left rad fan?

[benny hedges]

my bike runs very hot, especially in traffic.
the storm only has a fan on the right rad, controlled by a bimetal switch in the radiator body.
there's also a temp sensor that communicates with the icm and varies ignition advance retard against coolant temp, as well as throttle position.

so obviously there is an optimum temperature for these engines to produce the best output...?
ie if the engine is too hot the icm will retard the ignition and the bike will produce less power.

i don't want that lol - so i got another fan off fleabay for £15

and bought one of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12VDC-ELECTRONIC- ... Control_ET

the temp controller is adjustable and has a small resistance sensor that can be remotely mounted, which i intend to screw to the outside of the rad where it feels hottest.

the right rad will work normally, off 93-97c, on 98-102c and i should be able to set the left rad to cut in earlier or later with a finer differrential between on and off to give a more stable temp in traffic or hard riding, adjustable from wherever i mount the controller.

as there's quite a wide variation there in when the switch comes on & off, and this is directly related to ignition advance and power output, i'm wondering if the accuracy of the oem fan switch is one reason for the different power outputs of different storms - some go like stink, whereas some feel a bit lame imo (ive only rode a few like but enough to tell the difference)

hopefully this experiment will be worth it lol.
i'll probably have to fab up some clamps for the fan as the left rad is totally different (i think), but shouldn't be too hard to mount.

i'll update with results once it's on... back on the dyno soon so should be interesting, especially with the fuelling fixed

next job is to add a second oil cooler, which hasn't come yet.... i intend to bolt the 2 together and cut the original pipes and a spare set (if anyone has some lol) and rejoin them together with compression tees, back to the original pipes, in effect doubling the surface area of the oil cooler and exposing it to more airflow.
with a slight increase in oil capacity as well!
same as, when i get round to doing it i'll make a separate post in case anyone else thinks it's worth it.
not really worth doing unless you're thinking of running cams & hc pistons, ignition advancer etc...

[rumpleforeskin]

Most of the time my temp sits at 1/4 but having had a few days of filtering through motorway traffic jams that temp needle soon gets moving this has made me consider a left rad fan too, so I will be interested to know what differance in makes. I was just considering powering it from the right rad though, so not as fancy as yours

As for your oil cooler mod:
the way i read your description it sounds like you will be fitting them in Parallel instead of in series!!!!

if so you should definalty consider fitting them in series as this is much more efficient
if not, excuse my luton high school taught reading ability

parallel coolers will split the flow rate, and fluid velocity directly relates to radiator efficiency, so you would be gainging area but losing cooling thus reducing your gains. Also the fluid will tend to favor the least resistive cooler so you may be getting biased flow to one cooler and wasting the potential cooling of the other.

[bazza696]

Would it not be better and easier to fit a larger cooler rather than two.

[rumpleforeskin]

Would it not be better and easier to fit a larger cooler rather than two.

now were talking

maybe you could use another box to control a 3rd fan too

[pariah]

I noticed that she gets hot when the weather gets warm. I was looking at putting another fan on the left rad but was simply going to wire from a supply to a switch.
This way I will be able to switch it on and off when I see the temp gauge going up and can monitor it from there.
This way, if stuck in traffic, switch it on and off or accordingly also when the cold weather arrives i wont have to worry about it.

[bazza696]

Wonder if I could make brackets to fit the fans they use for dino runs?

[benny hedges]

I was just considering powering it from the right rad though, so not as fancy as yours

As for your oil cooler mod:
the way i read your description it sounds like you will be fitting them in Parallel instead of in series!!!!

if i just power the left fan with the right fan's supply it will come on at the same time and just cool down faster.
the plan is to get a more stable temp and get away from the wide on/off differrential on the oem switch, rather than just cooling it faster the idea is to be able to control the temp to within a degree or 2.

as i said, mine gets Very hot in traffic and stuff, almost to the red.
once i'm moving quick it's ok.

re the oil cooler - not sure the best way to pipe them up atm, it's dictated by what pipes and flanges i can get tbh.
if i pipe it parallel i can just tee the 2 coolers together job done.
if i pipe them in series it would need a crossover pipe going diagonal between the coolers...
might have to make some braided ones up to do it proper.
did think about fitting a bigger one but dunno what will fit and what wont so it's just an experiment!
was going to use the one off my cbx which is 9 row but i reckon it will hit the front mudguard...
atm anything will be a help but i'll have to see what i can do when the spare arrives.


fsm, you're being silly.

[tony.mon]

fsm, you're being silly.

Maybe not that silly, the top GP guys cool the tanks and fuel before a race- those brolly girls aren't just for show, you know....

[headgear]

I was just considering powering it from the right rad though, so not as fancy as yours

As for your oil cooler mod:
the way i read your description it sounds like you will be fitting them in Parallel instead of in series!!!!

if i just power the left fan with the right fan's supply it will come on at the same time and just cool down faster.
the plan is to get a more stable temp and get away from the wide on/off differrential on the oem switch, rather than just cooling it faster the idea is to be able to control the temp to within a degree or 2.



fsm, you're being silly.

Benny why not get a 12 volt eliwell controller and set the cut in /out to the required level?
on my camper I didn't know that the sensor had failed until the engine went bang ( renault have a habit of not fitting temp gauges just a warning light that you have a job to see) so of to our spares store..............................

I got a twelve volt eliwell and a pt 100 probe, I then obtained some spare correct bore fridge pipe (inch and seven eights) drilled a 1/4 inch hole and brazed some 1/4 pipe through, cut the top hose and fitted my adapted copper tube, fitted the pt 100 in the 1/4 tube and silconed into place so my probe is measuring the water temp from the engine, set my cut in at 92'C with a two degree dif. Jobs a gud un, and I can see at a glance the exact temp of the water from the engine.

[benny hedges]

timbo i think it's getting hot for a few reasons:
rads sprayed doesn't help
+4 advancer doesn't help
1700 tickover doesn't help
the unknown camshafts as well...
plus it runs weak to about 3k, which will be sorted hopefully this weekend.

oh, and also convected heat from me, cos i are so fkin hott

once it's moving it's fine, just stationary & slow traffic, town speeds it doesn't like.... but as i said earlier, the idea of the second fan isn't just to make it cool down, it's to maintain a constant temperature rather than it being hot cold hot cold, (we know a song about that!) thus preventing the icm from retarding the ignition timing with temperature.

headgear - the controller ive got is similar to the halliwel ones you mention, similar sensor, just a smaller box, and a german make.

[benny hedges]

& what bullshit is that exactly mike?

[benny hedges]

said 85 on the clock - about 1983-4 on newton road between earlestown & st.helens.
ridden by mr mike illidge, me on the back.
& no, i didnt feel safe!
apparently the american ones only do 60, downhill, with a wind behind them.
i don't post bollox thank you, though you seem to think so...

carry on, more examples pls.
if my posts offend you, don't bother reading / replying.
or use your new superpowers to ban me, keep changing user titles etc.

the reason i come here is because i like firestorms, own & ride one, and have good mechanical skills etc and like to help folk, and share banter with others.
i don't have anything to prove.
anyone else got a problem?

[benny hedges]

my new temperature controller came and it's tiny

got some perforated s/s strip to make up some mounts for the fan so i'll fit it shortly & let you know if it does what i want it to do.

[rumpleforeskin]

cool, have to let us know how much difference it makes. Though with winter coming it may not see much use :/

[benny hedges]

youre right bud - through winter i'll be on me 750 lol