Electric Fans

[Dan318-is]

i would like one of these for my IS, that viscous fan wrongess just has to go.

but, i dont no what makes are best?

do i need a specific fan for an e30?

any other bits i need?

and are they hard to fit?

thanks in advance people

[martinclan]

I have just fitted a Pacet fan to my 325 based kit car. It looks well made and comes with an adjustable temperature control. The Pacet fans are available in a number of sizes to suit your radiator - I used a 12" for the 325 (biggest I could fit in the space.) Easy to fit with the fixings supplied which just push through the rad between the fins.

Whilst I was investigating the various fans available I came to one important conclusion - fit a puller (behind the rad) not a pusher (in front of the rad) as they are much more efficient.

Don't buy your Pacet fan direct from Pacet tho' I thought I was being clever going str8 to Pacet - in fact it would have been cheaper byuying from one of their distributors.... Ho hum

[Simon]

There are many choices, aftermarket is a good choice as Martinclan has gone for, as you get all the fittings and switches/sensors you need.
You could also go for an electric fan from another BMW, pop to your local scrap yard and see what's available, E30 M3's had an electric fan mounted in front of the rad.

[buster]

s2 escort RS turbo fan.Got one on mine.

Heres a pic of mine :

[d6dph]

is this a worth while conversion? have been thinking about doing it myself

[gareth]

what are you guys doing regards switching?

[buster]

i think so.Binned the viscous fan because it seized on anyway.
More room infront of engine for when your working on it,cam belt change etc.
Runs the same temp as before.
Saves a bit of engine power as it isnt having to spin the viscous one.

Up to you.As i said i only fitted it because the old fan died and i had it laying around.Also only Ԛ£10 ,so cheaper than a new fan clutch !

[d6dph]

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ ... tlgrp=M006

good selection of components to do the conversion, just hunt around for prices as tweeks can be steep on certain parts

[kombikat]

Can anyone suggest a car from which I can source a decent 12" or 14" electric fan for my 320i - it will have to be a puller since it is fitted with aircon.
Gordon

[Brianmoooore]

Can anyone suggest a car from which I can source a decent 12" or 14" electric fan for my 320i - it will have to be a puller since it is fitted with aircon.
Gordon

If you have aircon you've already got an electric fan. Why would you want to fit another?
Any gains from fitting an electric fan to an E30 will be minimal at best and probably largely imagined.
An electric fan is powered by the altenator, and will absorb more power from the engine with the two poorish energy conversion efficiency's involved than the standard viscous one.
Viscous fan should only normally cut in when travelling slowly or stopped, so the power absorbed is not an issue. Only time electric fan would provide any usefull power increase is when accelerating hard immediately after having stopped or travelled slowly for long enough for the engine temp to rise, and then you would really need a link between the WOT switch on the throttle and the fan control to dump the fan load at WOT.

[Dan318-is]

interesting

so an electric fan even on a non air conditioned car has little-no benefit? is that whay ya sayin brian?

[Brianmoooore]

interesting

so an electric fan even on a non air conditioned car has little-no benefit? is that whay ya sayin brian?

You don't get anything for nothing.
E30s were designed by engineers, not accountants like most other makes. If an electric fan offered a significant improvement, then BMW would have fitted it.
This applies to modern BMWs as well, of course.

[Dan318-is]

do modern ones still use viscous fans then?

perhaps i shall save the money for a remap then

[mrLEE30]

Z3 3.0 2002, viscous fan mate! and electric for the A/C as secondary fan.

as brian said electric fan would only be almost an imajinary difference, only advantage is you can set em to turn on and off more precicely then the clutch on a viscous fan would.

mrlee

[Brianmoooore]

do modern ones still use viscous fans then?

My 2001 M54 engine came with one.
The reason most other cars use electric fans these days is that their engines face the wrong way to drive the wrong wheels. No convenient spinning pulley behind the rad.

[Stevin]

How hard is it really to wire this in ? and is there a way to wire it so that it turns on and off by itself, but u can still turn it on with a switch if u like ?

I think I need to do this seeing as my whole engine and radiator is out the car

[Fushion_Julz]

Best way to utilise an electric fan, if you decide to fit one, is to source a suitable rad or 'stat housing (say off an E30 M3) with a tap for a temperature switch....
Don't forget a decent relay circuit cos the fans draw serious current..especially on start-up.

[Stevin]

So u can't just wire it in, positive to positive, and neg to neg.... without a switch of any sorts... so that as soon as u turn the key and current gets supplied, it should start up the fan/s ... ??

[Brianmoooore]

So u can't just wire it in, positive to positive, and neg to neg.... without a switch of any sorts... so that as soon as u turn the key and current gets supplied, it should start up the fan/s ... ??

I repeat -You don't get anything for nothing!
Your idea would result in increased fuel consumption and reduced performance. In fact a permanently driven fan in place of the standard fan would be better than this.
The OE viscous set up is reliable and works well. The only reason to fit an electric fan to an E30 is whwn doing an engine conversion like a M50, where there's no room for a mechanical fan.

[Stevin]

Lets have it this way... Over here in sunny south africa, it doesn't really get that cold here..

I would rather free up the 1 or 2 horses, cause they all count and the motor is out at the moment...

My thinking is, with that, the MAF, the stroker,all the little things add up

I just don't have any clue when it coes to electronics as such... but I can learn.