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I wanted to see who uses a grill block for the (upper, lower, or both) on their Fit.

I am thinking of making an upper grill block that will be flush with the rest of the bumper.

I also plan on making a two piece lower grill block. The passenger side block will go from the little inset black plastic thing (left of the lower grill and under the headlight) to the end of the grill just before the radiator starts (basically blocking the AC). The driver side will go from the inset black plastic thing, to the part of the grill before the radiator starts.

So the radiator will not be blocked on the lower grill (about a 10-12" section of the lower grill), but the A/C part of the grill and the indented side parts of the bumper will be covered. All this will be done so that the block sits flush with the rest of the bumper, making the front end as smooth as possible.

I wanted to see what change in temps people have seen with their grill blocks in place on their Fits. I think that my method should not increase temps too much since the lower grill is not blocked in front of the radiator. Obviously it is hard to explain without pictures and examples, but does this sound like it will work and not make temps rise too much?

Does anyone with grill blocks have any insight into this inquiry :)?

I haven't tried one on a fit, but I used one last week on a Yaris.On a 92 degree day, I saw a high of 204. 190 is what it was without a block which indicated a 190 degree thermostat. The biggest difference I saw on the Yaris was a hot air intake that I added. It made a 3 to 4 mpg improvement. The best FE seemed to be at 110 to 122 degrees intake air temp.

Ill try posting pics of my grill block tommorow. Ive only blocked about 1/3 of the lower grill plus the fog lamp openings and its seems to be keeping pretty much the same temp as before. It stays about 173 on the highway and gets up to about 180 at slower speeds or city driving.

Ill try posting pics of my grill block tommorow. Ive only blocked about 1/3 of the lower grill plus the fog lamp openings and its seems to be keeping pretty much the same temp as before. It stays about 173 on the highway and gets up to about 180 at slower speeds or city driving.


Very cool, thanks for your input.

I am hoping to do these mods in the next few months.

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9311/fitfrontiu7.jpg
heres the pic of my grill block its lexan and I would like your thoughts. Should I leave it clear or paint the backside.
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6268/fitfront2co3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Highest temp Ive seen was 182. Generally 180-210 degrees should yield the best FE, I believe at those temps you have the lowest emissions output which means the fuel is more completely burned.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7642/fitfront2ai8.th.jpg
heres the pic of my grill block its lexan and I would like your thoughts. Should I leave it clear or paint the backside. http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8008/fitfrontry5.th.jpg
Highest temp Ive seen was 182. Generally 180-210 degrees should yield the best FE, I believe at those temps you have the lowest emissions output which means the fuel is more completely burned.

I can't see the grill block too well in the pics (which is both a good and bad thing). Good because it does not compromise the looks of the car, and bad because I can't see exactly how much you blocked.

I am going to color match my grill block as best as possible, if the color does not look right though I am going to paint it black.

I resized the picks and found a better link.

I resized the picks and found a better link.

Thanks!

The blocks look great!

I am going to do my bottom block like yours, except I am going to extend the passenger side block a little further to cover the a/c half of the bottom grill.

Do you plan on making an upper grill block?

I think ive gone as far as i want to go with the grill block although the top would be slightly easier. HHHMMM????

I can actually remove it all in about 5 minutes and leave only four small holes on each side.

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9311/fitfrontiu7.jpg
heres the pic of my grill block its lexan and I would like your thoughts. Should I leave it clear or paint the backside.
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6268/fitfront2co3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Highest temp Ive seen was 182. Generally 180-210 degrees should yield the best FE, I believe at those temps you have the lowest emissions output which means the fuel is more completely burned.
That's nice work. What part of the country is the FIT located. I'm in South Florida, and I am concerned about cooling.

Im in St pete/Tampa area. Pretty close, weatherwise to you. Muggy 85-95 lately.

I just filled up friday so Ill have some better numbers when I fill again in two weeks. what I do know is that even though the first half of my last tank was really crappy due to tropical storm Fay winds I still managed to pull out a 46mpg tank. I believe (from SG readings on the 2nd half) that im seeing 1-2mpg higher under normal conditions. Im hoping that gives me that last little edge to hit 50. Best yet is 49.05.

Looks like a clean install Paul:cool:. I cant wait to see the mpg and engine temp results.

I was surprised by this also. Im around BMWs all day and the typically run around 190-200 degrees.
BTW, looks very clean, almost factory looking material.

Do you plan on making an upper grill block as well Paul?

Do you work with Mike Ferro?[/QUOTE]
I dont know a Mike Ferro.

Paul, personally I think he missed the point. By strict definition, we aren't actually "leaning" anything. We are reducing the air density by raising temp in a warm air intake but the ratio stays the same... but less oxygen means less fuel.

As for water temp... my understanding is that every ICE is actually just a heat pump. The larger the temperature delta, the better the pump does. If you raise the engine temp you've reduced the amount of energy transferred to the engine block so that it stays in the cylinder expanding the air/gas mixture. Less leaching of temperature results in greater expansion of the mixture (because the temp in the cylinder is higher). More expansion means better energy transfer.

My understanding may be flawed but that's generally how I think of it.

Paul, I would be very careful. A long time ago I knew some people that would remove the thermostat when it failed. Thermostat failures were pretty common 30 years ago. The result, as explained to me by a mechanic, was that the engine would get hotter and colder as you sped up and slowed. Because the engine is a big thing made of many components, they (the components) would heat and cool at different rates. The result was that the heads would get hot and expand faster than the block and this (expansion and contration) would put wear on the cylinder head gasket.

Frankly at 55 mph the aero drag is faily small. Why take the risk.

PS, I love my FIT. Of the 30 of so cars that I have owned, this one is my favorite.

Not sure but think the ele fans may of kicked on??? How can I tell for sure. Could not here but did see the temp retreat on time form 200 to 180 fast
Once I got going on the Freeway it stayed around 200 to 210F

That sounds like the cooling fan in action. Mine comes on at 204-5 and runs until it's down in the mid 190's.

I researched it one time, and I believe the spec for my cooling fan was listed as 205F. From hearing the fan at stoplights, and watching the scangauge, it comes on at about 204, so they're pretty close.

I don't think the cooling fan is a sign of too much. I just like to avoid it. It's an extra load on the engine, just like headlights or an open window or AC. ;)

Overheating light? I have no idea. I've never seen it. Larry saw his, though. I think he said it was 240 or something.

The built-in temperature gauge is just a sweep with H and C at the two ends. It usually sits somewhere near the middle. Useless.

Paul - I believe Larry said some where that his cooling light came on at 240 or 270 degrees when it got too hot.

I know I can use an engine block if you can get away with it. I am just too scared to blow the motor on my long commute. :p

Oh, the grill block looks good. I was thinking of plastic and velcro too at one point until i heard about the foam inserts. I really need to stop being chicken! :p

I wanted to see who uses a grill block for the (upper, lower, or both) on their Fit.

I am thinking of making an upper grill block that will be flush with the rest of the bumper.

I also plan on making a two piece lower grill block. The passenger side block will go from the little inset black plastic thing (left of the lower grill and under the headlight) to the end of the grill just before the radiator starts (basically blocking the AC). The driver side will go from the inset black plastic thing, to the part of the grill before the radiator starts.

So the radiator will not be blocked on the lower grill (about a 10-12" section of the lower grill), but the A/C part of the grill and the indented side parts of the bumper will be covered. All this will be done so that the block sits flush with the rest of the bumper, making the front end as smooth as possible.

I wanted to see what change in temps people have seen with their grill blocks in place on their Fits. I think that my method should not increase temps too much since the lower grill is not blocked in front of the radiator. Obviously it is hard to explain without pictures and examples, but does this sound like it will work and not make temps rise too much?


I have a thread with details install pics on how I did my aluminum grill block and belly pan. The temps have been fine for me so far (always under 205deg) and average about 190.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15134&highlight=aluminum+grill+block

Paul -

I think it would be worth testing with the foam that is press fitted in there as well. Maybe it is your design that is hurting FE.

Paul, I wonder if your driving habits/conditions are affecting the results. Maybe you should try it again and take an average of say 5 each. I am not sure you can great repeatable results with the weather that is heading our way....Hanna, Ike(where is Tina?). I would wait till we have more stable weather conditions.

You maybe be right.
My friend indicated the Fit normal temp is 190's as many would expect and that makes the SG data with a stock Fit off by at least 20F low. I feel thats correct. That means with Block in place and 200 indicated on SG it's really 220+ F. That's an issue.Also highly unlikely. The SG is not making any calculations to show you water temperature; it's just regurgitating what it gets from the car's electronics via the OBDII port.

I agree that having the fans come on in situations where they did not come on before the grille block is troubling. I don't think I'd want to run that way for very long.

If the actual objective is to get warmer air into the intake manifold rather than to make the engine run hotter, you could try one of those so-called "cold air intakes" such as K&N. They grab air from inside the engine compartment. That air should be warmer air than that being drawn in through the stock intake ductwork, which pulls air from outside the car -- through a rather circuitous route, but nevertheless.

I put a temporary grill block on my Fit, completely covering the lower grill.
I got the best mpg ever for home to Brattleboro, VT, a hilly 44.5 mile trip: 62.1mpg!!
BUT it got too hot, couple times to 213 degrees and to 220 degrees on a warm day.

Does anybody know exactly what is getting cooled besides engine?? Auto trans.?? AC??
There appear to be 2 fans. Should I leave 2 openings in front of each fan??

The block is inset into the grill, in front of the grill, so not super aerodynamic. I think a block flush with the bumper to smooth out the aerodynamics would be better.

--Walter

Looking at the pics again, mine are recessed back in, maybe that's not as good as open grill as far a drag??? BMW's are more flush

When the weather turns cooler, I plan on "aerodynamicizing" my by using a layer of heavy plastic film taped over the openings to make them smooth. I'll post a pic when I do it.

Reason I'm waiting is that I will have to rip them off to restore air flow. PITA.
Larry

Paul, I would tend to think the ambient temp was too warm for a grill block. I generally target 60F as my cutover point, and I mostly stay off the highway with my commuting -- that usually means the engine is off over 50% of the time and not producing nearly as much heat overall as an engine running higher rpm and longer periods.

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9311/fitfrontiu7.jpg
heres the pic of my grill block its lexan and I would like your thoughts. Should I leave it clear or paint the backside.
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6268/fitfront2co3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Highest temp Ive seen was 182. Generally 180-210 degrees should yield the best FE, I believe at those temps you have the lowest emissions output which means the fuel is more completely burned.


Did my post in the hardware/mods forum inspire you on this one?

I actually got the idea from a list of mods on Ecomodder.com a while back.

Nice job, Paul! What was the ambient temperature?

Keep working at it! I'm sure that if my Elantra can hit upper 60s to mid 70s at those temps in town your Fit can do it as well. ;)

By the way, I wouldn't bother with a block until you start hitting the 50s in temperature highs.

I never realized how exposed the radiator is. No wonder a huge rock from a semi punctured my friends car. eesh! Rare case, but still sucks.

Hello,

I am a bit of a newbie but saw this post and became interested in making a grill block for my 07 Fit. I live in Michigan where it can regularly get down into the single digits in the winter. I have a 70 mile commute everyday on straight interstate, little stop/go, and very flat. I was planning on making a removable block using think vinyl plastic sheet (think shower curtain) and velcro. I had a few questions I hope someone could answer.

1. I'm assuming most posters to this thread have a much shorter commute than I. Is there any danger, or perhaps less rationale, to block the grill on a long commute? Is there an increased danger of the engine heating up too much? I don't have a plugin temp gauge and wasn't planning on getting one. I'm only planning on using the block when it is below 30F.

2. Is it better to block one of the grills over the other? Top or Bottom? Which has the most effect and which is easier to do?

3. What will the Honda techs say if they see the block? I'm assuming that it would void our warranty. This is part of the reason I want it very removable--so I can take it off it the temp gets above 40 or if I'm on my way to get an oil change. I'm assuming most people on this board change their own oil, but my wife like someone who knows what they are doing to look over the car.

Any suggestions on where to get supplies, the best way of doing this, or other comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hello,

I am a bit of a newbie but saw this post and became interested in making a grill block for my 07 Fit. I live in Michigan where it can regularly get down into the single digits in the winter. I have a 70 mile commute everyday on straight interstate, little stop/go, and very flat. I was planning on making a removable block using think vinyl plastic sheet (think shower curtain) and velcro. I had a few questions I hope someone could answer.

1. I'm assuming most posters to this thread have a much shorter commute than I. Is there any danger, or perhaps less rationale, to block the grill on a long commute? Is there an increased danger of the engine heating up too much? I don't have a plugin temp gauge and wasn't planning on getting one. I'm only planning on using the block when it is below 30F.

2. Is it better to block one of the grills over the other? Top or Bottom? Which has the most effect and which is easier to do?

3. What will the Honda techs say if they see the block? I'm assuming that it would void our warranty. This is part of the reason I want it very removable--so I can take it off it the temp gets above 40 or if I'm on my way to get an oil change. I'm assuming most people on this board change their own oil, but my wife like someone who knows what they are doing to look over the car.

Any suggestions on where to get supplies, the best way of doing this, or other comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.

emschaub,
The internet swallowed my lengthy reply

1. Grill block does 2 things: keeps engine hotter = more efficient. Less time at low temps, so less fuel while warming up. Also, reduces aerodynamic drag; this will help for your whole trip.

2. Completely blocking upper grill: no problem for me up to 80F.
Completely blocking lower grill: got too hot for my comfort at 80F (215 degrees).
Half blocking lower grill: mostly OK 40 to 80, but I watch my temps.

3. Warranty -- that's why my block is removeable, so Honda never sees it.

I have a scangauge to watch temps. An analog gauge would be cheaper and maybe easier to see than the small scangauge screen. I recommend some kind of temp gauge.

Next time I go out when the temp is less than 30F I'll see what the water temp gets to.

--Walter
PS Welcome to cleanmpg.

I wanted to see who uses a grill block for the (upper, lower, or both) on their Fit.


I have a grill block on my 2007 Fit Sport. The temps here run 60s to 70s in the summer and 40s to 50s in the winter, and I find that if I don't block it 100% the darned thing never warms up. I used press fit 3/4 inch foam rubber that i picked up at the local hardware store. In fact, one of the two upper pieces fell out recently, and today (temp 50F) driving to work the engine temp never got above 170F, where I have to hit 195 to get best gas mileage. Cost me about 5 mpg for the 20 mile trip I estimate. Time to fix it. I have only had to take it off when the temp got above 95F. I figure that will not be a problem in winter!

Now, the problem with my grill block is that it is not aerodynamic. It still leaves a lot of uneven surfaces on the leading edge of the car. I plan to cover it over with clear packing tape so it will be near invisible. I am also thinking of taping the spaces in the sport wheels so they will be smooth. I took a look at the underbody after reading a recent belly pan article, and I see that there is a already a piece in there, although it is not as smooth as I would like.

Hope this helps,
Larry

That sounds like the cooling fan in action. Mine comes on at 204-5 and runs until it's down in the mid 190's.

Mine comes on at 214 and goes off at 211.

Larry

Mine comes on at 214 and goes off at 211.

Larry

Thanks for all the info and input!

Well, here is my attempt at a grille block.

Materials:

$5.35 from Lowe's for 4 square feet their scraps :p

installed:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/princealbert/FIT/grilleblock002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/princealbert/FIT/grilleblock001.jpg


I am not sure how well they will stay in for my long commute but they will be easy to remove. I think I like the plastic guard over the lower grill in the bumper vs. the foam. I am not sure how to cover the upper grille without foam though.