5 min radiator block aeromod
 

OK - It's cold outside, but I want my engine to run a little better in the winter.

I have been very busy lately, so I did a VERY fast and dirty radiator block.

http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWe...s/DSC05707.jpg

Width of the radiator was almost exactly the same as some scrap (got it free!) coroplast I had kicking around.

I shoved it down the front of the radiator, and cut off what stuck out. Friction fit right in there - no zip ties needed.

The coroplast sheet is not actually in direct contact with the radiator, it is a centimeter or two out from it. (Trying to NOT melt the coroplast)

Will this this radiator block make any difference of aerodynamic drag? A little bit? Just curious?

I don't have any way to check fuel economy other than dividing trip odometer by gallons at the pump.

More photos at:
http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWeb/Home/5minmod.html

I have also started plugging in my block heater at night. It runs just over 500 watts, so it's kinda wasting electricity if I run it all night. I am planning on setting it on a timer, but am still looking around for it. I have one here somewhere....

I'd say it won't do amazing wonders for aero, but it'll definitly warm up your engine faster. Just make sure it doesn't warm it up too much. ;)

Here's one of the pics from bennelson's photo link in the first post.
http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWe...s/DSC05704.jpg

Wow, that's a block. You definitely get credit for fast and low cost.

I have to say, it looks like you blocked off the radiator completely. Keep an eye on your temperature gauge. I'd leave at least a 2-3" strip of radiator unblocked; I think that even in winter its going to need some air through there to cool the engine.

Yep, I was planning on keeping a close eye on the temp gauge.

If I trim some off the block, should I do it off the bottom or the top?

It is not good to completely block airflow to the radiator, melting or not. Yes you can make a block that is 100% radiator sized, but it still needs to be some distance away from the radiator. SOME air movement is necessary.

You've been around here for some time right? Aero drag reduction from that kind of block will be too tiny to detect. And heaters have been discussed too, with optimal plug-in times for one example running just over an hour.

Actually I think I'd take some off one of the sides - or cut a vertical opening, if you want to keep the full rectangle so it stays put.

Take a look at what's happening behind your block panel. See where the coolant enters and leaves and trim your block accordingly. My radiator has the intake at top right, and outlet at lower left, with the tubes running horizontally. So if I made a vertical gap or slot in a full size panel, that would give some cooling to all the tubes. That would make sense to me. That way if a couple tubes are blocked then the others still get some cooling.

Look at your fan(s) too. When they run they will want some air.

I think after you see how your radiator is set up you'll have a better idea of where to cut a gap in your panel.

if you want to kill two birds with one stone, cut apiece of that stuff big enough to cover all the grill above the bumper. drill a few holes around the edge of the piece and zip tie it to the grill.
i'd use a timer on that heater because they don't last forever, i've burned out several of them. toss an old blanket over the dog house.
my little lady took half the wiring, electric box and all off the side of the garage one morning, brillant me had tied the extension cord around the wire so the timer wouldn't fall out of the receptacle. we laughed till we cried.

I have ONLY backed out of the driveway once so far while still plugged in.

Cleverly, everything is in a straight shot, so the the extension cord will unplug itself and the heater cable doesn't drag on the ground!

5 More Minutes!
 

I spent 5 more minutes today updating my radiator block.

The engine temp gauge did get fairly high during my 25 mile ride to work this morning.

I noticed that my radiator fan is off-center and it looked like vertical cuts would cool the radiator best

http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWe...s/DSC05709.jpg

I went "Psycho" on the coroplast and popped it back in.
I will monitor my temp. gauge on the ride home and see how it compares to the ride out.

This morning, my heater definately did get hot faster, car warmed up much quicker!

http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWe...s/DSC05711.jpg

The engine ran cooler on the ride home today than on the way in.

It wasn't really fair to compare though, because it was snowing, so speeds on the freeway home were not what they were on the way out.

Nice work. Not too bad of a finger cut either.

My favorite black paint: Pickup Bed Liner by Duplicolor.
Dries in a tough krinkly texture finish, which hides imperfections in the surface below. Dries very fast, too.

Test first to see if it bonds to the coroplast. You don't want flakes breaking off and sticking in the radiator fins.

Or you could use black duct tape.

I'm with diesel_john. I mentioned the same thing to Peakster, too: you're better off blocking the grille than the radiator.

The grille block gives you the added aero benefit, in addition to helping warm up quicker. But will still permit the fan to draw as much air through the rad as it can, should it need to.

Well, I guess this is sort of my first "official" mod - other than building electric vehicles and all.

I am planning on doing more work on this car once the weather gets better. As it is, it's pretty much not fun working outside.

I did just pick up an exhaust system for this car today which I got for free!

duct tape
 

Yeah I love duct tape.


http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...z/DSCF2331.jpg

Duct Tape is my friend. Removable too if she gets too warm.
I layered from the outside in so i can remove from the inside out one strip at a time
if conditions require.
Maybe this would work for you?
S.

I have a grill block, but my engine was still running 130-140*F on the highway this winter. So I added a radiator block, too. I made mine in two pieces, overlapping like sliding closet doors. I can adjust the opening by sliding one of the pieces to the side. I've learned how much opening I need for various temperatures, and I'm keeping the engine at 180* on the highway (200* on side streets) now. Radiator block been velly velly good to me.

a picture is worth a thousand words
this is a woodchuck's view of well designed inlet.

5 More Minutes!
 

I took the yellow coroplast out and instead covered the front of the grill with some wide duct tape. Then I threw some blue Rustoleum at it just like the rest of the car.

http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWe...s/DSC05722.jpg

Nope, not real fancy, but it is still to cold out for me to be working in the driveway for long. I can always make it prettier later!:cool:

PS: can you tell which headlight is just a piece of plexiglass!? It really isn't very noticeable if you aren't looking for it.

Not bad! The color matches pretty well too. :thumbup:

Passenger side?

If you ever get paint or anything on your headlights, Meguiar's PlastX works real well at cleaning clear plastics. I have a bottle of my own and my headlights don't look like Pee anymore, just white. And It also helps scratched cd's too. might have to use some elbow grease and scrub real hard if it's real bad. If you have a car that can't pass headlight inspection, it works real well with that. If it's too far gone though, you might just try sanding it. I use it on everything I find, my cell phone screen, headlights, cd's, tail lights, cd cases, and anything I can find, and I've still got a half of a bottle left, and I got it last year!

Yeah, the passenger side is just a piece of plexiglass that I sanded to frost it.

Good idea about the PlastX. My driver side headlight is all yellowy now.

When I was Applying the stuff, I didn't noticed it took stuff off till I stepped back. I did the passenger side first, and looked at the driver's side and said man... I didn't know it was that yellow. It cleans off more stuff the more you use it. A foam applicator pad works good, and something more abrasive will work better, it just doesn't leave it as clear. I haven't tried it on the inside, but I'm thinking it'll work even better if you take it off and clean it. A lot of the stuff is from the outside, but if you have headlights that get moisture in them, they'll get yellowed on the inside as well. Also, feel the texture of the headlight before and after you apply it, it feels like it's been wet sanded, well... probably cause that's basically what it does. For a smoother surface, like if your cleaning a scratched cd, if you use your finger instead of a foam pad or cotton hand towel, you don't scratch the surface of the cd from applying, and you end up with a lot fewer scratches, but the deep ones are pretty much impossible to get out (i know, I've tried, and the only way to fix it is fill in the scratches, but I don't know what to use to fill them in yet... clear paint? super glue?). Good luck with the grille blocking though.

I did a 5 min grille block before I read this cause I was leaving to get some stuff and fill up the tank. I used clear tape and saran wrap though, which actually didn't stretch that bad from the wind. And it helped butt loads. I took pix on my phone, but don't have signal to send them yet, So I'll wait till tomorrow.