[Steve C.]

Regarding that electric fan driven by the alternator that cost 1 hp.

Don't shoot the messenger, I'm only presenting what the magazine article stated And keep in mind the testing was at a high running RPM and not at idle.

I made an attempt to find a copy of Car Craft issue to read more about the testing but couldn't find it. However based on the information at the time I interpret it that they hooked up the electric fan directly to run off the alternator on the motor and thru dyno readings the draw on the alternator from the electric fan resulted in a 1 hp loss at peak rpm. The results will vary.

Related, in Circle Track magazine they did dyno testing to determine the benefits and draw backs of running with and without an alternator. The goal for attaining maximum power by some teams is to run without an alternator. Note, the primary focus was on the more popular capacitive discharge system (and included a electric fan) and how it is affected as the battery voltage becomes low. As here a result of the testing they stated the removal of the alternator was worth only 2 or 3 horsepower.



.