The reman I bought last summer came with a water pump and thermostat. The thermostat was in a box.

I don't have an oil temp gauge, so... I have no idea. I was just thinking as a system that if i had high coolant temps, the oil temps may be creeping too, and that's another thing I need to start keeping an eye on...

Oil and cooling temps are somewhat codependent. If you bring down the temps of the coolant it will also help a bit with the oil temps.

I was considering the FAL fan. Based on the specs on the max thickness, the clearance it would provide would be about 1/2" to 3/4" depending on which section of the stock fan shroud you're comparing it to. In terms of sheer thickness, I thought it was going to be more originally, but because of the sizing of the dual 12 1/8" fans (length / width), it would still sit on the endtanks instead of with the rubber edge on the radiator (meaning it sits higher than the fin surface). That combined with that the FAL has a max fan speed of 2500cfm versus the stock fans which combine for 2950 iirc (I didn't realize that one fan was larger than the other), I am going to try to utilize the stock fan setup first.

I'm opting to try an AEM CAI first along with cutting the battery tray before the FAL, and before cutting and removing the fan supports on the drivers side...

No one know what the stock fans flow so I'm not sure where you got that number. I can tell you is that myself and two other locals have the FAL 420 (been on a couple of years now) and it definitely flows way more than the stock setup even just connected to the factory wiring. Hoss-05 has the 480 setup and it flows even more, although for this setup I the 480 fan motors might not fit as they are taller than the 420 setup.

I got them from searching the board for flow rates when searching for data on the stock fans. I want to say that I saw 1700cfm + 1250cfm somewhere.

Good to know that they flow well and last a while - i was digging through your thread with the Mizu fan the other day.

Still trying to get everything to fit at this point without cutting too much of the fan shroud away - good to know that the flow rate on the FAL would likely be sufficient and it would have a slightly lower profile than the stock one (I think the 420 is the one i was looking at - 12 1/8" dual, right?)/

I would not trust that info as this data is not available so unless someone actually tested them (which I high doubt) they are just guessing.

9k, how much bigger are the 420 fans compared to stock? I might have some clearance issues with a very large fan, I am afraid.

The 420 setup has a lower profile than the stock fans by quite a bit.

Thanks! Having helped Hoss with his install, would you say that the 490 is larger than stock?

It's very close to stock, maybe even a bit thicker.

FAL 420 may fit. Hopefully, someone is able to try it out and post confirmation pics.

Is it worth modifying the shroud to accept the ecu cooling duct?

I apologize in advance for the partial threadjack

Since the Flex A Lite 480 is currently cheaper than the 420, I went ahead and bought it. In addition, they are both listed as being four inches deep. Maybe it will fit, maybe it wont. Thats why the good lord gave us a return policy. If anyone wants a 480, tonight might be night

the FAL 420 is lower profile - it's listed as being 2 5/8" deep, not 4" deep - that's a pretty big difference. The 480 and 490 are both a full 4" deep. The benefit of the 480 or 490 is that they'll push more air (3000cfm vs 2500cfm), but if fitment is an issue, you may be going the wrong way going with the 480 over the 420...

I'm not certain that I'll need a FAL fan (keep in mind, my install is in an S2, so the difference in thickness is not as pronounced), but if I need additional clearance, I"m probably going with the 420 (or maybe the one with the variable speed control?).

Amazon lists them both as being four inches deep. How strange. Well, I will know on Saturday.

After checking the dimensions of the fal 420/480/490 it appears the shroud will need to be modified around the radiator hose area to fit. I agree pcs, there may likely be an issue with the higher cfm 480/490 units here because of the increased profile to 4".

We actually have been testing our own shroud and fan combo which is a direct bolt-on unit for the dual pass radiator! The unit will flow the same CFM as the fal490 but in a slimmer profile with some other goodies. :cool:

That is a hell of a deal on the 480, the 490 is more because it comes with the VSC, which most don't need.


Yeah it's quite a big difference between the 480/490 and teh 420. But Hoss-05 has a Ron Davis radiator and the 490 fit just fine.

Well that didn't take long. Cancelled my order on Amazon and am looking forward to an all in one solution. Scott hasn't steered me wrong yet.

Hah - my engine bay is a little more stockthan Hoss-05's =P

The 980s fit just fine and I doubt you will have an issue with stock fitment. But the 420 will for sure and still flows more than enough air.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a4c4866bf2.jpg

Hell I'm tempted to throw a set of stock connectors on the 420's include some mounting clips or pins and sell it as a kit myself :P

Hi Mike!

The radiator in that pic has the standard OE design inlet and outlet hose locations.
The dual pass unit has the inlet and outlets located on the passenger side end tank so the FAL shroud and fan appear to be in the way. Not 100% sure regarding the thickness but if the pic is the standard RD unit our dual pass is thicker and the FAL 480/490 may cause depth issues.:dunno:

Just wanted to chime in before anyone bought fans that may not be compatible with the dual pass unit.

Right on, I still think it will fit just fine but it may be something to look into. I was actually surprised by how well the flexalite fan setups fit spot on with a few different set ups. I expected to have to change some things around but they always just fit.

From prior conversation you and I had a few years ago your core should be about ideal and a great solution for controlling lots of heat. Had I known about it at the time it would most likely be on my car.

OK, so what you really meant is you had to cut major parts of the airbox undertray away. The stock airbox itself is still intact. I was rather worried you just had an exposed paper filter sucking hot air off the back of the radiator for a while :)

UPDATE!!

I drove at Sonoma Raceway yesterday (Sears Point, if you're an older guy...) and the results were outstanding!! Drove hard, held nothing back, and never went over 200 degrees, even behind traffic. In clean air the temp held 180-190 all day long. Outside air temps topped out at 70 degrees (nice to be in CA in November) so that was working in my favor. However, even with similar ambient temps the old (stock) radiator would hit 230 within 5 laps.

So, final result for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. All the modifications were totally worth it. I would do this mod again in a heartbeat.

Feel free to PM me with any questions whatsoever.