I would think you would need to know that CFM your getting through the radiator driving down the road at different speeds. If your getting at least 3000 CFM at say 25 mph, then either fan design is only a factor when your going slow in heavy traffic or idling.

 

Ahhhhh, e-fans...where do I begin. My background to start things off! See my truck below and I tow an 8,000+ lb toy hauler regularly with no problems. E-fans have been the best "seat of the pants" performance mod I have ever done to my truck. You can instantly feel the performance gain. Motor revs so easily compared to turning that stock fan. Worth the money and effort for the performance gain, hands down.

Now, the other side of that coin. Do a search (for me) and you'll find a few threads. I've had 5, count 'em, f-i-v-e electrical meltdowns related to the controllers on these fans. Please note I blame the controller and not the fan itself or the fact that I have e-fans. The controller Troyer sends with the kit is crap...unless he's upgraded lately.

Another note on Troyer while we're here. The fans in his kit are off the shelf, 16" Derale Tornados that move 2175cfm of air. Nothing special about them. Awesome fans. I meant there's nothing special about the fact they come from Troyer. Save yourself some money and end up with a much nicer kit by buying two of these fans from your local/favorite speed shop and a good controller set up.

Controller...that SPAL unit is the cat's meow! Just waiting on time/opportunity to install mine. Still running the units that came from Troyer and I'm scared every time I drive my truck. One doesn't work at all and the other is wired to a manual switch to make it work. Not sweating it right now since it's winter but I will have to address this and get my SPAL controller in before summer.

I don't know the cfm rating on the stock clutch fan, but even though they're a drag on the motor...they're efficient. It takes both electric fans to even think about cooling as much as a stock clutch fan!! Another thing about your desire for a bigger/better radiator. All the wind in the worst tornado to ever hit Oklahoma wont cool a motor that doesn't have an efficient enough radiator. The stock, single core jobs are pretty borderline and that's all I'll say.

If you're running stock gauges you don't have a clue what's going on with your motor. By the time the stock water temp gauge shows an overheat condition, you're already there. I think it starts to move up from its "normal" position somewhere north of 235 degrees. That's not getting to hot, that's already there!

Your tranny cooler...personally, I think putting the fans on without a temp gauge was a waste of time and money. I added a cooler to my truck (because I KNEW I was having cooling problems) about the size of the one that comes stock in yours. The only time a tranny is really going to run hot to the point of being too hot is when the converter is unlocked, regardless of the load behind it. There are ways to control that. You need a gauge to tell whats going on. The only time that dinky little fan is going to do anything for you is creeping along in traffic, and that's going to be minimal then. Anything above 15-20 mph and airflow alone is doing more than that fan.

 

Good to hear some real world towing experience with efans. Thanks.

I have read these stories too. I plan on using either the SPAL V3 or DC FK50 controller. I want the best with the least worry of failure. I'll pay extra for reliability.

I'm finding that I can piece together a nice system for around $200. I can fab the rest and wire just about anything. It's likely the way I'll go.

I compared the the SPAL against the DC and while the DC matches the SPAL feature for feature, I just like the "look" of the SPAL better. I'm sure that attribute will make it a better controller.

I'm sure the stock fan can move more than enough air and likely more than the dual electrics. I have no doubt about that. I just don't want the parasitic losses (need more power!) and the ridiculous roaring/whistling noise when the fan fully engages.

I'm pretty sure I have a clue about what's going on with my motor. I may not know what the exact temperatures may be at any given time but I do know that if the fan is fully engaged longer than 20-30 seconds and the torque converter remains unlocked, the motor and trans are in an extreme state and I should back off the power a little. I'm not saying gauges are not important but through experience one can learn how their vehicle performs under certain conditions over time.

As I mentioned, I added the transmission cooling fan not to cool the trans while going down the road. I added it because I needed to help the trans cooler out under no or low air flow situations, such as backing my TT or idling in traffic. Again, I don't know the exact temp of the trans oil while in these conditions, but I do know the trans cooler gets extremely hot, too hot to touch. With the fan, it cycles on at 185F and works very well at keeping the trans oil in check. The trans cooler is noticeably cooler to the touch so the fan is working as I want it to.

But back to the subject. I'm looking in to a Lincoln Mark VIII 19" single speed fan than can be easily mounted to the factory shroud. The SPAL controller (and the DC) can vary the speed of the fan based on temperature and also when the A/C cycles. This configuration seems to be simplest and easiest to implement. The Lincoln/Taurus fan is rated at 5000 CFM (probably a bit optimistic) but as long as it exceeds the CFM requirements for the load conditions it sees, then it should work just fine.

 

^^ ^^

Why can't I have neighbours like you? None of mine are even close to being this articulate and level-headed.

Alas, I'd probably go broke buying wobbly-pops, ...

 

So did you ever get this lincoln fan. Very interesting thread about efans here. I always wondered the same if they flow enough air. And the wine of the stock fans gets old.

 

I have the Troyer dual fan set up also. I too have had several issues with either the fuse holders or controllers. After the 4th meltdown towing my boat, I bought DC controls Fk 50p and all seams well so far.

The fans themselves have been flawless, and I liked the separate function of each controller. Now both fans operate at the same time but the DC controller throttles as needed.

Performance gains are noticeable, maybe even a little more mpg. Definitely colder AC in traffic or at idle.

I have a scangauge to monitor water temp and the dc controller keeps a more stable temp due to the throttleing, where the previous controllers would kick on, lower the temp, and turn off. I think constant cycling is what melted the old ones.

I would do it again in another truck, only start with a DEPENDABLE! controller.

 

I did get the fan but from it is from a mid-90's Taurus rather than from the Lincoln. After some thorough research, I learned that the single speed Taurus fan flows a few hundred CFM more than the two speed fan from the Lincoln. A simple test of connecting the fan directly to a car battery confirmed that this fan flows ALOT of air. It's noisy but in a "good" way. I doubt that it's as noisy as the stock fan at full engagement.

Also, I like the idea of one controller managing the fan. Wiring is simpler and the number of parts is less, reducing the possibility of failure. I know some like the redundancy of two controllers but if the single controller fails, I can simply jumper the fan to always on if necessary.

I'm now leaning toward the Flexalite controller. It looks like it's a revised model and is about $40 less than the DC. The SPAL is out because the Taurus fan draws too much current on high speed, exceeding the SPAL current rating.

I'll be doing a thorough write-up with a lot of pictures soon so stay tuned!

 

a write up would be sweet. i really want to do this as well. Are you mounting the fan to the stock shroud?

 

Yes, I will be mounting the fan to the stock shroud. I prefer the stock look and since there is not much maintenance that needs to be done on a 2008, I really don't need any extra room in the engine compartment. I also want the entire radiator covered by the shroud for the best cooling possible. I tow a lot and need the most cooling I can get.

 

LS1 electric fans... Good enough to keep 800+rwhp engines cool, it's good enough for our "stock" trucks while towing...

 

Good point father ford. I really like the idea of mounting it in the stock shroud.

 

What about LT1 fans? Looks to be about the same to me

 

I'd like to know what you finally end up with and how it works! The Tahoe climb puts a beating on my rig with a trailer or not!

 

I'm just waiting on my controller. As soon as it gets here, I'll do the install and the write-up. So you tow up to Tahoe? Where are you from and where do you go in Tahoe? The climbs ARE brutal, aren't they?

 

Glad I looked, I was just about to open a thread on this-so the SPAL V3 or DC FK50 is the way to go?

Is one able to develop two separate fans and controllers (for redundancy)?