... and the alternator on same belt
Changing anything on the fan system wud be a balancing act; thinner oil in fan clutch or lower CFM fan blades would mean less drag but less cooling. be same, and vice-versa.
I'm obsessed with any reasonable thing to aid the cooling system because major breakdowns on our vehicles, including my 1986, had to do with it.

 

Also keep in mind that getting rid of the mechanical fan may reduce direct engine loading from the fan, but it increases engine loading from the alternator. You don't get to move that air for free, and all of the power eventually comes from the engine in one way or another. In fact, because of conversion inefficiencies, it probably ultimately takes more energy from the engine to drive the electric fans than the mechanical one for the same CFM. The advantage of the electrical fans is that you can more easily design a sophisticated fan management controller and shut it down during (short) peak power needs, or when conditions don't really require a fan. (high speed, cool conditions, etc.)

In terms of ability to move air, applying 2 horsepower to a mechanical fan is trivial - any belt drive can do that. Applying 2 horsepower to an electric fan at 13V requires 115 amps! (assuming 100% conversion efficiency). That's a lot of juice from your alternator.

 

^ that seems about the gist of what wanted to say..

An electronic controlled fan can be a small savings IF it had a proper switching controller but we don't use switching controllers in automotive applications. What they use a simple relay and resistor, low speed fan is current limited by the resistor which just wasted energy as heat..

 

FWIW - http://www.onallcylinders.com/2012/0...-your-vehicle/

 

They lost me at no parasitic power loss..

 

Well, a belt can be over tightened and cause wear.

 

I would imagine it has been tested if I had the time I would research it cause it sounds interesting.


Stock fan system has: fan clutch, belt, water pump to a small degree because of the difference in drag(wear) vs no fan.
Electrical system has: the thermostat, the fan motor, the wiring, fuse, and relay.

 

Parasites are a drag

 

Agreed, the type of driving would play a part in any decision. Stop/go driving in a city, particularly a hot one, would be one situation where I would consider a e-fan.
Another consideration would be how it is set up. What AK said sounds really about the best way to go.

 

this AND the water pump and belt. they are still there and still a point of failure.
I doubt there is much horsepower gained by removing the mechanical fan, I didn't notice much change. But I would think fuel mileage would be a little better. It is hard for me to tell if I gained any since I am re-geared with huge tires and I let it run for a while in the driveway to defrost the windows before I go anywhere. So I haven't checked my mileage, but I did put in a temporary tattle tale light so I could see when the relays were energized and tell when the fans were coming on. they barely run at all when I'm doing 55 or so.

 

Just on the "plastic" issue, I think the stock fan performs much better than any metal one could. I had a failure of the fan bracket (not common, not rare) which caused the fan to tip gently into the radiator. If I had a metal fan it would have destroyed the fan and sliced through the radiator. Instead, it just scratched the surface of the radiator and ground about 1/4" off the tips of the fan blades. The fan is still in use today.

My guess is the fan is just HDPE, but that is very strong. And if, heaven forbid, I ever break a blade on the fan, I'd much rather have a piece of hard plastic flying through the engine bay than a sheet of steel.

Just one man's opinion.

 

And very valid points.
It still comes down to "what are you trying to accomplish?"
the original fans work very well, so if it isn't broke don't fix it. If it's not working well let us know what is going on. are you running hot? when? make sure it isn't your gauge.
if you want horsepower this isn't the best way to get it and you will be disappointed with the results.

 

Re: horsepower / efficiency...
O.P. could find ways to increase horsepower OR minimize weight of the truck. The latter is free and frees up space. I take everything off the truck that I do not need. So far, I've removed:

• Rear seat bottoms - 30 pounds (just to hold butts that are not there 98% of the time!)
• Rear Wiper System - 8 pounds
• Particle board floor on rear deck (here) - 20 pounds

In the Future - 23 pounds of rear roll-up window and mechanism like Cory88 did here.