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Very Noob question, Windstar Fan mod? Why?

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RED MONSTER 4X4

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:thinking:Sorry for the dumb post guys I just went hunting for my own answer but didn't find it, What is the reason for putting the Windstar electric fans in our trucks? I'd imagine that it is for better air flow yadda yadda, but what are the benefits?
Also do you remove the fan from the engine when you add the electric fans? or keep it? does removing the fan help the engine in any way?

thanks, and again sorry for Noob post.:whistle:
 
RED MONSTER 4X4 said:
:thinking:Sorry for the dumb post guys I just went hunting for my own answer but didn't find it, What is the reason for putting the Windstar electric fans in our trucks? I'd imagine that it is for better air flow yadda yadda, but what are the benefits?
Also do you remove the fan from the engine when you add the electric fans? or keep it? does removing the fan help the engine in any way?

thanks, and again sorry for Noob post.:whistle:
Click to expand...

There will be pros and cons as people chime in about the Windstar fan assembly mod.

Some like to keep a rig as mechanical as possible and not add any additional electrics that could possibly create electrical problems down the road, if it happens.

I did the mod to alleviate that additional stress on the engine with the idea that without the mechanical fan blades, it will free up more HP (minimal). I also did it for enhanced cooling. And so I can control the fans if I go through deep water, I can turn them off.

I did remove my mechanical fan.


This pic is when I initially installed it. The wiring has since been cleaned up and routed cleaner.

PIC_0321.jpg
 
As a "mod" I've never understood it. They don't move as much air as the stock fan and you can only add complexity to the system, even with a good wiring job.

There are potentially some efficiency gains to be had as the fans aren't spinning at all at highway speed (where the mechanical fan would be free-wheeling anyway), but the flip side is that when they are running, they're likely less efficient as putting a third party in the system (the alternator) means that power transmission is less efficient.

So, to me, it doesn't cool better and I'm not convinced that efficiency is enough better than a clutch fan to worry about it.

FWIW, I just swapped Windstar fans onto my buggy solely for clearance (winch being moved back), which is the only reason I think they make sense.
 
Plus if you like deep water crossings you don't have to deal with your mechanical fan swimming into your radiator.

Just turn the elec fan off
 
We're all debating electrical vs. mechanical here. If you want to know why the Windstar fan specifically over other electrics, it's basically the best bang for the buck since it moves a ton of air and can be had cheap in junkyards across the country. It's also a decent size match for the Chevy radiator.

If you're talking about towing, where you keep the engine revs up, then the mechanical fan moves more total air. However, if you're talking about the A/C, the Windstar fan has the advantage. The A/C has no problem when you're tooling down the highway. The limiting condition is idling and low speed, where the electric fans are still at full flow. Also, you can make sure the condensor is getting the air when it needs it, instead of waiting for the fluid clutch to grab and release.
 
Mechanical fans use much more horsepower than an alternator.

Martin
 
I did mine for 2 reasons.
1st, because of my body lift. the engine sat low enough compared to the radiator that the stock shroud wouldn't work, and the stock fan no longer aligned with the radiator, so it wasn't doing much good. that problem was compounded while crawling at low rpms. with the windstar fans, I could mount them in the right place, and have them spin at full speed no matter how fast the engine was going.
2nd, and by far less important was working under the hood with the engine running. my truck is tall enough that I practically have to crawl into it in order to do anything and having that blade spinning right under me didn't appeal to me at all. :D having the fans tucked tight to the radiator and enclosed makes me feel a lot better about being up there. plus, I can always unplug them for a few minutes if I really need to.
 
I think they move more air then stock, especially at idle, or even at a low RPM. Mine cool tons better, the motor warms up faster and will stay warm better. Some mornings when I was driving my burb I would not even turn them on.

If you are running a factory radiator there is not any reason to think of not to do it.
 
well so far it sounds like the electric fans are really only good at idle or slow speeds. which makes sense since almost all cars today have done away with a mechanical fan and gone with a thermostat electric fan system.I am sure getting a slightly bigger Alternator would take care of any extra draw the fans may add to the system.I can also see how the Mechanical fan can easily add drag to the engine...I have the mechanical fan, and my temps even in Southern California heat never really peak and as for HP, it is always nice to get as much as we can but I can't see more than 3-4hp being produced by removing that fan. I don't drive the truck for performance, just utility so 3-4 HP would not make much difference, especially driving a giant non aerodynamic Box haha! Now that i know the reason, perhaps it would make a great Sunday project some time.
 
I think you have it right. unless you are having low speed cooling issues now I wouldn't bother.
 
38377k5 said:
Not when the fans are running, there's no free power there.

And if they do draw more power, it's because they're moving more air.
Click to expand...

Car Craft did a dyno comparison years ago. The electric fan coming on caused the alternator to use 1 hp more to run the fan. None of the mechanical fans could come close to the electric fan for the amount of power to run them.

Martin
 
I swapped mine out because I had a PO installed aftermarket fan that was not very efficent. Sure it looked good but it would get hot while rock crawling in the desert.
So I stop to let the engine cool down. I'm thinking "man it would be nice to have an electric fan that I can turn on while the engine is off to make it cool down faster"

The fans are cheap and plentyfull at the junk yard. I knew that you gain horsepower by removing the mechanical fan from the pulley but I didn't know exactly how much.

I can turn my fans off like mentioned before for the same reasons.

I can tell you from experence that my Windstar fans are WAY more efficent than the one I replaced.
I have a dual fan & I haven't had to use the secondary one yet.

I let it get hot one time just to see how fast the dual fans would cool it down. It cooled down in a quick minute.

I still haven't heard of one failing yet.

I'm really happy with mine.
 
RED MONSTER 4X4 said:
which makes sense since almost all cars today have done away with a mechanical fan and gone with a thermostat electric fan system.
Click to expand...
I think this has something to do with transverse engine mounting, too :whistle:
 
82355 said:
Car Craft did a dyno comparison years ago. The electric fan coming on caused the alternator to use 1 hp more to run the fan. None of the mechanical fans could come close to the electric fan for the amount of power to run them.

Martin
Click to expand...

That's because mechanical fans move way more air, which is usually an unnecessary amount.

An electric fan moving the same cfm as a mechanical fan has to have more energy input than the equivalent mechanical fan. As most people know, electric fans generally move less air and therefore require less energy.

It is impossible for an electric fan system to be more efficient (in terms of energy) than a mechanical fan when it has to go through conversion of energy through the alternator and then again at the fan motor. The only reason we see that an electric is more efficient is because most mechanical fans move more air than needed, which in terms of this conversation is inefficient.

If we were to say that an electric fan and a mechanical fan accomplished the same thing (moved the same CFM under the same conditions), we would say they were accomplishing equal work (energy). That would require at least that same amount of energy to be put in to the system to accomplish that CFM. Where does the energy come from for each system? The rotation of the engine is where the energy for both systems is taken from (whether we are spinning the alternator or spinning a fan). Do you think an alternator is 100% efficient? Does it get hot? Do you think the fan motor is 100% efficient? Does it get hot? How do you think those efficiencies compare to the mechanical fan system?
 
owenst7 said:
That's because mechanical fans move way more air, which is usually an unnecessary amount.

An electric fan moving the same cfm as a mechanical fan has to have more energy input than the equivalent mechanical fan. As most people know, electric fans generally move less air and therefore require less energy.

It is impossible for an electric fan system to be more efficient (in terms of energy) than a mechanical fan when it has to go through conversion of energy through the alternator and then again at the fan motor. The only reason we see that an electric is more efficient is because most mechanical fans move more air than needed, which in terms of this conversation is inefficient.

If we were to say that an electric fan and a mechanical fan accomplished the same thing (moved the same CFM under the same conditions), we would say they were accomplishing equal work (energy). That would require at least that same amount of energy to be put in to the system to accomplish that CFM. Where does the energy come from for each system? The rotation of the engine is where the energy for both systems is taken from (whether we are spinning the alternator or spinning a fan). Do you think an alternator is 100% efficient? Does it get hot? Do you think the fan motor is 100% efficient? Does it get hot? How do you think those efficiencies compare to the mechanical fan system?
Click to expand...
:waytogo:
 
The real question is this: "Over the entire operating cycle of the vehicle, which system requires less energy from the engine?"

The actual conversion of engine power to airflow is more efficient with a mechanically driven fan. But when you don't need it (engine warm-up, highway cruise, most of the year in Alaska, etc.), that is 100% waste. I don't remember seeing any actual numbers, but it seems like an ECM monitoring the temperature is going to make better decisions than a fluid coupling sandwiched between the fan and water pump will.
 
I know that I drove from Ogden to Twin Falls ID in like 30 degree temp I never once turned on my fans. Was running the heat that barely worked cuz I had no doors :rolleyes:
 
owenst7 said:
That's because mechanical fans move way more air, which is usually an unnecessary amount.

An electric fan moving the same cfm as a mechanical fan has to have more energy input than the equivalent mechanical fan. As most people know, electric fans generally move less air and therefore require less energy.

It is impossible for an electric fan system to be more efficient (in terms of energy) than a mechanical fan when it has to go through conversion of energy through the alternator and then again at the fan motor. The only reason we see that an electric is more efficient is because most mechanical fans move more air than needed, which in terms of this conversation is inefficient.

If we were to say that an electric fan and a mechanical fan accomplished the same thing (moved the same CFM under the same conditions), we would say they were accomplishing equal work (energy). That would require at least that same amount of energy to be put in to the system to accomplish that CFM. Where does the energy come from for each system? The rotation of the engine is where the energy for both systems is taken from (whether we are spinning the alternator or spinning a fan). Do you think an alternator is 100% efficient? Does it get hot? Do you think the fan motor is 100% efficient? Does it get hot? How do you think those efficiencies compare to the mechanical fan system?
Click to expand...

That is fine an dandy, but it doesn't change the fact that you will gain horsepower when going from a mechanical fan to an electric fan.

Martin
 
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