Steve, Listers,
Those of you who are interested in the TEAE Tiger & Alpine cooling study,
the most comprehensive and objective study to date on this issue, can read
the report on the TEAE Website:
http://www.teae.org/tech_tips/hot_air.html
The following is copied from their Addendum under "Air Flow Enhancement".
"An enclosed fan shroud fabricated from a Ford Taurus shroud was used for
much of the testing in this test program while using a 14" Maverick fan.
Airflow testing shows an enclosed shroud does improve airflow through the
radiator. Our enclosed shroud was not as deep (front to back) as a stock
shroud. This provided an improved axial and radial position relationship
with the fan blade over stock with respect to radiator/fan gap and blade tip
and shroud edge. We also know that a 15" fan can flow considerably more air
than a 14" fan. We ran out of hot weather and were not able to incorporate
the enclosure principles into a stock shroud and test with a larger diameter
15" fan. We are not providing data on this arrangement because the
fabrication modifications of a stock shroud and performance measurements
have not been completed."
As you can see, they improved the relative position of the fan by shortening
the shroud, not moving the fan. They got a 37% improvement in air flow by
just changing from the stock to the Ford Taurus shroud. I think the real key
to improving the effectiveness of the shroud comes from giving it full 360
degree coverage. The relative position of the fan is important too, but I'm
betting much less of a factor. Tomorrow I think I will make a few
measurements and see what it would take to mount a Taurus shroud on my
beast. I wonder what year Taurus they used.
Bob
B9472134
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