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How Much ET is an Electric Water Pump and Fans Worth on BBC?

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6.2K views 24 replies 17 participants last post by  Lilracr  
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#1 ·
Got an extra Meziere 55 GPH and 140 AMP alternator that I could use on a normally aspirated 496 that runs a slow 13.2 @ 102 at altitude. Would need to buy alternator brackets and electric fan asseblies. The BeCool complete systems go for $1,300 and a less costly alternative would be sweet. Or is there an assembly I could add to the original 4-core radiator and save some coin?

How much power/ET drop would be likely in taking off the OEM cast iron pump and adding the electric pump/fans?
 
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#4 ·
AS far as the electric fans... if you want to keep you radiator and save some coin. I would find a website called The Fan Man, he is a spal dealer and will build you a dual fan set up for about $300. Even if you dont go with him....you do not need to spend $1300 on Be Cool.
I have no back to back testing on elec wp, It was nothing I could feel power wise, but they are nice between rounds.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
i saw a tenth (.1) from my mezeire w/p in the 8th mile. (lt1 sbc). car craft mag. did a dyno with a few different types of fans a few yrs back(feb. 02). from the worst to no fan at all, was 45 hp! BTW, the electric fan used 2hp. my cousin happened to have had the same fan in the article that robbed 28hp on their test engine over an electric. i swapped his car (355sbc) to an electric and picked up .15 in the 8th, with no other changes. amazingly, compared to alot of aftermarket fans the factory gm thermal type clutch fan only used 9hp over no fan at all. what fan are you running now? i found the mag. and i can see if your fan is one of the fans used in the dyno. BTW, the factory lt1 and ls1 cars run a duel fan set up that comes with its on shroud. i only run one in my pickup, chevelle and trans am. they all run cool. i would think you could pick them up in a salvage yard for less than $100.
 
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#6 · (Edited)
The fan I'm using is the stock GM clutch fan for a long water pump BBC in a '70 elco. Sounds like it only uses 9 HP or so. The stock fan is supposed to move alot of CFM.

Going to contact The-fan-man.com about a dual fan setup to use on the stock 4 core radiator. The brackets will be an important part of purchasing their electric fans.

May be able to save a $grand by not doing the BeCool module, but wont end up with an aluminum radiator. Being able to run the electrics in the staging lanes is sweet - and makes it easier to run in two classes without having different dials-in based on hotter/cooler engine temps.

Liked the sound of picking up 45 HP, but probably alot less. Wonder how picking up .15 in the 1/8 compares to the 1320.
 
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M
#9 ·
No ET Change between clutch fan and electric fan, especially in the 1/8th mile.

No measureable change at the track from water pump either.

Flex fan will rob some HP at the top end, but you would need some very carefully obtained weather and track data to prove you saved ET.
 
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#10 ·
i'm surprised some of you guys didnt pick up any e.t.. about every car i've ever seen, has picked up e.t.. a friend of mine has a camaro with a bbc. it went from 7.17 to 7.08 when he swapped to a mezeire w/p. he had ran the car for about 6 months every weekend and the car ran between 7.3s and 7.17, depending on the weather. it averages 7.0s to 7.1s all the time, now.
 
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#13 ·
with a well charged battery i wouldnt think the extra drag from the alt. would slow the car down. in the same dyno test with the fans, they tested the engine with and without an alternator. it was 1hp. most bracket cars dont run alternators and have elec. fans and w/p pump aswell as an elec. fuel pump. i personally, always run an alternator. i'd agree with gnicholson, that the car should be running better. even a w/p and fan arent going to be a major performance gain.
 
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#14 ·
FYI: the battery is only for starting and running accessories with the engine off, when the engine is running everything runs off the alternator, you could 'switch off' the alternator and run everything off the battery but with voltage drops and less than 12VDC to begin with the ignition would suffer right along with your fuel pump and whatever other DC components you need to operate during a 1/4 mile run.. now if you don't think the alternator puts a substantial load on the engine just loosen up your alt belt enough to slip and take it for a ride, it'll squeal like a pig because the alternator is under a pretty healthy load and very difficult to turn hence the required belt tension to eliminate squeal, it takes HP to turn that alternator, doesn't matter how 'big' the alternator is and how much current it can produce, more current draw = more load on the engine.. extra DC components like fans, pumps..etc are nice but ya gotta look at the big picture and the best case scenario to see if it actually improves performance.. you could always use a dedicated 16V battery to run your required components and leave the alternator "switched off", this would improve your E.T's.. jus my $4.02
 
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#17 ·
An alterantive from the BeCool unit is a PRC radiator. Last time I heard, the PRC set up was less expensive. A bunch of guys over at Chevytalk have them and are real happy with them.


http://www.streetrodstuff.com/Products/1978/

I went with the BeCool/Spal Module and although it was expensive, I have not had 1 issue with over heating.
 
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#20 ·
The gain in ET is very slight if measurable at all,the real gain will be consistency.With the electric fan and pump it is very easy to cool down the car between rounds and the ability to run the car at consistent coolant tempertures.

Vinny
 
#22 ·
I tried back to back testing several times.

When I ran the 427 I could tell zilch with fixed 7 blade stainless fan removed (supposed to be huge HP eater) on ET or MPH. Still spinning pump with belt though using stock GM pulleys.

Later with the 540 I had convinced myself to add electric fans to replace the same stainless fixed one. Tried back to back testing on chassis dyno. I couldn't tell 0- 3-5 RWHP over a wide range of runs. Some were identical...some were a little lower. Nothing dramatic. When I evaluated the weight and complexity of adding electric fans I decided it wasn't worth it and sent them back.

I've since added a Moroso water pump drive that I use at the track. I just stick it on to spin pump and fan. So there is no fan or water pump being driven at all by motor (other than alternator). Guess what? My best MPH has still been with the everything being driven by the stock setup! Best ET has been with electric..but that's no indication....just coincidence...lots of other things made the ET better. The only real advantage is it does allow you to cool off quick between rounds/runs.

I think it depends a lot on where you're at now and what HP you're making. The more HP you have...the less you will notice it. A 14 sec car might pick up a good bit.

I like to test things back to back to draw conclusions. Hard to make a lot of changes over the winter or on different days during different months and tell a real change without serious record keeping when you're only looking at a tenth or two.

For me..the simplicity of the belt driven pump and fan on the street is priceless.

JIM
 
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#23 ·
Are those of you that switched to electric fans making passes with the fans ON? I would want to be running down track with them off and flip them on when it's over. As long as the water pump is turning, I don't see how it could overheat with the car pushing through the wind at a good speed?
 
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#24 ·
Haven't experimented with electric water pump yet, but I can tell you that with electric fans I typically leave them on in the staging lanes and return road. I turn them OFF as part of my staging routine.

On the rare occasions, usually due to some distraction, I have left my electric fans turned on and my ET was a couple hundredths (like .02 to .03) off my expected ET. The electric fans being on does seem to use a few HP -- no doubt due to load on the alternator. .02 - .03 is not much, but it is enough to slow the car down a tiny bit and put me off my dial time. If you have a car that is very consistent you may also notice a small difference in ET between leaving electric fans on and off.

When I switched from a clutch fan to electric fans (turned off while going down the track) my car was running a bit slower than it is now -- high 11's. I did notice between .05 and .10 improvement without the clutch fan, but the car was not as consistent then as it is now so exact numbers are hard to come by.

I have not had a chance to test electric water pump vs. mechanical pump and really won't since this is a new motor this year with the electric pump. I might try testing with the alternator disabled (belt off) to see if the electrical load on the alternator makes a difference.
 
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#25 ·
other options are to run under driven crank pullies to slow the W/P. I have seen that gain power, but you will want to watch temps and voltage as it slows everything.

I have pulled the belts off my old K-5 Blazer when racing in my late teens and saw a little over a second increase! Now don't flame here it was a sick old 305 and the thing ran high 17's in the 1/4, with nothing but the W/P driving and no fan it would run high 16's!

On my Street Chevelle, I pulled the factory type 4 blade (no clutch) fan and saw about .05 in ET but actually picked up close to 1 mph at the traps. I am sure that fan robs a good bit of power.

-Bobby-
 
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