why is evryone so dead set against these things?. i know they may rob a bit of power from the engine but is there any big downfall to these things?

 

wel lthe flexfans are a little different imho... they straighten right out.. what people dont understand is that you really should create a custom shrouwd to use them correctly....

i will probably go electric when i upgrade, but thats only cuz the wireing is there.

Steve

 

I hated all the wind noise that the stock clutch fan made on my car. So I tried a flex fan (no clutch). It made a different sound, but still very loud. The stock fan sounded like a moving truck, the flex fan was very high pitched and almost whiney. Plus I took some pretty decent gashes from that flex fan. In the end, neither one kept my engine cool enough in traffic in the summertime. They just couldn't flow enough air through the radiator without the car moving at all. I switched to a stock single electric fan and that moves all kinds of air while I'm sitting still. Keeps everything nice and cool. Of course, I do like the fact that belt driven fans are more reliable.

 

Dear I guess you would have hated all 4 Mustangs I have owned:

My experience is ditto Mike's, but I'll add this.......

The aluminum Flex-a-Lite 10,000 RPM fans have tight radii to draw lots of air - they cool well and are loud. The cheesy plastic aftermarket fans have much smaller vanes and are about 1/2 as loud. They also do not cool as well as a flex-a-lite. But, they make more HP.

I've got both fans, and switch them between summer and fall for cooling purposes. Since some recent HP mods on my old Chevy, I may need to buy an electric pusher fan this year.

The factory clutch fans draw 14 HP more than flyweight plastics fans in many applications due to weight, so many hot-rodders frown on them. This is true even though the factory provides those heavy mothers for a reason. ( To cool your engine)

BOR

 

So what draws more air then, a flex fan with a proper shroud around it or the stock electric fan?
I have a flex fan with a shroud, on my 89 rs 305 tbi cause i got so sick of the electric one failing to do its job.

 

I've got one of those flex-a-lites and it keeps my 82 cool around town in the summer. I had a summit brand flex fan for a couple of years and it tossed a blade at 5300rpm. I was lucky and it went down, causing minimal damage to the shroud. It could have went into the hood, radiator, etc... Flex fans are a low tech, dependable way to keep your engine cool. You don't have to worry about popping a fuse or burning up a fan motor and overheating.

------------------
82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

I hate flex fans!!! I am convinced that they are the work of the devil... I threw one on my truck, it made such a racket I thought I threw a rod. If you rev the motor at all, don't use a flex fan. It was the 10,000 rpm Flex-A-Lite that I was using too. It threw a blade right into my brand new aluminum radiator, but luckily it was in the side core part, so it was repairable.

But, my point is, I switched to an Electric fan, and am running a little bit hotter now, which I don't like. But, I don't quite have it placed right, or have it running through a relay, which both hurt the fan flow. We use dual electric Perma Cools (highest CFM and lowest amp draw of any electrics) on my Dad's F*rd F150 351W, and we tow my race car with it with no overheating problems. I also use an electric fan on the race car with absolutely no problems.

You can tell I'm a big electric fan person...

-Joel Likness

------------------
- 84 Z28 In Progress (Road Racer)
- 85 S10 350/350 (Drag Racer)
- 85 Nissan 200SX Yes, it's Japanese (Circle Track Car)
- 91 Lumina 3.1 Euro (Daily Driver)
Carolina F-Body Club
NC Third Gen Association

[This message has been edited by RoadRacin85Z (edited April 27, 2001).]