Accent Grille Block Material Suggestions?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

my bad, my description wasn't really that good.

it is 6 inches by about 1.5 inches.

it is literally big enough to get your hand into. and those numbers are guestimates.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I'm still not quite picturing it. What are the width, height, and depth you have available? And where exactly on your car would it go? You've done such a good job that it all just looks sort of blank! I like to have little design projects like this to think about when I'm in the shower and such.

I examined my car a little closer and the fan could definitely draw air in from the lower grille. That being the case, I'm going to go with your suggestion that I block the upper grille instead. It's physically easier, for one thing. Hit a couple local stores looking for foam insulation board, but they didn't have any. I'll have to cut some really curvy shapes, so I'm wondering if possibly using foam to fill most of the gaps and then using some liquid to smooth the block shape might be the way to go. I'd mask off the car of course and I should just block the grille with tape or something to test heat rejection. Unfortunately the rear of the grille isn't accessible directly. I was thinking toggle bolts might be a simple way to attach it and it would allow me to remove it quickly if I ever need to have a repair under my warranty. I keep a leatherman in the car anyway.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Got the upper grille all taped up with this black duct tape sort of stuff. I can barely tell it's on there. I'm taking a long trip next week so I can see if the engine temp light comes on. Wish it was a little warmer, so this test will be far from definitive, but it's a start anyway.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

There's another approach to variable grille blocks: a bigger fan with a smaller opening. As long as it comes on rarely, the extra energy needed to drive the fan shouldn't be a big deal.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Duct tape on a road trip is always a great place to start. You can tell if its even worth the time and energy to fabricate a more permanent block.

-Jay

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I got a PM from basjoos about his grill block:

here it is in full:

Originally Posted by basjoos

Its an adjustable grill block that I can adjust on the fly via a cable to a lever inside the cabin. The block itself is a section of PVC pipe on pivots so it can rotate to either clear or block the opening in the nose. There's an LED on the dash that tells me when the cooling fan kicks on and I'll adjust the grill opening so that the fan just occasionally kicks on. I start off with the opening totally closed, and then begin opening it when the LED lights up about 15-20 miles down the road. Eventually I want to automate it using an electronic controller monitoring the coolant temps to control how much to open the grill inlet, but that's way down on the priority list right now. If you haven't heard of it, there is a website up about my car giving some info on its features (aerocivic.com).

I really need to get some pictures of the area that I was talking about earlier so that it makes more sense. a picture = 1000 words kinda deal.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

A rotating pipe is simple and effective, but requires some pretty serious depth. I made my own zoning valves for a forced air heat system using essentially the same approach (except the air came in the side). Of course that was just either all the way open or all the way closed. Making it assume positions inbetween shouldn't be hard. Automating it should also not be difficult.

I guess using multiple smaller pieces of pipe rather than one big one could reduce the depth requirements. They could also be arranged to somewhat conform to a curved shape. I'll wait on that picture!

Now that I think about it, it's essentially a ready made louver. If you added some discs on the end (internal would be preferable to using a cap) and sawed away most of the pipe, the depth requirements could be reduced and it'd still be pretty easy to fabricate. Wow, that's not as clear as I was hoping, I'll draw something up.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

here are the pictures that I was talking about.

the first are of the opening between my hood and bumper




these next ones are the area that I was thinking of making the adjustable inlet




those last ones aren't so great because they are under the car and my ground clearance isn't that high.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Very revealing! Using a piece of PVC pipe you could cut it so that it helped deflect air up in the right direction.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

If you put the PVC down below you'd really want a smooth transition on either side. That doesn't sound hard and it'd create a place for a motor to go in a direct drive arrangement. Your car's setup is very different than mine. I'm a little jealous!

Had my roadtrip today. The black tape held up extremely well in the rain and the overheating light didn't illuminate. Of course it started to snow on my way home, so this wasn't exactly a heat stress test. I think a better way to make a block eventually would just be to use plastic with standoffs. That way I'd have no need to conform to the complicated curves in there that filling it in with foam would involve. Need to use toggle bolts to attach it, though, as there's no rear access without taking the whole thing apart.