radiator fan CFM ??? anyone know???

[kensmith]

Anyone know what the CFM rating is for a stock electric radiator fan?

[NCArachnid]

Check this out. http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9772

I don't think the actual CFM of the stock fan was ever answered.

[So Cal Mark]

I asked an engineer from a fan co. at SEMA about stock cfm and he told all of the oem mfgs consider their specs proprietary info and don't release it. He also quoted me figures for aftermarket fans that are much higher than what oem uses. But I've found the stock Fiat fans pull alot of air, more than most aftermarket fans

[sptcoupe]

I agree with Mark. Although I recently installed an aluminum radiator and non-oem fan on the coupe, this is the first time ever I have not used a stock FIAT fan and radiator for what are normally very highly modified motor applications. Just be sure the radiator is refurbished and the fan and fan switches are in good shape and you should have no problems with even highly pushed street engines. If you want, you can have an additional core installed on a stock radiator, but quite honestly, the stock units have worked really well when refurbished.

[NCArachnid]

As long as you get all the air out of the cooling system and you have a good radiator, the spider doesn't have a problem with cooling. Most people will tell you that their fan rarely turns on and when it does it cools for a minute or so then shuts down. I swapped mine out mainly for weight savings and it was a fun modification to do when I was changing the timing belt and had the radiator out anyway. It wasn't necessary but it is bolt on so I can go back easily anytime.

[kensmith]

But the position of the fan does not appear to come close to being efficient even if it pulls more CFM than a aftermarket fan. I would think that a 14" aftermarket fan positioned toward the center of the radiator will cool much better as it pulls air over a larger area of the core. I live where summer temps can be 100* to 115* and that's hard on the cooling system.

[So Cal Mark]

it's pretty warm here in So Cal in the summer, and any cooling system that isn't darn near perfect won't cool adequately. The mfgs don't build any extra cooling tolerance into the system. For example, if your radiator has only a couple of tubes plugged you won't cool the engine. IMHO, increasing the cooling capabilities is a wise choice

[kensmith]

it's pretty warm here in So Cal in the summer, and any cooling system that isn't darn near perfect won't cool adequately. The mfgs don't build any extra cooling tolerance into the system. For example, if your radiator has only a couple of tubes plugged you won't cool the engine. IMHO, increasing the cooling capabilities is a wise choice

I went from a mechanical fan with fan clutch to a flex fan and finally to a 16" Spal puller fan on my 65 Corvette because in traffic, the electric fan was the only way to keep the aluminum radiator below 220*. Now I understand the Spider is a much smaller motor and the stock radiator isn't aluminum and although mine was re-cored so I know it flows ok. But I look at the stock fan and see it covers very little area which in my opinion is not efficient. It works, but I would think more core coverage with a 14" or even 12" electric fan would be better.

[Daniel]

you might be going over board on cooling a good stock fiat Rad and fan works fine .

[kensmith]

you might be going over board on cooling a good stock fiat Rad and fan works fine .

I don't totally disagree, I'm just saying a fan to be very efficient should cover more than 50% of the radiator core VS the stock Spider fan at 30-40%. From what I have read, most fans should cover 60% or more of the core.