05 Civic Grillblock?
 

I was curious about those that use grillblocks on their cars. Are you using them in the summer/hot weather as well? I live on the coast in GA and it gets quite hot. I'm looking at aerodynamic solutions for my car. just curious. Thanks,

Case

Hi Case,
I've got some foam-pipe insulation on my '04 civic held in with duct tape.

Can't say that it has been a big help yet,
but I'm going for a coro-plas cover for the lower intake,
leaving the top open for summer cooling.
I live in New England so the cool air allowed me to cover both top and bottom right now.
But the summer will require more air.

I use mine year (it has just a thin slot opening) around here in upstate SC, even when the temps hit 100F. The only over heating problem I have had is when driving at over 70mph when temps are over 90F, but I plan to install a driver adjustable grill opening before the hot weather hits.

Thanks guys. I might try to block the upper grill to start and see how it affects the engine temp & FE. Then try the bottom leaving the top open if the first trial goes well.

When I do the top grill block, I'm thinking of something temporary like cardboard to mount flush with the outside. The foam pipe looks nice though. If basjoos is able to get by with a thin opening in SC it should work for GA.

Thanks!

I had read of someone who had a water sprayer (like one for the windshield) for their radiator in a tightly cowed aircraft with a auto engine. they needed it for the rare times that they were sitting on a hot ramp at a real busy airport in the middle of summer waiting their turn to takeoff. they would just hit the button every once in awhile to keep the temps in the good range. once they were airborne (moving) it was not needed or even at a normal airport.

Something like that might make a good backup for those extra hot days stuck in traffic.. I'm really going to give it some thought when I block mine.

I've blocked the lower grill to start. I haven't taken long trips yet.; just light city driving and 15 mins of Hwy driving. Temp is a little higher than normal but nowhere near red. I'll know better after some longer city driving during midday. So far it's looking good!

grilleblock
 

Mine are okay all year in Texas.The CRX did overheat at Bonneville.It was 85-degrees ambient temp. on the course,and the car was under full throttle for 6-miles until through the trap.Other than that,its alright for 4-seasons.I've tried to overheat the T-100,just doesn't happen.Modify slow,every car should be considered on a case-specific basis.

Mine works well
 

http://www.health.ufl.edu/~rdeason/C...rillBlock1.jpg

http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthread.php?t=1405

I'm on to IAT mods now.

I've tried both the upper and the lower grill block. The car temp runs the same with either one of them blocked. I've blocked up the front right now. I used cardboard for a week and now I've made one out of plexi.

http://forum.ecomodder.com/emgarage-...4ad743d1ac.JPG

^^clean, nice install

man, i thought my block was a clean one :( nice job :thumbup:

Thanks Guys. We'll see how long it lasts till the plexi turns yellow or road debris tries to crack it. The hardest part was cutting it.

Ever tried Meguiar's PlastX? it really works, and one bottle lasts forever. I've fixed many scratched cd's with it, and turned my headlights from nasty yellow to clear. It's also a polish as well, so even new cars show returns (mom's 07 caliber and grandma's 06 caravan were big surprises). anything clear and plastic it basically takes care of. no matter the color. works on tail lights too. you can buy it at wal-mart for like 3 or 4 bucks I think. and lasts forever. I've got a half bottle, and bought mine in 2007. I use it all the time. also, repells bugs from sticking on there too. takes off bugs better than bug remover as well. might wanna give it a try.

On my '04 Civic, I followed your lead and used the foam insulation with black duct tape holding it in.
And I did it on the bottom too.
Not too impressed with the mileage increase,
until I had to 'get going' one time.
The mileage at 65-70 mph is better than at 55,
for my mostly highway commute.
I was able to bring the mileage up from 32 to 36 by going slower and DWL,
but now it's over 40mpg with 42 not being unusual
AND driving with the crowd at 65-70 instead of granny-ing it at 55 in the right lane.
So far (here in New England) the temps haven't gone up much,
but the mileage sure has.

That's great to hear! Living in Savannah, GA, I'm not sure I have the guts to completely block the lower grill yet. I might try blocking 50 or 60%, leaving the middle open. I already have the template cut. It might be a good weekend project.

If your going to block off that much you really need some sort of temperature monitor (scangauge) so you don't overheat.

Looks very nice BTW.

I think everyone is switching to summer gasoline as well, so that helps some too. winter gas isn't as potent as summer gas because of the additives and things they put in it. Good to know the mileage is increasing :thumbup:

I know that i don't worry much about the coolant overheating because my mechanical fan keeps it under 200, and I've never been able to get it over 200, even while high rpm mudding sessions, but I do care about oil overheating. i monitor this by oil pressure. once when I had a full car, load and full grille block and driving at 65 and city driving, my oil pressure went down into the low teens and made the engine run really rough. then the lower block fell off somewhere and it's been good ever since. normal oil pressure is between 40-60 in my vehicle, and it's ok to be in the 20's if you've been hauling or doing heavy accelerations, but low teens isn't good.

Sandy and cerdmier
What do you drive mostly? highway or city?

cerdmier, if you drive mostly highway, you could probably get by with blocking the top one, which you have done already, and the big bottom one between the two "teeth" looking pillars. Just leave the two side ones open, and combined they make about half of the big bottom one. that should be a big enough opening for cooling.

I do mostly city. It's rare I have to go out of town. I don't have anything to measure with right now. I've just been watching my engine temp. It runs slightly above normal with the UGB. Less than half on the actual guage. Not sure what the temp is.

I find it funny that my 13 year old vehicle has more gauges and info than new cars. I'm guessing that it's running around 190 right now. it's normal operating temp is probably 180. 260-280 is usually overheating. To measure load on the engine, I just use my volt meter. when the volts drop, theres more load on the engine. when the load is off, it creeps back up to 14+ volts. when I turn the a/c on it drops to about 13 volts, then when the compressor kicks off, it goes to 14 again.

You could probably still block off the middle lower one. won't help with aero much though, just heating the engine faster and causing air temps to be warmer, reducing pumping losses. it will help. if that's too much, block off the sides, and leave the middle open.

Mine is mostly highway.
During 'rush' hour, so it could be 70mph or stop and crawl.
I made a new upper grill block out of some coro-plas,
but didn't put it on yet.
I want to see if running just the bottom block
will get me the better mileage or is it the top block doing the job.
The am commute was 39.5 mpg vs 41 recent average.
I'll run it home tonight and average them out.
Tomorrow the top will go on to see it it makes a difference.
I know I should be doing more controlled tests,
but for now, this is the best I can do.

cerdmier,
I like your plex cover,
what are you using to hold it on?
I can't see and fasteners in the pic.
I tried going over the H badge,
but it bulged too much,
so I had to cut a hole to let the H through.

I attached mine with three screws through solid pieces in the grill. Two on the sidea and one through the top of the "H". look in my garage for more pics. I put up a detailed shot so you can see the fasteners. Going over the "h" gives it a nice smooth profile.

I removed the upper and lower grill blocks.
The mpgs went down below the 40's into the 38 mpg range.
By your lead, I constructed a coroplas upper block,
only I cut out the H symbol like were discussed earlier.
I did cover that with the black duct tape I used to hold it on.
The mileage really hasn't recovered.
So I'm going back to the bottom block, and opening the top to get some flow into the radiator, as the temps here are promising to rise.

nice
 

Cerdmier
That is a clean install. how did you do it??
I was hoping to do the same thing with an air dam on the bottom
My concern is temp
I dont know much about the scan guage
any help here?

I used cardboard and ducy tape to cover it first. I would try that to see if you like the results. I was happy with mine, so I then made a nice template out of cardboard and placed it over some plexiglass I got from Home Depot($10) I cut it to fit and drilled soem holes where I could mount it to the existing grill. Hope that helps.