I know this has been talked about a lot. But would this kit be worth buying? I'm gathering parts for my S54 oil filter housing w/ oil cooler setup and also want to do a fan delete. Let me know your thoughts...
https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-3...52/?pdk=AQMBAQ
Last edited by redlinealley; 05-19-2017 at 04:27 PM.
I say buy it. You want to, or else you wouldn't be posting, and we deserve toys, whether they are rational or not. First get some reliable measures of engine output, then put in on, measure again, and tell us results.
What is fan delete and why do you do it?
Google "z3 fan delete" and you will get more than I could tell you, but the short version is that you remove the fan from the water pump. Some just then rely on the aux fan, but I'm in AZ, so I added an aftermarket elec fan. You also buy a lower temp fan switch for the side of the radiator. Reasons: old fans fall apart and do lots of damage ... it gives you more horsepower (maybe .01 hp). ... it makes any future work in that area much easier. ... it gives you something to do on a Saturday to show you love your car.
Pretty much you replace the fan switch with a 80/88C, thermostat with a 88C, 1 or 2 bottles of water wetter and take off the fan/clutch and close the hood..... If you want to spend more money on your loved one. You can replace your radiator with an aluminum one from Zionsville Autosport.
It's funny how some things just happen..... Not but 2 days ago I said I want to do a fan delete. I was out and about today, wound up racing a little with an M4 and as I was pulling onto my street and low RPM'S the car wasn't running right. Pulled into the garage and the whole exhaust was shaking and so was the motor. I finally discovered this.....
20170520_154556.jpg
any damage?
Fans don't just break, even if they do get brittle. It was either the water pump bearing wobbling, or an engine mount broke. As a result, the fan hit something.
I like the unicorns.
'99 Z3 Coupe - Jet Black/Black (1-of-114)
'99 M Coupe - Estoril Blue/Black (1-of-82)
'03 540iT - Sterling Gray/Black (1-of-24)
'16 Z4 sDrive35i - Estoril Blue/Walnut (1-of-8)
The water pump and engine mounts only have 2k miles on them, without any issues. The blades did not hit anything. Luckily there was no damage to the car hood or radiator.
An underdrive pulley refers to a crankshaft or accessory pulley (a/c, alternator, power steering, water pump, etc.) designed to turn at a slower speed than stock. To Underdrive means to slow the rate of rotation in a system. Underdrive is achieved by either making the crank/main (drive) pulley smaller or the accessory (driven) pulley larger than the original diameter pulleys.
Underdrive pulleys increase engine output by reducing the draw of the engine's accessories by slowing them down and reducing the HP they use. Horsepower gains from underdrive pulleys can vary by vehicle, engine, number of accessories and the amount of underdrive (Improvements of up to 5-15 HP at the wheels have been seen). Additional and significant performance improvements can be seen by reducing the weight of the pulley versus the original pulley. Gains can range from 3-6 HP per pound of weight reduced.
Poorly engineered underdrive pulleys can cause unwanted side effects; this is due to not spinning the alternator, power steering, and/or air conditioning fast enough. This leads to low alternator voltage, weak/no power steering assist, and weak/no air conditioning effectiveness, especially at idle/low RPM. The most commonly seen result is lighting may dim, or the stereo may cut out. Too much underdrive for a race car is not much of a concern due to the high RPMs they run at, but for daily driven vehicles it can lead to a dead battery if too much time is spend at idle or low RPM. Additionally, an underdrive pulley will not reduce the power consumed by the alternator, as the alternator's load is automatically adjusted by its control circuit to match the electrical load regardless of input speed.
Changing the original crankshaft pulley can also have negative effects if the replacement pulley is not manufactured properly. A crankshaft or accessory pulley not machined or balanced properly can cause severe damage leading to thousands of dollars in repairs.
Fans DO just break. The air pressure surges and pulses. The instant loads on the blades at high RPM are pretty significant, and constantly changing.
I don't know who started this idea of bad mounts breaking fans a few years back. The idea needs to die. First off, engine mounts are softest when new, The engine moves more on new mounts than old hard ones. So if mounts are going to break a fan, it will be right after new ones are installed Second, when a fan hits the shroud, it makes a horrendous noise. "The world just ended" loud grinding noise. Commercial tree service chipper/shredder noise. Never has such a noise been reported.
Last edited by rf900rkw; 06-10-2017 at 08:53 AM.
/.randy
I'll offer a counter opinion....I wouldn't say it is worth it, based on the dyno graph posted in that ad. Those gains are minimal at best, and probably due to run-to-run variation at worst (i.e., the pulleys didn't really do anything). If you need to replace your pulleys anyway for some reason, then I guess I could see that they might be worth a try; but it seems like your $250 might be better spent elsewhere.
2001 Z3 3.0 Coupe--Sterling Gray/Sunroof Delete/5MT
I totally agree and won't be spending 250 on the pully setup. I just wanted to post what I found out about the setup and the pros and cons.
Another point. Ever get stuck in a summer traffic jam on the highway? Winter, too, for that matter. A/C/defrost fan cranking. Condenser fan on high, no airflow, engine at idle, minimal coolant flow. Tis a bad time to be running on reduced alternator and waterpump capacity.
/.randy
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