For fuel mileage improvement. - Anyone here tried installing one of these before? If so then pls let me know what your experience was. I recently saw an episode of ...

Anyone here tried installing one of these before? If so then pls let me know what your experience was.

I recently saw an episode of Extreme 4x4 that used this mod as one of the steps(one of many) to increase an old dodge pickup from 8mpg to something like 16mpg. I believe they claimed it decreased his truck fuel consumption by around 3mpg on average.

Of course the whole point of this mod is to improve the driver's lead foot by helping them train themselves on what speeds, conditions, and throttle positions are going to help their particular vehicles with their own particular setups achieve better fuel mileage(every vehicle and terrain varies greatly around the country). If simply doing a mod like this And changing your driving habits nets you 3mpg on top of the 14mpg you normally get around town... then that is a large% increase in fuel economy and... a large difference in annual money spent on the 15k miles driven each and every year you own your beautiful truck you can't live without. That is a difference of about 189.1 gallons annually. 189.1 x $3 a gal= $567.30 a year saved. (of course getting your vehicle paid off and keeping it is going to save you $250-450 a month! lol)

Here... I'll shut up and give up some quick links to take a look at. Vacuum/boost gauges are cheap and easy to come by. They are simple and easy to install. They also offer another way to take a look into your engine for potential problems...




Of course after doing a little poking around on the web I have spotted a few mentionings of taking this mod to a whole other level and actually splicing some sort of gauges into the O2 sensor wiring among other things.

http://ideamaster.com/mm.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZB5L5OT ... r_embedded

I use a different method that is already available on many new trucks. Just use your on board fuel monitor and watch your instant mpg as you drive.

lzn197 wrote:I use a different method that is already available on many new trucks. Just use your on board fuel monitor and watch your instant mpg as you drive.

That would be nice but is not really an option for me... unless there is an aftermarket upgrade that is available to me that I am not aware of? That would be a cool upgrade as well!

I did already do the electric fan conversion. I did that one for more reasons than just adding fuel economy although that has also been a benifit. The main reason why I did the e-fan was to open up my engine bay. My truck has some high mileage and now I can Easily inspect every belt, gasket, and pully before road trips. Also... since the fan is spliced into my A/C compressor clutch... it turns on at %60 power while at red lights when the compressor cycles. So down here in Mobile, Al 100+ deg days are much cooler (in the cabin)going from red light to red light. Acceleration improved more than I thought it would. I think the e-fan freed up more usable power than any intake or exhaust mod ever would. I got the cheesy expensive setup so as not to need to upgrade my alternator(potentially a lot cheaper). The set up runs only at 60% unless the temp keeps rising in the rad... then the fans will speed up to 100% over the next 10deg of increase in rad temp. Believe it or not my fans almost never ever come on(A/C aside) unless sitting at a red light more than 5 mins on a Hot day. So the stock fan clutch being always partially engaged is a real waste of energy. My engine bay is much quieter now too guys.

Do you have a back-up switch you can close to turn on the fan manually?

lzn197 wrote:Do you have a back-up switch you can close to turn on the fan manually?

That option actually came with the kit I got. It has...

Manual ON override switch...
Manual OFF override switch...
Temp Probe to sense and turn power on automatically...
A/C compressor Power ON automatically...
is ON/OFF temp. adjustable...
has a built in fuse block to prevent frieing the ele brain or fans.

That was another selling point for me. The manual on Or off (seperate switches) creates some great control over the system for different conditions or if something were to fail inside the system. Also helps troublshooting if the need ever were to arise.

The system I am using is Flex-a-lite.

how much $ did that run ya? if you dont mind me askin.

I beleive I paid $550 for the ele fan conversion... let me see if I can find it online and post a link. Oh, I forgot to mention that the kit comes with connections to hook up those two controller switches. No switches though. But I had a few laying around the house(past fabrications on my motorcycle). You can find some switches at any parts store for a few bucks. Just make sure the gauge of wire you use is large enough and switch it'self is rated for a max of 28Amps I believe(what these fans pull at max power if I recall)

Here I believe it was one of these two dual fan ones. Just make sure if you get one it is for the correct vehicle and rad size.

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... 0002&Nty=0

You can piece something together yourself for mucho cheaper. However, it may not be as functional or well fitting. Jegs claims an increase of 18hp and 2-3mpg. Sounds about right.... Only if compared to a fully engauged clutch on the stock clutch fan. Normal driving would probably be only around 8-10hp maybe. That is off of Idle too.

I had one in my Lancer but the dude who wired it up did not install it correctly so it never read right. I am kind of interested in using one.

Whew! That is a lot of change for a cooling fan kit. I'm sure it works great though. The page shows it draws 28 amps. I am sure that is "running" current draw. It would be MUCH higher as the fans first turn on. Does the belt chirp when both the fans come on full blast?

lzn197 wrote:Whew! That is a lot of change for a cooling fan kit. I'm sure it works great though. The page shows it draws 28 amps. I am sure that is "running" current draw. It would be MUCH higher as the fans first turn on. Does the belt chirp when both the fans come on full blast?

No. Never heard a belt cherp or seen the voltgauge take a drop(more than a tick or two)... Only sitting at idle. Any higher rpms and the voltgauge does not even begin to budge. Of course the max these fans pull out is 28 amps. However, they start off only at 60%! So that is around 16.8 Amps and not nearly 28.

Perhaps if I were to try starting my truck... then disconnecting the battery(so as not to have a source of stored power)... then turn the fans on at 100%... maybe that would put some stress on the system? All I know is that a stereo will make the lights flicker faster than the ele fan setup I currently have.

I would have probably never done this if not for one of my buddies having a newer silverado with electric fans. I liked how open his engine bay was. Now that I have done it I would do it again.