Lord Aries

iTrader: (6)

So, seeing people here having problems with electric fans lately and even a friend of mine loosing his new motor in his Eclipse due to one failing has made me do some thinking…

What are the advantages and disadvantages of electric fans? Well, I decide to due an Electric vs. clutch list. I am going to use aftermarket Flex-A-Lite electric and a standard clutch fan for this comparison. I am doing this because I am wondering E-Fans are worth the money and hassle it seems they can be… Comments are welcome.

*= Claimed by Flex-A-Lite

Electric Fan
-Cost Around $380
-Up to 17HP Gain* (with the amount of HP I will have with my new motor this gain is not a big deal)
-Additional 30+ Amp draw on Alternator
-Space gain in front of motor (I don’t need the space for anything)
-Airflow of 5,500CFM* (Is this really more then a stock fan?)
-MPG increase of 2-3mpg*
-Higher chance of failure then a Clutch fan due to various electronic parts
-Water is NOT its friend!
-Noisy

Clutch Fan
-Free, if yours works LoL
-No additional draw on Alt.
-Takes up space in front of motor (not a problem if you don’t need the space)
-Less of a chance of failure, simple mechanical parts
-Doesn’t mind getting wet

silver-mod-o

iTrader: (15)

the clutch fans do use a considerable amount of power to turn... I guess thats not a huge issue if you have plenty of motor behind it though... Cody still has a clutch fan on his stroker I do believe.

.T.

I dyno'd my '04 Tahoe, installed the e-fans, and put it back on the dyno all in one shot. Gains were = +7% hp/tq at the wheels for a cost of $300.00. I think it was worth it.

Nick™

iTrader: (2)

the main problem I see with electric fans is people pulling heavy loads in hilly terrain. Water isn't a problem if you don't drive through ditches, as in: rain isn't going to hurt it. Draw on the alternator is a ligit excuse. the space gain is also nice for just cleaning up the appearance under the hood. They are no more noisy than the clutch fan, in fact I hear my LS1 fans less than the clutch fan, it annoyed me taking off in traffic with the clutch fan engaged.... in fact the HP consistancy was worth the gain - when accelerating with the clutch fan you never knew if it was going to be engaged or not, so you didn't know how much power you had available to pass or whatever, with the electic fans it's consistant.

I have LS1 fans and I'm only speaking from personal experience. I only tow medium to light loads on fairly flat terrain and I my fans are more than adequate to cool my truck. another benifit you missed on electric fans is that the a/c stays cooler and if you go ls1 fans it's a good bit cheaper, white1 could tell you where to get a harness

JAXOps

The one thing I like best about my E-fans is that I do not have to hear the loud a.. clutch fan engaged. My truck almost sounds like a cessna with the old clutch fan. I towed roughly 5000lbs in northern GA this summer and had no problems with overheating. Definetly a most do mod.

sleek silverado

iTrader: (4)

I have the 282's. I had a problem with my VCS getting heat soaked. I called flex a lite. They said that was not the problem. I relocated the VCS under the fuse box. I have not had problem since.

I do believe that the fans pull more cfm's than stock clutch fan. I felt minimal gains at the SOTP. MPG, never noticed a difference, but the claim makes sense. Never had a problem with water even when I hose down the motor. They really clean up the look under the hood.

That is my experience with electric fans.

getchusum99

iTrader: (1)

ill be getting my ls1 fans verrrry soon.

Lord Aries

iTrader: (6)

I will probably do E-Fans no matter what just because its another mod. LoL I don't think i will do LS1 fans though because i have friend with them in his Avalanche and he has had nothing but problems. Plus the LS1 fans nee a 40amp harness as where the Flex-A-Lites only need 30amps (i have a 3,000watt sound system so every amp counts, plus off road lighting)... It will be the last part i purchase in the 404 project so i have time to decide...

BradS

I have the 05 fans on my truck. As far as performance. I dropped .30 in the 1/4 by doing this mod only. I noticed a difference on the butt dyno too.


I can hear mine sometimes but it dosent bother me. I also gained about a mile to the gallon (hey every one helps)

I have done some towing with mine and had no trouble with over heating or even getting warm.

Avalanche2002

I've got the Flex-A-Lite 282's. The fans are a little noisy when they are running , but not nearly as loud as the clutch fan when it's engaged. I've got mine set so they come on at 195 and the temp never moves. I haven't had any issues yet with the VSC but I've got the updated version. I also paid special attention to wiring and soldered all connections.

I could definitely tell a SOTP difference (they were put on prior to the Radix) in power. The biggest benefit, in my opinion, is that you have ice-cold air all of the time, even when idling for extended periods of time, since the fans are running and pull air through the condensor any time the a/c is on.

It's also a lot easier to grease all of the zerk fittings in the center of the truck since there's so much more room under the hood.