Alright, I am kinda getting annoyed by all the questions about third gens overheating in low speed, stop and go/idle traffic.

Its very simple.

There just is not enough air coming through the radiator due to the fan (primarily, which I will discuss later).

Our Fans spin at 1300 CFM. This is just not enough to cool our cars in hot weather. Plus they have a draw of 30 amps (I belive) that you can see your gauge dip down when the fan comes on. This can apply to all of our third gens, modded or not.
The fan should be one of the primary upgrades for our cars. With, air dam being the close second.
Now, Summit sells fans that push over 2600 CFM with half the electrical draw for about 90 bucks (with shipping). This alone can solve many problems with low speed, bumper to bumper overheating.
So I suggest, if you have a problem with cooling when stuck in traffic, get yoruself a good fan, and you will see the improvement.

Now, for the pure stockers out there where 220 is optimal operating temperature, you can keep your fan, but the temps will shoot up eventually if you are stuck in traffic. Just something to think about.

For people that want their cars to run at 180 (which is the majority of us) the fan upgrade is a must.

Some people out there have condensors infront of the radiator, this is just another hinderance to our cooling system. Some of you want AC, but get ready to dish out some dough, cuz the heat will rise in summer traffic.

Seriously, the fan upgrade is a must.

Let me know what you think.

 

Yes good idea, but have you bought this fan yet? Id like to know actual temps the car is running at with it?

Id say another crucial part could just be the water pump itself. Lots of people have got better flowing water pumps and have solved lots of the high temps in traffic with just that.

Me im at the point with the 195* fan switch/180* stat i rarely get up to 220* in summer traffic. I dont really mind, as im not racing in it. When im at the track i like 180* running temp. I just dont abuse my car when any of my temp guages are reading too hot for my liking.

 

Great information. I have a thermostatic mechanical fan now, and was wondering if anyone knows of an electric fan that can be mounted in front of the rad, so I can continue to use my mech. fan. Back in the seventies, fiberglass bladed flex fans that bent with RPM were common. Are they still available? Is there a better aftermarket air dam available?

 

I've actually ran a be cool fan on my car for a while. I had to take it out since I did not install it properly and it cut into my radiator. Hence me replacing my whole cooling system. It was my error and it had nothing to do with the fan. From there, I had my chip tuned for lower operating temperature so the car runs decent on the stock fan. Basically if you have your chip tuned for that, the car takes longer to get hot, but with the stock fan it does get hot in stop and go.

I am ordering another fan (the one from summit) just because its getting hot here, and my fan aint cutting it anymore.

I live in CO so during winter and spring I am in no need of a fan most of the time.

I'll head to summit right now and get some fans down for whomever wants the info.
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85Z28IROC, you don't want to put in a fan infront and behind the radiator. When both of them start pulling they create a "dead zone" between them, and thats where the radiator is. So far that was my experience with pusher and puller on at the same time. They just don't work good together. Now, if they are side to side and on opposite sides, that would work. I need to get someone else to chime in on this, cuz the two fan set up did not work for me.

 

You can still get flexfans, I would recommend the aluminum bladed one though, not glass. I got mine at AutoZone for $25 + $12 for the spacer, replaced the stock electric fan, added a 180* stat and even without a fan shroud I rarely see 200* in 100* weather

 

I agree with running an aluminum flex fan and not a fiberglass one.I've seen them come apart and it's not a pretty site(luckily no one seriously hurt but the damage to the radiator and hoods to the 2 cars I've witnessed was expensive).
On the electric fans I'm running the stock dual fan setup on my '83 Z28(she's stock except for K&N's and upgraded ignition).I have Hayden fan controls(they have an A/C relay overide)on both with the probes that insert in the radiator.I have them adjusted using thermocouple setup on my DM(and they are staggered with primary fan like the factory).She runs 190*F -> 190*F idling while adjusting the thermostats.I've checked her after sitting in traffic and the highest is 205*F(that's on a 90*F day with about 85% humidity).I've thought about fabricating a shroud to fit the fan assembly(I'm still thinking about this - and I still wonder why GM didn't use a shroud originally).

 

SUM-320718

2300 cfm, 14.5 amps, aluminum, 84 bucks.
Good choice. I still need to recheck the measurements for fitment, but it should fit.

 

Will this be a direct replacement for stock or does it require many changes to shroud, or mounting etc... btw I have single factory setup now on my TBI.

 

Well. I need to go measure the stock fan again. I really don't remember any measurements.
Acutally if I don't get to it soon (I gotta work early tommorow, and its very late now) you can just get the measurements from Summit and check them. None of those fans are DIRECT replacement. however, they are 2 on the 1-10 scale of difficulty. Maybe even 1.
First of all, your TBI fan has barely a shroud. This fan would probably fit without problems. However, these fans mount through your radiator. If you feel weary about doing that, you might have to fab something up. Putting i through the radiator is actually really easy.
Anyways, check the measurements and compare them to the space you have infornt of your radiator. I'll try to get back to ya tommorow after work with some measurements.
Also, summit has whole bunch of different fans with different measurements so finding one will not be hard at all.
Also, look into CFM ratings, as well as how many amps it pulls. The one I listed above pulls half as much draw as our stocker does, with twice the efficiency.