Cooling fan mpg DRAG....??

[ZugyNA]

Your attempts to gain mileage from blocking air openings in the front...hot air intake...air dam...heated fuel....195F thermostat...etc.....can be frustrated IF your cooling fan starts to run more than originally.

At the least you should consider adding a fan indicator light/LED to let you know when the fan is running. Find the fan hot wire and run a lead to the bulb/LED.

And you can install an adjustable cooling fan switch ($19 at Autozone or JCWhitney)...this can be set to switch the fan on/off up to 248F.

[brucepick]

I agree. When I installed the e-fan I also installed a green LED from Radio Shack to inform me when my cooling fan comes on. Knowledge is power, you know.

This is also helpful should the fan or its switching ever malfunction. If you know when to expect it to come on, and you're in one of those situations and it doesn't come on, you might save yourself some difficulty by recognizing the problem before it's too late.

[VetteOwner]

yea been there done that. i was cruiseing thru town (30 mph) and i kept noticing my temp guage creeping up. so i pulled onto a side street and poped the hood to see whats up and one of the fan wires fell off its plug...

since zugy mentioned heated fuel, i was crawling around under my chevette and GM routed the fuel line for a small maybe 6" square right over the exhaust pipe... then it goes back to the center of the car and up to the engine.

[GasSavers_TomO]

I know that for GM and some other car manufacturers the cooling fans don't come on above a certain speed. For instance, my 90 Turbo Grand Prix had a push and a pull style fan for cooling. The push fan wouldn't come on after 40MPH and the pull wouldn't come on after 55MPH

[lca13]

yeah, this has bitten me a few times. I patched in the "on" wire but have not hooked up the "in cab" LED yet.

Also, a good new clean radiator will do wonders for "no fan on" cooling...

I am also thinking about reducing my antifreeze mix to 40-60 or so... maybe a little less, to get more heat transfer per water pump cycle