Thinnest Miata Fans Available?

So the other I went to install my big new Racing Beat front sway bar with the brace and encountered a hard interference between the fans. They are the stock fans, but with the bottom legs cut down already. The problem comes from that I am running the TDR Rotrex blower kit, and to get the room for the intercooler and charge piping TDR has you lean the top of the radiator back an inch or two (I can't recall the exact amount at the moment) and that cuts into room between the fans and sway bar. The plastic shrouds are also starting to crack, so it's probably not a bad idea to replace them anyways. So what is the thinnest fans available for these (short of eBay Chinesium garbage)?

The SPAL 14" slimline puller I've been using is pretty damn thin - total depth is right about 2" (it's for sale, for cheap, btw!) 

I was gonna say Ethiopians but next year’s Venezuelans might give them a run for the money as the thinnest fans of Miatas.

The depth of the motor is directly related to the torque of the motor which is directly related the amount of air the fans can pull through multiple heat exchangers. Shroud depth (distance from the core to the fan) is what lets the fans pull from the entire core and not just the area directly under the fan. You want the fattest, thirstiest fans on the deepest shroud you can fit. 

Mishimoto fans are very compact on a super-shallow shroud.  They’re a downgrade from stock, but they’re compact so they’d be better than nothing. You may be able to find a used set from someone who has moved on. I’m going to assume that none of our fan setups will fit because we take advantage of all the space available to maximize effectiveness, and leaning the rad back will not help.

If the interference is just down at the sway bar, I’d be looking to mount a couple of smaller diameter fans with monstrous motors high on a deep shroud with bypass flaps. And venting the hood. That fan setup isn’t available off the shelf as far as I know, but it’s easy enough to do. You could also ask TDR what their suggestions are. 

Is there any room to cut up the fans?

The ATI supercharger setup for LT1 Camaros has you extensively modifying the fan assembly, first spacing the fan motors closer to the radiator, then cutting a whole lot of the shroud's ribs out entirely and greatly thinning some more of them.  It works just fine, even though putting the blades 1/4" or so closer to the radiator does hurt efficiency.

Basically, if the actual fan blade won't be contacting anything, you can get by with some hacking of the stock fan.

Knurled. said:

Is there any room to cut up the fans?

 

The ATI supercharger setup for LT1 Camaros has you extensively modifying the fan assembly, first spacing the fan motors closer to the radiator, then cutting a whole lot of the shroud's ribs out entirely and greatly thinning some more of them.  It works just fine, even though putting the blades 1/4" or so closer to the radiator does hurt efficiency.

 

Basically, if the actual fan blade won't be contacting anything, you can get by with some hacking of the stock fan.

I've chopped the shrouds down as much as I can and still retain any sort of structural integrity already

Some of the TurboMiata guys swear by the Siliconeintakes.com fans as affordable, compact and efficient. I don't know though, that name smacks of Maxpeedingrods or Ilovetacotaco

Just curious, would I be able to put spacer blocks under the sway bar and move it down some? Or would that mess up the geometry and not make it work properly? That sort of stuff is part black magic to me.

You might need to adjust end link length a little to avoid having the arms of the bar at too much of an angle, but as long the arms are within a few degrees of level at ride height, spacing the bar down a bit won't hurt anything.  

Reached out to Track Dog Racing and they said:

"The RB sway bar brace is not compatible with our intercooler.  You can run either just the RB sway bar blocks only or the AWR reinforced sway bar mounts."

The AWR mounts are what I’d do - or weld up my own. Addresses the weak spot directly. 

There’s  only so much room in the front of the car, and less in an NA.