806camaro

My car is running hot. I have a 1990 camaro IROC with a 305 all stock, and T5 transmission. Now my question is: is a 16" fan enough to keep my engine cool, plus running the AC in 100* + degree weather?

z28yourstang

iTrader: (1)

I have same problem....how hot does it get?

ZZ3 Z28

You want the fan(s) to cover as much as the rad as possible. I had a cooling problem when I had an oversize Be-Cool aluminum fan with the stock single electric cooling fan. The fan wasn't pulling enough air over the tiny area it covered on the big rad. I switched to a Flex-A-Lite 480 dual variable cooling fan system and my problems went away. I also changed to a 170 degree thermo and put some Royal Purple 'purple ice' rad cooling juice in, too. I'm thinking of going back to a 180 thermo.

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

no it is not. where are the dual fans that came on it.

8t2 z-chev

depends on the 16"fan in question-if it's a "thinline"
street rod type with thin ,shallow pitch blades and small,
low wattage motor it's likely it won't keep up when the
temps are high...If the fan is something with aggresive
pitch and a big motor it will do a good job.
Original single fan is 16 1/2"including the ring around
the bladed area.

TreeFiddy

I found this is the key to it. Also the fan(s) NEED to be encased in a shroud that covers the full core area, so that the full core is participating in cooling.

806camaro

My car is getting to 230* running the AC, but the passenger side fan isn't coming on when the AC is on. At least the fan doesn't come on when the AC is on. I was thinking of getting a Champion Radiator and a 16" fan

ZZ3 Z28

I have a Be-Cool rad and a Flex-A-Lite 480 dual fan. Works great.

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

one single 16" fan from most manufactures will not cool a car with a/c. the thing about cooling a car with electric fans is surface area. one 16 " fan mounted to the radiator is cooling 16" of the radiator. with the mounting of the stock 16 1/2 in fan in a specific spacing is allowing it to draw air from more surface area. also remember all cars are created equal but not two are alike. just cause it works on one persons car DOES NOT MEAN it will work on yours.

8t2 z-chev

The flexalite 480 dual fan used by ZZ3 Z28 sure looks
like a good one-kinda expensive,but high quality and
rated for 3000CFM should handle any cooling situation
electric fans are suitable for.I have used flexalite fans
before(electric and belt driven)and they have always
been good quality and design

white gold 88

My old 84Z HO only had one fan with A/C. Ran cool but that was a carb car. I've now got the big radiator with the metal shroud with two fans behind the radiator and a 14 inch IIRC in front of the condensor with a stroker engine. Staying cool so far this year.

ZZ3 Z28

It was expensive, I think about $500. What I like about it is it's a variable speed fan so that when it comes on, both fans come on at 60% power. Then as temps rise the fans kick it up to full 100% full throttle if needed. On other dual fan applications, one fan comes on first then the second fan kicks in when needed. With the variable speed set up, both fans are running so cooling is dispersed over the entire radiator not just half of it.

I read some where that the cost of cooling should be about 20% of what you spent on the hopped up motor. I don't know if that's true or not but I have a grand plus in cooling.

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

not sure on 20% of the motor. its all about surface area. like i stated above. a factory fan with a certain pitch spaced perfectly away from the radiator can cool a car down with a/c. but to put a good 16" fan (aftermarket) on the radiator such as the SYCLONE fan from flexalite will cool it in all aspects as it is designed to be mounted directly and cool that space. you may get by with it depending on your climate.

ZZ3 Z28

Sure, I don't exactly remember if the 20% figure is correct or not, it was something I read that was a suggestion for people who ramp up the hp. I would add though that ramping up the hp usually requires ramping up other stuff, i.e. brakes, suspension, and cooling. Stock factory parts don't usually cut it when you go big.

So did we answer the OPs question well enough?

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

we either answered it or confused him even more. hopefully with all the opinions he can get it going well. man dude i love those flex 480 fans. but i think for now ill stick with my ls1 fans.