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Stay away from the Mizu fans and shroud, the fans failed in months, the radiator has worked well but is no longer sold. I am running the FAL 420 puller (2500CFM). The 480 will work and is 3000CFM and reversible and comes with the controller and will fit as well even though the fan motors are taller.
They are louder, they flow more. And we have a 100A alternator, it is a non issue with either the 420 or 3000CFM 480. Hoss-05 has the 480 ad sounds wise they are the same as my 420 even with larger motors. Jegs also makes their own version of what looks to be a copy of the 420 setup that is much cheaper. But I can't speak the reliability of the Jegs setup, I don't think anyone has purchased that setup.
Thanks. I know you and Hoss are build buddies, so I hope you will know this. Does he see markedly different temperatures than you do, having the extra CFM?
No, our temps are pretty much inline but we shall see this summer when we are both pushing it. And a third buddy has an NA RX-8 with the 420 fans and he does run a little cooler by 10 degrees or so after a hard run but he is NA. But Hoss-05 and I also both run Evans water less coolant so the temps are bit higher overall due to that. But even after a hard run I don't get above 215F or so. Both of our turbos run on separate cooling circuits with their own reservoir, pump, and cooler. Our cooling systems are rather different setups though.
I went on Amazon and it said the fal 480 will not fit in an rx8... but 26 x15 hardly seems too big... can you explain why it would tell me it is not proper?
I want to order the 480 right now but id kick my self all day if i waste 500 bucks.
Also the 420 / 480 - 2500 / 3000 CFM, is that per fan or combined CFM???
Also quick question, my radiator is 25 x 15, the fal is 26 x 15, will this be a problem? The dealership told me the radiator is not stock so my concern is this, is the stock radiator 26 inches?
Just gotta do all my home work before driving off the deep end here.
I wonder how the FAL 420 compares to the stock S2 fan setup.
I remember from my radiator install that the fan shroud isn't shrouded very well and seems to let a bunch air through since it is spaced out from the radiator.
I don't really have any cooling issues, the stock setup cools well when it kicks in high speed, but I'm always looking for upgrades.
It's tough to stay, the specs are no where for the S2 fan shroud. But I would assume the FAL 420 is still better since it is two equal fans running and depending on how you control them will matter as well.
The S2 fans are pretty much the same as S1 fans cooling wise. My car is an S2 and in 35C weather, it slowly creeps to 220F. Same happens to other S1s I know. Only difference is that maybe the S1s have older fans. Older = slower.
Haha yeah I guess. I have a 2008 Mazda 3, and that thing never goes above 206F. However, we also have a 2013 520d, and that constantly runs at 230F. I looked it up and turns out it's normal for those engines. Oh well.
I've now noticed that my car hits 220F when I drive spiritedly. It's just sprinting in traffic, so not a lotta speed. Mostly 20-50 mph. But it gets from 206F to 219F in like 5 mins. Turning off the AC would bring it back down to 212F-ish. I think the extra heat coming out of the AC condenser is the prime culprit for cooling issues.
You have more xp than any of us. Would an auxiliary fan to cool the AC condenser help drop the coolant temp?
I'm not 9k but I can't see how more air flow would be bad. More air means lower Δ-T cross the condenser which means the air is cooler once it reaches the radiator.
This was one of the things I learned when I was into watercooling my overclocked computer. At full CPU load, more water and air flow always resulted in lower Δ-T between the CPU and the ambient temps. The limiting factor was how much pump and fan noise I could tolerate. The other big factor was surface area of the radiator. Up to a certain point, more surface area was always better.
Refresh my memory, Nisaja: are you still on the stock radiator and fan setup?
Haha you still have way more experience than me, so I'll gladly take your advice! Thank you!
Yes, everything is stock. Every time I take it out, I check the temps using an OBD2 scanner. And every time I'm in traffic under the hot sun, I see it hit 220F. Scares the hell outta me. I've read too many horror stories. That's why I turn the AC off. Im sure it won't "officially" overheat if I keep the AC on. But it'll probably run very close to 230F.
It's summer all year. Taking my car out during the day means I have to turn the AC off and roll the windows down, so I don't take it out during the day anymore. Sucks because it's a beautiful car and there aren't a lot of nice cars here. Wish I bought an FRS now. Those cars don't run hot in traffic. Oh well. I've learned to live with it
