rant. electric fan vs clutch fan

[bubbafinch07]

Hi all. I'm just alittle tired of hearing other people tell me that clutch fans are better and more efficient than electric fans. On nearly every application I have seen the clutch fan puts way more drag on a belt drive that when a electric fan is turning on even at low speeds.
To prove this I took my stock ranger (2001 4.0 2wd) auto. First I drove it on the interstate cruise set at 70 mph and averaged 18.1 mpg over about 100 mile trip. Also took it to my local 1/8 track and ran a best e.t. of 10.64. The next weekend I changed to a electric fan I had laying around that came off of a ford escape, it is a two speed electric fan that I ran off of a toggle switch three position so I could use both speeds. I went and ran the same 100 mile trip at about the same temp off by less that 5 degrees and little to no wind. I averaged 18.9 mpg, so not a big difference. However when I took it back to the track I ran 10.10 at the same track. And the track condition where again identical and I had the same amount of fuel within a gallon or so. So as far as I am concerned electric fans are more efficient and take a significant amount of drag off of the belt drive. But to each his own I guess. Rant over.

 

[Ranger SVO]

I'm going to agree with you. I've had an electric fan on mine for a few years now. NOT one complaint.

I'm in Texas and we are in the middle of a brutal heat wave. With 100-plus temps and the AC working overtime, the engine temp stays right on the money.

Most people who complain about electric fans don't even have one.

 

[Will]

I didn't know there was a big fight going on. My opinion is, electric fans are fine on passenger cars and light trucks. On a medium or heavy truck, you can hear the fan clutch engage with a huge squeak-jerk and then it blows like mad. That would be an expensive and heavy electric fan motor.

 

[Heavyfire14]

i like my clutch fan. it came on the truck and i dont care enough or have the money to go electric.

 

[Beef52751]

people always whine whenever some one says they are going to put an E-fan on they're ranger, but i just realized the other day that my stock clutch is broke so my fan never locks in and the truck keeps getting hot. So my 2.9 will have an E-fan fan soon! What size fan are you running, i have a 10" and thinking about getting second 10" if it will fit. its on my to do list

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have a 16" 2500CFM flexalite pusher on a two core exploder radiator, kept my 302 cool running around town today. Indoor/outdoor thermometer read 98 degrees when I left work with 80% humidity. Heck at 10pm we still had a 110 heat index. When it kicks on it sounds sorta like a Kenne Belle, otherwise I can't tell powerwise it is running.

That said if I had the room I would happily run a mechanical fan. Much less to go wrong, a pinched or mouse chewed wire and I am screwed.

 

[shane96ranger]

I didn't know there was a big fight going on.

Me either.

In my experience, electric fans work great if they were designed for your vehicle. They really need a shroud that pulls from the entire surface of the radiator to work properly.

Really though, it's a matter of opinion, and also a case by case basis as to how your vehicle responds. Installation, CFM, Thermostat, wiring, condition of your cooling system, etc. all make or break the deal. I don't need to worry about most of that garbage with a clutch fan, it just works.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

In my experience, electric fans work great if they were designed for your vehicle. They really need a shroud that pulls from the entire surface of the radiator to work properly.

Which is why the Taurus fans work so well, they fit our rads damn near perfectly.