Not so Eco Friendly: '03 Subaru Forester X 2.5L Auto

[ThermionicScott]

Very cool. Just bought a (smaller) stick-on heating pad for my oil pan too. What oil viscosity are you using, by the way?

[NoD~]

Oil: 5w30 Mobil1 Synth
Trans: Subaru ATF-HP
Differentials: 75w90 Mobil1 Synth

[ThermionicScott]

I'm using up some of my old stash of GC 0W30, which flows really nicely at super-low temps. Looks like your M1 5W30 does too, otherwise I might have suggested something else for better FE.

75W90 transmission fluid is great (I have it in my car), but I think they still have a ways to go in coming up with a really great viscosity for winter.

[Xist]

What plastic did you use for the grill block?

[NoD~]

Originally Posted by Xist

What plastic did you use for the grill block?

Classic packing tape.

So, I did get in a my front aluminum skid plate in, which seems to give a nice, smooth bellypan feel to it. Feels better having it on for all the right reasons!

[skyking]

very cool!
My wife tested out the belly pan on my beetle the other day. We had used my friend's truck to get my new truck engine, and it was snowing big time. We hurried up and got it unloaded, his truck parked and she jumped in the driver's seat to take the first leg on the way home. I looked down to text my friend, and in the deep snow and foggy windows she totally missed the turn onto his driveway and went into the pasture into what was at one time a mud pit for truck play. It was down hard on the skid plate.
I had to go get his Dodge truck I had just parked and pull my beetle back out :P
Those things are lifesavers. I have hit some big rocks in the mountains that would have cracked the cast aluminum oil pan.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by NoD~

OK, so I can't say I'm extremely impressed with the block heater. In a ~35* garage and plugged in for 3 hours, the highest it'll go is around ~100*F.

So far, I've seen anywhere between 26MPG-32MPG on the Torque app (probably averaging high 20's). Fairly curious what I end up with at end of tank, see if it is even in the right ballpark!

I may close it in a little more.

100 F is good considering the surface area of the metal in the engine block. How long does it take to get to this temp?

There is no way you'll get 30 MPG, especially in the winter, unless you drove long distances at 45 MPH without stopping. Your gauge might need calibration.

Find out at what temperature your engine cooling fans come on. Then set an alarm in Torque to go off a couple degrees below that threshold. On my Acura, fans come on at 217 F, so I set an alarm at 215 F. Then I grill block until these start coming on. In the winter, the cooling fans never come on with a full block on both the Acura and Prius. They might come on if I drive up a mountain, but I'll open a small section if I'll be gaining lots of elevation.

[ThermionicScott]

I haven't done much detailed testing of my block heater, but I wouldn't be surprised if mine tops out at the same temperature differential. Still pretty sticky jazz to have the engine 65 degrees over ambient when you start it -- cuts out a lot of dirty, inefficient running on the way to operating temp.

Have you considered a lower grille block yet? I did mine a month ago, and still haven't seen temps over 210°F so it seems to be a worthwhile mod here in Iowa. And I'd be more than happy to turn on the heater if it threatened to go higher.

30+ MPG may be out of reach for our cars during the winter, but some smart mods and driving ought to keep it from getting too bad.

[NoD~]

Originally Posted by skyking

very cool!
My wife tested out the belly pan on my beetle the other day. We had used my friend's truck to get my new truck engine, and it was snowing big time. We hurried up and got it unloaded, his truck parked and she jumped in the driver's seat to take the first leg on the way home. I looked down to text my friend, and in the deep snow and foggy windows she totally missed the turn onto his driveway and went into the pasture into what was at one time a mud pit for truck play. It was down hard on the skid plate.
I had to go get his Dodge truck I had just parked and pull my beetle back out :P
Those things are lifesavers. I have hit some big rocks in the mountains that would have cracked the cast aluminum oil pan.

Horror stories like that is why I insisted on having one on this car!

Originally Posted by redpoint5

100 F is good considering the surface area of the metal in the engine block. How long does it take to get to this temp?

There is no way you'll get 30 MPG, especially in the winter, unless you drove long distances at 45 MPH without stopping. Your gauge might need calibration.

Find out at what temperature your engine cooling fans come on. Then set an alarm in Torque to go off a couple degrees below that threshold. On my Acura, fans come on at 217 F, so I set an alarm at 215 F. Then I grill block until these start coming on. In the winter, the cooling fans never come on with a full block on both the Acura and Prius. They might come on if I drive up a mountain, but I'll open a small section if I'll be gaining lots of elevation.

It takes about 3 hours to hit 100* in a ~30* garage. (Fahrenheit)

As for 30MPG... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Though, not in winter. lol! But I do agree, I have my doubts that the Torque app is accurate. I have all the parameters in there, but seems like it's reading pretty high. I'll be pretty disappointed if I can't pull at least 1 tank of 30MPG in the summer, though. (I usually do around 50-55MPH on highways).

Good idea on the alarms, I'll check into that! Right now, with the blocking seen previously in this thread, with no heater on, I still haven't seen it get over 197 and is usually sitting around 194.

Originally Posted by ThermionicScott

I haven't done much detailed testing of my block heater, but I wouldn't be surprised if mine tops out at the same temperature differential. Still pretty sticky jazz to have the engine 65 degrees over ambient when you start it -- cuts out a lot of dirty, inefficient running on the way to operating temp.

Have you considered a lower grille block yet? I did mine a month ago, and still haven't seen temps over 210°F so it seems to be a worthwhile mod here in Iowa. And I'd be more than happy to turn on the heater if it threatened to go higher.

30+ MPG may be out of reach for our cars during the winter, but some smart mods and driving ought to keep it from getting too bad.

I don't think the lower opening even goes to... anything. Not the radiator or anything, at least. Will probably get a pool noodle, paint it dark grey, and shove it in there at some point.

I think my MPG is suffering the most when I'm going through snow and ice when 25MPH is about the limit. That and getting stuck a few times now hasn't helped. I'll be happy if I can get more than 22MPG on this next tank, but all the above mentioned might have destroyed that idea!

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by NoD~

I don't think the lower opening even goes to... anything. Not the radiator or anything, at least. Will probably get a pool noodle, paint it dark grey, and shove it in there at some point.

Ah, I thought I saw some radiator peeking out in post #35. At least with my '96, the lower portion of the radiator gets a lot of air through the lower grille, so blocking it has been helpful. I got my coolant temp up to about 195°F on my 4.5-mile commute this morning at 20°F ambient, and saw 210°F (a new high since I started watching in December) on my Costco run yesterday with 15 mile stretches of 65-70MPH at about the same ambient temp. At that point, I decided to reward us for our cleverness and turned the heater on to its first setting, bringing the temps back down to 195-200°F.

If nothing else, putting some kind of block in there ought to be good for aero.