E90 E92 M3 Fan Alternative

[danvitmon]

Hey guys,

I made a revelation on the E9X M3 fan dilemma. As we all know, our cars are getting older and the plastic fan blades can crack. If not taken care of, the cracks can lead to explosion of the fan, possibly taking out the radiator among other expensive engine bay bits. And of course you can't just buy the blade...

My 147k miles dual purpose 2008 E90 M3 has had a cracked fan for the past few thousand miles. I have been putting it off because the Genuine part is around $1000-$1200 depending on who you go with. I can't stomach that price for a fan. There are cheap Chinese made ones that are around $200-$300, but I didn't trust that.

So I did a lot of digging and found these NRF fans. I couldn't find where they were made but from other reviews on forums they seemed like a good choice. I ordered mine through Trodo, a parts supplier in Europe that actually ships to the US, unlike Autodoc (I emailed Autodoc to see if they would ship to the US since it's not in their selection, they said they can't).

I ordered mine on July 5th for $588, and received it on July 10th with the cheapest DHL shipping option. Five days from Germany to California! I adore DHL. It came packaged super well, not beat up, and had FRAGILE stickers all over it.

Pictures show the shroud is made in Germany, so I assume the fan is as well. The wiring looks like a thick gauge, and the plastics all seem nice. I think they even balance the fan as there are little clip on metal pieces on only one of the fan blades.

Here's the link if you'd like to buy one yourself. I make no money nor am I sponsored in any way by Trodo or NRF, just want to help the M3 community since I have been helped by you guys a bunch.

https://www.trodo.com/fan-radiator-n...8?currency=USD

[Redd]

Thanks for sharing. Have u installed it?

[danvitmon]

Originally Posted by Redd

Thanks for sharing. Have u installed it?

Not yet. I'm planning to do it this weekend since its 95f+ in NorCal where I'm at until Friday. I'll update here and on the track chit chat thread.

[danvitmon]

Originally Posted by Redd

Thanks for sharing. Have u installed it?

I lied, just installed it. Fit well and the bolt lined up. If it explodes I'll lyk, if no updates everything is ok!

[Helmsman]

Nice input thanks Dan!

This would fit perfect in Theodors https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1343867

[amrazM]

just an fyi you can also use the fan blades and motor assembly out of an e60 535i rwd with the 850w fan made by behr. I have one in my car, works very well. theyre $583 on rock auto last time I checked.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by danvitmon

I lied, just installed it. Fit well and the bolt lined up. If it explodes I'll lyk, if no updates everything is ok!

Just ordered mine! About half price of a new original fan here.

[m3s65b4.x]

Is NRF 470048 oem 17112283621 equivalent or must be Hella Behr?

8EW351040711 is e60 535i fan assembly but which Behr no for e9x M3?
Does the old cracked part have reference numbers?

Fan housing with fan 850W:

e9x M3
BMW 17112283621
NRF 470048
BEHR ?

e60 535i
BMW 17427603658
NRF 47705 not correct as 300W? probably only blade fits
HELLA 8EW351040711
BEHR 351040711

[danvitmon]

Originally Posted by m3s65b4.x

Is NRF 470048 oem 17112283621 equivalent or must be Hella Behr?

8EW351040711 is e60 535i fan assembly but which Behr no for e9x M3?
Does the old cracked part have reference numbers?

Fan housing with fan 850W:

e9x M3
BMW 17112283621
NRF 470048
BEHR ?

e60 535i
BMW 17427603658
NRF 47705 not correct as 300W? probably only blade fits
HELLA 8EW351040711
BEHR 351040711

The fan itself is supposed to be correct because I saw a video on youtube of a guy installing it and driving the car. Everything seemed correct including the actual fan motor design, it didn't seem like a different style motor. I read about people using it but there wasn't enough info for me to pull the trigger.

[Redd]

My mech noticed some scratch marks on the outer edge of the Trodo fan. I've only been using it less than 1k kms. There's also a wear mark on the fan upper housing.

https://youtube.com/shorts/KOUvxfYpp...mNRyFeoABYDqpO

Fan runs fine otherwise, no weird sounds, doesn't seem like it's rubbing when it's spinning, no weird vibrations.

Has anyone else noticed the same thing with your Trodo fan?

[fr0zen]

[QUOTE=Redd;31453454]My mech noticed some scratch marks on the outer edge of the Trodo fan. I've only been using it less than 1k kms. There's also a wear mark on the fan upper housing.

https://youtube.com/shorts/KOUvxfYppLo?si=hWmNRyFeoABYDqpO

Fan runs fine otherwise, no weird sounds, doesn't seem like it's rubbing when it's spinning, no weird vibrations.

Has anyone else noticed the same thing with your Trodo fan?

Hey OP and Redd, how are these trodo fans holding up and how is the cooling?

Need a new fan soon and not sure if I should just bite the bullet on the OEM or maybe consider this trodo one.

Thanks!

[Redd]

Originally Posted by fr0zen

Hey OP and Redd, how are these trodo fans holding up and how is the cooling?

Need a new fan soon and not sure if I should just bite the bullet on the OEM or maybe consider this trodo one.

Thanks!

So far so good. Mech reinstalled the Trodo fan. Monitored it running, didn't seem like it was rubbing on anything. Still no noise or issues so far. Cooling is identical to OE fan as far as I can tell. Tbh I really don't know where those rub marks came from.