SPAL 16" Puller Fan Custom Install - Photos

[BeastPower]

I had to replace my old leaking radiator that was installed by a previous owner. It was looking very bad, not to mention that it wasn't an M3 radiator. Anyway, I wanted a stock radiator with great cooling, and after looking at many different options, I decided on the following (I must give credit to s14.net member "Stan" since I got the idea from a thread he posted in 2004).

Here are the main parts that I used:

• 16" SPAL low-profile puller fan (P/N: VA18-AP10/C-41A - 30100400)
• 4 x SPAL mounting brackets (P/N: 30130011)
• Stock M3 BEHR radiator (P/N: 17112225592)
• Stock fan shroud (P/N: 17112225348)

The above were the main components, and you will need to also buy the fan mounting nuts/bolts, shroud mounting hardware and radiator plugs, if you are starting from scratch.

Also, I have a good local auto electrician who I use for custom wiring jobs, but SPAL does offer several wiring kits that may help you get this wired. Also, I have deleted my A/C, heater and aux fan. After I got my new fan setup installed, my water temperature is nicely under the half-point during regular driving, with the fan on all of the time. I will be wiring it to come on when the water temperature reaches 80 degrees Centigrade.

Here is what the finished product looks like (with SAMCO upper hose):



Here are photos that show how I attached the SPAL fan to the stock fan shroud. I had to cut the SPAL mounting brackets (30130011) in half and then had to bend them to fit the shroud. This is pretty easy to do. The brackets connect to the shroud with some nuts and bolts that I purchased at a hardware store. I drilled the mounting holes in the shround, so that the install was nice and clean:









I also trimmed the top of the shroud, so that it doesn't interfere with the blade movement. A Dremel works well for this task:





The following photo shows how the 2 upper bolts/nuts touch the radiator and seem to move the shroud away from the radiator surface, however, this is not the case, since the shroud itself has an edge (on the left and right sides) that pushes it away from the radiator surface (see photo below):



Here is the finished product mounted in my M3:





The following photo shows that there is enough clearance between the fan and the waterpump:



I would be happy to answer any questions. Cheers, Daniel.

[thull]

Thats a nice install

I went with the 13" curved blade SPAL and I had no idea how deep it was, I had to mount it offset to the passenger siade so it would clear the water pump, and also removed the shroud.

I like your install better - it looks a lot cleaner and also looks more functional, even though the fan has less CFM I think the shroud and more coverage would help.

[BeastPower]

Originally Posted by thull

Thats a nice install

I went with the 13" curved blade SPAL and I had no idea how deep it was, I had to mount it offset to the passenger siade so it would clear the water pump, and also removed the shroud.

I like your install better - it looks a lot cleaner and also looks more functional, even though the fan has less CFM I think the shroud and more coverage would help.

Thanks. I also first bought the 13" curved blade fan before realizing it was too deep. I ended up selling it, and bought the 16" low-profile instead.

Cheers, Daniel.