Running Fan in between Passes

TT/Ameasap

The White Blur
Joined
Jan 31, 2002
Running my fan between rounds is taxing on the battery. I have the fan on for about 20-30 minutes long and start the car to only restart the car again in the staging lanes. This is hard on the battery. Is there any other methods or gadgets that can help with cooling the motor off between passes?
 
My track has a hose next to the scale after you pick up your slip to spray a radiator down. I do this if I have to run again soon and leave the car running to circulate the coolant. Works ok. Gets the car a little spotty though if I'm not careful.
 
My track has a hose next to the scale after you pick up your slip to spray a radiator down. I do this if I have to run again soon and leave the car running to circulate the coolant. Works ok. Gets the car a little spotty though if I'm not careful.
Ya. I used to do that when I bracket raced. Gotta be very careful tho.

I have honestly never seen anyone idle their car for 5 minutes to cool it off. I would figure the trip back to the pits would put enough air through the motor to cool it from the pass. I dont have the grill space like a GN. It would make since to shut the car off right after the thermostat cycled..Cooler water in the block and hotter water in the radiator next to the fan.
 
I always have run my car for 5-15 minutes at idle after a pass to cool down the motor. Above 90 deg outside it takes a lot longer but if it's decent out I can get the temp down to 160-165 before shutting it off. If I need to hurry it up I will turn the key on to run fan for 30 sec or so to cool water in rad, then start car to circulate that cooler water, then shut it right down again. Always with the hood up for air circulation, preferably shading the motor from the sun if possible
 
I always have run my car for 5-15 minutes at idle after a pass to cool down the motor. Above 90 deg outside it takes a lot longer but if it's decent out I can get the temp down to 160-165 before shutting it off. If I need to hurry it up I will turn the key on to run fan for 30 sec or so to cool water in rad, then start car to circulate that cooler water, then shut it right down again. Always with the hood up for air circulation, preferably shading the motor from the sun if possible

Good stuff. I always try to park into a breeze if there is one with the hood up and engine off and that drops the water temp well even on a 90+ day.
 
John is right. That's exactly how i've always been doing it & it works well lol.


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Ok. it works. I idled my car for about 5 minutes after and the temps came down to around 170. I popped the hood and turned the fan on and it cooled the car down nicely.
 
The heater trick helps out a ton also when letting it idle down. Just make sure your windows are down to keep the inside cool also.
 
When I ran my S2 car, I had a Mezziere pump and the stock cooling fan. it only took about 5 minutes running both to drop engine temp to around 100 degrees. This was one of the best things I ever did to the car to improve consistency. It helps keep intercooler temps low as well.

I always had the car hook up to a battery charger to avoid draining the battery......I learned that lesson at a Buick race in London Ont ( the one that Ken Seggie always sponsored). I lost in the final round because the dang car wouldn't crank.
 
I have for many years used a marine deep cycle battery to run the fan in the pits after a run with the engine off not using the car's battery. Attached is a picture of the hook up cable I made. The eye connectors attach to the +/- of the marine battery. The clip is connected to the ground bolt by the battery and the spade connects to a female connector that I wired to the hi speed terminal of the fan. When I get back to the pits I shut the engine off pop the hood and clip and plug. The hook up is very fast and the car battery keeps its charge. Since the water in the radiator cools quickly, I keep an eye on the engine temp and when it is still above the the thermostat closing I start the car and allow the cool water in the radiator to trade places with the hotter water in the block. I shut the engine off when I see the temp drop ( it only takes a few seconds). This may sound excessive but it works and when you run a stock location inter cooler you do everything you can to get heat out.

Mike
1 Battery to car cable.JPG 2 Battery connections.JPG 3 Car end connections.JPG Female plug end of positive wire to fan.JPG
 
There are 2 things that should NEVER be in a track car, antifreeze and thermostat.

One very good thing to have is a dual fan set-up which will cool down usually by the time the car returns to the pits.
 
heater on and I pop the hood when I get my time slip and it is close to 160 by the time I get back to where I park.
 
I did end up pulling the rubber strip on the rear of the hood and that did make a difference too.
 
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