2013 Honda Fit lower grille block

[Fat Charlie]

Well, the brutally cold winter is gone, so yesterday I finally got around to making my grille block. Makes sense.

Here's a good look at how bad the stock opening is:




It went pretty easily, I just had to pull some retainers off the shroud above the grilles (around the hood latch) and could see right into the cavernous space inside the fascia. It looked like I could just drop the block in and secure it at the top center with a zip tie through two holes in a beam that was there.

I had a broken piece of plexiglass that looked about the right size. So I slipped it in, took careful measurements with my fingers, then trimmed one side straight and put it back in. It fit great. I managed to get my drill in there to put two holes in the top center... and shattered it. Maybe a flat surface and some masking tape would have helped, but whatever. Plan B was to find the 2x3 piece of coroplast I had bought God knows how long ago to make a grille block out of- last year's Plan A. I used the plexi mess as a template to cut it down then used the zip tie as a handle while I sprayed it black with my other hand. A windy driveway isn't a fun spray booth, but you can stay away from other things and the paint dries fast. I slipped it back into the car, zip tied the top to the bracket and sealed around it with duct tape.


And here's what it looks like now:




I've only had one run with it, but the butt wind tunnel (a horrifying name for the areo equivalent of the butt dyno) says it's an improvement. I don't have a huge scoop ducting air under the car any more. Weather and traffic conditions are hard to account for, but a couple signifigant glides didn't lose speed the way I'm used to and I was seeing higher instant mpg numbers than expected with the cruise set to 62 mph.

Temps were higher at times. Normal temp is 177-179, and it got up there pretty quickly. A long uphill stretch would bring it up to the mid 190s, which it would take a while to come down from. Stopped in traffic brought it up to 205-206. I'm going to have to keep an eye on that as things warm up.

Quick and effective, neat and stealthy. I'm happy with it. Now I have to get on procrastinating my belly pan!

[PaleMelanesian]

I just took mine off. I was regularly getting into the 190's and occasionally topped 200F.

I used foam exercise mat, cut to size and zip-tied on the outside, looping around the center horizontal grille piece.

I have a smooth under-engine panel which raises the operating temperature even with the grille open.

[Fat Charlie]

Interesting run home last night. Temp was in the mid 60s and dropping into the high 50s with major traffic at the beginning. I spent most of the time over 200 degrees, hitting 212 several times. Very little time was in the 190s, and the only time it dropped below 190 was after an EOC that happened after a few miles at 40 mph. The first thing I did when I got home was drill a few 1/4" holes along the top. That was more to make myself feel like I had done something to get more air to the radiator than anything else.

40 minutes later was time to take the kids to swim lessons. It was a bit cooler, in the 50s, but the amazing bit was the aero. The car actually picked up speed on some of the glides and I got over 66 mpg on the way to the pool. Back in August, a successful run to the pool was over 60 mpg. 66 when there's still snow on the ground is nothing short of amazing.

So as things stand, it's a large improvement in aero and insulation- too good at insulation for most of the year. I need to look at an adjustable intake of some sort because the gains are just too good to walk away from.

[Fat Charlie]

Temps are still high, but tolerable until the weather warms up. Took a better shot of it this morning.

[Daox]

Looks good to me.

[Fat Charlie]

I just broke my mileage worldview.

That ~18 mile run to the pool that I cheerfully got 60+ mpg on in the summer was a high point of my tanks. Then last week with the grille block I broke 66 with the temp in the 50s and was awed.

Well, when you modify a car you're driving a different car and that 66 mpg was on my second day with the block. With a week's worth of familiarization on the new setup, last night I pulled into my parking space at the pool showing 78.9 mpg for the run.

[Daox]

Woohoo, nice!

I'm seeing the same thing with the Metro and the few mods I made since last fall. Its awesome.

[Fat Charlie]

It's officially a stunning success. I started my last tank by towing a silly unaerodynamic load for 110 miles at 29.5 mpg. I managed to stretch that tank to 440 miles at 44.9 mpg, beating my 90 day average.

[Daox]

Woohoo, nice!

[Space Egg]

these are pretty amazing numbers. wish i could consider the grille block, but here in houston where the daily temperature breaks 100F i wouldn't dream of it. I will do the underbelly mod soon and am hoping to get up to 40 mpg when not carrying the whole family around.

thanks for the inspiration!