Guinea Pig anyone? (Ebay M3 Fan Shroud)

[Gabs]

Good day all,

I thought I'd post this here, if not to be informational then at least it may bring some amusement to others. After all I've done with my engine and whatnot these past 4 months, it was inevitable that I'd move to an electric fan sooner then later. Rarely do I stray far from well know distributors (vac,tms,pelican, etc..).
Though I decided to purchase this aluminum fan shroud and 13" fan combo off ebay.



At the time of ordering I actually didn't realize it was for an M3 E30. Anyway it did require modification with a pair of flat edge bending pliers and an angle grinder.



The fan is surprisingly quiet at full speed, its no louder then the engine, so you really cant hear it while the engine is running. I currently have the fan wired to an override switch on my center console, the temperature activated side of the wiring will come soon. The fan draws a little under 7 amps, or it should, I cant get to my multimeter right now because of a stubborn e34 trunk lock. As for its performance, I'd call it adequate. While using it on hot days in frustratingly slow stop and go downtown traffic, it kept the temperature gauge half a needle width over the centerline in 30c Degree weather.

That being said, its my opinion that the fan in this unit looks cheap, it runs smooth and is quiet but for how long is anyone's guess.

All in all, I'm happy with it for now, it keeps my engine cool. I will likely modify the shroud in the future to accommodate a larger fan

-Gabs



 

[Slowered318]

Do you know who makes the fan and motor? It looks very slim, plenty of elbow room at the front of the motor.

Here's the setup I've been running since last summer.

I had the aluminum shroud fabricated to measure at a local metal shop. This 16" puller fan fits snugly in cutout and moves a lot more air then the factory clutch mount ever did. Wired it up to an 80/88 thermo switch and the A/C fan circuit with the factory resistor for "low speed". Haven't heard it kick into "high speed" yet but I don't have the A/C condenser in front to contend with. Light to light things get a little toasty under the hood without the constant flow of air over the engine, highway speed is a different story, I doubt the fan even comes on.

My update for this year is to re connect the A/C button on the console so I can defeat the thermo switch and fire up the fan for "maniac driving mode" lol.