blocked grille tonite...

[mcrews]

Had an old poster frame laying around 2ft x 3ft. Decided to use the clear plastic as temp test blocks for my grille and lower passenger side driving light.
Pretty pleased with the look.
I popped off the center infiniti logo and stuck it on the clear plastic.

I will do some runs tomorrow.

[TomO]

Looks great! Kudos on the work!

[FastPlastic]

Looks good I love the stealth mods.

[mcrews]

[QUOTE=FastPlastic;138469]Looks good I love the stealth mods.[/QUOTE
I just read about your ecomods and you used picture frame also.
It was a little more brittle to work with. I wasnt aware until i started cutting (by hand), I dont have any power tools

I had built the mesh grille myself and really didn't wan't to lose the look.
the lower grille clear cover was inspired by a 3 series bmw thAt had a clear shield from the factory.
While the black electrcal tap works for now.....I hope I can get inspired to do something just a little more 'professional'.

[mcrews]

After church I went out to the freeway, Hwy 80 (5 lanes) relatively flat 3 small rises and dips across the 5 miles..
Went up and down a 5 mile stretch 3 times each way. Grille blocks on both ways.
Temp uot side was 68 degrees.
At 65 mph 27 mpg & 27.7mpg tires at 34psi
At 60 mph 28.9 mpg & 28.9 mpg tires at 42 psi
At 55 mph 29.1 mpg & 31.2 mpg tires at 43psi

The speed is Garmin GPS.
The BEAST is running a 255x45x18 tire. not the stock size 245x45x18.
On a 1000 mile drive to Utah I ran the gps agai9nst the factory odometer.
THe BEAST is off a little over 3%

So those mpg numbers from the dash are off (under) by 3%.

I should have checked the tires before I started because I intentionally run 40+ psi when on the road for any length of trip.
THe increase at the third pass was natural.

also, i had not grabbed the electrical tape sa I didn't get a base line......

However: the result on the first run w/ low psi is slightly better than normal.
I am EXTATIC that that little work produced a result!

The temp gauge never budged and I did have the a/c on....set at 68 to match the outside air temp.

[k.civic.f4i]

pretty stealthy. nice. at first i was like...."what grill block?"

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by k.civic.f4i

pretty stealthy. nice. at first i was like...."what grill block?"

I know!!! it was 11pm when I finished and took some pics. I download them and realized...I CANT SEE THE BLOCK!!!!
so I went out and did the side shoot showing the logo sitting out on it.
There was actually a thin plastic film on both sides of the plastic. makes sence because it was from a poster frame. very clear optically. and the thin film protected it. I'm sure there were directions that said to remove the film when installing the poster.

[almightybmw]

I found it without problems. Last I checked flat black plastic doesn't reflect camera flashes. I do have some spare poster plastic sitting around, I should get it done instead of hap-hazardly screwing in cardboard.

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by almightybmw

I found it without problems. Last I checked flat black plastic doesn't reflect camera flashes. I do have some spare poster plastic sitting around, I should get it done instead of hap-hazardly screwing in cardboard.

Not sure what is flat black except the elctrical tape?
ANd the grille BEHIND the clear sheet of plexiglas.

That was my exact thought.....I kept thinking of different ways to attach it.
I knew I wanted clear based on how FASTPLASTICS Jeep looked

Also, IF I really buy-in, then I needed to create as smooth a surface as I could. The sheet actually matches where the body lines curve in to hold the grille.

[mcrews]

Drove 166 miles round trip today. Sacramento to Novato CA.
Mainly freeway. outside temp 68. return leg was 4-6pm so there was some traffic.
Went 61 mph on cruise control on the hwy portion. Drove conservatively on the streets. Had an associate in the car.
Results: avg speed (from gps) 53.9 mph
Mpg: 27.2
The grille block works
I have never gotten 27 on a combined trip. And the only time I had gotten 27 before was 100% pure flat crusie control limited distance (25 miles)