Does anyone know which of the two fans moves more air? There is one fan with 4 larger, equally spaced blades and the other with 5 smaller unevenly spaced blades. Because of the turbo in the way, I can only run one fan but I would like to use the one that moves the most air.

 

No one knows the differences between the two fans?? The one on the drivers side is the "main fan" by which I mean it comes on based on engine temp, and the passenger side comes on when the A/C is turned on right? Would it stand to reason the "main fan" moves the most air?
Either based on the number/spacing of the fan blades or the location/function of the fan, what would be your best guess as to which is the more powerful?

 

cant you just test something electrical about the motors on the fans. like witch one uses the most power. maybe that will give you insight as to witch one is more powerful

 

On my Max, both fans appear to be the same and both turn on when the engine is hot enough

 

time to call mythbusters! I know this may not be the right way but what if you set each fan on individually outside the car and you move as far back as you can feel the wind and which ever one has the breeze reach you furthest determines which provides more air

 

Can we get a full explanation of why you would like to know which is main fan? I believe driver's side is more powerful on my 89' GXE.

 

He clearly explained why he want to know...

He's turboed, has room for only one fan, wants to know which one blows more air...

 

this almost seems plausible... the more air it pushes, the more air resistance it should have.. and the more air resistance it has the more current it should draw.

 

Musta missed that part, yah can't maneuver the turbo/tubing/piping/intake tubing around enough to make both work? Any pics of under the hood of this turbo Max, would help with suggestions.

 

Me? - I would approach this from the other side - literally.

Rip out the air-con radiator.

Get a "pushing" type of aftermarket cooling fan and slap that on the front of the radiator where you removed the one original fan you don't have space for. With a turbo setup I would think that cooling is bound to be rather critical, and while the std 3rd gen cooling system is man enough for the average worst case user, adding about 40% extra heat while removing a fan and also effectively blocking part of the radiator is bound to result in misery.

 

I'm going to retract this statement. Earlier I checked the fans and they are different. The 5-blade fand I have it on the passenger side and the 4-blade on the driver side. When they come on, I can feel the 5-blade fan blowing more air than the 4-blade fan.

But both fans come on at the same time...kind of. When the ECU kicks on the fans, the driver side fan won't move until I move it. I guess the motor is starting to go out.

 

Without moving the turbo or getting a super slim fan, there is just no room for two. Regardless, the question was about which fan moves more air, not "how do I fit two?" Ive posted pics/links to my setup, search if you really care.

No room there either, intercooler takes up any space in the front. Ive been running with just one fan for a few years now with no issues. If heat was an issue I could probably fit a slim-line fan between the turbo and radiator, but its not so I see no reason in such an investment. Again, its not about how many fans I can fit, Im just wondering if one moves more air than the other.

Each fan has 3 different speeds so its likely they were at different settings at the time.

This is actually a pretty go idea, but since one has 4 larger blades, and one has 5 smaller blades Im not sure how accurate the comparison would be. If someone has the ability/time to do this I would be interested in the results. Currently my car is in a million pieces.....

Thanks guys for time and thoughts, keep em coming!