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For short trip commuting, a full grill/valence block may work fine. My typical trips are longer than 50 miles. I took the valence block off before a 3500 mile roundtrip into a remote area during summer heat.
What I am seeing is that instead of running at about 200F with the grill and valence blocked, the car is running at 185F with the grill blocked and valence open.
For short trips, fast engine warm up is very important. For long trips, I think that reduced temperatures may cause less stress on the motor and less decay of rubber parts.
It would be interesting to measure the mpg difference between an open valence, blocked valence with moderately sized port (80 square inches or so), and a completely blocked valence.
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