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Ok.. here's my commute. Can I grille block with that much highway? If so, which should I block?

I'll probably start with one grille at a time and start studying the results. I may also pull over before the highway and pull out the blocks. It's only an issue for the return trip (the return route of the post). I usually come off the highway (unblocked) at about 185F to 195F.

Thoughts?

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Still getting up to speed on the basics of hypermiling. Why do you want to block your grille? Is it grill, or grille?

Still getting up to speed on the basics of hypermiling. Why do you want to block your grille? Is it grill, or grille?Guess spell check can't save me all the time!

Yes, Grille. I want to block to retain heat in the engine and increase efficiency. Since my engine is only on a fraction of my commute it doesn't get up to optimum operating temperature. The warmer (without overheating) an engine, the more efficient it is. I've been fine all summer, but a front rolled in and brought some rain. On the rainy days the outside air temp (OAT) can drop below 80F. Once below 80F my car doesn't warm up at the spot in my commute where I need it to be at full temp. Grille blocks, I hope, will help that.

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I have my entire upper grille blocked and 7 of 10 of the slats of the lower grille blocked. It ran a bit warm at higher ambient temps for my liking . I commute mainly highway drive (@90% ) daily with no cooling issues . Remember the motto " In SGII, We Trust " .

Dan, I have all but the very bottom two slots blocked on my car and I rarely ever see coolant temps above 190F. I also have the slots at the hood blocked as well. I made the trip to HF '07 with this setup and saw no overheating issues.

Dan, I have all but the very bottom two slots blocked on my car and I rarely ever see coolant temps above 190F. I also have the slots at the hood blocked as well. I made the trip to HF '07 with this setup and saw no overheating issues.OK, I'm sold, but at what point do I hit the panic button and pull over? 190F, 200F, 220F?

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OK, I'm sold, but at what point do I hit the panic button and pull over? 190F, 200F, 220F?

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I think I remember Hobbit saying something about the cooling fan coming on around around the 210F(?) range. The cooling fans draw a healthy amount of current which in itself would create enough of a load to start hurting FE. I had my entire grill blocked off once and saw as high as 203F when the ambient temps were 60-70F range. I will try blocking the whole thing again when it gets colder this winter. If you have a way to monitor inverter temps it may not be a bad idea to monitor that as well.

I removed the block completely for the summer, but in the moderate-temperature (60s) days this past spring and fall I would see temps creep up above 200F with the grille completely blocked on my (infrequent) highway trips. I pulled it out of the bottom slit of the bottom grille, and that alone was enough to keep it at or lower than the low 190s.

I'll probably put the block back in -- with the bottom slit still open -- somewhere around mid-September. Now that I have Can-View, I'm anxious to watch inverter temperatures.

I have all but the bottom slit blocked off, and I have yet to see a temperature above 195F. I think 95C (203F) is when the fan is supposed to come on. Most of my driving is around town but I had some recent highway miles in the middle of the summer which were still fine. I'll probably go to everything blocked once we start seeing sustained below 60F days.

OK, I'm sold, but at what point do I hit the panic button and pull over? 190F, 200F, 220F?

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210F seems out of operating range to me - pull over, take a few minutes, and remove a slit or two at this point?

OK.. installing blocks at next convent point. I'll cover all the area below the bumper (except half of one slit for my block heater plug.

I'll set my panic switch between 95-99ºC (203 - 210ºF).

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I have my entire upper grille blocked and 7 of 10 of the slats of the lower grille blocked. It ran a bit warm at higher ambient temps for my liking . I commute mainly highway drive (@90% ) daily with no cooling issues . Remember the motto " In SGII, We Trust " .

MnFocus, What materials did you use. I'm ready for a block, too.

I used a piece of 1/8" lexan painted satin black(Krylon for Plastic) behind the upper .I found absolutely *no* difference in operating temps with the upper fully blocked.The secret with the Focus appears to be the lower grille. The slat behind the license plate and one on each side are the ones I have open . At the moment (until I figure a more visually appealing way ) 1 1/2" foam pipe insulation in the lower slats. This also gives you an option to quickly add/remove for testing . Just watch the SG is my advice. Just covering the slat behind the plate adds an additional 10-15° to my Duratec.