went to lowes and got a 50' roll of vinyl flashing and got to work on a more permanent grill block this afternoon. at first tried to fold under but the material bunched up. I then moved it a lil higher so bottom edge was just under grill edge and i didn't have to fold any and just taped lil tabs around to hold it while i made sure entire grill was covered. then went around with longer strips.
i got the tan stuff and once i have it how i want to keep it i'll get some silver paint to blend in with body more.
before I had the cardboard in back of grill and was ok, but i think It was catching some air and was just helping with car getting a lil warmer. now I'll see if outside will help more aerodynamicly.
I'll get a few pics up tommorrow when there's better light out.
Most fan thermostats are set higher than most engines run. it's only when there is insufficient airflow that your engine will heat up enough for fan to be needed.
I am gonna toss in the 3 x 10" hole block tomorrow and see if the fan coming on less = better fe. have to run a whole tank though, cuz i have no instrumentation.
Isn't the purpose of a grille block to increase aerodynamics? With the grille block, air is forced around the smooth exterior of the car instead of being rammed in the engine bay.
By the way, does it matter if the grille block is flush with the bumper exterior or blocked in the inner opening? I have mine blocked on the inside for better appearance. I'm thinking that a trapped vortex is adequate enough to make the air still go around the Geo's exterior.
you can figure out how much electricity by hooking you radiator fan up with an amp meter and seeing what it draws, and I'm sure there is someone else on here who off the top of their head can tell you how many KWhours are in a gallon of gas after going thru the whole mecanical/electrical system of a car.
a hotter thermostat is going to make the fan come on more unless you can find a hotter thermo-switch for the fan as well, as the fan kicks on around 192F on most cars.
The point of a grill block is not to make the engine run hotter (altho it is a slight positive side affect) but the make the car more airodinamic by forcing air around the out side of the car insted of thru the very non airodinamic engine compartment, air entering thru the grill has to leave as well and the largest opening for air to exit is thru the underside of the car, and that is one of the least airodinamic parts of most cars, unless you have a convertable.
a hotter thermostat is going to make the fan come on more unless you can find a hotter thermo-switch for the fan as well, as the fan kicks on around 192F on most cars.
do hybrids and vx's have hotter thermo switches to compensate for their hotter thermostats?
are hotter thermo switches mass produced or do we need to make them, i forget?
the VX has a 180F stock thermostat to meet exaust emition standards, running a hotter engine increases the nitrusoxides that are produced.
As for making your grill block look good, take a look at the photo of my car in the garage section, you can hardly see the grill block, people walking past it don't seem to take notice either, the car is teal, and the grill block is flat black, the same color as the plastic grill, in my mind having the whole front of your car one solid color would make it look more like a blimp.
, right?
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