An electric waterpump/fan has many advantages over the standard mechanical setup, it also has some disadvantages. As anything in life its a compromise....choosing between the one and the other is all about which compromise suits you best.
Advantage electric pump:
-pump speed is no longer dependent on engine speed. This means the pump can already shift masses of water at idle/low speed, of course a mechanical water pump equipped with a small enough pulley can shift similar amounts....it will then however start cavitating at higher revs. Use a motorsport pulley to tune the waterpump revs down and things become a bit marginal at idle / low revs.
-is very efficient. The mechanical pump/fan combo are true power sappers. Especially since the mech fan continuously runs, also when its not at all needed (speeds above about 40 mph which generate ample airflow over the rad). Since pumping losses are a cube function to speed, the difference between running the engine at say 2500 vs 5000 rpm (twice as fast) consumes 2^3 or 8 times the power. Accordingly, running an electric pump/fan noticably frees up engine power....and its not just the butt dyno, KAD had some dyno tests on their site that show significant gains.
-allows a very quick and efficient engine warm up after cold start when used with a digital controller.
-allows cooling after engine shut down
-can be very rewarding if you like a good project and engineer solutions from scratch
Downsides:
-it has not been designed in 1959, so it changes the appearance of the engine bay in a non period correct way
-if things break down, electrical failure might be somewhat more difficult to diagnose roadside than a broken mechanical belt
-you can not rely on your trusty Haynes manual to install the system, but have to know what youre doing in the first place
-finding room for the pump when running a side rad can be a challenge
Ok so that covers water pumps.....now please tell me about the Lambo;-)
Edited by evoderby, 28 February 2018 - 05:55 AM.