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Old 12-31-2010, 01:41 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Coolant Temperature with grill block?

I installed my grill block today. I have a Scangauge so I'm able to monitor my coolant temp. The car never went above 195 prior to the block and while sitting in traffic today it hit 207. If I remember correctly the radiator fan turns on at 212? So I'd assume anything under that is safe. Just wondering what you guys are getting? I did leave an opening for the radiator as you can see, it wouldn't be hard to make it bigger if need be.


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Old 12-31-2010, 02:09 PM   #2 (permalink)
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It's not the end of the world if the radiator fan comes on every now and then, but if the fan comes on and is unable to bring the temperature down, then you have a problem. Mine never comes on in stop and go traffic, so it's 70mph hill climbs that limit the size of my grille block.

Yours looks good, but will it be the right size grille block in the summer? Just keep an eye on the scangauge and you'll be fine.

Btw, radiator fans work well at 0mph, but they don't add much cooling when you're already going at highway speeds.
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Old 12-31-2010, 10:00 PM   #3 (permalink)
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I would second what Robert said.

You can also make a section open and close via a cable or actuator.

As for coolant temps. Keeping it under the fan turn on point is good while traveling. at stoplights it will come on grill block or not, not make sure it can cool it down.
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Old 01-01-2011, 05:32 AM   #4 (permalink)
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In traffic, the radiator fan should bottom feed a little bit if there is insufficient air flow through the bumper. I would be careful of how well it performs in summer though. After all, the pavement will be around 150+ and drawing air in from the bottom will do you little good at those temperatures. It may well be that in summer you need to eliminate the grille block due to your location (Austin Texas I assume). Remember that it is not only the radiator you need to cool but the engine bay as well. Aluminum engines shed heat very efficiently and the cooling system is sized to take advantage of that fact. Take away the block's ability to act as a radiator and you could have issues (this is also why you need to keep the engine clean). Theoretically at least, you could compensate somewhat with a larger radiator from a V6 car of some kind but you still need to maintain air flow out of the engine bay so don't get too crazy with a belly pan either.

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Last edited by Jim-Bob; 01-01-2011 at 05:37 AM..
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