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Old 12-16-2008, 01:01 PM   #5 (permalink)
Tango Charlie
Deadly Efficient
 
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Goshen, Indiana
Posts: 1,234

Olivia - '03 Pontiac Vibe base
90 day: 36.01 mpg (US)

R2-D2 - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 58.81 mpg (US)
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I don't know if you can call it 'ducting', but I boxed in the area between the lower grille opening and the radiator of my Vibe. You can see it in post #53 of my 'Vibe mods' thread. With the upper grille completely blocked, and the lower opening blocked roughly 90%, coolant temperature is never an issue. In fact, I think it's taking LONGER to warm up than before. I noticed this immediately after installing the radiator-bumper 'ducting', which was before winter hit hard and we still had comfortable ambient temps.

If your car has a similar gap between the grille and the radiator, I would highly recommend boxing it in or 'ducting' it. You can get away with a much smaller grille opening. Of course, keep an eye on the coolant temps, preferably with a Scangauge.
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