Civic Lower Grill Block

[brucepick]

2.7 mm. thick Lauan plywood, primed with oil base paint that was thinned slightly. Panel was cut with a box cutter. Stainless sheet metal screws hold it to the oem plastic bumper cover.


This definitely seems to help, compared to the prior setup:


Coasting is better than before. Recent mpg gains aren't entirely due to the front panel; I also recently switched to 10W-30 oil from 15W-40 after replacing the O-ring seal where cam shaft meets distributor.

[Pawtuckett]

Very nice, I like. Hopefully I'll get un-lazy one of these days and put a grill block on mine.

[California98Civic]

How are engine temps. I opened up my lower a little and I still see coolant temps hover around and cross 200 as peak. I think my fan runs a lot!

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

How are engine temps. I opened up my lower a little and I still see coolant temps hover around and cross 200 as peak. I think my fan runs a lot!

My system has always settled at 182ºF as long as it has enough air going through the rad. It's still that way now HOWEVER on the warmest days it does go higher, even up to the 202º range. I want to add a few square inches of opening so it doesn't get that hot in the warmer weather coming up.

I'm also considering installing a slightly hotter thermostat so it will stabilize around 190-192º instead of 182º. I expect it will stabilize at whatever the t'stat is aiming for as long as it gets enough air through the rad to support the needed cooling. And in winter of course, not toooo much air so the engine would be excessively cooled by a constant cold air bath blowing in.

[California98Civic]

I'm back to wondering about wrapping/coating the exhaust manifold. It and the CAT are big culprits in heat production under the hood.

[brucepick]

Hmmm. That should help keep the engine bay cooler.

HOWEVER if you limit the heat the manifold/converter can radiate in the engine bay, that heat will flow rearward and will be radiating under the car. In my case it would then be trapped above the belly pan. As it is now, some of that heat gets blown out the front wheel wells.

I don't know enough about how the wrapping/insulating is done, how the materials behave etc. Wrapping or insulating it might be a good thing.

[hamsterpower]

Honda recomends 5w30 in that engine. What is your reason for going so much thicker?

[brucepick]

OK, it's off topic, but what the heck - - -

I was losing oil at a pretty good rate. Between 2-4 oz per hundred miles, which is between just under a half-quart to a quart + 8 oz per thousand miles. Thicker 15W-40 oil was the only way to keep the losses down in that range!

I finally figured out the cam shaft o-ring seal at the distributor was the culprit. Replaced it and now I dare run thinner oil.

Yes I do want to try 5W-30 after I've had some experience on the 10W-30. But the engine has 250k miles on it, likely the rear main seal is not too good, either, and the rings might not be sealing that well either. The rear main is a much bigger job to change than that little o-ring I replaced. I had the head rebuilt in Feb-March of 2011 so I trust the valve seals + guides are OK.

The oil's 5W- or 10W- rating is the cold viscosity. With a 1 hour commute, the engine is cold for a small percentage of its running time. So I wouldn't feel bad about the 10W- rating if I use that through the winter. Mostly the oil will be running in the -30 range anyway, just as if I would be using 5W-30.