Which fan upgrade?

[dirty]

Whats the best fan to fit to a mk2 golf gti (being used on a track) for best cooling and fairly easy fitment without taking up too much space? Thanks in advance

[mk2mark]

Em, you don't need to upgrade the fan for trackdays. Unless you plan on going really slow and steady.

[Khare]

like he said. Trackdays dont need special fans. OEM one is enough. Your going to be going fast most of the time so air will do most of the cooling.

[Thom89]

Sorry but I have to disagree with the above comments, cooling is of huge importance, especially on a track day car, lap after lap of flat out driving, would almost be impossible to compare to fast road use! being stuck close behind a car that you cant get past will drastically cut clean airflow to your radiator, I would definatley look at a more effeiciant fan, and also wiring up the circuit with a switch that can manually overide the thermostatic control, or an adjustable thermo control, where you can set the fan to come on at a lower temp, this will give your engine more time to recover after a fast session
Also not to be overlooked is oil cooling, this is a must! fitting an oil cooler helps prolong the life of the moving parts within the engine.
On the subject of oil, also worth considering, is fitting baffles in the sump, this will eliminate oil starvation on long sweeping bends..
All of the above could be done for less than £300, and may mean the difference between driving home from a great day out, or being towed home with a compleatley shagged  engine!!
Tom

[mk2mark]

Ok. Even behind traffic there's far more air going to your rad than any fan is ever going to be able to push. Fitting an uprated fan is completely pointless. After a session you don't just pull into the pits and let your fan do all the work. You do a cool down lap or 2 since there's more stuff to cool on your car than just the engine - how do you plan on cooling our brakes otherwise? In fact there's far more merit to removing the fan shrouding or even the whole lot altogether (as is practiced in autocross/timetrial stuff) as it actually allows more air to flow across the rad - although for trackdays it's a little impractical. You are totally right about saying cooling is of huge importance, you just seem a little confused as to what that entails. No offence.

Oh and oil cooling is a different point altogether to what we're talking about and I feel like you may be insulting the original posters intelligence in assuming he hasn't thought of it.

[Khare]

formula 1 dont have fans. cos they dont need them. what mk2mark said is right. its pointless to fit a super fan cos that money spent could be used in a different way. Oil cooling helps but its not essential. I rather spend £300 somewere else. or maybe save up abit mroe and buy lightweight alloys which will improve handling, acceleration and braking.

[Thom89]

The problem with a standard fan, is that unless they are running, airflow is greatly reduced because of the size of the blades, and the fact that they are fitted to a very restrictive fan cowl!    Doing away with the cowl, and fitting an efficient fan that has slender blades, will increase airflow dramatically, thats why I suggested it...
Oil coolers again are a must, especially on older higher milage engines, that again is why I suggested it..
No offence taken
Tom

[mk2mark]

 

[dirty]

ok lads calm down

Thanks for all your suggestions, i have already made up an overide switch for the fan, What i failed to mention also is that im considering planting a 1.8t in her, This is an engine demanding a lot more cooling than that of a standard 1.8 8v being a turbo'd engine etc... I have considered oil cooling also and will decide the best oil cooler for her when the 1.8t is planted. I read on one thread a member had fitted a mk3 diesel fan? Does this require much modification and does it require extra work in terms of mounting?

Thanks again guys jus remember were all on the same team here 

Unless i see you on the track 

[Ben Lessani]

formula 1 dont have fans.

Lol, that's the first time I've ever heard of a MK2 Golf being compared with a F1!