Altima fan vs. Taurus fan - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

Rittmeister · 08-20-2006, 08:06 PM

I am currently running a set of Altima fans on my car, with a Koyo radiator. SR power, stock boost, front mount, blah blah. The fans are activated by a Pivot fan controller.

Thus far I have been pretty happy with their performance, but recently I re-wired them (just to clean up my original ghetto wiring) and am having issues with the high-low speed setup. I got them going again the way I wanted, but I've read that it seems there are different versions of Altima fans, where different wire colors and combinations equate to different speed settings...

This got me wondering about whether there was another equally effective fan out there with simpler wiring. I got the Altima fans on the recommendation of this test: http://home.satx.rr.com/nissanweb/RadTest/RadTest.htm and had essentially the same results; the Altima fans cooled my engine much more quickly than the Flexalite setup I had previously.

So, in my searches here and on Freshalloy I ran across a number of mentions of the Taurus fan. My question is this: has anyone run both the Taurus and Altima setups, and can compare them? Or two people with similar engine setups, one with Taurus and one with Altima fans, who can comment?

Any input appreciated.

ComptonAssDaniel · 08-20-2006, 08:38 PM

Thought you were talking about "fans" as in people that liked the cars. LOL. Whoops.

Sorry, I'm not much help. :P

JohnC · 08-21-2006, 03:07 AM

I have the taurus fan and all I can say is,
make sure you do not have little animals infront of your
car when it gets going. Even on the low speed it crazy
fast and cools the water in 10 sec. give or take a sec or two.
This is with a koyo racing alum radiator. Getting it to fit was
easy and wiring is a piece of cake. temp have never gone over
200fr and that is in autox's and drift events.
Water temp is usualy around 180f.I can not comment it being better
than the altima fans since I never had them.

John

TipStylez · 08-21-2006, 04:42 AM

the taurus fan works way better then the altima fan. i had one and a friend had one. You can tell easily by the diffrence of size and blade count.

The Altima fan only had 4-5 blades, where the taurus fan has like 1millionseventy11 haha.

And the Altima fan has a small shroud where the taurus is huge.

DrtyRat · 08-21-2006, 08:26 AM

I currently have the altima fans on my s13.(C&R alum rad) but I wouldn' t mind something better if the taurus fans are what you say. However, what year taurus fan do u use?

JohnC · 08-21-2006, 08:51 AM

1990-1995 3.8L taurus
Install link is here: (you have to register)
http://240sxforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60261

DrtyRat · 08-21-2006, 08:58 AM

Thanks for the info ^^^^

240trainee · 08-21-2006, 09:20 AM

Yea, I have the taurus setup in my car, low speed is pretty quiet, but holy hell, I have high on a switch, and when you hit it, the idle changes b/c it draws too much power off the battery and the alternator has to kick it up a notch, an within a couple seconds you hear a tornado of air, lol.

JohnC · 08-21-2006, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 240trainee

Yea, I have the taurus setup in my car, low speed is pretty quiet, but holy hell, I have high on a switch, and when you hit it, the idle changes b/c it draws too much power off the battery and the alternator has to kick it up a notch, an within a couple seconds you hear a tornado of air, lol.

+1 for the switch/ I tested the high speed about a month ago just to make sure
it is still operational since it never seems to come on and I swear my engine
is now 1/2 inch further back

. oh well better weight distribution I guess.

Rittmeister · 08-21-2006, 08:01 PM

Do you guys consider the hi-speed power drain to be a bad thing? Does it have any adverse effects? I'm running a little Miata battery, and with my current Altima fan setup the idle kicks up when they come on too...

Another question I thought of - my car still has air conditioning. Does the Taurus fan have any trouble clearing the A/C receiver/dryer on the passenger frame rail? I've got a Koyo rad, so there's already a bit less space there due to the thickness of the radiator.

TipStylez · 08-21-2006, 08:27 PM

For the guys that wired it up to a switch.

How did you do it, and can you give me a quick writeup on how you wired up the high low switch?

Thanks
-Q

MOUNTAINGARAGE · 08-21-2006, 08:56 PM

I have the Altima Fan assembly on my s14. Did not like that I had to cut the ends off of it. Not sure what year it was from but I made it work.....Great GoogallyMoogally it gets cold quick. My a/c dropped like 20 degrees. I thought I saw Ice forming on the vents....

I have 1 fan on a switch that always turns off with ignition. 1 fan controlled with the a/c. Runs direct to the batt. with a 30 amp relay toggle switched on the ignition hot lead.

WILDACEX187 · 08-21-2006, 09:14 PM

which of these is it?

Id RaThEr DrIfT · 08-21-2006, 09:23 PM

that one ^^ looks similar to mine i have a ford tempo fan and works great!

TipStylez · 08-21-2006, 09:34 PM

most people use the top one.

boosteds13 · 08-21-2006, 09:46 PM

Here is my Taurus/Koyo setup--

The assembly was flipped upside down prior to install so the fan is closer to the inlet/outlet. I don't think it really matter though. I just sealed up the gap on each side of the shroud with a little adhesive weatherstripping. All I have to say is that this combo makes the engine run COOL. 90+ here everyday and when the thermostat opens, the temp drops to around 170 as the cooled coolant flows through the motor. The altima shroud/install was just too ghetto for me.

Oh, and here is a pic of it installed--

JohnC · 08-21-2006, 10:00 PM

ritmeister, high never comes on, and I ge mad hig temps here.
I wired it in just incase something really bad happend, if that will help or not,
I hope I will never know.
Tpstylez, sorry nut I do not remember and it is now part of my harness.
read the post I lined to I believe I got the info from there butt just added a switch.
Not much help I know but thats all I have now.

slideways2004 · 08-22-2006, 12:28 PM

i am thinking about running a taurus fan. but i want to put the fan on a switch. how would i do this if i want high and low speed controlled by me? would i have 2 switches?

edit: or would it be easier to have the low setting on when the ignition is on and have 1 switch inside for the high setting. but in this case it would be hard to start b/c so much power is being drawn while starting

JohnC · 08-22-2006, 12:38 PM

I would suggest getting a fan controller.
SPAL has a good solution that can even be caliberated to
work with the OE temp sensor. I think it is the best choice.
there are other fan controller like HKS, Sard MFC etc..
A switch for both speeds? IDK. I am not really good with electric
stuff, not by a long shot.

slideways2004 · 08-22-2006, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnC

I would suggest getting a fan controller.
SPAL has a good solution that can even be caliberated to
work with the OE temp sensor. I think it is the best choice.
there are other fan controller like HKS, Sard MFC etc..
A switch for both speeds? IDK. I am not really good with electric
stuff, not by a long shot.

i am not either. that's why i asked

Rittmeister · 08-22-2006, 12:47 PM

Boosteds13, how is the fan secured to your radiator? And do you have any more pictures?

Gnnr · 08-22-2006, 02:14 PM

The altima fans blowing on high dont even come close to the Taurus fan on Low. Trust me. I have taurus fan in my car now and the altima fans sitting in the trunk. BTW, no cutting of any plastic is needed in the S14, it may be a close fit in the S13 but I think no cutting is needed either.

boosteds13 · 08-22-2006, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gnnr

The altima fans blowing on high dont even come close to the Taurus fan on Low. Trust me. I have taurus fan in my car now and the altima fans sitting in the trunk. BTW, no cutting of any plastic is needed in the S14, it may be a close fit in the S13 but I think no cutting is needed either.

Nope, no cutting for me on the S13.

TipStylez · 08-22-2006, 06:17 PM

So, anyone wanna tell me how i can wire it up to a switch?

I want to turn it on manualy...BUT, wire it up so that when the car turns off i dont have to turn the switch off, it turns off with the car. YADANAMEAN?

boosteds13 · 08-22-2006, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TipStylez

So, anyone wanna tell me how i can wire it up to a switch?

I want to turn it on manualy...BUT, wire it up so that when the car turns off i dont have to turn the switch off, it turns off with the car. YADANAMEAN?

30-amp auto relay?

I actually used (2) 30-amp relays that are paralleled so that each handles half the draw. The taurus fan can draw some heavy current on startup so I wanted to play it safe.

Basically, I just used an "ignition on" source wire to trigger the relay with a toggle switch in between. Does exactly what you're looking for.

Rittmeister · 08-22-2006, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rittmeister

Boosteds13, how is the fan secured to your radiator? And do you have any more pictures?

Answer please?

SkeetFaceJeff · 08-22-2006, 06:58 PM

What, No one likes the stanza dual fans that "almost" perfectly fits 240sx radiators?

TipStylez · 08-22-2006, 07:08 PM

^I had a stanza fan..yes the junkyard is fun...and they arnt as strong when i tested them.

boosteds13 · 08-22-2006, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rittmeister

Answer please?

Oh, I used those zip-tie like things. I just poked a small hole in the shroud and ran them through the core. I used a bunch of them as not to put too much strain on the cooling fins/tubes.

DrtyRat · 08-22-2006, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TipStylez

So, anyone wanna tell me how i can wire it up to a switch?

I want to turn it on manualy...BUT, wire it up so that when the car turns off i dont have to turn the switch off, it turns off with the car. YADANAMEAN?

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.p...ht=altima+fans
bunch of schematics for wiring up the fans to a relay and I think there's one for a manual switch. Mine is on a 30a starter relay iirc

08-20-2006, 08:06 PM	#1
Rittmeister Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Cincinnati OH Age: 48 Posts: 1,033 Trader Rating: (9) Feedback Score: 9 reviews	Altima fan vs. Taurus fan I am currently running a set of Altima fans on my car, with a Koyo radiator. SR power, stock boost, front mount, blah blah. The fans are activated by a Pivot fan controller. Thus far I have been pretty happy with their performance, but recently I re-wired them (just to clean up my original ghetto wiring) and am having issues with the high-low speed setup. I got them going again the way I wanted, but I've read that it seems there are different versions of Altima fans, where different wire colors and combinations equate to different speed settings... This got me wondering about whether there was another equally effective fan out there with simpler wiring. I got the Altima fans on the recommendation of this test: http://home.satx.rr.com/nissanweb/RadTest/RadTest.htm and had essentially the same results; the Altima fans cooled my engine much more quickly than the Flexalite setup I had previously. So, in my searches here and on Freshalloy I ran across a number of mentions of the Taurus fan. My question is this: has anyone run both the Taurus and Altima setups, and can compare them? Or two people with similar engine setups, one with Taurus and one with Altima fans, who can comment? Any input appreciated. __________________ E36 M3 - new project 1990 240SR - screamed down the road

08-21-2006, 03:07 AM	#3
JohnC Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Israel Posts: 335 Trader Rating: (0) Rides Gallery: JohnC Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I have the taurus fan and all I can say is, make sure you do not have little animals infront of your car when it gets going. Even on the low speed it crazy fast and cools the water in 10 sec. give or take a sec or two. This is with a koyo racing alum radiator. Getting it to fit was easy and wiring is a piece of cake. temp have never gone over 200fr and that is in autox's and drift events. Water temp is usualy around 180f.I can not comment it being better than the altima fans since I never had them. John __________________ JY Racing LTD.

08-21-2006, 08:51 AM	#6
JohnC Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Israel Posts: 335 Trader Rating: (0) Rides Gallery: JohnC Feedback Score: 0 reviews	1990-1995 3.8L taurus Install link is here: (you have to register) http://240sxforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60261 __________________ JY Racing LTD.

08-21-2006, 09:20 AM	#8
240trainee Post Whore! Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Richmond, VA Age: 38 Posts: 3,861 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Yea, I have the taurus setup in my car, low speed is pretty quiet, but holy hell, I have high on a switch, and when you hit it, the idle changes b/c it draws too much power off the battery and the alternator has to kick it up a notch, an within a couple seconds you hear a tornado of air, lol. __________________ Team Pterodactyl SHARK ATTACK!!! LookoutDrift

08-21-2006, 08:01 PM	#10
Rittmeister Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Cincinnati OH Age: 48 Posts: 1,033 Trader Rating: (9) Feedback Score: 9 reviews	Do you guys consider the hi-speed power drain to be a bad thing? Does it have any adverse effects? I'm running a little Miata battery, and with my current Altima fan setup the idle kicks up when they come on too... Another question I thought of - my car still has air conditioning. Does the Taurus fan have any trouble clearing the A/C receiver/dryer on the passenger frame rail? I've got a Koyo rad, so there's already a bit less space there due to the thickness of the radiator. __________________ E36 M3 - new project 1990 240SR - screamed down the road

08-20-2006, 08:38 PM	#2
ComptonAssDaniel Leaky Injector Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: VA Posts: 76 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Thought you were talking about "fans" as in people that liked the cars. LOL. Whoops. Sorry, I'm not much help. :P

08-21-2006, 04:42 AM	#4
TipStylez Zilvia Addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 918 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	the taurus fan works way better then the altima fan. i had one and a friend had one. You can tell easily by the diffrence of size and blade count. The Altima fan only had 4-5 blades, where the taurus fan has like 1millionseventy11 haha. And the Altima fan has a small shroud where the taurus is huge.

08-21-2006, 08:27 PM	#11
TipStylez Zilvia Addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 918 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	For the guys that wired it up to a switch. How did you do it, and can you give me a quick writeup on how you wired up the high low switch? Thanks -Q

08-21-2006, 08:56 PM	#12
MOUNTAINGARAGE Zilvia Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Mountainside, Va Posts: 167 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I have the Altima Fan assembly on my s14. Did not like that I had to cut the ends off of it. Not sure what year it was from but I made it work.....Great GoogallyMoogally it gets cold quick. My a/c dropped like 20 degrees. I thought I saw Ice forming on the vents.... I have 1 fan on a switch that always turns off with ignition. 1 fan controlled with the a/c. Runs direct to the batt. with a 30 amp relay toggle switched on the ignition hot lead.

08-21-2006, 09:14 PM	#13
WILDACEX187 Post Whore! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: QUEENZ, NYC Age: 42 Posts: 3,103 Trader Rating: (4) Feedback Score: 4 reviews	which of these is it? __________________ SR POWA COUPE LUVVV!!!

08-21-2006, 09:23 PM	#14
Id RaThEr DrIfT Zilvia Addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: socal Posts: 845 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	that one ^^ looks similar to mine i have a ford tempo fan and works great! __________________ "WhEn SoMeOnE yOu DoNt KnOw HaTeS yOu ThAtS wHeN yOu KnOw YoUr ThE bEsT"

08-21-2006, 09:34 PM	#15
TipStylez Zilvia Addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 918 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	most people use the top one.

08-21-2006, 09:46 PM	#16
boosteds13 Zilvia Addict Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Port Orange, FL Posts: 623 Trader Rating: (0) Rides Gallery: boosteds13 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Here is my Taurus/Koyo setup-- The assembly was flipped upside down prior to install so the fan is closer to the inlet/outlet. I don't think it really matter though. I just sealed up the gap on each side of the shroud with a little adhesive weatherstripping. All I have to say is that this combo makes the engine run COOL. 90+ here everyday and when the thermostat opens, the temp drops to around 170 as the cooled coolant flows through the motor. The altima shroud/install was just too ghetto for me. Oh, and here is a pic of it installed-- __________________ "A CA? WTF is that? You shoulda got an SR yo." View my vBPicGallery!

08-21-2006, 10:00 PM	#17
JohnC Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Israel Posts: 335 Trader Rating: (0) Rides Gallery: JohnC Feedback Score: 0 reviews	ritmeister, high never comes on, and I ge mad hig temps here. I wired it in just incase something really bad happend, if that will help or not, I hope I will never know. Tpstylez, sorry nut I do not remember and it is now part of my harness. read the post I lined to I believe I got the info from there butt just added a switch. Not much help I know but thats all I have now. __________________ JY Racing LTD.

08-22-2006, 12:28 PM	#18
slideways2004 Nissanaholic! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Houston Age: 38 Posts: 1,706 Trader Rating: (6) Feedback Score: 6 reviews	i am thinking about running a taurus fan. but i want to put the fan on a switch. how would i do this if i want high and low speed controlled by me? would i have 2 switches? edit: or would it be easier to have the low setting on when the ignition is on and have 1 switch inside for the high setting. but in this case it would be hard to start b/c so much power is being drawn while starting

08-22-2006, 12:38 PM	#19
JohnC Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Israel Posts: 335 Trader Rating: (0) Rides Gallery: JohnC Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I would suggest getting a fan controller. SPAL has a good solution that can even be caliberated to work with the OE temp sensor. I think it is the best choice. there are other fan controller like HKS, Sard MFC etc.. A switch for both speeds? IDK. I am not really good with electric stuff, not by a long shot. __________________ JY Racing LTD.

08-22-2006, 12:47 PM	#21
Rittmeister Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Cincinnati OH Age: 48 Posts: 1,033 Trader Rating: (9) Feedback Score: 9 reviews	Boosteds13, how is the fan secured to your radiator? And do you have any more pictures? __________________ E36 M3 - new project 1990 240SR - screamed down the road

08-22-2006, 02:14 PM	#22
Gnnr Post Whore! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: S. FL Posts: 3,960 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	The altima fans blowing on high dont even come close to the Taurus fan on Low. Trust me. I have taurus fan in my car now and the altima fans sitting in the trunk. BTW, no cutting of any plastic is needed in the S14, it may be a close fit in the S13 but I think no cutting is needed either. __________________

08-22-2006, 06:17 PM	#24
TipStylez Zilvia Addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 918 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	So, anyone wanna tell me how i can wire it up to a switch? I want to turn it on manualy...BUT, wire it up so that when the car turns off i dont have to turn the switch off, it turns off with the car. YADANAMEAN?

08-22-2006, 06:58 PM	#27
SkeetFaceJeff Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: RWC, Bay Area, CA Posts: 28 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	What, No one likes the stanza dual fans that "almost" perfectly fits 240sx radiators?

08-22-2006, 07:08 PM	#28
TipStylez Zilvia Addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 918 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	^I had a stanza fan..yes the junkyard is fun...and they arnt as strong when i tested them.

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