Idea on Auto Adjusting Grill Block

[Shortie771]

Sorry for the long delay on updates, I have been busier than normal. The idea involving coating the hangers in glue was unsuccessful, so what I did to remedy the sagging problem was went to Lowes and picked up two 3' long, 1/16" thick (maybe they were 1/8") steel rods and used them as the center support which runs all the way through the coroplast. The rod barely fits through the coroplast (it really helps to rub bar soap on the rods to get them through). It fixed the sagging and is MUCH stronger now, I used some the the bits of the rod, I had to cut off with a dremel as the counter weights on the back. I have also painted the grill block black and it is hardly noticeable. Some pics of the final product are attached.

[nemo]

Looks good. Notice any MPG increase?

[Shortie771]

Haven't been able to accurately calculate any gains yet, since I am going on a tank to tank basis. Plus I just recently installed a kill switch, which will probably muck up the numbers. What I plan to do when I get some time is do a coast test with the grill block propped open and then another test with it closed to calculate the difference in Cd, since I can't accurately do any A-B-A testing without having a MPGuino installed yet.

[ECOHondaOdyssey]

Thanks, This is really good!

[AndrzejM]

Looks great! Good job.

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by Phantom

One thing you should check is how the grill works with the fans running at full speed. You do not want to be stuck in 5mph traffic then have the fans turn on pulling the grill shut.

I put a jumper on the fan control switch to turn it on and it does not effect the opening/closing of the grill block at all Thanks for the suggestion, it would be pretty bad to be in bumper to bumper traffic and have my fans kick on and only make things worse.

[Shortie771]

Just got my MPGuino, still have to install it. Once I get it all set up I will be doing some A-B-A testing to figure out exactly what this grill block is getting me This will be the first time I will actually be able to do any testing, I'm excited. I will be testing on a section of flat road with my cruise control set to 60mph and will not turn the car off between tests, so that I can use the resume function for better accuracy. I will also be sure to do record temperature and wind speed, along with direction at the time of testing. I will also be sure to perform all tests traveling in the same direction each time.

The test will be:

A - 60mph - grill block propped open.
B - 60mph - grill block able to close on it's own.
A - 60mph - grill block propped open.

Am I missing anything?

[AndrzejM]

Can't wait to see the numbers. Good luck with ABA

[Shortie771]

Woohoo made it to the top picks list!! Not sure how that list works, but I'm on it

[Shortie771]

Got my MPGuino installed today and it's working great. After a few tanks of calibration to ensure I get accurate numbers, I will do some A-B-A testing.

Does it matter if it's calibrated correctly yet? Wouldn't it still add up to be the same percentage difference?