Are the fan shrouds needed?

[zts gixx]

So I have the upper and lower fan shrouds out since I just did a cam swap. Question is, do I really need to put them back in? Not that it's hard or anything, but I like the openess of them not being there. Do they help direct air flow I suppose? I have the stock fan still.

[oleshifty]

efans ftw

[zts gixx]

I agree, and I will get them, but for now, is leaving the fan shrouds off ok? I can't imagine it being bad as long as I brace the hoses out of the way from bouncing into the fan or something.

[George C]

youll over heat faster with no shrouds

[zts gixx]

haha ok, that's all I needed to hear. I'll put them on. Thanks

[oleshifty]

im going to call semi BS... i barely use my efans... a manual fan has to be better then NOTHING.


unless i'm stopped for long periods of time, have AC on, or its 80* + my fans never turn on.


My camaro never had a fan shroud, and it did alright. If its a temp thing, i wouldn't bother. If it's going to be several months before you get efans, might as well throw it back on.

[decibles]

well oleshifty you may be the first person that has been able to get by without a shroud especially on a camaro, The fan shroud is extremely important for two reasons. First without a shroud the air will be moved from the front of the fan to the rear and then pulled back to the front again to repeat the pattern. The second and most important is the shroud eliminates the open space which air would flow with no resistance this ensures the air will actually be pulled though the radiator, this is important in that the fan clutch will never engage if the fan clutch isn't heated up from the radiator. The shroud is important so put it back on! ;-)

[zts gixx]

Hahaha...I put them back on..better to just do it and not worry about anything.

[George C]

call whatever you want, facts are facts. shrouds are needed and proper Fan-rad distance also matters along with size of fan. even with Efans the shroud they have are important. your Efans are still moving even if they arent turned on, and in heavy applications the clutch fan works better for cooling thats why you see them on the larger vehicles

im going to call semi BS... i barely use my efans... a manual fan has to be better then NOTHING.


unless i'm stopped for long periods of time, have AC on, or its 80* + my fans never turn on.


My camaro never had a fan shroud, and it did alright. If its a temp thing, i wouldn't bother. If it's going to be several months before you get efans, might as well throw it back on.

[Paulster2]

call whatever you want, facts are facts. shrouds are needed and proper Fan-rad distance also matters along with size of fan. even with Efans the shroud they have are important. your Efans are still moving even if they arent turned on, and in heavy applications the clutch fan works better for cooling thats why you see them on the larger vehicles

Agree. Shrouds are VERY important for all the reasons you mention. I don't know how much air the stock (clutch) fans are capable of pulling, but know the Flex-a-Lite Monster Fan was capable of pulling 5500 cfm at 100% power. They were a bit noisier than the stock e-fans, but I thought the jet engine effect was a cool sound. As I said before, I'm glad GM decided to go with the e-fans. Very smart move and an easy little boost to fuel economy which is OHHHHH so important to the federalies.