Whats the wisdom on fans - Is the 4 blade (2+2) fan any good (its the contoured one not the straight one).

How is it in terms of cooling and noise compared to the multibladed plastic \ metal fans?

I think plastic fans are more aerodynamically efficient at low speeds but at higher speeds the fewer bladed fans work better... something like that. I think the 16 blade one uses up HP when spun at high speeds or something like that. To counter that problem people cut a few inches off the blades of a plastic one so that it works well at low speed and doesn't take up HP at high speed...

Since it's a road car (ie, stopped in traffic 80% of the time) just use the plastic one!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Read Vizard, but the gist of it is:
More blades: less noise, less efficient (consumes more power)
Less blades: more noise, more eficient (consumes less power)

The 4 blader is a good balance for a road/racer. The two bladers are like having a helicopter in the engine bay.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

I like my original 16 blade metal one.. less noisy than the plastic ones, and the blades don't fall off...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

i have read that the plastic one is the best of both worlds a tad noisey (your in a mini its always noisy) but cools well at all speeds, ( if you cut a few inches off the blades of the platsic one it would be a spinning hub with no blades)

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100% Pure A Series Turbo
Morris - The Original RedBull Racing

without upsetting anyone i cant imagine that a fans blade count can make that much difference in power consumption.. and cutting blades doesnt sound that good an idea unless it was precision done or its going to wobble ...

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

Never a good idea to just hack at rotating parts. Metal blades can be flattened slightly if you don't need so much air flow (road/racer).

You can save 1-2hp by swapping the fan on a std engine. Not much, but it's cheap. Can save up to 10hp by going electric or fanless on a performance engine. Some racers get by without one, but not feasable in a road car - hard enough to keep em cool as it is

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Too many cars, and too little time.

No Vizard says to chop a few cm of the ends in the bible. But Vizard is a racer and writes for racers who dont care what their fan's like when at 90mph. Plus half of his info is UK based (the other is Californian) and they wouldnt have as many overheating problems.

Funnily enough, a few days ago my radiator cap blew off and fell into the plastic fan (dont ask how) and broke 3 blades and one in half - the fan is actualy cooling better now! Everybode says that the plastic ones are shaped more aerodinamicaly but the plastic fins appears to me to be pretty straight, the metal 4 blade ones seem more curved.

I want a good performer in the traffic without sounding like the end scene of "Miss Saigon". So basicaly what I'm asking is the 4 blade metal one a decent performer and a possible replacement for my brocken plastic fan?

Cop S's had the 4 blade.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Why not get a 6 blade

http://www.minisport.com/classic-mini-shop/products/mini-sport-performance-engine-tuning/cooling/fans-and-belts/6-blade-steel-fan-yellow-product.html

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Jonathan
http://photobucket.com/albums/y64/FatMaserati/

I use a 4 blade in both my road mini & my race mini,,,i like the slight "Whir" noise that it makes

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I think you're all wasting your time with a mechanical fan.

I recently had one of my spare radiators converetd to take a recovery type cap - so while the old one was out, cut out the grill in the inner wing and installed a thermo fan from a Ford Telstar ($20 at wreckers).

Works a charm - not that I had overheating issues previously (stocko 998!) but it has allowed me to piss of the mech fan, shroud etc which makes maintenance at this end of the engine so much easier!!! So much more room...

Hmmmm I've got a spare thermatic fan off a ???, might be time to think about fitting it..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

i had one of the 4 blades and took it of it was getting warm in traffic in sydney so tried a mettle fan and it worked better at keeping the car cool but this was only in my experiance please dont belive it will work cos it may not in your situation i surly dont want to give misinfomation as i may get introble
makka

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Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

I have thermo fans on both mine. Very much needed when sitting in traffic on a 40degree day.

Cheers

Aaron

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