Flex-A-Lite electric fan

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Flex-A-Lite electric fan

January 12, 2007, 11:13:27 AM

I recently had my fan clutch take a permanent lunch break on me, so I decided it was time for an electric fan. I know I could piece something together from the junkyard, but a call to jeg's and I had the whole thing at my doorstep the next day.

The flex-a-lite part no. (185) for '79-'93 mustangs fits our cars just as good as it does the 'Stangs. It's amazing how noticeable it is going from broken stock parts to aftermarket speed parts. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a no-hassle alternative. I should probably call them and tell them to market the thing for '83-'88 T-birds/Cougars too...lol.

-Don

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #1 – January 12, 2007, 12:18:37 PM

This is a good idea if you have a stock engine and want a 'set it and forget it' mod with no JY scrounging and a 1-day turnaround.

But, if you're like me (an buttstuff-retentive engineer), buying a Flex-a-lite 185 isn't the best option. The 185 runs ~$300 with shipping. A "Taurus" fan will run ~$30-60 shipped from a JY, take 2-3 days to arrive and outflow the 185 by just under a 2:1 margin. A "Mark VIII/MN12" fan will run about the same price as the Taurus and outflow the 185 by more than a 2:1 margin. The major downside to the MarkVIII option is that you need to trim the fan shroud if you have a V8.

You can used the money saved to buy a more flexible all-in-one controller (DC Control FK-35 [$120] / Flex-a-lite VSC [$110]).

Add on another $10 for aluminum angle/plate for mounting...and you end up with a far more capable system, for over $100 less.

Just my :2c:
This wasn't meant to knock your purchase. Everyone's goals are different, which merit different routes to achieve them.

[SIZE="1"]On edit: Flow figures wrong...see post #7[/SIZE]

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #2 – January 12, 2007, 12:24:11 PM

I bought two cheapie 12" fans off ebay, got a flexalite adjustable temp fan controller, built my own shroud, and wired it up so the fans can't run when the car is shut off and they come on automatically whenever the fan controller tells them to.

whew!

Works pretty good although I still seem to have a hard time really getting the car to stay cool in stop & go traffic. I may have to upgrade to "good" fans sometime in the future instead of these cheapie ones.

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #3 – January 16, 2007, 10:56:25 AM

I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to believe that stock Ford fans will flow 3300cfm...considering 2800cfm is sufficient for up to 260hp. And it came with an adjustable controller that works very well.

So a taurus fan flows just under 6600cfm...sorry but that is laughable, at best. Maybe you've been misinformed about the flex-a-lite 185.

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #4 – January 16, 2007, 11:28:16 AM

Found some auction on ebay that claims the Mark VIII fan can flow "up to 4300 cfm."

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #5 – January 16, 2007, 01:02:24 PM

Almost every reference I've seen about the Mark VIII fan states they flow more than 4,000 CFM. I've seen as high as 4,800.

Here's a good read: http://forums.tccoa.com/showthread.php?t=8133

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #6 – January 16, 2007, 01:43:02 PM

Quote from: Sick88Tbird;124158

So a taurus fan flows just under 6600cfm...sorry but that is laughable, at best. Maybe you've been misinformed about the flex-a-lite 185.

My original post contained a few brain farts. The Taurus/MarkVIII/MN12 fans don't outflow the 185 by a 2:1 margin. cfm is non-linear wrt current draw.

The DC Control website has an excellent page on calculating theoretical fan flow [Link]. If you plug in the correct inputs...you get the following outputs...

Black Magic - 13.9A - 2625 cfm
Black Magix X-treme - 18A - 2850 cfm
Taurus - 33A - 3850 cfm
MN12 - 28A - 4325 cfm

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #7 – January 16, 2007, 02:14:20 PM

Quote

I recently had my fan clutch take a permanent lunch break on me, so I decided it was time for an electric fan. I know I could piece something together from the junkyard, but a call to jeg's and I had the whole thing at my doorstep the next day.

Yeah but if you have a problem with the aftermarket fan you can't just run in a NAPA or autozone and buy a fan motor off the shelf and be running in an hour.. thats why I like the factory style fans like the mark 8 and taurus. Plus the markviii fan is very quiet I heard alot of aftermarket fans that sound like jets about to take off..

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #8 – January 16, 2007, 02:58:44 PM

How many amps does one of those Mark VIII fans pull?

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #9 – January 16, 2007, 03:48:03 PM

I believe the MarkVIII fan draws around 80 amps at startup, 50 amps once its running. You will most likely have to upgrade to a larger alternator. If you are running an MN12 5.0, you will need a Mustang 3G 130 amp alternator or better, and get a custom bracket extension to put it into your stock alternator bracket. Lonnie Doll sells the wiring kit for a Mark fan, wiring kit for a Mustang alternator to MN12, and alternator bracket. He can be found on http://www.tccoa.com or http://www.blueovalchips.com.

Oh, and if you do get a MarkVIII fan, get the 1998 fan if you can. It flows better than the other Mark fans. And don't cut off more shroud than you have to. The closer the blades are to the radiator, the less the fan will flow.

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #10 – January 16, 2007, 04:50:01 PM

Quote from: Johnny Cougar;124192

I believe the MarkVIII fan draws around 80 amps at startup, 50 amps once its running.

Holy Jesus. :eek:

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #11 – January 16, 2007, 04:50:25 PM

i have a ford taurus fan in my 88 cougar with a 5.0 and it cools just fine.

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #12 – January 16, 2007, 05:04:04 PM

I'm sure a taurus fan does work fine, I'm not knocking it, but I knew it was absurd to think it flowed that much. I'm sure flex-a-lite knows how much their products really flow...they wouldn't be claiming 3300cfm if it didn't produce near that much flow. Plus, I'm not pulling a billion freakin' amps...lol.

"The DC Control website has an excellent page on calculating theoretical fan flow. If you plug in the correct inputs...you get the following outputs..."

The key word there is theoretical.

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #13 – January 16, 2007, 05:22:50 PM

Quote from: Sick88Tbird;124197

The key word there is theoretical.

The only thing missing from DC Control's theory is fan blade efficiency. Do you think flex-a-lite's blades are more efficient than the OEMs? Their motors sure aren't. So, while it is just theory, it is very close to reality and quite valid.

Quote

Plus, I'm not pulling a billion freakin' amps

That is why you use the money you saved by buying a JY fan to buy a variable controller. A MN12 fan can match the 185's maximum output with just over 8A (instead of 18A). A Taurus fan will give you slightly better cfm per amp due to the Taurus' more efficient motor...but it still has more room to crank up the cfm if needed.

Quote from: Red LX

How many amps does one of those Mark VIII fans pull?

Approximately 105A at startup, 42A @14.4V [Source]

Quote from: Johnny Cougar

Oh, and if you do get a MarkVIII fan, get the 1998 fan if you can. It flows better than the other Mark fans.

Actually, the early MKVIII fans flow better than the later fans. I can't remember the year they changed the blades though. Later MKVIII fans shared blades with the MN12 fans.

Flex-A-Lite electric fan

Reply #14 – January 16, 2007, 10:20:00 PM

"The only thing missing from DC Control's theory is fan blade efficiency. Do you think flex-a-lite's blades are more efficient than the OEMs?"

I see what you're saying, and yes, I do think flex-a-lite's s-curved fan blades are more efficient than OEMs.

I see what you mean about variable controllers, but amp for amp, I don't think the OEM fans match the flex-a-lite fans.

There are pro's and con's to both the piece-meal junkyard approach and the aftermarket approach...which you choose depends on your preference.