First grille block prototype (03 Ford Taurus)

[spacemanspif]

I've thought about marine shrink wrap and vinyl wrap here and there and think it would be a really good idea. Xist's link shows the possibility to seal all gaps with 1 attempt. I think the Heat shrink is a bit cumbersome due to it no being self-adhering. Vinyl on the other hand is applied to the body and sticks as you wipe the water out, enabling to block grills and seal gaps as long as you have good "bite" for the vinyl. How big of a gap the vinyl can bridge is the next concern as air pressure might puncture a grill block that is lacking proper support. The parts stores sell a product called "road wrap" which is trim to fit clear vinyl to protect the front end from rock chips, not sure what size sheets they come in but would be a good product to test. Also, sealing headlamp and fog lamps could be problematic if the material can't handle the heat generated by them.

[Xist]

My Internet has been giving me problems all day. I unable to open anything besides


Amazon.com: Road Wrap 18" x 100': Automotive $36.39.

Easily applies to the front of your vehicle and can left on for up to seven days

[Fat Charlie]

I don't know how I never saw your one part number fix grille block, Xist. Awesome, ugly idea. Kudos! Pity it wound up being unworkable.

NeilBlanchard summed up aero mods perfectly. The real benefit of any mod is indirect: it's now a different car and you need to use it differently to fully realize its different potential.

Grille blocks have even more indirect benefits because faster warmup times won't show big FE improvements most of the year, especially on a 45-50 mile run.

[Xist]

Well, there is an entire industry where people must be able to use marine wrap without creating holes.

I kind of want to try again just because I never measured engine temperature, just the Ultragauge itself, but I would need to remove my new air dam\grill block in order to test a shrinky-dink one.

Still, I turned on my heater. I may have been unnecessarily paranoid about overheating, but my heater was blowing hot, so my engine was warm, but wouldn't the engine operate at warmer temperatures than the Ultragauge can tolerate?

[GasPumpGuardian]

Yeah i was thinking more like this instead of marine wrap...

ww.walmart.ca/en/ip/flat-black-wrap-60/6000105717926

5 foot by 5 foot will have adhesive and you can cut out your light/anything else once you put the wrap on. This way it would be stuck onto your vehicle and any gaps would be covers and increase your aero. Though I don't have the money or time right now as where I am we are headed into winter soon so im just mocking up some cardboard on the grill. The vinyl wrap could probably cover rims as well if you had enough meat to stick onto and it would make them fairly flush. Just spitting out some ideas.