Winters coming! how do I keep my mileage up?

[Frank Lee]

absolutely. all summer too.

[Sean T.]

wouldn't cardboard under your hood be a fire hazard if it gets too hot? my dad yelled at me for that... I had some cardboard stuck half-in half-out to protect the wiring when I installed my DRLs.

[Frank Lee]

i've done this for over 10 years now and no cardboard or foam has gotten too hot. i like the foil-faced foam board, but it's too thick to work in my car.

[azraelswrd]

Another option are those insulation blankets for water heaters modified to fit under the hood (which should tolerate high temps and have lower combustion risk). Block heater, insulated garage parking and grill blocking may be only other "quickie" solutions short of repainting your car to a darker color to facilitate faster warm ups.

[Frank Lee]

i dunno about that. i have my water heater wrapped and the wrap has a very light plastic cladding which i'm sure would melt and cause problems.

[Joe_Bloe]

I was wondering about blankets, too. In the aviation world, our 540-cu-in (what's that, 8.8 liters?) air-cooled flat six engines don't like to start much below freezing, what with the weak starters and tiny batteries. And you do a world of hurt to them when you do, because the oiling systems on these engines also have significant weaknesses. So, for cold weather flying, you always 1) preheat below freezing, usually with a gas-fired heater blowing hot air over the engine, and 2) keep a blanket to cover the engine. If you're just shutting down for a little while (the $100 hamburger trip), the blanket will keep the engine warm enough to start right back up.

Used in conjunction with an engine heater of some sort, I think a mylar blanket on top of the hood might really help. Can anyone think of a downside? Not worried about scratching the paint, the car's 14 years old and looks it.

[Tango Charlie]

You could use 1300L to attach it on the underside of the hood. Then you wouldn't have to remove/reinstall it every time.

(for you non-aviatin' types, 1300L is a thick yellow contact adhesive made by 3M. Also known as 'gorilla snot')

[tasdrouille]

Thanks for the tip Frank.

It was 45 F this morning here and my coolant temp hit just 150 F as I parked at work. I need to do something about this.

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

Thanks for the tip Frank.

It was 45 F this morning here and my coolant temp hit just 150 F as I parked at work. I need to do something about this.

Sounds like you need a new thermostat. Or are you EOC alot? or driving very slowly a short distance?
Ian

[tasdrouille]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

Sounds like you need a new thermostat. Or are you EOC alot? or driving very slowly a short distance?
Ian

I drive a diesel, very lightly, for 7 miles.