chips & fans

Not sure who built your car or engine, but one of those two will know which Stinger version of ecu you have.  John at Outfront will know if he built your engine, or John at JPS if he built your car.

Electric fans run the gamut from the gold standard of high capacity Spal models to less expensive overseas versions.  Variations are straight/curved blades, pusher/puller versions, etc.  An efficient shroud is a necessary ingredient for any fan to cool efficiently.  Higher capacity fans have a larger fan motor and pull more amps, but supply higher cooling capacity, all dependent on working switches and relays, as well as the t-stat.

Fan data available online is sketchy at best, since almost all fan manufacturers, with the exception of Spal, determine flow in an open environment with no load.  Spal uses a real-world testing regimen that mirrors actual usage.  They offer varying grades of efficiency, from standard to extreme, with increasing motor size to accomplish the higher outputs required by more extreme blade pitches.

From my experience, ambient air temp is the most important variable for a Subi engine in our replicas with limited real estate for rads, fans, etc.  Good gauges can tell you a lot if you monitor them closely, i.e., how long does it take to get to operating temp at what ambient air temp, how long do the fans operate, how long to cool down from temp A to shutoff temp?  At idle speed, you can hear large capacity fans start and shut off, so timing the length of time they run at various air temps is easy.

I'm a real dinosaur at technology, but there are datalogging programs that can record all the above data and store it for retrieval on a laptop and likely a smart phone.  Others on the forum are expert in this area.  You may find that your concerns are needless, and you can operate safely at all but the most extreme air temps.

If you do further research, please let the group know your findings.  That's how we all learn.

@Jim Kelly   thanx jim....we have history from the "steve" days...and i kinda feel the same about "john boy"....my car is pretty much turn key and have good quality gauges...i have  driven it in 105 degree heat and it has seen maybe 210 degrees tops which is well within operating range i believe .....i just am like a lot of us and know cars can present issues...usually at the most worst possible moments...it still has low miles and should like you say be fine....i just live by the wise man saying "never say never"   

How high are you revving it? Most of these Subarus had a factory rev limiter at something like 6500 RPM. If built carefully they can rev much higher, but you won't be making any more power.

I won't say you can't ever hurt one by over-revving but it's not a common problem.

If the fan quits the engine will slowly heat up. Above about 225 or 230F on the coolant gauge you should shut 'er down. You'll see it coming if it ever happens.

@edsnova thanx for that useful information.....i shift by ear..and have never actually  seen the needle in the red....which on my JPS "VDO tach" is 4500 rpm...which i don't really know how accurate this gauge is....which was more or less where it would be with a 1600 VW back in the day?...if the gauge is more or less accurate....are you saying with my 180HP SUBARU POWER that i can safely wind it out to 5000 + RPM at a sustained level?....at 80 mph at 3000 RPM this car isn't even breathing hard with plenty left....and as i said i have very good quality auto meter multi gauges which i have never seen above 210 degrees...so if i see that  water temp needle  pegged to the right...fan has FAILED or else a hose blown and time to stop!....got it!! 

Your engine makes peak HP somewhere between 5500 and 6200, depending on cam, heads and compression as assembled. Peak torque will be around 3500.

to my knowledge there is no modern EJ2x engine that needs to be shifted at 5k or below. My 2.2 has the lowest factory rev limiter Subaru shipped. It’s a 1995 model and the ECU cuts spark at 6000. I know because I’ve bounced off it. Dang!

@edsnova  thanx again...nice to know where the limit really is for future reference  and lead footed-ness frivolity

If a hose blows it is likely that the gauge won't register overheating because there's no more coolant passing by the sending unit. It's probable that you would hear it or smell it when the coolant blows out all over. In your coupe it's less likely you will get this warning.  I like audible warning devices for the oil pressure and coolant. When a problem arises ,the audible device will immediately tell you to look at your gauges. One audible device can be wired in to serve both oil pressure and temperature monitoring. It can be connected to your ignition switch such that it will not come on while in the "start mode".......Bruce

My Spyder has a EJ25 built by Outfront. Heads are highly modified with the remainder of the engine remaining stock. Naturally aspirated. It has a stinger ECU. If it has a rev limiter it has to be north of 7500 rpms. And I definitely have power above 6500 rpms. My car pulls hard up to 7500 rpms. It cost a couple grand more than a stock EJ25 but is well worth it.

That sweet smell of coolant is always a bad sign!  As far as electric fans go, I agree there are too many variations to hazard a guess.l as to effectiveness.  I will say I ran a pair of fans on a three core radiator to cool my 430hp SBC and never had a problem, even when the ambient temperature was nearing 100.

My dummy light for the alternator is my first sign of an air cooled fan issue.  If the belt breaks, the fan stops.  Granted it’s not an electric fan, but it works for me.

I added an ignition kill if the oil pressure drops based on advice I’ve read on this site.  It hasn’t caused any problems or tripped as of yet.  The closest I got to any catastrophic failure was when I happened to look behind me one day while driving after I left my house and saw an oil line in the road. It wasn’t in front of me oddly enough.  Turns out the line I was running to my oil cooler sprung a leak.

550phil.......Does your engine run rough on a cold start-up ? I also have a Stinger that was supplied with my Suby engine from OutFront. One of their tech's told me that the Stinger cannot make use of the electronics on the engine that eliminate cold start rough idle. One other Suby/Stinger owner on here said he has cold start/rough idle issues.......Bruce