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A grille block ought to be distinguished from a winter front (where the latter truly covers the heat exchangers and all other opening past the firewall into the engine compartment).
A grille block, on the other hand, only blocks air from the body of the vehicle, and even then may not cover all openings towards the heat exchangers.
That said, just the use of the grille block on my diesel pickup brings my warm-up temps higher in the 7-mile commute I have on days of around 45-60F. When colder, this variance is higher. I will see a 20F difference read on the UG upon arrival. The commute is mainly highway plus frontage road after a 1-mile start on city streets.
The aero benefit plays in the longer the drive. The colder the temps, but especially the higher the winds. A diesel makes this an easy choice (GB, plus the WF for the truly cold days).
When I use the block heater, I am at op temp prior to the end of that 7-miles on days of around 50F, with winds of 15-20-mph.
Without some way of decreasing wind speed against the heat exchangers the truck has a hard time getting above 120F on this commute in late fall through mid-spring (188F is op temp).
I would say that a DIY grille block is cheap enough not to have to worry over. It's easy to find the effectiveness, and then make/buy something better.
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