08-30-2012, 03:57 PM
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
German Hypermiler
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Springe, Germany
Posts: 5
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
|
Hidden grill block in the back of the grill, usefull or useless?
Hi,
grill blocks are very useful to get a higher mpg, but the look of these blocks lokks horrible to me.
Now i got an idea.
The german Opel Calibra was built with several different engines, but its body was always the same. The slowest engine (115hp) as a integrated upper grill block, hidden behind the grill. So it looks like normal, but ther cant get any air trough.
This smaller engined Calibra hat an cw of 0.26, all other engined Calibras had cw 0.28 to 0.29.
I´have no information if this car was sold in the usa, but you will find several pictures with google. Its upper grill goes deep in his front-bumper, so with a block at his end there is a deep hole. Does the air built a "filling" so that there are no turbulences, or is it a very bad aerodynamic idea?
Kind regards,
Benny
__________________
ecomodding in germany, with prices of more than 8$ per gallon.... 
|
|
|
|
 Today
|
|
|
|
Other popular topics in this forum...
|
|
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 04:07 PM
|
#2 (permalink)
|
|
Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 11,203
Thanks: 2,501
Thanked 2,588 Times in 1,555 Posts
|
Its alright, but not as good as an outer grill block.
IMO if you're that stuck on looks make a nice looking grill block yourself. There are a few examples on the forum.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...cho-15673.html
It takes more time and cost more, but you're the picky one.  |
|
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 04:14 PM
|
#3 (permalink)
|
|
The Dirty330 Modder
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: North East Ohio, USA
Posts: 642
Thanks: 10
Thanked 67 Times in 59 Posts
|
it will help with warm up times and depending where your intake gets cool air it could help keep cool air away from the intake making it a bit warmer. It will not have the aerodynamic gains from an external block though
__________________
"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."
- Henry Ford
|
|
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 04:28 PM
|
#4 (permalink)
|
|
Got MPG?
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Southern Alberta, Canada
Posts: 330
The Car - '09 Toyota Corolla CE Enhanced
Thanks: 13
Thanked 43 Times in 38 Posts
|
I have tried both in front of and on the back of the grill, there was no measurable difference between the two on the 2009 Corolla. It may be dependant the properties of the grill so your results may be different. However on the 2012 Ford Focus, Fiesta and other cars, they have active grill shutters and fake grill openings etc that all use the "in the back of the grill" construction. If it made a large enough of a difference they wouldn't have bothered to make it look the way they did.
I have mine behind the grill.
__________________
2013 Honda Civic Si - 2.4L
OEM front to back belly pan from the factory.
Last edited by LeanBurn; 08-30-2012 at 04:45 PM..
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to LeanBurn For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 05:00 PM
|
#5 (permalink)
|
|
aero guerrilla
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 3,750
Thanks: 1,336
Thanked 749 Times in 476 Posts
|
How about a piece of clear plastic in front of the grille? It's almost invisible, and has more aero advantage. In some cases the plastic may be black or in the chassis' color and still be barely visible.
__________________
e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be
What matters is where you're going, not how fast.
"... we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is...or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it." - Chris Cornell
[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread
|
|
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 05:30 PM
|
#6 (permalink)
|
|
Hypermiler
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,321
Thanks: 611
Thanked 434 Times in 284 Posts
|
I have a plexiglass block on my upper grille. It's visible, but not in your face.
__________________
11-mile commute: 100 mpg - - - Tank: 90.2 mpg / 1191 miles
|
|
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 06:08 PM
|
#7 (permalink)
|
|
Batman Junior
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,534
Thanks: 4,082
Thanked 6,979 Times in 3,614 Posts
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gealii
It will not have the aerodynamic gains from an external block though
|
It will still help.
The flow may not be quite a smooth as a well made external block, but it's still better, aerodynamically, than no block at all. |
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to MetroMPG For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
08-30-2012, 06:39 PM
|
#8 (permalink)
|
|
.........................
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Buckley, WA
Posts: 1,597
Thanks: 391
Thanked 488 Times in 316 Posts
|
I had one on my truck inside the grill. The way I had it mounted, it would flex and allow air to flow past it and wasn't very effective. I noticed an improvement by moving to the front of my grill.
I think if you mount behind the grill, you need to make sure it will still prevent air from flowing around the block once the vehicle is moving.
Mounting in front of the grill makes this easy, since air pressure will keep the block in place.
|
|
|
|
|
09-01-2012, 04:14 AM
|
#9 (permalink)
|
|
(:
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gealii
It will not have the aerodynamic gains from an external block though
|
I mostly disagree. "Buckets" in the front don't hurt aero much if at all. |
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to Frank Lee For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
09-02-2012, 10:18 PM
|
#10 (permalink)
|
|
EcoModding Apprentice
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 202
Thanks: 27
Thanked 48 Times in 28 Posts
|
I had the same experience as Darcane that the behind the grill block would flex at higher speeds and open up a little, leaking air. So it wasn't quite as good as my present external grill block. But it does help.
I also used clear plexiglass for the behind the grill block, so it was really invisible.
|
|
|
|
|
