Partial Grill Block 2013 Ram 2500 Hemi

[Jethro]

Yea, I know... Perfect truck for high MPGs...

I've always lurked on here, played around a bit with some past vehicles, and figured I'd take a wack at making a grill block for my new truck.

Here we go...

In the beginning, one dirty grill:


Templates made, and transferred to Chloroplast:


A few holes and zip ties later, should be alright at highway speeds...


Semi-close up of the upper block:


And a close up of the zip ties, they fit near perfectly in the factory mesh insert:


And installed back on the truck. The top is fully blocked, and the bottom I left open the width of the radiator (covering reservoirs won't hurt a thing):


I'm quite happy with how it came out.
Will it offer any huge benefits, hard telling...
Was I bored and this took up my afternoon... Indeed!

I think unless you were looking at it, you'd never have a clue what's going on either.
I am going to get a lower 'air damn' piece of a Cummins, they have no holes in them.

Then I'll have to figure out an attractive way to plug the bumper opening.
It is blocked from the radiator entirely, so it basically just creates turbulent air under the truck.

Hope ya enjoyed!

[slowmover]

Are you using an OBD reader to help monitor temps? Dash "gauges" are not so accurate as would be preferred.

The work looks nice.

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[Jethro]

The Gen IV Ram's have a real time OBD readout on the EVIC displays in the gauge cluster.
It changes in 1° increments, and not in a smooth linear fashion, I believe it to be very accurate. Unlike the factory sweep 'temp' gauge.

It's pretty neat, It can display 4 things at once, Coolant Temp, Oil Temp, Trans Temp and Oil Pressure. It's my watchdog screen.

[woodstock74]

What were the results? Very clean work, I like it!

[Xist]

Honestly, that is the most attractive use of zip ties that I have ever seen! Well done!

[slowmover]

I use my grille block in cool to warm weather (Texas) and a true winter cover in that season. The GB comes off when temps stay at 80F or above or when towing.

What I like best about a GB is that with a vehicle featuring a large cooling system it reduces the time/miles to full warm-up. Best function, IOW, for standard short trips. So I also recommend another practice for this vehicle type and that is to use the block heater year round. A true synthetic oil also makes for easier starts. Given trip planning (no left turns, for example) the pieces fit together nicely to up city mpg.

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[Jethro]

Been a while since I've touched this thread.
Thanks for the kind words, I'm pretty proud of how the it turned out.
I am considering a revision with air guides between the grill and the radiator itself (so air has to go through the radiator).

Net end result?
My MPGs seem to have improved ~1MPG (from 13 to 14) in a mix of overall driving.
I track every tank (manually in a note book) so it gives a decent idea of averages.

Now, truth be told, it could be the engine breaking in etc. I've done nothing other than this grill block to the truck and running Mobile 1.

[mikeyjd]

From 13 to 14mpg isn't that small of an increase.

[Jethro]

Mike, I really enjoyed browsing through your thesis!
I'm quite surprised by how tail add ons (tailgate and bumper) do so much!

[Cobb]

Blocking the rear of the grill helps with heat and warm up, blocking the front of the grill helps with that plus aero. Upper grills of most vehicles are very dirty aero wise and create a lot of turbulence that the slick hood nor windshield gets to take advantage of.