Ok so heres my thought for tonight.

Since our oil burners run less MPG (mines ~7-10mpg less) when its below say 4C than it does at 11C. Can we not do something to increase the temperature?

So the main issue (Im assuming) is that the engine temperature is not producing enough heat to make it as efficient as it should be. A solution could perhaps be increasing the core temp of the engine compartment or at least decreasing the air flow coming into the engine compartment.

Now that the background of this is a little less loopy, my method of achieving the solution may sound a little less stupid.. :S

What if one were to block up the grill or at least a part of the grill, to decrease the amount of cold air intake to generate more heat into the engine-bay..

Could this potentially work? I know there will be implications of overheating and what not, but unless you got stuck in traffic because of some freak accident would it really overheat that quickly? esp in cold weather like now?

The Eco cars have grills blocked off I assume this is to keep consistent optimum engine temperature at all speeds (and apparently aero benefits)?

Feel free to share some thoughts, ideally constructive ones and not to call me an idiot due to lack of understanding :p

Edited 18 January, 201115 yr by JLneonhug

Sounds stupid but I don't bother turning the heater on in the car other than 2 de-mist if needed and just have cold/cool air coming through the rest of the time, and I don't bother turning it on or going above 2k until its hit 90... usually by the time I've had my ciggie on a morn :p (Window is open anyway haha) Im seeing 55-60 MPG through the onboard computer and i'm not exactly going slow (50/60mph) on windy B roads... Might be because I don't have the heaters on but I never thought of it like that just thought it was pointless what with only cold air coming out and my window open anyway (Dunno if this helps you at all)

I don't know about bunging up the grill, problem is engines heat up fast

Andrew

Edited 18 January, 201115 yr by Barkballz

Sounds stupid but I don't bother turning the heater on in the car other than 2 de-mist if needed and just have cold/cool air coming through the rest of the time, and I don't bother turning it on or going above 2k until its hit 90... usually by the time I've had my ciggie on a morn :p (Window is open anyway haha) Im seeing 55-60 MPG through the onboard computer and i'm not exactly going slow (50/60mph) on windy B roads... Might be because I don't have the heaters on but I never thought of it like that just thought it was pointless what with only cold air coming out and my window open anyway (Dunno if this helps you at all)

I don't know about bunging up the grill, problem is engines heat up fast

Andrew

I dunno, never thought of not switching the heating on when engine is not warm.. crazy enough to give it a go but generally when I forget to switch fan on the exhaled air turns to condensation on the windscreen.

About bunging the grill, I never done that before so I wont know how fast it heats up.. also, I would've thought if radiator air was blocked it would be more hazardous rather than the top grill.

mpg (computer readings): I get 40-47s on cold days and 50-60s on warmer days. winter avg is ~44, autumn avg was about 53-55. Bare in mind I tend to go for more spirited driving in drier conditions. I actually done 70 for a whole 30min on a dual carrageway the other day.. :|

......What if one were to block up the grill or at least a part of the grill, to decrease the amount of cold air intake to generate more heat into the engine-bay.........

Some time ago (30 years plus) it was possible to buy just such an accessory which consisted of a roller-blind which covered the radiator and was raised and lowered from inside the cabin.

You started the journey with the radiator covered 100% and uncovered it as the rad. warmed up.

It was made by Kenlowe who made their name by inventing electric radiator fans which weren't driven by a fan-belt, so increasing engine performance and lowering fuel consumption at the same time.

The radiator blind worked really well by allowing the engine to warm up much quicker so saving engine-wear and fuel and allowing the heater to operate sooner.

Many drivers had both accessories fitted and it is surprising that neither were fitted as standard by car manufacturers.

It's an interesting thread this as it reminded me that there are lots of really useful driver aids which were available a long time ago but not anymore......

Like electric / hydraulic jacks which raised the car up at all four corners in 10 seconds flat.

Now only seen on Le Mans race cars.

Or screen wash reservoirs which were located inside the cabin so never froze up in winter no matter how cold it was outside.. That system was on a VW Transporter.

Headlamp bulbs which could be changed in less than 30 seconds flat - SAAB.

I once had a Merc.190 which had a button on the steering wheel which flashed the headlights 7 times rapidly to show the car in front that I wanted to pass. Not very PC for today, that.

I remember a few of those, showing my age.

The one I always wanted to fit was the after market pre heat, again made by Kenlow I think. It had a heater that plumbed into your coolant pipes and plugged into the mains (so was car kept in garage job only, hence why I never got one at the time) on a timer switch. When you got into your car it was at near normal running temp before you turned on the ignition; was meant to save a lot of wear and tear on the engine as well as fuel.

I remember the radiator blinds very well, and the results when owners did not keep rolling them up to allow air through. Many vehicles did not have temperature gauges in those days.Our first Rolls had a thermostatically controlled set of metal louvers in front of the radiator.

If you want to restrict air flow over the radiator remember to ensure a completely free air passage to the air filter, for performance and economy you want the coldest air entering the combustion chamber, damp if possible. We also used to fit winter thermostats, but these had to be removed in the summer.

There were many ways to stop the windscreen washers freezing, these were seen my most in the early days as just another toy not considered neccessary, I had a tapping off a heater hose and ran a coil of copper pipe around the outside of the washer bottle, very effective, but then the bottles were glass and easy to get at. When plastic bottles arrived I had the coil fitted inside. I even tried heated coils on the washer pipes nearer the jets but like the heated nozzles today useless unless you keep the whole washer system unfrozen. I have been told that heated washer fluid cleans the screen better, but with wind chill the water is not hot enough to have any beneificial effect.

As previously stated do not turn on the heater untill the vehicle has started to show a rise on the temperature gauge, in recorded outside temp of -10, I have had a good supply of hot air to demist in about 2.5 miles, there are several types of electric mini heaters that plug into the 12v power sockets, very effective and hardly use any power.

Hi JLneonhug,

Actually have been doing something like that on the last few car that I have owned. I cut down a sheet of plastic corragated card (same type on house for sale signs) and slotted that down in front of the radiator behind the grill/front bumper. It does not melt, catch fire or over heat but the benifits are that the car now warms up much quicker. I average 47 mpg in the summer dropping to 42 mpg in the winter (actual not computer) so not much of a benifit mpg wise.

Karl

Edited 18 January, 201115 yr by korban

Thanks for the replies Very informative.

I think a reason why manufactures haven't progressed with automated louvre system is partly due to safety, wouldn't want flying blades if it was in an accident.

Karl - Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go I assume you attached it with cable tie to the bottom front grill?

I expect a drop in winter but maybe a decreased amount of drop if engine warms quicker, especially for short trips.

Edited 18 January, 201115 yr by JLneonhug

Not really going to help much..... is it?

Thanks for the replies Very informative.

I think a reason why manufactures haven't progressed with automated louvre system is partly due to safety, wouldn't want flying blades if it was in an accident.

Karl - Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go I assume you attached it with cable tie to the bottom front grill?

I expect a drop in winter but maybe a decreased amount of drop if engine warms quicker, especially for short trips.

No sorry JLneonhug, I have placed it between the front radiator and the grill, its not on the outside of the car at all, will try and get some pictures up later.

Karl

Isn't part of the reason for poorer MPG in winter due to petrol stations swapping over to winter diesel which has a lower freezing point but burns less efficiently?

I removed the cold air feed into my engine bay to try and make a bit of a difference to warm-up times and MPG. . . makes a deeper noise anyway.

But coupled with blocking off the radiatior might make a bit of a difference?

Blocking the radiator off shouldn't make any difference to warm up times. The thermostat should stop the coolant flowing from around the engine to the radiator until it's up to temperature. The only time blocking the rad off would help is if the thermostat's knackered.

Keeping the heating turned off should help speed up warm up though, or at least keeping the fan speed down. The heater matrix acts like a mini radiator so cold outside air blows through it and drops the temperature of the coolant passing through the matrix meaning the car takes longer to warm up.

Blocking the radiator off shouldn't make any difference to warm up times. The thermostat should stop the coolant flowing from around the engine to the radiator until it's up to temperature. The only time blocking the rad off would help is if the thermostat's knackered.

Keeping the heating turned off should help speed up warm up though, or at least keeping the fan speed down. The heater matrix acts like a mini radiator so cold outside air blows through it and drops the temperature of the coolant passing through the matrix meaning the car takes longer to warm up.

Hi Schern,

I agree about the thermostat principle, but the point is to limit the amount of ice cold air that is forced into the engine bay at speed. Partly blocking the radiator stops ice cold air flowing through it and onto the engine hence it does warm up quicker. Yes not turning the fan also help the engine warm up faster.

Karl