Electric Fans On Oil Cooler

[Snapperpaul]

I have a growing paranoia about over heating and as i dont want to take the nose off once it is fully built, i am trying to ensure good cooling. The grill is a bit restrictive so that may have to go in place of the barbicue grill. I have installed the standard cortina rad but may change to the coolman. I have an oil cooler in place behind the rad which has an electric fan pushing through.

At Brands i saw some cars with what looked like cooling fans from a computer on the oil cooler and have got hold of a couple already..... How to wire them up. Do i use the water thermostat or should i try and get a seperate thermostat in to the oil some how. Or is it not worth the trouble?

[Guest Battery Bill]

Paul

I have a growing paranoia

 

Stop worrying, it will be OK especially if you go for a coolman Rad. We have not had any overheating issues so you should not especially as you have an oil coller which we don't.

The computer fans could wire straight into a switch or the ignition circuit as they are 12 volt jobs anyway.

[Guest salty_monk]

Yes as Bill says. Put them on a switch but you won't need them. If you haven't got a heater fitted (extra water capacity) then go for the coolman or a bigger rad. also QTH 370 1.6 primera stat can help & plenty of cowling forcing air through the rad plus a strong fan when you're stuck in traffic..

 

Mine looked like this:

 

 

 

and didn't even run the fan when used on the Track at Barkston (sender set to 90 degrees). No heater or oil cooler, (oil's meant to be hot!) just coolman rad & 86 degree stat.

[Snapperpaul]

Thats great thank you, I will put on the fans as i have them and will work on the cowling. I was also intending to fit the heater for the longer journeys and that extra capacity. I still remember the old cars as a young man, that needed the heater on full blast in the middle of summer all the way to Yorkshire. I fried for love, then crashed and burned some more.

[Longboarder]

As you seem to have decided on cooling the cooler you should run an oilstat, either sandwich type or inline to avoid overcooling the oil when driving normaly. However as the actual problem is an overheating engine (or fear thereof) the solution should be in addressing the cooling system; stat, rad size, airflow etc. I can't see a couple of computer case fans making much difference apart from increasing engine wear.

 

Nigel

 

To say the grill is a bit restrictive and not make it priority one baffles me. (but most everything does these days)

[Guest salty_monk]

I'm with Nigel, forget the fans the airflow on them will be pretty small anyhow... Thermostatic takeoff is better to have but if you drive it hard the oil should always be hot anyway. Personally i don't think one is needed except maybe to increase oil capacity, I had one & never fitted it...

 

Dan

[Snapperpaul]

The grill was done from an asthetic point of view and is easilly removed what i am realy concerned about is not fying the engine as it will make good BHP when it all comes together. An oil stat is already in the box of bits to fit.

Europa have fans for sale at £46.52, the same type from PC World are £19 although you can get them from about £9.

I scavenged mine from old PC's on the basis that if they didn't last to long i could just get a couple more.

[Guest steve @ sVc]

I would not fit computer fans on the oil cooler.

These are designed to cool warm transformers and not the relatively huge amount of heat the oil cooler will deal with.

In fact I recon fitting them will be counter-productive as they will restrict the air flow through the oil cooler.

 

Get yourself a good fan to fit to the radiator (balanced if poss.).

The “rules of thumb” when selecting fans, generally are

Try and fit to the rear of the rad if you can, it’s slightly more efficient.

Ensure the fan is fitted to the face of the rad. Matrix, or the air will take the easiest path and a lot will go round the shroud rather than through the rad.

And – the most important – fit the biggest one you can get on the radiator (within reason).

 

Keep cool

Regards

Steve @ sVc

[Snapperpaul]

Thank you all. All this advice taken. I will probably work on the air flow through the water and oil rads. I have already fitted some extra vents to flow air in and am now looking at getting the hot air out from the engine bay.