Lower Grill block that can open and close

[Weather Spotter]

Well I went to the local junk yard, they wanted $50 for this:




before I went I took of mine just to see how (so I could take the right tools)



needles to say, I did not buy a second one to mod!
Right now (including parts I need to order today) I will have about $30 into this mod. That might pay for it's self. $50 more, no way.


It looks like I will have to make it inside the grill. I think I will face the back side of the grate towards the grill. That will have the air pressure helping to keep the vanes closed. It also allows the actuators to be on the inside and out of sight. I will likely have to make a box from the grill to the grates to keep air from flowing past my dampers. there is about 8" from the grill to the radiator, so I have lots of room to work with.

[Weather Spotter]

The actuators shipped today, I should have them in by Saturday or Monday (day of next trip). I hope that they come in on Sat so I can set up my grill block!

While I am waiting I decided to get the wiring done up.

Here is the switch after I made my jumpers:







Then I pulled apart my switch area.



On the higher end Matrix's there are 2 more switches in this row. I have the green one (second from left) set up for my DRL's. The far right slot use to have my fog light switch (was still there, but the lights were busted). I reused my wiring and only had to run 1 new line through the firewall.

New switch almost done!



After some super glue to hold it in (I had to break a tab off my OEM slot cover, hence the glue).



Now I have the two wires I will need run out to the bumper.

[Weather Spotter]

I did some fab work tonight.

I took off my bell pan so that I could crawl under the car for a goo look.

Looking up:


looking up and forward:


I decided that I was going to need some vertical space to mount the actuators, so I decided that I would mount the dampers even with the steel bumper (black thing in pic #1). But to mount the grates I needed to screw into the bumper, I can not get a drill bit and drill between the radiator and bumper. I could if I had a right angle drill (do not have, and none of my friends do). Plan B, mount to the bottom with a right angle bracket. I went looking for some brackets or angle iron. I found 2 30" pieces (31.5" would have been perfect) in the junk pile (free)! One piece on top, one on the bottom to hold the bottom part of the box on.

View of the forward facing side:


Radiator side:



The silver piece in pic #1 has a lip that held the grates for a test look:




Not perfect but close enough for testing:


Inside of lower grill (the sides of the box will be a pain):


I made the lower shelf as well. It slid in on top of the angle bracket and below the screws. A test fit and then some hot glue to hold it in place (notice the 4 1/4" holes to let water drip out):






Tomorrow I might take the grate off the top angle iron and screw it onto the bumper. I will reattach the grate once it is on. The screws will have to be hand tightened with a SHORT screwdriver.

I figure on mounting the actuators (one per grate) vertically. Will this work? how to attach the actuator to the grate? It will go to the sliders on the grates but they are plastic and thin (back sides have the movement notches). Will epoxy hold the lateral force of the actuator? I might be able to put a short screw in and add epoxy? Ideas?

Here is a pic of the actuator (taken off the ebay listing: Universal Power Door Lock Actuator (2 Wires): eBay Motors (item 320579651247 end time Aug-29-10 08:33:14 PDT)

[Phantom]

Looking good. If you want or need more air flow you can bend or cut the slats on the vent. If you have any black paint hit the slats on the side facing out for a more stelth and finished look.

[Weather Spotter]

both of those ideas are in the works. In my book they fall into the "do after I know it works". That way I do not mod it and make it less useful for the next revision or project.

I will also paint the colorplast so that it all is black and hidden.

[Weather Spotter]

Update:

I got the stealth grill block installed today!

From the top (looking down):




From the front (closed):


Open:


from the bottom:





After I took the pics I hot glued on the side pieces.

At the moment I have a manually operated, stealthy, lower grill block.
Once my actuators get in (next few days) I should be able to wire them up for switch activated open/close.

[Weather Spotter]

I took the car for a test run. From a cold start (24+ hours off) to a warm engine (181F) took 3.2 miles. Yesterday it was just over 4.2 miles.

This run was 1.5 miles to a stop, I got up to ~50MPH, then I coasted for the last .6 or .7 of this. Then another 1.5 miles to a stop, same coasting. Just after the second stop it was up to temp.

So the lower grill block speeds up warm up from 4 miles to 3 or 1/4 shorter. No grill block (upper or lower) warm up is about 5.5 -6 miles. With both grill blocks I have halved my warm up time

I also saw how long it took to for the fan to come on, on my car it comes on at 206F. This took till mile 8. Even with the grill blocked it can drop the temp from 206 back to 195 in about 60 seconds. I know that my belly pan does not have a tight fit to the underside of the car, so the fan can pull some air up from the bottom. Not much to pull from but it is nice to see that it still will work if needed.

Next time I do some ABA testing I will have to see how much MPG I gain from having it closed. I will have to open it some of the time, but I can do it while I am coasting (lessens the MPG loss). On longer trips I will likely need to open it, but I will have to see how far I need to.

I plan on setting it up for full open or full closed, but I can change that if needed. Or I can just unplug one actuator and leave that side open or closed.

[Piwoslaw]

Nice job, Weather

I've seen the idea of using those vents pop up here a few times, but I think you are the first to actually do it. Congratulations

I hope you won't have any problems with installing the motors. I can't wait to see it work!

[Weather Spotter]

I got the actuators in today, now I need to mount it up and test it!

[Weather Spotter]

I got the system installed, I just have to wait for the epoxy to set up good and hard before I test it (it moves by hand).

first one on, but no top screw (epoxy is drying):


second one on and bolted in:


first one with linkage visible:


From the top:



For fun my new back sticker: