Electric fan(s)... no. But you dont need more than one fan to begin with... if you use the right fan from the get go.

The only time I might recommend... read: might... run more than one fan is if I was wanting to run duals for the secondary to kick on when the AC is active. But... you dont have that problem... and niether do I. So why not run a single fan that pulls more than the two you have now ??

Secondly... you dont really need a shroud. If you purchased a Mark VIII fan with the same size core as the OEM offering... the fan shroud of the Mark VIII fan would be nearly perfect. Not having a shroud with this fan is not really an issue... it's will damn near pull the car forward in neutral.

The dual pass mechanics... is really where the performance gain is.

Sorry.. I should have said FAN since that's what I run now.. one large fan. I plan on contacting C&R next week. I still like the idea of a shroud, even if it's for asthetic reasons. And my current AFCO radiator is a double pass unit.

What do you think about an oil cooler story? discuss plate, tube and heat sink options along with location. Could be a good theory piece. I hate doing the same old stories over and over. Thoughts?

I think that it is a great idea for a story Steve. It's definately something that everyone would benefit from and I would think that it is something that the majority of people have at least given some consideration to over the course of ownership. And for a bit of variety, it's not LSx specific...

Two things that I have used on my last two builds that I thought were cool was (1) a "sandwich" style thermostat/bypass on my 502 (it was off of a Mercury Racing marine big block) and (2) the Canton remote thermostat that I have on the '67 now. Hindsight being 20/20 I might have gone with a cooler in the rad but that ship has sailed.

On my last '67 I bought a used Fluidyne nascar setup from Rousch racing. While it was not an integral part of the rad it was designed to be mounted directly beneath it.

It would be interesting to get C&R's take on aftermarket/fabricated shrouds. Some of the AM "shrouds" act more like barriers.

What is very interesting on newer cars is just how small the radiators are and how well the fan systems work with them. Nearly all of radiator is covered by the shroud and there is a very high open area ratio. If air cannot freely flow, cooling effectiveness is reduced. This is very important when space is at a premium, even for our applications where turbos/intercoolers/plumbing take up a lot of space.

As said earlier, mine is too big, and the car has a problem getting enough heat in the oil during the cooler months. I'm fabricating a block-off plate that will slip down the front of the radiator and block off a portion of the top section during the winter months. A thermostat would be a better option, and I'm in the planning stages for that as well.

A technical story would be very interesting. Each type will have advantages and disadvantages. I have a lot more respect for a product when the company points out not only where their products work, but also applications where it is not well suited.

Would it be futile to try and cool the oil in a turbo set-up?

Hey Carl,

C&R felt that a shroud should be ran on the street and shouldn't be ran on the track. This is due to the high track speeds over pressurizing the fan. With the lower speeds on the street the shroud is a good idea.

Also, I talked with AFCO and they are going to make a radiator with the built in oil cooler similar to the C&R piece. In fact they are working on it right now.

I also heard BeCool will do it on request.

Sort of nice to have more options.

Oh and there will be an "oil cooler 101" type story. :)

Just want to throw this into the mix, how about a Oil thermostat bypass on the oil cooler? Get the engine up to temp faster.

That's a good idea if you are using an air based cooler. But, if you're running one through the radiator they it's unnessary since the water will warm the oil in addition to cooling it.

Kinda back to the original application (and for my own interests)...

I see how a turbo application could REALLY benefit from cooler oil but I question if any set-up would make a dent. Turbos are pretty efficient at raising oil temps.

I've thrown some ideas and theories around this subject and came to the conclusion that no oil cooler could be more efficient at cooling than the turbos are for heating the oil.

Basically- I theorize that you'd be pissing-in-the-wind trying to cool the oil in a turbocharged engine. The oil will reach a similar max temp regardless of how you try to cool it down. Am I wrong?