Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
My nearly full block has worked perfectly for my typical use.
|
Since the cold spell in January I've been using a 100% full block. I have black vinyl completely covering the upper grille opening, and the Eco's active grille shutters stay closed in cold weather blocking the lower opening.
I have not verified that the lower grille shutters are not opening once the car gets up to temperature, but I don't think they are. Every time I shut the car off and check them they are closed, but in the summer months they are open with the car off (they close above 40 MPH and open again at some lower speed).
A small future project will be to mount a small position switch on the shutter actuator and have an LED or something light up to indicate when the shutters are open.
So far with a (assumed) 100% block I have not had any overheating issues. The temp gauge stays right in the same place it always has (yes the gauge is just a glorified idiot light, but the engine doesn't get hotter than the gauge's "normal" operating range). This is true so far, with everything from slow around town driving to highway trips with the cruise control set at 100km/h, though the temperature has barely gotten above freezing. In warm weather I anticipate issues unless I unblock part of the upper grille opening.
For those who don't have active grille shutters (
) and desire a lower grille block in winter months, driving into a snowbank can accomplish this rather effectively and at minimal cost.
