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TR2/3/3A BMW 2002 fan on my TR3A

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PeterK

PeterK

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I`m sure it`s not, But MAN that fan looks like it would be outta balance BIG TIME. Preculiar looking blade arrangement there.
 
I'm sure that the balance was engineered by BMW in the design of the fan blade. It is an asymmetric arrangement.

If you look closely, you can see the the blades are different widths to offset the uneven spacing. So the balance is truely OK.

Christian (MaxMax) ran this fan on his race car before he changed to an all electric setup.
 
I'm just curious. What was the reason for going with the BMW fan?
 
One word answer: performance.

My options for fans are limited to using only the original anemic 4-bladed fan.

I tried both TR6 fans, the smaller rounded tip plastic pale yellow and the larger yellow square bladed fan. They either hit the cross brace (pale yellow 7-blade) or the radiator (square blade). I tried reversing the TR6 square blade fan and it cleared the radiator but hit the cross brace. I tried the TR4A fan - the blades were too long and hit the steering box. I also tried changing the fan hub from the TR3 to TR4(longer) hub and then fitting different fans - no go.

Christian told me about this one and it fit very easily on the original hub. He was running it without trouble before switching to total electric. Basically, there is no other choice except the original which is inadequate at low speeds. The BMW fan is a lightweight excellent replacement and really moves a ton more air then the original.

Is there a alternative fan choice that will cool well that I missed?
 
Thanks for the info. I'm not suggesting I knew/know of other options, I was just curious what the incentive was to put the BMW fan on.
 
In the southwest we need an efficient cooling set up when at idle (traffic stops) as the ambient temp and city heat are killers.
My car does well in the 110 degrees while moving, which is amazing for a 51 year old machine designed for moderate climates, but I drive year round and the modern fan is one route.
 
PeterK said:
Is there a alternative fan choice that will cool well that I missed?
Click to expand...
Someone told me the other day that the key to making a TR6 fan to fit was to run it backwards, and use the fan extension from a TR4. Apparently the TR4 extension is slightly shorter (or longer, don't recall for sure) and makes it work.

Myself, I love the big Hayden. It will definitely be going on the project TR3 (when I have the apron off for other reasons). I like the idea of not having to power (and accelerate) the fan all the time (when it's mostly not needed); and when the electric fan kicks in, I can see the temperature drop.
Although I have an alternator, I know people that run electrics with the original generator and they seem to get by. Likely they live in moderate climates though, and don't drive in the desert much.
 
AweMan said:
Preculiar looking blade arrangement there.
Click to expand...
It just looks wrong and ugly. No fan should look like that. But given that the engineers at BMW came up with it, it must do something right?? After all they clearly went to allot of trouble to work out that arraignment and it was before computers would have made it easy. The only think I can guess is that maybe the uneven spacing reduces resonance and noise?
 
TR3driver said:
Someone told me the other day that the key to making a TR6 fan to fit was to run it backwards, and use the fan extension from a TR4. Apparently the TR4 extension is slightly shorter (or longer, don't recall for sure) and makes it work.
Click to expand...

Tried it forwards and backwards, with my TR3 hub and with a TR4 hub (which is a bit longer +~3/4"). No fitski. Hits something either way.

I have a 12" Hayden and alternator but don't like the noise so it is on a manual switch.
 
70herald said:
AweMan said:
Preculiar looking blade arrangement there.
Click to expand...
It just looks wrong and ugly. No fan should look like that. But given that the engineers at BMW came up with it, it must do something right?? After all they clearly went to allot of trouble to work out that arraignment and it was before computers would have made it easy. The only think I can guess is that maybe the uneven spacing reduces resonance and noise?
Click to expand...

But you can't see it once installed anyway so ugly is OK as long as it works well, huh? Agree, BMW engineers are probably pretty sharp when it comes to these things.
 
Ugly is certainly fine when it works (and isn't visible), and it is still nicer than the nasty volvo fan which came on my Herald. Somehow, the lack of symmetry on an item which we "expect" to be symmetrical is just visually unexpected.

Actually, the fan interests me since I also suffer from the same high temperature problem in the summer here. Are those readily available fans? or in other words, what caused you to choose that particular fan type. After all, 2002's are not exactly that common any more.

My thought was to put an electric fan in this summer, most likely from a Toyota corolla since they are very flat, powerful, and quite.
 
A member here MaxMax named Christian from Germany had one on his race car and suggested the BMW fan.

Easily available but comes in 360mm and 400mm. The 400mm is too big in diameter.

Almost always on ebay search "bmw 2002 360mm fan blade"
 
PeterK said:
Is there a alternative fan choice that will cool well that I missed?
Click to expand...

I recall that Bob Schaller used a Volvo fan in his TR3A. Don't know the specifics, probably mentioned in his 'BS' or 'More BS'.
 
Aloha All,

I have installed an alternative fan from NAPA, a six blade flexi-fan shown here;

https://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NO...lade+-+Flexible

This is a nylon fan and does require some modifications to the fan and making a spacer to mount it. I cut the fan diameter down to 13 inches from the fourteen inches using an exacto saw. I also had to modify some mounting holes to match the TR3 hub extension. I made a spacer approximately 3/8 inch thick to move the fan slightly forward to clear the cross brace. The spacer was made from a polymer cutting board, easily cut and drilled. I used the stock mounting bolts and bits to mounted, however did not use the rubber spacers.

Since I installed this fan I have not had to use my back up electric fan.
 
I put a reversed TR6 yellow fan on my 3. I used three thin 1/2" diam washers on the mounting bolts to clear the support bar. Had to silicone the washers to the fan and then mount it as there is no way to hold the washer spacers in place when you go insert the bolts. Karl
 
70herald said:
My thought was to put an electric fan in this summer, most likely from a Toyota corolla since they are very flat, powerful, and quite.
Click to expand...

If you are contemplating going with an electric fan, whether it be an auxiliary or primary (I have no crank fan, just electric), consider going to the Spal website. <spalusa.com>
Their fans are of the absolute highest quality that I have found and offer an unbelievable array of choices of size, power and design, push or pull. Spal fans are made in Italy and are used on all of the high-priced Italian supercars.
I know I have urged everyone to consider the Spal fans, ad nauseum, but having tried essentially all the other brands (actually 4 other brands), I have found the Spal to have superior build quality, unlimited design choices, super-nice electricals, etc. Give them a look before you plunge.
 
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