10 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

But it will because these engines overcool in cold weather so when the thermostat opens the coolant temperature will not drop so much and cabin heat will be maintained at a higher level so you will feel warmer quicker.

 

I think I see what you're saying. You're saying that once the thermostat releases the coolant from the block into the radiator that it will cool quicker and then it takes longer to heat back up once it goes back into the block?

Yes, the gauge won't move but the heater will feel cooler because the radiator will remove heat really fast, hence if you mask it the heater will run hotter and the cabin will heat up much quicker than normal.

On 03/01/2021 at 12:11, silver50 said:

What’s a BLT? (Don’t say a sandwich )

Emissions:

Euro 3 1.9 TDI VRS engine = ASZ

Euro 4 1.9 TDI VRS engine = ASZ
 

Numerous ways to encourage better cold morning car experience.

Blocking the upper (or lower) front grilles. There used to be a thing called a radblind.

Exterior sump heaters, a heat plate bonded to the outside of the oil sump pan.

Interior sump heaters or "pokers".

 

For the people side of things....

Seat heaters.

Auxiliary ventilation heaters. These were an option on Fabias in some markets. There's a topic around somewhere trying to adapt them to a UK spec car.

I've never found the Fabia to be too bad at warming up. The SDI Caddy I have is terrible though. Changing the glow plugs and the oil cooler (for other reasons) does seem to have helped it a little.

 

Also don't be tempted to get in and turn the heat all the way up, all you're doing is putting a fan across the heater matrix, which is another radiator. You might as well set it to blow cold, outside air until the coolant has warmed up. 

“Exterior sump heaters, a heat plate bonded to the outside of the oil sump pan.

Interior sump heaters or "pokers".”

 

I am not a fan of these having had experience with them on small air cooled emergency generators at places like police stations etc, The heat from the exterior heater bolted to the sump causes a lump of black sludge to form inside the sump which does not drain away when the oil is changed.Unfortunately this is nearly always in the area of the oil pickup screen with disastrous results when the engine is started. Coolant heaters are now pretty well universal in emergency generators as it keeps the block/pistons warm etc and able to take load more or less straight away after starting.

Good morning one more thing that came to mind. I looked out and noticed that the outdoor temperature is now -8 degree. Yes I have the upper and lower grill blocked. Yes I have had an external engine heater on as well. After all, when I leave my home, I put the car’s interior blower in position 2 at first. When I get to drive on the highway then I put the fan in position 3 or 4. Previously, I did a test on VCDS and monitored how long I had to drive until it reached ( same road same speed and about same outdoor  tempereature ) +87 degrees in the engine cooler water. +87 degrees is the general temperature because the thermostat opens. I did this test without a block and  blocked , I varied the speed of the heater fan and its effect on engine warm-up. In addition to this, I used the same gear and speed when I tested it. As has already been said here. By blocking the upper and lower grill, the cold stay  out of the engine room and  the engine heats up faster. In addition to this, it also keeps the engine room cleaner, which is not a bad thing at all Note that the value displayed by the instrument cluster is incorrect with reality. I had the thermostat in my car broken and had trouble getting the instrument panel to show exactly 90 degrees. It was often a little below. The reality was that the right temperature was only about 70 degrees. And when I drove in town, the meter was 70 ... So the truth was already maybe 50 or less.

Well, to report back I was cleaning the trusty steed yesterday so took the opportunity to try blocking off the radiator. The best thing I came up with to use was a plastic storage box lid. Appearing a bit big for the job it was about exactly the size of the radiator/AC condenser. Still, I thought it’d be a good test.

 

Outside temp was 1.5-2c so cold without being seriously sub zero. My conclusion was that it was a total waste of time. No discernible difference in heat in the car/heating up time. 

Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

You'll just have to put up with it for another couple of months.

Hi,  I have the same as Duck it is very really easy to fit . I have had it for a good few years  now and still looks new.

A while has passed with my radiator effectively blocked off so I wanted to chime back in to say I think there is actually a slight difference in warm up time.

 

I reckon it’ll be down to cold air not hitting the block so readily while driving. This appears somewhat confirmed by very little warm up at tickover. But when engine revving (when moving) it seems slightly faster at warming up.

 

 

Winter grille (upper) very effective at reducing warm up time. 

Got an extra 2mpg (trip computer reading), like for like driving. 

 

Don't block lower grill as well, unless you want car to overheat. 

 

Biggest gripe with car is not having heating elements / demister in front window glass. Lethal combination is the condensation on glass (both sides!) with low sun on cold mornings.

 

 

Well my whole radiator area is pretty much completely blocked off. I was wary of overheating but absolutely no sign of it. Temp gauge needle been rock solid at middle.