Grill Block vs. clutch fan

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by dwarfnebula

(...) redpoint, your fan should not blow enormous amounts of air all the time. It's normal for it to blow a lot of air around for a little while after you turn it on, even cold, but it should loosen up until the motor gets good and hot. Get a new clutch on that baby, its worth some FE and the peace and quiet (...)

I believe running the fan constantly is beneficial to the A/C cooling capacity. The drop in rad temp will carry through to the output air, so it cools better, you'd have better comfort and shut it off earlier once it gets too cold. That more than compensates for the power lost by using the fan.
Redpoints fan works fine.

When you don't use A/C the fans should only have to work when the (engine coolant) radiator gets too hot to cool the engine. Driving the fan would cause the temperature to drop below the point where the engine closes the valve to the radiator to save engine heat. As long as that valve works fine there is no problem to run the fan for the A/C.
(it failed on my old Civic, and on my Pan... but they had no A/C)

[JeffD]

I can hear the AC compressor clutch cycle on and off. Following this thread I'm thinking that as long as I'm getting cold air, it's not that the AC has to work harder with a grill block, it's just that the compressor stays on longer to maintain a cool temperature, which may still be an FE impact. Kind of a hard variable to test for.

For the fan to come on with the AC would require an electrical connection and since I've got a thermal clutch on the fan, that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe it'd be better if I had an electric fan that did come on so the compressor would cycle off more often. An interesting experiment if I ever switch to an electric fan.

I know my fan clutch isn't locked up because I can turn it with the engine off. If it failed disengaged, then I evidently don't need it since my WT is still reasonably low. I've never noticed the fan clutch operating while driving, but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm clueless or because it doesn't happen much.

[blowncopcar]

Yea my opening is probably too small... On really hot days my coolant temps will stay between 217-229 degrees... And I notice my FE drops when it gets that hot... Is it because my electric fans are turning on and putting more on my alternator?