Contour vs SPAL vs Black Magic - Fan Airflow Test
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2022
- My crude, non-scientific static pressure airflow test using an anemometer. Which of these 3 fans SUCK the most air through a 3" radiator, AC Condenser, and Intercooler.
Link to Anemometer:
www.amazon.com/dp/B07J64TCBQ?... - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
Solid test, my man. Can’t beat that OEM engineering. Thanks for pulling this together.
Eh it was a little crude but worked for me, I'd like to do this with more brands.
This is a good test man
Appreciate it, wish I had MORE fans to test with it than the 3
Awesome stuff brother!!! 🇺🇸💪🏼
Great video!
i put two lincoln mark viii fans in my truck and each one pulls a MONSTER amount of air.
i also tested 3/4 places
free air
how much it pulls on the rad side
how much it pulls on the condenser side
how much it pulls on the trans rad, which is at the very front.
i tow with my rig and it been better cooling than the clutch fan for the last year so far
Nice video!!
Definitely
I develop this stuff for a living - have been doing for like 25 years now so thought I would add some points since I'm a fox body nut like the rest of you!
1.) This is best attempt I've seen at measuring fan airflow on a fox body so props for doing it.
2.) Many people look for CFM which is just a way of describing massflow but this is only a piece of the picture as it needs to relate to a static pressure
3.) Fan performance specified as XXXX CFM is generally just an "open air" value meaning no resistance in the airstream of the fan from radiator, condenser, intercooler, engine, etc
4.) To properly understand fan performance, the fan operating curve (pressure vs airflow curve) needs to be overlaid with the system restriction curve of the vehicle (pressure vs airflow)- where these intersect will reveal airflow in the application - clearly most gearheads are not going to instrument their vehicle and measure this in a wind tunnel!
5.) Further to point 4, most fan manufacturers don't even assess this for aftermarket applications. They absolutely do for OEM applications.
6.) Both Bosch (Contour) and Spal are OEM fan manufacturers who fully understand all of these points.
7.) For example, you could take a so called 2500 CFM fan and place it on a 3" thick radiator and measure a certain airflow but then place it on a different 2" radiator and see an enormous increase in airflow and then lastly place it on a 3" thick radiator plus condenser and larger intercooler and see abysmal airflow. This is back to point 4.
8.) Not all Contour fans are created equal - original OEM is best. Aftermarket are not the same.
9.) In general, thicker radiators are great for high speed usage but can become effectively like small diameter straws for fans to pull through - this can actually lead to cooling problems at low vehicle speeds/idle especially with AC on. There are a lot of variables here like fin density, tube space, etc so this is just a general guide.
10.) Keep in mind these measurements recorded air velocity not overall massflow through the radiator. Fan coverage over the radiator face makes a difference - i.e., the single fan doesn't cover nearly as much area as the full dual fan shroud version so the overall massflow through the radiator in this case will be higher with the twin fan options. Generally speaking, twin fans are best for rectangular radiators and single fans for square radiators.
11.) If possible, keep your intercooler out of the airstream of the radiator to help improve engine cooling. Some intercoolers can be installed parallel to the ground under the radiator - I have on my my old Incon Twin Turbo setup for instance.
Appreciate the reply! Glad to hear this from an engineer with expertise. This was what I was attempting to relay to viewers and the issue I've fought all along. CFM means nothing when you start stacking up resistance behind it. I wanted "some method" to put data behind this.
This is why I settled on the ford Taurus fan. It actually flowed as good or better then most fans, even the contour fans and basically matched the spal dual 16" for less amp draw and it only cost me like $13 from the junk yard.
If cooling is really an issue, nothing holds a candle to the mechanical fan though, even at idle.
OOOH man, I dont know why I didnt test this on my wifes bone stock fox! I need to look I think someone swapped in a flex fan on it.
I added an electric fan after my fan clutch came apart merging on the highway at 80mph. It destroyed the fan shroud, fan, and replacement parts are getting harder to find in the junkyards. I actually pulled over, pulled the fan off, and drove to work on a 95° day. Pretty much any speed over 25mph or so, the temps were great with no fan at all. I drove it that way for a few days before I decided to go 3g/Taurus fan as both an upgrade and cost. After burning up a few cheap fan controllers, I ended up just mounting a toggle switch with a fuse.
Usually shut the fan off on any speed above 35mph or highway. Ac wasn't working then, I know it gets hot quick with ac on. I ended up going back to the mechanical fan and it cooled 10x better it felt like.
I would love too see you do this test with the 2 speed Taurus fan PLEASE!!!!
Lol man, I need to source me one then I could. But that fan is BEAST no doubt.
pusher fan location can be more efficient with thick radiators (sometimes)
puller is usually more efficient, but not always the case with thick cores
Love the basic honest DIY test. You ought to give the Chevy Volt dual 12" fans a shot. They are Spal brushless so they need some kind of special controller, but they are rated at 300-350 Watts IIRC. Pretty shallow too, but they are supposedly the best 12" fans available as far as CFM. I'm running the Contour dual 12" in my 461 BBC 69 Camaro and like you they are almost OK on a hot day. At 65 mph the car runs at 190°-195° and the fans are off. Slow to under 35 mph and the temp creeps up to about 200° and the fans come on at 195° and stay on. If I slow down to a crawl or stop... temp goes up to 220° but pretty much stays right there until I start moving consistently. Controlling the fans with a PWM from Northern Radiator. If I could fit the Chevy Volt fans in and figure out how to control them in a plain Jane old skool engine with just a big double pumper Holley they would probably be perfect. This PWM module can't control brushless fans.
Oh man, SPAL brushless is where its at. Bar none. I didnt know the volt had dual spal brushless, thats impressive, I'll look around, even used brushless should be fine.
I have the Black Magic 185 fan but recently bought the SVE fan set-up from LMR. Never had any issues with the BM fan its deeper and will have clearance issues with the Vortech supercharger crank pulley going in.
It’d be interesting to see the Lincoln mark 8 fan be tested. I’ve switched from contours to the mark 8, seems to truly be moving more air like it’s stated to do but that’s opinion like all the other dudes in this comment section.
Stock mounted flex fan all day dr. dula
I've tried a number of different fans and I always ended up going back to basics
Man no kidding? Are you running AC and a turbo? ;) Mine runs COLD 99% of the time, its only when temps are high 90's+ humidity is high, and im running with the AC blasted
Love to see a flex a lite 298 dual fan test . Not sure it would fit as I have one on a becool radiator and it is very wide just fits on the radiator .
I noticed your car is missing the wind deflector that goes under the front bumper. I was having some work done on my car and the tech noticed mine was missing and added it. I imagine it creates some drag but helps cooling by pushing the air up into the engine bay. Thanks for your video
Yessir, and actually the deflector is really important....what it does is create negative pressue behind it...at highway speeds this sucks air down under the car and evacuated heat out of the bay, and help draw outside cool air in through the radiator. Otherwise you can create a high pressure area in the bay essentially locking in the hot air. Its on my list to add...but I dont think is my issue because mine is really when hot out (really hot) and stopped and moveing slow, more that on the highway.
I hope you get things figured out quickly and get things cooled down under the hood.
Excellent video! I did a video on if the Contour fan can fit a fox body with big radiator and a 10 rib Vortech pulley on the Saleen. Spoiler alert: it fits, barely…
But it fits! The spals performance are basically on par and slimmer.
i just used this exact method today to get the air flow readings for my dodge ram on some lincoln mar viii fans and they pulled 21mph through a 3 row rad 😂
lol 21! thats moving air
I hope you mean pulling air. Pushing would be on the frontside. Great video though Mike. I’m not sure what thermostat you are running but you can adjust that to your liking as well. I typical run a 185 F in mine but if I want to cheat a little and cool it faster I’ve drilling some small 5/16 holes in the thermostat to have that extra bit cool faster
Whats up old viewer! Yeah, im running a 185 with small hole drilled to help burp air out of the system.
I think I am going to see what I get for numbers on my Mark VIII fan.
I’d like to see what a stock fan clutch would pull through
Same! I dont know why i didn’t use my wifes car for this as her 92 is 100% stock
I have three Perma cool fans on my BBC. They were rated at like 2350 cfm each which seemed too good to be true for such a small fan. I checked then with the car running getting 13.5 volts. My meters tests cfm and they were around 450-600 cfm max. Not sure how they can have such a rating and clearly not deliver. Had good power, ground and pulling thru a 2" dual row radiator.
Measure the fan heights? Clearance is an issue as I have a black magic 185 but I’m pretty sure won’t fit with my Vortech set up. I’m sure I’ll find out soon.
Spal fans are the best … I have two 13 inch on my Mustang Turbo Mustang no issues
Very well made fans, I agree!
Can you use two small push fans on the intercooler from a transmission cooler to help pump up those numbers on the bottom?
You could, but there just is zero room in front of it with these early style nose's.
Was your Contour assembly a junkyard find or an aftermarket like Dorman! I ask because I've heard the aftermarket fans move slightly less air than OEM Ford fans.
YES. This is so true. And honestly not a fair review. I learned after this that OEM "FORD" Contour fans more more air than the repros.
How did you plan on wiring the countour fans, if you used them? If I remember correctly, they are two dual speed fans. What controller would you use as well? Would you take advantage of the dual fan/dual speed or just wire for on/off?
Also, if I remember correctly, the contour fan was one of the better options as far as amp draw from the stock/swap fans compared to a taurus or dodge fan.
So this test was all with just using 2 hard wired relays that are triggered by the AC or a thermal switch on the radiator when it hits 160.
@@HOUSEOFDULA Both wired to the high speed of each fan on the contour set?
I wired my Contour fans using a PWM that has a 195° sensor stuck on the side of the radiator tank next to the outlet hose. Pretty accurate in all my driving conditions. The contour fans draw about 90 amps at start then settle down to about 25 amps IIRC. So you need a soft start setup and the PWM does that. Of course there's no formal test available, but a lot of the Contour users claim they make about 3300-3500 CFM with zero static load (open air on a bench). Behind a 3" radiator with a AC condenser in front... I'm thinking the might pull 2800 CFM. In my 461 BBC 69 Camaro they are marginally OK in the hot summer we're having, but I'd like more power.
Measuring air volume is the best idea of performance . Air speed is not the ideal comparison measurement .
Airflow tool takes into account fan diameter , some units require manual calculation some donot
Secondly takes into account airleak gaps between condenser/radiator/intercooler ,,the same for all fan types tested
Thirdly ,, air flow restriction of all heat exchanger cores
Thats right. My only goal here was to see how much air was being pulled through the heat exchange furthest away from the fan source and which fan drew the most. I completely get what your saying here as well, but obviously my tools are limited to measure. So what I personally cared about is if the fan had enough static pressure to reach the intercooler, if so, then how much air was being drawn through fan vs fan. Appreciate you watching and the comment!
Not 100% sure but I think the over flow bottle/Hose needs to be lower than the rad cap.. Nice watch :)
Thanks man! It is, i don't know if its camera angle weirdness or what but its lower.
Next step maybe electric pump? Do they run constant speed? My 347 440hp, tried to run warm at idle but high flow 180* fixed that would like to run electric pump and fan if that’s where you end up.
I already have a battery issue somewhat with the relocation kit, I dont want to add any more load to the car, plus I dont yet really think its a water flow issue....but havent ruled it out.
Your spal having more clearance means it’s not the big dog version they make
Did the fans fix your issue? I'm fighting a heating issue myself right now and looking to see someone succeed.
I wont really know until I get the radiator replaced. One is on its way!
Are those speaker boxes/enclosers in the back stock or did you make them?
Came with the car from previous owner. Someone made a homeade 6x9 adapter on it.
Thanks for this video. Would it be safe to say that the Dewitts radiator & the contour fans would provide the most cooling or do you think the Spals hold up? This may be a dumb question BUT why aren’t electric fans always on(spinning)? Wouldn’t temps be cooler if it was set to its max settings?
IMO this depends on the Contour fan. Aftermarket contour fans are not as equal to stock FORD contour fans. The Spal quality ios superb. They make high end fans for OEM's. You dont want the fan on ALL the time, engines need to run at a certain temp around 175-210 for proper metal clearances, and to properly burn the hydrocarbons. Too cool and a fuel injected egine, the ECU might not get past its warm-up procedure....making it run rich, build up carbon, and have bad performance and economy...You want an engine to run warm but not too HOT and not too Cool. You want the fan to cycle.
@@HOUSEOFDULA Thank you, just one more question how can you tell the repros from the oem contour fans. Thank you for all your help 🙏🏽
@@CLEEN50Pretty much all repos, unless its from Ford Parts, or has ford logo / ford part number (in a ford box), OR off a contour from a wrecking yard, or site like LKQ. Not a problem man! Ive only had repo's they still flow plenty of air FYI, just the OE Ford ones flow more, but nothing wrong with the repo ones.
For 150 bucks canadian contour fan ftw
My opinion has always been that the shroud is more important than the fan. I was running Contour fans but got WAY better cooling with the Derale Powerpack setup I have in the Fox now, and those are rated at like 1875cfm each. The second fan rarely even comes on if I'm not using the A/C. Always had better luck with a boxy shroud that sets the fans off of the rad surface at least an inch or two. I'd be curious what your meter shows on mine.
What up Corey. I agree man, proper shrouding is where its at and covering the surface area. I'll bring it up to Albertson...tonights calling for rain, sucks, I was planning on getting out tonight.
I did a similar test a few years ago and came to the conclusion the contour fans are garbage. My car would get hot in traffic and run cooler driving. Removed the Becool radiator and used a similar meter. With the radiator on the floor the CFM on the contour was 2600. The Deral fans are rated at 4000 cfm and that's what the meter said. Overheating problem solved..
IDK about "garbage" I know a lot of big power boosted guys running these fans with no issue.
@@HOUSEOFDULA 2600 cfm isn't enough in the summer
Which Derale models are you running?
which model# Spal is that? I have contour on one mustang and it runs warmer then I want. On m y tuirbo car. I have 2 extreme spal's and 1 fan pulls as much as both Contour fans. I use same devise you have.
Man good question. They are not brushless. Brushless SPALs are (OMG!), but these are the ones that came with the DeWitts
Larry, which model Spal fans are you running that are working better for you than the Contour fans?
1 of these fans will outperform both contour fans
@@ford9050 which Spal? The one in the video? I thought you were talking about a different Spal...they make several different grades of fans. This one didn't seem better.
@@stephenwhite5444 Sorry, I posted the link to them but I guess I can't post links. Spal 30102800. Remember don't go off just cfm. Amp Draw is what separates the fans The # I gave you is constant 38 amps each fan..
where did you get the Contor fan
From Here, www.ebay.com/itm/254694051280?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
@@HOUSEOFDULA Just grabbed a similar one on Ebay and got it a few days ago. I have an Alloyworks radiator with they dual 10" electric fan shroud. I'm in AZ where it's over 90 degrees 80% of the year. lol The fans do fine when I'm going maybe 35-40 mph in "clean" air and keep me under 200, but when I stop at a light it wants to creep up toward 220. And I don't even have my A/C hooked up yet. Hoping going to the Contour fans will eliminate this problem. Car is a '73 Javelin, btw.
Generally, thick radiator is a very bad- outdated idea for a boosted engine, still valid for diesels but not ALL gas engines bulids. I cant see why dewitts recommend you this rad, either they made a big mistake or you didn't mention the intercooler, anyway,
Go back to your engine's specific design radiator thickness and core number, you will be shocked how much a colder ECT you can achieve.. many factors comes into play, Water pump efficiency, Rad BTW, size and water flow cc inside the rad, water cooling time spent in rad during circulation. Ttrust me on this I paid a lot's of money and time to learn this lesson. BTW i am running a 1" single core rad on 800rwhp car with ac and intercooler
if you're after serious cooling demands consider running late model bmw or mercedes 600w or 850w brushless fans with a pwm controler, these oem fans are designed for stacked-coolers applications and will blow any aftermarket fans out of the water, alternator upgrade is a must due to the killer amp demand i can help you with the math if you're interested
Man I appreciate it. Yes, they did recommend it, though I might have "Wanted" or pushed for the big 3", so they really are not to blame. Tthey were aware of my prior cooling issues (with a LMR SVE 3 core rad) and turbo setup. But, after talking to them about the issue I was still having after the 3", they did get an engineer involved, and yes they sent me a lot more data and recommendations...Basically they rate the fans off CFM at a certain pressure or pascal (pa). What they see is the I would be about 300 pa with the setup. A standard 11" brushed fan only pulls about 400cfm at 250pa, that compared to brushless same pa would be 1000 cfm. So your correct about the brushless and ability to pull through thick stacks. I appreciate the recomendation regarding the mercedes and BWM, this might be a nice mod if I can find one for a decent price. Frankly I just couldnt afford the $1000+ price tag for the SPAL brushless setup.
Brushless is the way to go. Yup, they are more expensive but will save you in the medium term. Check out Delta PAG brushless. They are very thin and move a ton of air.
Spal fans are the best …
WRONG-duel fans pull less over a larger area than a single
but, duel fans cover more surface area do they end up winning over a single
1yr too late. Black magic and a small 8" or 9" behind intercooler
Spal fans are rated at 2720 cfm combined, a single one will produce 1363 cfm, so you test isn't particularly scientific. CFM ratings became irrelevant to modern fans, mfrs are using Watts as mesuring unit because it's an exact motor Power/work value, they moved away from using cfm simply because it doesn't account for other factors in cooling processes
Well I agree sir, nothing was really scientific about it. What I was just wanting to see with some numbers (any data really) how much static pressure was being produced and able to pull through the huge radiator and intercooler.
No bro, they got away from cfm because they don't want you comparing their blade designs. Especially between different manufacturers, two fans can have the same power draw and drastically different flow. CFM through a restricted core is the only number that actually matters.
@@stephenwhite5444 i can't see how manufacturers can advertise cfm ratings / pressure drop vs number of coolers and their respective (LxWxH) / spacing between them / cooler fins design and size
It's just not feasible as many factors comes into play
@@Airman.. correct, manufacturers do not put out any data that lets you compare one fan to another between manufacturers. Spal published good data but most others don't and none of them public data using the same situation. That is why videos like this of someone measuring CFM of different fans in the same exact setting, is valuable.
Interesting that you used MPH on your tester but the fan industry uses CFM 😮
My tool didn't measure CFM. Measurement doesn't matter, I'm not measuring CFM, or really MPH for that matter. Any measurement will work. All I am doing is getting data for a measurable DIFFERENCE to compare between the fans. Plus manufacturer advertised CFM is not always real world CFM especially when there is a LOAD on the fan, load coming from blockage aka heat exchangers in front of the fan.