the room. The stock fan flows quite high and has a good shroud. A shroud is also important for good fan performance if you don't have one but should have little effect at the speeds you're having cooling problems.
Finally, if you removed or modified your stock plastic cooling plate you should look into some type of upper block to direct the air into, instead of over, the radiator.
Exactly, clean air is needed. The fans above 40 is beating a dead horse at this point. Even when free wheeling, they are creating a restriction and there will be a pressure difference across the blades. A lot of manufactures will actually build flaps into the shroud to create a non restricted path for the air to pass through the radiator. The best thing to do is to try it on your own vehicle and see what effect it has. Benton has different results as compared to my car. Different size intercoolers and different air diverters will play on effect of the cooling systems effectiveness. I have found that getting clean air to the radiator is the most effective solution.
Last edited by rmerchant3; Oct 27, 2018 at 07:55 AM.
So I have some updates on this. I finished the install on my spal 12" extreme fan with custom shroud. I used the spal relay wire kit ($150!). I tucked everything away under the passenger side fender. The engine does not get affected when the fans kick on, nor do any of my other electronics. However, with the fan on, I noticed my voltage dropped to 13.4-5 from 13.6volts...draws more amperage when in operation i guess. My fans are set to turn on at 170deg F so technically once they reach that temp they're always on (I may change this down the road).
I'll be driving the car in traffic tomorrow so that will be the true test but I just couldn't resist the urge to update you guys on the progress lol. I drove the car a couple times with the new fan. One time was a 40min cruise going on avg 75mph on the highway in 75deg F weather in and out of boost. The temps stayed consistently in the 185-188deg F range. Way lower operating temps than what im used to. I may change my fan to turn on at 185deg F. At one point my temps even dropped into the 170's. All i can say is from the looks of it, this fan definitely gets the job done. Now, I need to search what normal operating ECT for the s2k should be so I can adjust my fan temp control accordingly.
From the factory, the fans kick on between 196-203 and turn off around 10 degrees cooler than the on temp.
I personally don't consider the car warmed up until I see 176. I have my fans set to come on at 198 and shut off at 185. When cruising I am usually seeing around 180-185 temps.
No reason to turn the fans on at anything less than 190 ish degrees. Thermostat starts to open in the 170 range and it's not fully open till around 190. Let your cooling system do its job. Stock the fans turn on around 195 and turn off around 205 - you should be replicating that.
From the factory, the fans kick on between 196-203 and turn off around 10 degrees cooler than the on temp.
I personally don't consider the car warmed up until I see 176. I have my fans set to come on at 198 and shut off at 185. When cruising I am usually seeing around 180-185 temps.
Those settings make sense. Fans on at 199 and to turn off at 185.
