I don't have any '8 experence in this area but I did do it on my Granada. I used a Scorpio electric fan set up and it's wiring which meant it only cut in as required, rather than 'running' continuously as the viscous fan that was replaced did. There was no noticible gain in performance/economy but what was noticible was how infrequently it would need to run. Only on the warmest days and only when sat stationary for more than an average traffic light cycle, would the fan need to kick in, the cooling system was efficeint enough without it's assistance to keep the engine steady at the required operating temperature.
So on this premise alone, and given the points made about mechanical drag v back EMF drag there would have to be some, however minute, increase in economy.
Having said all this, this does not mean that the '8 won't require more fan assistance.
Hope this helps, and for info my experience was with a '94 2.9L 24v Ford Granada Cosworth.
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