Need Small Oil Cooler Fan 7"
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TurboDiverArt
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I use Spal fans. Spal makes some great high CFM fans from 5.5" on up to 16" fans. I have a huge 10" 1000 CFM fan on my oil cooler. I just hope it doesn't cool the old too much. Only time will tell. Jay Corp has good prices on Spal fans.
http://www.jaycorptech.com/
A little more money than the $40 ones from Autozone. Guess it all depends on how much cooling you need.
Re: Re: Need Small Oil Cooler Fan 7"
They make a thermostat for just this problem. It's pretty common in small displacement track cars that run dry sump oiling systems (like formula Fords) since dry sump systems don't work well at all with thick oil. Basically what it does is close the loop to just go to your filter until the oil gets up to (I think) 180 degrees, and then it opens up to allow it to flow through your cooler. It helps out both in cold weather and during engine warmup
They sell them here:
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/viewcat.htm
I can't look at the files at the computer I'm on but I think it's on page 62 of their catalog.
- Freed
They make a thermostat for just this problem. It's pretty common in small displacement track cars that run dry sump oiling systems (like formula Fords) since dry sump systems don't work well at all with thick oil. Basically what it does is close the loop to just go to your filter until the oil gets up to (I think) 180 degrees, and then it opens up to allow it to flow through your cooler. It helps out both in cold weather and during engine warmup
They sell them here:
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/viewcat.htm
I can't look at the files at the computer I'm on but I think it's on page 62 of their catalog.
- Freed
TurboDiverArt
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Re: Re: Re: Need Small Oil Cooler Fan 7"
Thanks again for the info, it's a cool product, never heard of it before. I could also rig up a temp switch for the fan too.
WOW, lots of good stuff in there, thanks for the link. My intention for the oil cooler fan is really for when driving to and from the track. I'll monitor it on the temp gauge. If it gets hot then I'll turn it on. My thinking is that on the highway driving the 25 miles to the track I can use the extra cooling. At the track I'm not intending on using it.
Thanks again for the info, it's a cool product, never heard of it before. I could also rig up a temp switch for the fan too.
TurboDiverArt
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A pull is more efficient than a push. I'm not sure why but it's better for cooling purposes. If you can fit a pull, do it.
295 isn’t bad. For oil it's going to be good. For a trans I'd use as much as you can. A stock radiator cooling fan is probably about 1000-1300 cfm (I cant’ remember) while the bigger Spal ones are like 2350 for the 16” straight blade HP. That's the one I have cooling the radiator on the stage car. Any of the ones marked HP are loud but really pull air. I guess that means “they really suck” which is a good thing in this instance… J
What's it being used for?
Art, it will be used on my oil cooler. The problem I am debating about is that I have my trans cooler and oil cooler mounted opposed from each other underneath the battery area with about 4-5" in between. I don't want to push/pull the hot air from one cooler into the other. Not sure of my options but I would rather cooler the oil first.
paul
paul
TurboDiverArt
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I know that area well! I have both oil and trans filters mounted there plus the Racegate dump also plus all the braided line to go with it. I mounted my trans cooler between my FMT intercooler and the radiator, just enough room for a 6" Spal fan. My oil cooler is mounted under my FMT intercooler, basically between the “in” and “out” pipes.
For the oil cooler, are you still using the stock radiator cooler lines as well? Depending on the performance of the car you might not need a fan on the oil cooler. I have an aluminum radiator so no oil cooler in there so I needed the external cooler. The oil cooler without a fan is going to radiate a fair amount of heat just sort of sitting there.
My suggestion is that if your car is in the mid 10-second range and uses the stock oil cooler as well then put the oil cooler on the bottom with a few inches gap, then the trans cooler on top and a fan on the trans cooler. Don't box the 2 coolers in. You don't want the fan drawing hot air through the oil cooler and into the trans cooler. Let the oil cooler just radiate heat out while you draw air into the trans cooler. The fan will draw some air through the oil cooler but lots of it will probably come in from the sides as long a you have a few inches between the coolers. A 6" fan isn't enough to draw a lot of air through the bottom oil cooler.
If you are running faster and lots of street driving then you're in the same boat as me and would probably want a fan on the oil cooler too.
Let me know how fast you are going and if you are using the stock oil in radiator cooler lines as well as the external oil cooler.
Also, I'm assuming you are using a tube-in-fin cooler vs. a stacked plate or round radiate cooler?
Well Art, I'm glad you are so interested. I am not using the stock in rad oil cooler, I wiped some brgs last year and did not want to take a chance so only external oil cooler. Trans cooler I am using both, rad and external.
The oil cooler is a 5" Tru-cool, I believe it is a stacked plate design.
My car is no where near a 10 sec car, just a restored mid (not sure, never been to track yet) whatever street racer/cruiser.
BTW, both coolers are mounted in the vertical position with the lines going in/out on the side. Like I said there is about 4" or so between them.
Hope this helps you with more feedback. Thanks
paul
The oil cooler is a 5" Tru-cool, I believe it is a stacked plate design.
My car is no where near a 10 sec car, just a restored mid (not sure, never been to track yet) whatever street racer/cruiser.
BTW, both coolers are mounted in the vertical position with the lines going in/out on the side. Like I said there is about 4" or so between them.
Hope this helps you with more feedback. Thanks
paul
TurboDiverArt
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I'm just glad someone is listening to me...
Staked plate coolers are awesome in my opinion, my trans cooler is a stacked plate design. If it's got thin fins then it's a tube in fin design.
What I would do it this. Since it's in a pretty sheltered place under the battery and really doesn't get much straight through air-flow and your not using the stock oil cooler, put a pull fan on both. Since they are both mounted vertically I'd put a pull fan on both of them so that they suck air from the 4" gap in between them. Since air is just sort of blowing around down there not in any really organized fashion doing it as I'm describing is fine. You really don't want to blow the air from one cooler onto another since the air is going to be hot unless you are using a really large fan. Pulling from between them (through the 4" gap) will insure that the air it's pulling id will be pretty cool and the warmed air will not blow onto the other cooler.
Hope this helps!
I thought about that Art but the only problem is there is not enough room between the two coolers to get two fans (if that is what you are saying).
I could probably get one fan in there that would pull air through the oil cooler but it would then blow back thru the trans cooler, unless they are designed to diffuse out the ends of the fan blades. I guess I will have to check the width of the fan to be sure. Thanks
paul
I could probably get one fan in there that would pull air through the oil cooler but it would then blow back thru the trans cooler, unless they are designed to diffuse out the ends of the fan blades. I guess I will have to check the width of the fan to be sure. Thanks
paul
TurboDiverArt
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No, not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is put the pull fans on the outside of each cooler. The air is pulled from in between the 2 coolers hence its cool air and the hot exhaust from the fans of both coolers is pushed outwards away from the coolers.
If you were looking at them it would be,
pull fan #1, cooler #1, 4" gap between coolers, cooler #2, pull fan #2
Cool intake air is pulled from between the coolers through the 4” gap. The hot exhaust is pushed outwards away from both coolers. Ideally you never want the hot air from one cooler to be pushed or sucked into another cooler. Since my oil cooler fan sits below my intercooler that’s one reason I would not turn it on at the track. Don’t need hot oil cooler air to be pushing up on my intercooler warming the bottom up.
Does that clear it up?
Yes Art that does clear things up. I will go that route once I buy the fans. Do you also think I should just wire up the fans to a switch or just have them come on once the car is running and up to temp automatically. Maybe use one of the water temp sensors to turn them on? Thanks for all your great suggestions!!
paul
paul
TurboDiverArt
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If you drive the car when it's cold then definitely put them to an on/off switch. If it's cold then you don't want the fans on. I'd say if the temp was cooler than say 40 degrees then you want the fans off. Too cool engine oil actually won't lubricate properly. I've heard that oil temp needs to be 160-180 min to work depending on who you talk to.
In general the trans can't be too cool but extreme cold isn't good either. My suggestion is that you can wire them together off the same relay and switch and turn them on when the engine gets to temp in the warmer months. Also, if you hooked into the ignition switch and turned them on when you started the car, the car would take longer to warm up. Your oiling system is a secondary cooling system for the engine, most people don’t think about that.
BlackBandit
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Doesn't Perma cool make a dual circuit cooler for oil and transmision? Has anyone here used it? Seems like that could fix allot of the problems of shohorning two extra coolers and fans in there. Also, does anyone know if those coolers that mount on the frame rails work very well?
TurboDiverArt
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A couple of companies make dual coolers. They work find but individual ones of the same size are always going to cool better. I think it all depends on how much cooling you need. Tube in fin are about half the cost vs. a stacked plate but then only cools about half as well so it really comes down to how much space you have and how much cooling you need.
