Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Just to clarify, the coolant in the radiator has no bearing on warm up time (other than keeping the engine bay warmer which is a factor too).
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True, but that cold coolant has to go into the engine sometime. Think of it this way: Its 32 (F) outside and you're driving around, your coolant in the radiator cools down to 15 degrees (F) if you have a just-warmed-up-engine you probably don't want to send 15 degree (F) coolant coursing through it. It won't help. If you can keep that coolant from cooling down in the radiator you'll get into closed loop faster.
Plus, all of this is taking place in *real* cars. I don't know about you, but I've never owned a car that kept all of the "warmed" coolant in the block until it was fully warmed up. I say this because every car I've owned will put out a small amount of heat from the heater core before the temp gauge shows a "warmed" temp.
There's always going to be a bit that leaks past the thermostat and manages to get into the radiator or heater core. So you don't want any of that leaked heat to get dissipated into the atmosphere. Heck, you
paid for that heat with your gas money, a grill block just helps you keep hold of your investment.
