Does anyone know how many CFMs does the aux. fan put out?

[SchnellerVert]

You sat there and ran the engine for that long? arg, I tend to just pull off and take a break under a tree.

Maybe a aquamist system for his car would help. You can diy one, and would help with core temps on the radiator.

[nando]

You sat there and ran the engine for that long? arg, I tend to just pull off and take a break under a tree.

Maybe a aquamist system for his car would help. You can diy one, and would help with core temps on the radiator.

5 hours one day was the worst. no trees at the border, and it was stop and go the whole time... so no turning it off either :(

but at least I know my car won't overheat!

[backtrail69]

I ran my car for almost 4 hours in border traffic over the summer and the AUX fan didn't even turn on (w/ lower temp thermoswitch). Good old imperial fan clutch. Best 26 dollars ever spent...

[SchnellerVert]

It's that nuts up there with border crossings? I waited 5 once at Buffalo but that was due to a terror scare with the guys coming across from Montreal area that turned out to be nothing.

Oh and it was the New Years also.

Back on OT

[Erick]

haha, how about his car is turbo and it overheats when boosting for a long time while he's drifting? :p

do you still have A/C? you might be able to fit a low profile 16" puller fan on the other side. look on summit's online cataloge for something that might fit. you can narrow it down by height, width and thickness..

nando, thanks for giving him a small glimpse of my trouble.

Here's the deal:

I have a boosted application, running a Koyo racing aluminum radiator designed for a Nissan SR20DET motor. No A/C.

Driving the car is fine. No trouble there. Air goes in the radiator... temperatures stay extra cool. No complaints.

Trouble is when I'm sitting in traffic. I currently have a $25 no name puller fan that covers about 1/4 of the core. If you haven't gotten the picture by now, it's useless. Even then, it's still not bad. Even at the longest of lights my temperature will not go above half. Even if it does, it's minimal and I can just pick it back up once I start driving again.

Now, here's where it gets worse. Drifting is very unorthodox, and since the car is oversteering, we never really have a straight path of air hitting the front of the car (furthermore the radiator). Even in those conditions the radiator still works wonders and stays cool. But as soon as I come back into the staging area after a run, wow. That needle will skyrocket. I've been spraying cold water on my radiator to keep the car cool after every run.

More trouble is since this radiator is thicker than just about any unit available for an e30, I have literally no space for puller fans. I triple checked diagrams and spec sheets trying to find a low profile high performance fan that could fit and flow. This "puller" fan, is sitting at the very farthest edge on the driver's side, milimeters away from my power steering pulley.

So therefore, I have more space for a pusher than a puller. But there is also the intercooler, which sits on the front of the radiator support. The distance between the radiator and the intercooler is about 2 inches. SPAL had the best CFM numbers for their lowest profile fans... so I had to go with them.

I'm hoping that this fan can pull the job and keep my car cool in between runs... because I'm really pressed for ideas.

- Erick

[nando]

maybe a better solution then would be a stock behr E30 radiator, with a 2500cfm puller?

I mean maybe the bigger radiator has more capacity, but it's not doing you any good if you can't get air through it. You could set the fan up to run constantly while drifting, which should be able to keep up with the temps.

[Erick]

I have contemplated it.

But modifications were done to use this radiator, and although minor, I dont feel like finding support brackets for the OEM unit again. If I were to switch chassis, I would try to improve as much as I could, but those plastic end tanks are soooo garbage. I've gone through 3 radiators and they always cracked in the same location. (PS: I miss my fan clutch dearly)

Also, the bigger Koyo radiator is the same measurements (sans thickness) than the OEM units. When actually going in a straight line, it's a huge improvement. At a road course the car will not overheat.

Drifting usually (at least in the venues available) does not exceed 70mph, and like I said, we're only getting a fraction of that head wind.

I will see how this setup works out. If not, I will look into going back to a factory unit with a 2700cfm puller from SPAL.

- Erick

[nando]

what about one of those all-aluminum radiators for an E36? same dimensions as the E30 AFAIK. but $$$$ :(

[Erick]

Zionville Autosport sells one for the e30 and UUC Motorwerks has a good deal on them (with a fan for it already).

But this Koyo was $210 brand new. The damn JDM market is all over the US, and prices drop significantly. I've been trying to find a solid setup for this radiator with e30s since the modification to fit is minimal. If we could put it together as a kit, we'd sell it to the e30 crowd. But I'm still researching a lot on that. I wouldnt personally sell anything that had the slighest change of overheating.

[808BMW]

Maybe try to rework you intercooler a bit forward if you have trouble fitting the pusher in between?
I know you said you already messed with the mounts and dont want to move the radiator, but that could also possible move forward giving you the needed clearance for a puller

[Erick]

Maybe try to rework you intercooler a bit forward if you have trouble fitting the pusher in between?

The intercooler is already 1/8" from the front bumper. :(

I know you said you already messed with the mounts and dont want to move the radiator, but that could also possible move forward giving you the needed clearance for a puller

Nope, the radiator is resting against the core support. :(

[whiltebeitel]

You know, eric, not to be snooty, but a V8 would ive you a lot more clearance for a puller...

;)

Could you fit more of those small cheap fans on the back? could you use 4 to cover the back of the radiator?

[Erick]

You know, eric, not to be snooty, but a V8 would ive you a lot more clearance for a puller...

;)

Could you fit more of those small cheap fans on the back? could you use 4 to cover the back of the radiator?

No way, I'm barely fitting one at the very end of one corner. The water pump pulley is less than 2 inches away from the radiator.

[whiltebeitel]

Well, if you can't fit a fan anywhere, then why not mount a spray-bar in front of the radiator, and pump water or maybe even a bit of CO2 on the radiator to control temps.

[Erick]

So yeah.... I took some cell phone pics of the before and after for you guys:





After:


The pusher fits ridiculously flush in between the intercooler and radiator, but it works. It idled for half hour with no sign of overheating. I took it out for a spin and it maintained its temperature then as well.... but this was at night (mid-80s temp)

We'll see how it holds up to a drift event tomorrow in the eye-gouging sun.

- Erick