Radiator/fan Efficiency After Fmic Install

[colossus]

Guys installed a FMIC onto my R34 over the weekend - in order for the piping to clear the radiator I had to "Trim" the fanblades. After many attempts we had to basically chop about 40% (kind of a scallop shape) off each blade off to get the blades to stop hitting the pipe.

Firstly is this normal? - and secondly how do people find the cooling of the car (as in engine temps) after cutting fan blades? My temp gauge basically sat on the halfway mark for the drive to work this morning but it was light traffic and cold today...I cant remember what it used to sit on before the FMIC...

Also not sure if this is a dumb question, but wouldnt the fan now be off balance too?

[colossus]

anyone?

[Col-GTSX]

Well yes it could be out of balance but many have done this before you and have not reported any issues.

You will notice with any intercooler install that you decrease air flow to the radiator and of course the air passing out of he back of the intercooler with be hotter than normal. I personally had no issues with heat on my R31's or R33's after doing FMIC's it makes very little difference. Remember with cooler air entering the engine it can actually produce less heat (depending on how rich the tune is)...

In short every car is different and most importantlly there are many variable factors when trying to answer a question like this. Your radiator could be either good or bad condition which will effect the cars temp more so than an FMIC install...

Just keep your eye on it, and if it starts getting too hot then look at getting a full radiator flush. If this does not help then upgrade the radiator to a newer alloy unit.

The fan behind he radiator only really does it job at speeds lower than 20/30kph, anything higher than that and the force of cool air entering is higher flowing than the fan can ever produce...

Posy up a pic of your front end now the FMIC is installed, maybe you can afford to create some more space for air to flow also...

[Kinks]

you had to remove 40% of each blade? sounds like a shitty FMIC kit. I helped a mate with his install and we had to trim the blades, but one chop with a pair of wire cutters on the corner of each blade was enough (only reduced them by a couple of centimetres).

[colossus]

Cheers guys I will post a pic up of the install so you can see how much I had to cut.

Everthing else went smooth - no cutting of the rebar or any structual metal just had to trim the back of the front bar, holesaw under the water bottle and cut the radiator fan (this was the most frustrating bit). I didnt really have the right tools - i.e. only cutting implement I had was a pen knife - and it was my first time at having a go at a FMIC install. How does 16 hours sound lol - my neighbours probably thought me strange for sitting on my front lawn at 3am with a pen knife cutting a front bar...

[Dragonforce]

hey man least you sound dedicated!

[colossus]

Engine showing pipe:

Cut fan blades:

Finished product:

Edited May 13, 2008 by colossus

[R31Nismoid]

Hate to say it but thats a horrid kit, or its the install.

To cut THAT much off the blades, didnt you think something was wrong?

If you had to trim just the edges, no problem but thats like a fair chunk of the main arc swing...

I'd be watching your temps etc through summer dude with great care

[Dan_J]

shud have just mounted the pipe higher nd wider with maybe an extra silicon joiner?. never heard of choping the fan blade wud say it wud cool a lil crappy with fan blade cut

[colossus]

Hate to say it but thats a horrid kit, or its the install.

To cut THAT much off the blades, didnt you think something was wrong?

If you had to trim just the edges, no problem but thats like a fair chunk of the main arc swing...

I'd be watching your temps etc through summer dude with great care

Well I wasnt sure how much was acceptable to cut off the blades never having done it before - I read the forums and people mention cutting fan blades all the time so I just assumed it was fine - until of course I got to the point where it was 3am and I needed the car the next day so just kept cutting to get them to stop hitting....

I think if I get a longer silicone joiner (at the point where the pipe under the water bottle meets the return pipe) I can move the pipe up an inch or two. Guess I will start searching for a second hand radiator fan to replace that one. Will one from an R33 bolt straight on?

[r33cruiser]

invest in a GReddy or GReddy copy plenum.

copies are only 200-300bucks and bypass the fan entirely.

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

jesus i only had to FILE mine... like 10mm at most!

[nizmonut]

not even that....? something seriously wrong there with the fitment dude?

push comes to shove get a thermostatic switch and replace the viscous fan and shroud with a couple of 10 inch electric fans.

just make sure when you do it you hook a wire to the Auxilary idle control valve so the engine can compensate for the load the fans will be drawing from the alternator.........

in saying that just get the set up out of a nissan bluebird maxima or similar...

[dmr]

what fmic kit is that, and where did you get it from? that fitment looks pretty tacky to me, or maybe it wasn't installed properly. most fmic kits will require you to cut a couple millimeter from the fan blades, if that.

most skyline temp guages sit on half if the cooling system is healthy. there hasn't been a fmic install that has affected the radiator flow bad enough to cause engine temps to rise and i wouldn't say it would affect much now that you've cut a majority of the fan blades.

i'll say as nismoid did to watch your temps during summer. especially when idling or in traffic, as this is when your engine fans are most likely to come on. if it poses as a problem in the future you can always upgrade to ford/holden twin thermos which are pretty cheap and pretty much bolt on or you can go with aftermarket kits.

cheers,

dave.

Edited May 13, 2008 by dmr

[53XYN]

hey bud i have a 34 with the 33 style kit on it as i couldnt find a proper hybrid 34 kit at that time.. on mine i didnt even have to trim the fan blades.. .. cutting that much off is a bit odd... bear in mind if the balance goes out it will go thro your radiator and or damage the viscus cupling bearings that help it spin. i hope its not a Monza kit..

[colossus]

what fmic kit is that, and where did you get it from? that fitment looks pretty tacky to me, or maybe it wasn't installed properly. most fmic kits will require you to cut a couple millimeter from the fan blades, if that.

most skyline temp guages sit on half if the cooling system is healthy. there hasn't been a fmic install that has affected the radiator flow bad enough to cause engine temps to rise and i wouldn't say it would affect much now that you've cut a majority of the fan blades.

i'll say as nismoid did to watch your temps during summer. especially when idling or in traffic, as this is when your engine fans are most likely to come on. if it poses as a problem in the future you can always upgrade to ford/holden twin thermos which are pretty cheap and pretty much bolt on or you can go with aftermarket kits.

cheers,

dave.

Not sure on the brand - I bought it second hand (off a forum member) but it had never been fitted. The guy claims he bought it from Just Jap in Kirrawee, though the instructions that came with it had Autobarn printed on the top.

After 4 trips to work and back in medium-heavy traffic, temp still hasnt gone over half way but then again it is winter...

Edited May 13, 2008 by colossus

[Duncan]

thats a pretty big cut, but I would be very surprised if you noticed the difference in temps.

do you still have the second, aircon fan?

[dmr]

Not sure on the brand - I bought it second hand (off a forum member) but it had never been fitted. The guy claims he bought it from Just Jap in Kirrawee, though the instructions that came with it had Autobarn printed on the top.

After 4 trips to work and back in medium-heavy traffic, temp still hasnt gone over half way but then again it is winter...

well if all is good for the moment don't stress. i would go out and get some ford thermos for the car (EL model i think) which i was told would cost between $40-80 from wreckers. upgrade at a cheap cost, and all you have to do is make custom brackets.

[colossus]

Temp still fine but half way to work the car lost power and the "SLIP" and engine light came on. Pulled into a servo, restarted it and no warning lights. Drove it again for 3 minutes then car lost power for a few seconds (felt like running on 3 cylinders) and the SLIP and engine light on again.

great.

[colossus]

Temp still fine but half way to work the car lost power and the "SLIP" and engine light came on. Pulled into a servo, restarted it and no warning lights. Drove it again for 3 minutes then car lost power for a few seconds (felt like running on 3 cylinders) and the SLIP and engine light on again.

great.

After searching around on here the common problem people have when these lights is coilpacks. However I just find it strangley suspicious this happens 3 days after installing the FMIC...

By the way I plumbed the p/s pump into a random manifold hose as my aftermarket intercooler pipe didnt have a nipple - I wonder if this is causing the issue.