BeCool radiators: are they a good for my setup and fair $?

[Dragon]

I had a 530 Horse 410 in a truck with factory 3 core radiator and raced that bad boy on the salt lakes with nere a problem, Electric fans though. Edit I always used 2 fans one set at 160 and one set at 190 degrees.

[robroy]

Hey Dragon! Thanks for your reply!

So why were you using electric fans? What benefits did they offer that made it worthwhile to you?

The salt flats is the perfect environment to imagine, by the way. Nasty heat!

-Robroy

[fitzwell]

pm sent

[robroy]

Thank you Fitzwell! PM replied. -Robroy

[Dragon]

Hey Dragon! Thanks for your reply!

So why were you using electric fans? What benefits did they offer that made it worthwhile to you?

The salt flats is the perfect environment to imagine, by the way. Nasty heat!

The main reason was if the trucks had to idle. Out in the desert even a traffic light would cause my trucks to spike the gauge at over 240. So one fan 12" came in at 160 for normal driving and the other 10" for when it got real hot. With both fans running and idling it would sit right at 190. When racing the 12 inch was always on and the 10 inch sometimes. I had indicator lights that told me when the fans were spinning if I was making too much noise. The regular fan at 5000 will draw somewhere in the realm of 20hp and the two electric fans draw less than 1 in electrical load. Plus stock does not draw enough air at an idle to bother having it.

I also wired them for manual on like when I was hill crawling at real slow speeds I just kept them on.

The one thing I disliked about aftermarket fans was the way they attached directly through the radiator making the radiator heavier.

[robroy]

Hi Dragon, thanks for your post!

The electric fans do sound like a big upgrade; thanks for posting the details of your scenario.

I know I'm veering a little off topic, but is it really true that the more power an engine is capable of producing, the greater its cooling requirements will be?

Anybody else have advice on the BeCool product?

Thanks very much!
-Robroy

[robroy]

Hey Dragon, thanks for the explanation on engine heat per horsepower!

I know what you mean about the BeCool radiators on Summit, but I think the prices are about the same--the $1,750 price they quoted me is for a unit that's not even on Summit at all. All Summit has for our trucks are the BeCools designed for small block Fords.

I heard that since this setup is custom made, I need to order it from them directly over the phone. Did I mention they said it'd take three to four weeks to complete the order?

Thank you Dragon!
-Robroy

[Ranchero50]

Sounds like a great way to spend money...

Honestly, why not just put in an Aluminum replacement radiator in and a shrouded flex fan. You're not building a race truck. The stock four blade fan setup sucks.

The bad on electric fans is they suck power. Have you upgraded the alternator and wiring yet?

Jamie

[robroy]

Hey Jamie! Thanks for your advice!

I haven't been able to find an aluminum replacement radiator quite yet, only upgrade radiators. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places?

I haven't upgraded the wiring but I do plan on putting an upgraded alternator in. Is the wiring upgrade a must?

Thanks again Jamie!
-Robroy

[fordman]

i think my dad could get you one of the aluminum radiators. that all he does now days anyway. besides his hobby stuff.if you want i can have him check into it.

[fitzwell]

I haven't upgraded the wiring but I do plan on putting an upgraded alternator in. Is the wiring upgrade a must?

-Robroy

It is if you are going to use a dual fan setup, or one of the MK VII units. A 3G alternator off a 98 v6 mustang is a basic "bolt in" Wiring needs to be upgraded to handle the increased output of the unit, which is covered in the "3G" upgrade in the electrical section.

[Ranchero50]

OK, IMHO, here's my

For your application I'd recommend a stock 3 core brass or 2core aluminum with a newer @ '79 shroud and working clutch fan set up. It has the biggest benefit of fitting the truck and being designed by Ford to cool the truck under the heaviest load in desert heat.

I'm not a big fan of electric fans, no pun intended.

Their real benefits are constant cooling flow at low engine / truck speeds and less engine resistance at high RPM's.

The negatives are that quite honestly most don't flow as much air as a clutch fan setup and the ones that do use a lot of power to drive the fan / fans, power that isn't being generated at low speeds. They are hard on wiring. Every fan setup I've dealt with has fitted poorly to the radiator and even the $300 flexalite shroud kit for the fox mustang setup sucked far worse than the stock clutch fan setup.

One suggestion is if you decide to go clutch fan setup, try to get the clutch from Ford. The parts shop clutches suck pretty bad. They tend to pull in too low and the seals fail after a few years. Ideally you want the clutch to pull in around 190` so it's slipping most of the time. It took a few tries to get one that works well in my stang, but I notice it kick in a couple minutes after the AC does and the temps goes around 200`

Jamie

[Dragon]

I keep seeing the negativity of Electric fans yet I never experienced this.

I use the through radiator plastic ties and drew 12 amps total with my 12 and 10 inch Hayden fans. 12 amps is 20% of 1 horsepower drawn off the engine by the alternator. This could use 12 AWG wire for over kill or 14 AWG for less over protection. 12 AWG handles 30 amps and 14 AWG is rated for 20 amps max. If someone is burning up wire they are using too small a wire gauge. If they are having wiring problems they need to pick up a basic Hot Rod wiring book. Relays are a great way to switch 12 amp circuits. They save the switches by drawing less power to do the switching. The temp kits that came with my fans survived the Baja 500 and my almost daily 100 to 140 mph trips across the Mojave desert. My tied to the radiator fan kits survived the same abuse and were still on the same radiator after 4 years of abuse and in town driving. I retired that truck after breaking the drive shaft for the 5th time wrapping the rear end and changing the pinion angle. Needed better springs or a ladder setup.

A locked clutch fan on a Ford sounds like a jet engine coming down the road and draws 30 to 45 hp according to an old service bulletin.

[390F100]

I got this for under 200 and although I have not yet driven my truck with this radiator installed it looks great and im pretty sure it will cool much better than a stock replacement...

390f100

[Dragon]

I hope so too. The water here would eat that in about 6 months. Saves a about 20 lbs which is good.