Flex a Lite Black Magic post install review

[scott farmer]

Had it on for a couple of weeks now, noticable seat of the pants improvement, not huge but an improvement, install was good hardest part was the fan clutch. My only complaint is it is LOUD I can hear it driving down the road with windows rolled up, I never thought about the noise factor it's not a deal breaker but it caught me by suprise

 

[Dallas Starr]

what is this that you are talking about?

 

[Fer Echegaray]

Sounds like exhaust?

 

[EddieS'04]

He is talking about installing an electric cooling fan in place of the belt driven one..

 

[Todd Z]

Any pics??

I know they make a quiet series 180 That I heard is really quiet, IT is not a straight blade and more like a "S" blade...

Ever find out why that clutch fan was a PITA??.. They are right hand thread...

Todd Z

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Any increases? I know it would be one less thing for the motor to power, but the fan shouldn't be that hard on the engine, right? Just wondering. Also, any pics?

 

[EddieS'04]

I know this has been discussed here before..I take mustang performance magazines and the dynos show that when the fan is running the offset load on the altenator robed some of the HP & TQ that was gained..the good news is that if the electric fan is themaly controled correctly the gain is worth it when the fan is not running...

 

[Eldon Webb]

I have considered installing one but am not sure it will handle 100+ degree heat in bumper to bumper traffic. Also what model to buy.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Go with a Flex-a-lite 180 Extreme. You can get it from Summit Racing.

 

[scott farmer]

[Broken External Image]:

[Broken External Image]:

As I said before definate improvment

Todd the problem w/the clutch was that for every post here and some of the explorer/ranger forums that said it was right hand there were three more saying left:wacko:

 

[Richard L]

Fast Eddie,

A Flex-Lite fan is not electric, it is a variable pitch fan driven by the engine just like the original engine fan.



All engine driven fans have a parasitic drag that eats up HP. The general rule of thumb is that the fan will require 5-8 HP. A thermostatic electric fan has no parasitic drag since it is not driven by the engine, and only operates when the coolant temperature is high, typically while idling at a traffic light or driving at low speeds (20-25 MPH) in heavy traffic.



Once you are moving at 30+ MPH the air flow through the radiator is sufficient to cool the engine and the electric fan shuts off. A thermostaticly controlled fan may disengage, however there is still sufficient drag to steal HP from the engine



If you don't believe that, just start your engine on a cold day and you will notice that your fan is turning as fast as the engine. If you increase the engine RPMs the fan will also increase in speed. The engine is cold and has no need for the cooling fan, and the fan clutch is disengaged, however it continues to spin because there is still a dignificant amount of drag occuring and that is robbing the engine of HP.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

Richard L...the photos he posted shows it to be an electric fan with varible pitch blades..thats why he said it is loud...I had the varible pitch mechanical on my 340-CUDA it was loud also...

 

[Richard L]

Eddie,

I see the fan but It is not electic. Electric fans are only about 1"-1.5" thick and do not need flexible pitch blades. Also, most electric fans have 5-6 blades or more and they are fairly small. That would make the electic fan invisible in the original fan shroud.



Most flex-bladed fans are noisy and that's what I think spfarmer has. If he has an electric fan and it's that noisy, It may be the brand of electric fan or he may have a fan with a cfm rating too large for the engine. A better choiice is to use 2 smaller fans rather than one large fan. If you need a 1600 CFM fan, it would be better and quieter to get two 800-900 CFM fans.



The photo is not very clear since there is not much light getting into the fan shroud so the black on black does not show much, but I see what appears to be large black fan blades which are not commonly used on electric fans.



...Rich

 

[MarkDawn Houlahan]

Richard...



The Flex-a-lite on his truck is electric. We use them on the Mustangs all the time. Notice the large split loom to the top of the fan, that's the wiring going to the controller on fan...



Mark

 

[Richard L]

Mark,

I see what you are talking about, and I agree that it is an electric fan. I would suggest to spfarmer to get a different fan or check the installation. Perhaps it's the way it's mounted may be causing excessive nose because of a metal to metal contact. Most electric fans are mounted through the radiator and the radiator is mounted in rubber for isolation. Electric fans should not be heard inside the cabin.



...Rich

 

[Todd Z]

Those fans are notorious for being noisy as hell, Especially the aftermarket ones that have high rpms and high CFM flow.. Thats why they have the "s" blade style that is much quieter...

Todd Z

 

[Richard L]

Todd,

I agree, that's why I always recommend getting two smaller, lower CFM fans instead of one large fan that has to spin so fast to pull those higher CFM's, especially for a street driven vehicle. For racing, I use the biggest baddest fan I can get and usually pair them up as a pusher and a puller on both sides of the radiator.







...Rich