Indetrucks- The 2 aluminum aftermarket fan shrouds pictured do not have the directional vanes to distribute the air equally over all 4 cylinders (some will run hotter than others) and if you set up head temp sensors on all 4 cylinders you will find that the readings from side to side will be different as well. The stock doghouse shroud is a very good piece of engineering and only Jake has been able to improve on it with his "down the middle" fiberglass shroud. And while that's a very nice (and I believe expensive) piece, I don't believe it can be used with a thermostat and directional flaps (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong). That said, lots of people have used them and they do work. Would I sink 5-$10,000 into a motor and use 1 of the aluminum units? No, but that's just me...Al
Ok so to be sure I understand correctly.
The difference between the center mount and off to the side mount is preference and cooling?
The preferred location is just off to the side due to it cooling the heads more evenly and better?
So why would anyone use the center mount (as pictured with the blue engine?)
Esthetic appeal? Weight distribution being more centered?
Yep, esthetics only. Similar look to the Porsche 4 cam engine.
Air come off the fan tangentially. At 12 o'clock, it's going right, at 6 o'clock it's going left, at 3 o'clock it's going down, and at 9 o'clock it's going up. So on the right side it's basically a straight shot at the cylinders, but on the left, the air is initially moving away from the cylinders. You need the extra width on the left to have vanes to redirect the air back down at the cylinders. If you don't, the left bank runs hot.
