pusher fans...

[SHOtimer]

...looking to improve the SHO's air flow.

It seems that the Gen II front bumper cover does not allow for a ton of air flow in stock form. My SHO has always run warmer in the summer months than in the winter (obviously), I am looking to make some improvements this summer.

The dual rad fan setup on my SHO works well, but when you have so much heat, their is only so much they can do.

I have been thinking about trying to put together a pusher fan (one or two) setup mounted on the front of the condenser to help push more air through the condenser and the radiator when I am in uber hot weather and not moving that fast. I am thinking more airflow would equate to cooler AC and a cooler rad.

Any thoughts? Anybody done this before, attempted it before?

Doug

 

[LOUDSHO92]

Maybe try running Water Wetter. I would say a dual core setup but it tends to not work well on an ATX.

You could also get a lower temp T-Stat.

 

[SHOtimer]

...i've got water wetter in it, and a fresh Motorcraft thermostat. From what i've seen the dual core rad's don't work too well in the ATX's.

My other reasoning is to move more air through the condenser to get cooler air in stop and go traffic.

From what I have seen in the newer BMW's and MBZ's, they use pusher fans in front of the condenser to assist in that also...

Would it be putting too much of a load on the CCRM or electrical system in the SHO to tap in a 3rd pusher fan into the fan circuit?

Doug

 

[gmail]

...i've got water wetter in it, and a fresh Motorcraft thermostat. From what i've seen the dual core rad's don't work too well in the ATX's.

My other reasoning is to move more air through the condenser to get cooler air in stop and go traffic.

From what I have seen in the newer BMW's and MBZ's, they use pusher fans in front of the condenser to assist in that also...

Would it be putting too much of a load on the CCRM or electrical system in the SHO to tap in a 3rd pusher fan into the fan circuit?

Doug

a third fan would almost certainly burn out something in the CCRM or elsewhere.
you would have to add a relay then tap it into the low or high side relay fan input from the PCM going to the CCRM.. i could give you the pins and wire color.

personally for DD status your looking in the wrong place.
granted the gen 2 has a very bad airflow problem compaired to many cars but you dont have much need for the extra airflow.

plenty of hot days i driven my car hard and the oil temp tends to see no higher then 210 degrees and that stays right on the money with the temp under all normal conditions.


best way to remove a good amount of underhood temp is by getting a aftermarket hood with the scoop.. get one off shosource and you will see a good drop in temps.
they are probley the only place to get a carbon fiber hood anymore. which this will save you weight also, so i mean once you get past the price you benefit from it substantially.

my best advice beyond what i said would be to keep the cooling system clean, the car in good running order with 60ks and run water wetter. do that and your not gonna go wrong.

the cooling system was designed to flow pretty well stock so this isnt gonna be much of a choke point

 

[rubydist]

the pusher should definitely help lower coolant temps in stop and go driving.

I agree that it needs a separate relay for the added fan - I would wire the signal wire from the ccrm to a relay and have that new relay power the added fan.

 

[rbruso]

Have you straightened and cleaned the fins on the condenser and radiator and cleaned out between the two? The condenser especially tends to get beaten up by rocks and bugs and every bent fin is reducing flow through the core by just a tiny bit. Overall it'll add up, though.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Just curious, but do you know what voltage the car has when you temps start climbing?

I have found with my car, the temps appear to be hotter than they are when the alternator gets hot and drops voltage. I have other things creating and keeping heat in in that area, which I am addressing, but I have found when I can keep the alternator cool, the temps are rock solid.

 

[gmail]

Just curious, but do you know what voltage the car has when you temps start climbing?

I have found with my car, the temps appear to be hotter than they are when the alternator gets hot and drops voltage. I have other things creating and keeping heat in in that area, which I am addressing, but I have found when I can keep the alternator cool, the temps are rock solid.

interesting point... these cars do have some bad wiring.. when you run more then one thing at a time stuff dims and acts funny... **** my 92 radio flashes when my 4 ways are on..

also i agree with cleaning the fins out... more so between the a/c and rad since you will get a small forest of leaves out of there... not to mention bug remains..

when i cleaned mine out i noticed a drop in temp.
this was a few years back when i first got my car, im sure it could use it again

 

[whiteguy3]

**** my 92 radio flashes when my 4 ways are on..

Well, that's actually pretty typical with older cars. A couple of things can be done to compensate for a system sound upgrade including an upgraded alternator, battery and a 4-channel amp powering all 4 speakers.

 

[jayro]

I would recommend cleaning the condenser coil to increase the airflow. They can get pretty gummed up. This would also make your ac run more efficiently.

 

[Eric VerValin]

A 24" long tip on a blow gun works wonders for that! Got mine at HF for about 5 bux.

 

[jayro]

...i've got water wetter in it

Doug

may be kind of a dumb question, but how much water are you running in your system. I know when I was looking at using water wetter it recommended runnig as much water as possible instead of antifreeze.

 

[SHOtimer]

Have you straightened and cleaned the fins on the condenser and radiator and cleaned out between the two? The condenser especially tends to get beaten up by rocks and bugs and every bent fin is reducing flow through the core by just a tiny bit. Overall it'll add up, though.

-I just replaced the condenser with a new unit - it has less than 500 miles on it. No air restriction there. The radiator also only has less than 10k on it, and when I pulled it to do the condenser I hosed it out - clean and new also.

Just curious, but do you know what voltage the car has when you temps start climbing?

I have found with my car, the temps appear to be hotter than they are when the alternator gets hot and drops voltage. I have other things creating and keeping heat in in that area, which I am addressing, but I have found when I can keep the alternator cool, the temps are rock solid.

-Interesting thought there. My alternator is original (16 years and 242k on it!), I wonder if the heat is creating an issue with it. It obviously charges fine....as I have no problems there. How difficult would it be to check the voltage the car is running? What would I need?

also i agree with cleaning the fins out... more so between the a/c and rad since you will get a small forest of leaves out of there... not to mention bug remains..when i cleaned mine out i noticed a drop in temp.this was a few years back when i first got my car, im sure it could use it again

-see above

I would recommend cleaning the condenser coil to increase the airflow. They can get pretty gummed up. This would also make your ac run more efficiently.

-see above

may be kind of a dumb question, but how much water are you running in your system. I know when I was looking at using water wetter it recommended runnig as much water as possible instead of antifreeze.

-I used approx 50/50 green coolant/water, with a few quarts of just pure water. So, maybe close to 60/40?

-In taking with the AC guy that recharged my SHO, he was saying that when the AC gets 'warm' in stop and go traffic the pusher fan in front of the condenser would do wonders in keeping it cool as it would greatly improve the air flow over it. 'pushing' it through, instead of just the other fans 'pulling' it through. He said that is why the newer cars added the fans there to increase AC performance...ect.

-My other thought is along the same lines as what Jason was saying, my rad fans are original. They still work fine, and certainly move a lot of air. Could the age/mileage on the electric motors cause them to slow down enough to create a substantial decrease on their performance?

-When the rad fan in my Mark VIII died, it worked fine one day, then froze up the next....so i was under the assumption that if they worked, they did, and if not they didn't.

-I've noticed that the AC performance is the worst after the engine bay has been thoroughly heat soaked...it takes a LONG time to get it cold at that point, which is where I was hoping the pusher fan would help, by drawing more air through the condenser.

Thanks for the help so far guys..

Doug

 

[DeepPower]

I know this is an old thread, but me and my Gen 1 SHO are living in Texas now and I think a pusher fan is going to be necessary - my AC isn't blowing very cold in stop-and-go traffic.

I'm not thrilled about the added electrical load. @SHOtimer or anyone else, did you find a good solution for a pusher fan?

 

[yamahaSHO]

Have you ensured your AC is topped off and free of moisture?

 

[DeepPower]

Have you ensured your AC is topped off and free of moisture?

Yes, brand new AC system, new compressor, condenser, accumulator, running properly, fully charged.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Was it vacuumed down prior to charging it?

 

[SHOspazz92]

Was it vacuumed down prior to charging it?

This. Just adding some "A/C Pro" cans in to a freshly refurbished A/C system is not going to cut it. 30 minutes on the Vacuum and professionally charged for best results.

-Sam

 

[sperold]

A pusher fan has a mounting assembly / shroud that takes up space and gets in the way of your radiator assembly for your normal operating conditions, so in the beginning it is an impediment to cooling.
That being recognized, if you hook up a pusher fan on it's own circuit with a toggle, it has to help in the really hot days when you are stopped, you just have to remember to toggle it on and shut it off when you are done. I did something similar, and I used a separate wire from the 2 battery posts, with an inline fuse at the positive terminal, and a toggle switch on the door. I did not want to tap off any of my existing circuits. I used big eyelet lugs on the wire ends that the battery post bolt would pass through.
Worked flawlessly, although I did leave it on a few times.

I had a cowl induction hood which lets a lot of heat out of a stationary car, so venting the hood helps as well, however you can. It has its own set of issues, like when you go through a car-wash.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Just run it off a relay and have it trigger with the stock fans.