Grill block on a Silverado

[ECONORAM]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Got gas log data anywhere?

Sorry Frank, not yet. However, I should be able to load it pretty soon as I am in my last week of school for my master's degree!! WOO-HOO!!

[darcane]

Originally Posted by aerohead

I wonder if a later model Chevy or GMC has got pop-in escutchins for the tow hook openings.I think that GM closed these areas off but they may have used a completely different fascia.I'll keep my third eye lookin' out for that.

I haven't seen any, but thanks for looking. The more eyes the better.

I thought of several different ways to cover them, just none that would pass the all important spousal approval process. My wife doesn't want to see anything that stands out from stock.

Mike

[stockrex]

Originally Posted by darcane

I haven't seen any, but thanks for looking. The more eyes the better.

I thought of several different ways to cover them, just none that would pass the all important spousal approval process. My wife doesn't want to see anything that stands out from stock.

Mike

I think my silverado has something sticking out the below the grill, can't check right now, truck is in storage, bringing it back this satday.

same here, my wife won't even let me tint her vehicle, I am not sure how she can see her vehicle while driving and being inside it ;-)

[darcane]

I made a change to my grill block. Although it was cleaner in appearance behind the grill, I decided to try a little more of a block. I added another piece to cover the middle opening, leaving an opening for the tranny cooler. The lower opening in the bumper is untouched.

I got an Ultragauge last October about the same time I made this change. I started paying close attention to a lot of gauges, including the temp. I noticed it warmed up a little quicker with the new grill block. Since I didn't hear any complaints about how it looked, I decided to move the upper block to the front as well. When I did this, I noticed that I got to full operating temp about a minute sooner on my commute. I can only deduce that there was enough flex in the coroplast to still let a lot of air through.

I don't do A-B-A testing, so I don't have specific numbers. The Ultragauge has been helping me improve my mileage, but I couldn't quite reach the 20mpg I was shooting for. Flipping the upper grill block to the front finally pushed me over the top. 20.5mpg on my last tank in spite of the colder temps and denser traffic this time of year:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mpg-15799.html

Mike

[Nonhog]

Hey nice to hear ya topped 20! I'm another Chevy truck driver from Puyallup.
As of yet I have not seen 20 in fact I just put soft winter tires on and its
gotten worse.(no surprise) Mine is a 4.3 2WD that is all stock.
Been wanting to try a grill block as well as lowering, sits way high in the rear.
Maybe cover the bed.
Anyway enough about me. Just wanted to say "good going"!

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Nonhog

Hey nice to hear ya topped 20! I'm another Chevy truck driver from Puyallup.
As of yet I have not seen 20 in fact I just put soft winter tires on and its
gotten worse.(no surprise) Mine is a 4.3 2WD that is all stock.
Been wanting to try a grill block as well as lowering, sits way high in the rear.
Maybe cover the bed.
Anyway enough about me. Just wanted to say "good going"!

Thanks!

I've got a canopy on mine. I don't know if that's better or worse than a tonneau. I do know it's heavy, real heavy (300lbs? long bed and there seems to be added bracing for the full length, tilt-up windows).

The grill block definately helped, higher tire pressure helped, the belly pan helped (sorry about the dead links, hopefully my site will be back up soon), taller tires helped, but slowing down and using the Ultragauge seemed to give the largest improvements.

I would think that 4.3 should be a little easier on the mileage. It's rated at 20mpg hwy (mines 18mpg hwy).

Mike

P.S. You've got some pretty slick rigs in your garage...

[apc]

thanks for posting your progress darcane. I look forward to your images being resurrected as I'm interested in seeing how you did things.

figured this would be a good place to contribute a pic of my silverado grill block (my first aero mod - yay). I left the side over the tranny cooler open, though I'm not sure how I feel about the asymmetry yet. and I'm going to pull the recovery hooks and plug the valance holes somehow. still tinkering with ideas.

90 degrees out and there was no discernible change in the engine temp per the dash gauge.

[darcane]

APC - looks good. I'd experiment with going all the way to the passenger side though. Mine has gaps in the bumper too, so it's a little different, but even with summer rolling around I'm not seeing any elevation in coolant temps.

My website is up, but the URL changed slightly. Unfortunately I can't edit my original posts anymore. If I can't find a way to edit the posts, I'll add them again in a later post.

[apc]

I do plan on going all the way over on that side. this was my proof-of-concept to check engine temp before drilling holes to give more attachment points for the fabric (I dunno what it's called... upholstery material? faux leather with fabric backing, like for redoing chairs I guess. got it off someone's curb.) I might even cover the drivers side a bit more too. I never do any towing but I'm still reluctant to block the tranny cooler too much.

cool lookin' forward.

[darcane]

Reposting links:

Early Grill Block:



Belly Pan pics:





I recently did an oil change and other than some dirt, the belly pan doesn't look any different than when I installed it. No signs of wear or other damage, so it seems pretty durable.

And these pics show wheels, before and after: