SPAL FANS A NON INSTALL STORY

[GOLDCYLON]

Hello I am posting this for Technical assistance for all forum members. Here is a cut and paste of the email I send to another forum member on a future SPAL fan install I was planning to do

I wanted to close the loop on this one. I finally received the fans which took a while as a factory direct ship and ended sending them back to MADVET a few days after they arrived. They arrived with no instructions a bag of bolts and two "mounting brackets". While the ad from MADVET states these are a direct replacement which to me means fits in OEM holes once you remove the factory shroud and fans It would be more correct to say they are an alternative replacement. :neutral:

Both mounting frames in no way shape or form mount directly as a direct replacement. I called MADVET for assistance from their technical folks and they could not help me as they had never installed the fans on ANY C4 before. Nor did they have any instructions for the install. Nor could they find any online from the vendor. :confused:

They suggested I call Dewitt's who sells these fans which was the factory direct shippers. The fans are indeed Larger, Heavier and made in Italy. They are identical fans bolted together side by side. The only direct replacement item on them was the two electrical connectors. Dewitt's when I called never returned any of my phone messages as they were in the process of moving their operations. :confused:

MADVET tried to help but admitted hey it was beyond them. I said at my age without instructions on my DD I was not going to figure it out for them so they agreed begrudgingly to a full refund including shipping as this simply was not my problem. I had to get supervisors at MADVET directly involved to get the FULL refund. :mad:

Could I have installed them? probably but they would have looked like a cobbled in monkey butt add on item. If they were truly a direct replacement I would have installed them without hesitating. Now that I have replaced the radiator with and OEM replacement, Installed a new water pump and a set of Samcos (from the registry of course) and a stainless debris screen all my cooling nuisances have gone away.:)

I present this feedback to the brotherhood for anybody who was remotely considering the SPAL fan ugrade as their next project :cheers:

[FU]

I have had good luck dealing with Tom at Dewitts. Tom's lack of response could have been a problem because of his moving to another building. He is running a special now through the end of the month at 10% off.
If you want try Tom again....business is in the out-house plus it is his "off" season.
Good Luck

[GOLDCYLON]

I agree the voicemail said that they were moving operations but I left a few messages and never received a return call. As they are not a true direct fit I will not be going any further with this project. If the brackets were redone for a true "direct replacement" I would take a look at the project again. The fans looked great but the mounting of them and the lack of any instuctions or technical support closed the door for me.

[Chris_32212]

WHAT??? the instructions are always the first thing i throw away anyways. lol. jk. that sounds really frustrating. sucks when people providing parts or service dont have their shizz together. what made you want to upgrade the fans? just curious.

Chris

[GOLDCYLON]

The thought was while I was replacing the Radiator, The water pump and the hoses to go for a 4 punch combination to solve my overheating issues. As turned out the Radiator and waterpump were the crux of the problem.

The Spal fans did not show up for three weeks after doing that job so after verifying it would not direct fit I decided nah im not spending days figuring out multiple combinations to try and get them to fit. If they were a direct fit I would have installed them.

[Chris_32212]

plus why put the time and effort into the fans if they aren't needed? Esepecially since it didnt' fit.

Chris

[PhillipsLT5]

Stock fans just fine here in AZ
Fluidyne radiator, 180 stat, chip, runs way cool
Save your $

[tomtom72]

Big D thanks for the heads up on the Spail fans.:thumbsup:

Now I think I'll go with the newer/later mod. yr. OE stuff when I come to that point in my maint schedule. Those later fans are supposed to move more air along with having a better weather tightness to the motor cases.

Thanks for the post!

:cheers:

[GOLDCYLON]

No sweat Tom the intent was to advise any forum members who were considering the install in the future. I just wanted to point out what I found to be frustrating. The intent was not to slam anybody just advise as to what my "experience" was and potential pitfalls.

[pantera1683]

No sweat Tom the intent was to advise any forum members who were considering the install in the future. I just wanted to point out what I found to be frustrating. The intent was not to slam anybody just advise as to what my "experience" was and potential pitfalls.


Thanks,

You saved me from purchasing the SPAL fans I was considering before I read this thread. Does SPAL or anyone else make higher cfm fans that will replace the stock fans and fit into the stock fan shroud?

[GOLDCYLON]

Thanks,

You saved me from purchasing the SPAL fans I was considering before I read this thread. Does SPAL or anyone else make higher cfm fans that will replace the stock fans and fit into the stock fan shroud?

Not that im aware of. Save your money the stock fans work fine.

[threestar40]

I agree on the stock fans...explored this awhile back and I'm glad I didn't do it.

I love shopping for and installing badass electric fans though...it's fun.

Rick =)

[rkreigh]

I haven't installed it yet but I have the dewitts dual fans which come in a replacement shroud

stock fans work great with the thinner rad cores (stock/fludyne) but with a stroker LT5, high compression, and the AC on, my temps creep up a bit on hot days in traffic. car runs very cool as longs as it's moving, so the stock fans are having trouble "pulling" the air through the much thicker rad core of the Ron Davis rad

I encountered this same problem on the TT C5 Z06 (the turbo system carries alot of heat) and the dewitts fans solved the "temps creeping up in traffic" problem

I'll soon tear into this project and see how they fit.

[pantera1683]

I haven't installed it yet but I have the dewitts dual fans which come in a replacement shroud

stock fans work great with the thinner rad cores (stock/fludyne) but with a stroker LT5, high compression, and the AC on, my temps creep up a bit on hot days in traffic. car runs very cool as longs as it's moving, so the stock fans are having trouble "pulling" the air through the much thicker rad core of the Ron Davis rad

I encountered this same problem on the TT C5 Z06 (the turbo system carries alot of heat) and the dewitts fans solved the "temps creeping up in traffic" problem

I'll soon tear into this project and see how they fit.

Keep us posted.

I noticed the Spal fans are rated at 2760 cfm and are dual 11". Does anyone know the cfm for the stock fans? I know they are larger (11.77") than the Spal fans.

[GOLDCYLON]

Is the electrical connection for the Dewitt's Dual Fans compatible with the stock electrical connection? ;)

Yes Cliff thats the only part which is identical

[rkreigh]

What is the part number for the Dewitt's Dual Fans?
Is the electrical connection for the Dewitt's Dual Fans compatible with the stock electrical connection?

I have a Ron Davis Rad (Randy Woods HD165 Thermostat) so your installation of the Dewitt's Dual Fans with the Ron Davis Rad is very interesting ;)


not sure the part number, I bought them on sale at carlilse last year

had so many other car, job, (gulp club) issues that I haven't installed them.

now it's HOT~~!! and I need them. I drive the car with the top off (x bace bars work GREAT!) to get natural AC, but when the car is in traffic with AC on, it slowly creeps up.

since I changed jobs, I don't drive the ZR-1 to work anymore (metro only 2 miles away) so I don't experience the problem.

the dewitts stuff does seem to be a quality product

setup works great on the C5 TT had the same issue of temps creeping up with the AC on

I hope to find the time soon, but with the many projects, I dunno....