Electric Fans

[laneyamps]

Hey guys...

Has anyone here installed an Electric Fan system on your 928? If so, did you notice any difference with the car? (good, bad, indifferent, was it worth it???)

Just wanted some input from some other 928 owners before I decide to install one on mine. Just thought it would be nice to have the cooling system upgraded a bit.

Thanks!

[laneyamps]

Oooops, nevermind! Just found a recent thread on this.... Sorry guys...

Chris

[Danglerb]

Sticking to a OEM fan seems best, the factory clutch fan works well for a LONG time, but people have had good results with fans out of Dodge Ram, Ford Contour, and I used a giant Lincoln Mark VIII fan. Main thing, no amount of fan will fix a clogged or problem radiator, and radiator in excellent shape will be "ok" with almost any fan. Fan performance is really only critical when the car is moving slower than about 30 mph.

[laneyamps]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Sticking to a OEM fan seems best, the factory clutch fan works well for a LONG time, but people have had good results with fans out of Dodge Ram, Ford Contour, and I used a giant Lincoln Mark VIII fan. Main thing, no amount of fan will fix a clogged or problem radiator, and radiator in excellent shape will be "ok" with almost any fan. Fan performance is really only critical when the car is moving slower than about 30 mph.

Very true,

I guess I was just curious if it made any difference to the car in terms of HP performance, or cooling better, etc I don't have any issues with my cooling system, actually the car is pretty much in tip-top shape...

I guess I was just curious more than anything? Seeing how these are older cars, and technology is better these days...ya' know...blah blah blah

Thanks!

[Danglerb]

Early cars have a barely adequate alternator, add an electric fan drawing 25 amps and you may need to upgrade the alternator to a MUCH more powerful unit (75 amp alt goes to 130 amp).

Electric fans only really need to handle the worst case of AC running on a hot day in slow traffic, which is the weakest point for a clutch fan and I think the reason behind electric fans going in at the factory. The catch is back in day of the early 928, electric fans were new and not trusted so we got Aux fans on the AC and a clutch fan. As time passed I guess they made better electric fans and dropped the clutch fan.

If you look at higher production cars, clutch fans are about half the cost of factory electric fans, so must of had some real gains, likely in MPG.

Regards a 928 specifically.

Pro
Slightly less cost than a new clutch fan depending on details.
Maybe better cooling and/or AC operation during worst case, hot day, slow traffic.
Setup that runs a bit after shutting off engine may drop max under hood temps.
I hate the look of the clutch fan and pulley, plus efan opens up lots of space.
Maybe some MPG or MPH gain due to less load on engine when not needed (cruising).

Con.
May require a better alt.
May not be plug and play, as in mine is 3 years old and not "finished".
May not work well even once fully fiddled with, as in problem was radiator or something else.
Not factory looking.

[Pete R]

I intalled twin electric fans from 928 specialists. The only drawback was they were expensive but I didn't want to figure it all out.
There was no noticable power increase. I put them in becuase my mechanical fan and air pump made a lot of noise (bearings). Car is MUCH quieter now. The fans are 2 stage, on goes at one temp and when if temps continue to climb the second goes off. My first fan always cools it, the second has never kicked in. The 2 fans draw more power at start up but less then the factory fan when running.
It was very will sorted out. very easy plug and play install. (less than 1 hour)

[1982_928]

If i were you, I wouldn't fix something that isn't broken..

[laneyamps]

Thanks guys..

Car doesn't have any issues, basically was just curious...

And in regards to the alternator, you guys are right...the 928 has enough issues with the OEM alternator, and I'm certainly not looking to put any more of a power drain on it! hehe

[MarkRobinson]

I installed electric fans on a tuned '86 back in '96: 0 hp on the dyno, 0 cooling issues but didn't have operable AC on that car that I can recall.