partial grill block: worth while?
 

hi guys,

im currently in the research and planning stage for aeromodding my Holden Barina (Suzuki Swift) and i was wondering what your opinions on partial grill blocks are, obviously a full block would be optimal but im worried about heat due to the climate where i live

would it still be worthwhile blocking off the half of my grill that doesnt allow air to the radiator or are there other mods that will provide better results?

im also planning to add an undertray from the front bumper to around where the front axles are, is there anything i should be aware of before doing this? (apart from the obvious keep it away from hot/moving components etc)

thanks

Block off the top grille if you're going to do a partial block. It will facilitate cleaner airflow over the rest of the car. If you're worried about cooling try a cardboard one taped on at first and once you've deemed it safe you can graduate to coroplast. Then start on the outsides of the lower grille and see how much it'll take before running too warm. It'll only take 30 seconds to rip it off if the car doesn't like it!

The belly pan can be coroplast as well. I've zip tied mine to existing holes in the bumpers and subframes and you should be able to do the same. Be sure to leave access holes to change the oil and filter. You can tape a little flap shut to keep it smooth in the mean time.

thanks for the reply, this is my 5th post so i can finally post pics... see next post

my radiator is off to one side so i was thinking i might block off the side that doesn't have the radiator

from what ive read so far the more i block the better it will be so i might rewire the indicators to flash the corner lamps and block the indicator lenses that are recessed into the bumper too

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...3-03163322.jpg

so my plan at this stage is to block the top grill, the half of the bottom grill where my number plate is (possibly more pending cooling) and also the indicator recesses, then make a under tray from the bumper to around the front axles possibly with wheel diffusers built in

Oh dude. I didn't realize it's that generation. There are probably tons of writeups on those if you search the forum for Geo Metros. I wouldn't bother with the amber turn singals, but you could easily cover the bottom grille and fog lights with clear acetate. In short, don't bother with re-wiring stuff.

Are those Saab 99 Inca wheels? :eek:

thats a great idea with the clear cover, i was trying to figure out a way to cover the foglight holes without restricting light output, covering everything with clear acetate would also not affect the looks of the car as much which is a bonus.

i was going to change the indicators anyway as i think it would look much better without them.

They certainly are, well spotted, i bought them off a mate who had them laying around his yard for years as they were the right stud pattern for my car and allowed me to fit much better tires than the factory 155/70 R13s (they have 195/45 R15s and much more traction)

I'd be wary of deleting all exterior mirrors, ADR's say you must have either interior & drivers exterior, or both exteriors if interior is obstructed. Mirrors are a safety issue and you will be taken off the road (canary) if you don't have minimum requirement.
As above don't stress with the rewiring, seal gaps around lights to stop excess air going through engine bay.
Regarding grille blocking, look at the airflow that will occur, if you were an air molecule, when you (the air) get through the grill, what options are there, you will take the path of least resistance, If you have the opportunity to go straight through a gaping hole beside the radiator or through a tightly meshed radiator with lots of fins to get around, where you gunna go?
If all other holes are blocked to the engine bay from the front you'd be surprised at how little grille is actually required to just feed the radiator. By blocking all the side holes and directing more air over and around vehicle, then a negative pressure is created in the engine bay which actually sucks the air through the radiator.

Which engine do you have in your Barina?

In North America, that bodystyle could have had anything from a 55 hp 1.0L, up to a 100 hp 1.3L. Obviously one needs less cooling than the other. Regardless, the advice given is good: while you closely monitor coolant temps, start with the upper block, then progressively block the rest, starting from the openings that aren't in front of the radiator.

And start from both sides of the lower block leaving the middle open.

Except the radiator is offset to one side in this car - it's not in the middle. So in this case, it makes sense to start blocking from the side where there's no radiator behind the openings.

Both my Insight and Firefly are similar - the opening I left on both of those cars was in the center of the radiator, which happens to be on the left side:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1317002272

thanks for the info guys,

i have a 73hp 1.3L and as you said MetroMPG the radiator is offset to the left, i have found a shop nearby that sells a temperature sensor kit that has a digital readout and also can be set up to switch things on or off at a certain temperature, so im going to buy one and set it to turn my thermofan on and off and monitor temps with it before and after the grill block

while im at it i will install a vacuum guage aswell, ive read that high vacuum is better for fuel economy is this right?

Might be easier to just wire an LED in line with the rad fan so you know when it's on. But it looks like you like wiring so do whatever you like :)

haha yeah im not afraid of a bit of wiring, i run my own car audio installation business and like tinkering with all things electronic on my car :)

I've also set up a temp gauge on the radiator outlet, that way I can see how efficiently the radiator is working and what the actual temp is going in to the engine, that's what is cooling the engine, that's the one you want to know.

I'm getting the digital temp gauge/switch tomorrow so I will put that somewhere after the radiator outlet and hook it up to the fan tomorrow night, i also did the indicator/parker swap today so now i can block off the indicator holes in the bumper :)
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-01183924.jpg

hi guys, i got my temp sensor kit today and ordered a vacuum gauge, just need to track down some coroplast and then i can start testing and blocking :)
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-03205132.jpg

hi guys,

havnt gotten around to putting my temperature sensor in yet but i did some testing over the weekend, coastdowns from 100 to 70kmh i did around 12 runs in total with an average of 18.045 seconds, so now i have a baseline to test all of my aero mods on :)

Knowing the heat you guys get over in Adelaide you won't be able to block the grill much for the hottest days. Temperature wise. Your likely to encounter the worst case scenario for a ecomodder :) Easy to remove is the way to go. You could have a slight block for the full heat of summer. Have an extra section you can slot in for cooler days and night time or short trips. You could come up with a flap that closes itself with air pressure but a spring holds it open at low speed.

Man, I won't ever GET to the mpg that your little car STARTS at! Haha! Good luck with the mods! I'd say lower that thing a little, he looks like a mini 4x4! ;)

started the block today :)

first the old indicator holes, cardboard and clear packing tape:
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-17180231.jpg

then the upper grill, same again:
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-17203009.jpg

then i started on the outside of the lower grill and used the clear packing tape to cover the fog lights but still let the light come though:
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-18003103.jpg

from a distance you can hardly tell the lower block is there:
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-18003054.jpg

i also bent the number plate a bit so it molds to the body better and taped around it as well, look pretty smooth from the side now:
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...4-18004957.jpg

i ran out of tape so il finish the rest tommorow probably...

also heres the build thread which will follow all of my mods: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...y-21218-2.html