Blocking off engine ventilation in cold weather
Blocking off engine ventilation in cold weather
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Discussion

Goochie

Original Poster:

5,723 posts

235 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
I remember seeing old Land Rover defenders with the radiator grills partially blocked off in the winter, presumably to help the engine get up to temperature.

This was many years ago and I thought things had moved on a bit by now, however, I saw a reasonably new Range Rover with a similar device fitted this morning.

What purpose do these things serve, particularly on a modern car?

For those who dont have a clue, this is what I'm talking about:





Edited by Goochie on Monday 20th December 15:41

j80jpw

829 posts

178 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
I was wondering about this myself, at what point is it too cold?

Driving my Cayman at -9 this morning, which has very exposed radiators I started to wonder if the antifreeze we use in our radiators in the UK is up to the job?

Any ideas?

J


edo

16,699 posts

281 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
I cant see why you would need to do that on a modern car.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

214 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
On the old series landies it was because the fan ran all the time. No idea why they still do it.

GTIR

24,741 posts

282 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
I think that's mainly to do with sand and grit in hot countries.
It's to stop the stuff flying into the fan and and being flung about. I think.

Saying that, I have in the past stuck some cardboard in the front of an old car to get it warmer.

TonyHetherington

32,091 posts

266 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
So you don't overcool the engines - lots of taxis seem to do it (black cabs), unsure if that's because they have huge radiators because they never get up much speed and so don't want to cool the engines too much.

carinatauk

1,505 posts

268 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
Used to use cardboard on the radiator grill.

Helps keep the engine warm and the driver / passenger warm. The old cars had poor ability to transfer heat to the air entering the "cab", newer cars have better mechanics. I am sure that it may even help on very cold days in the newer versions

Then again, I could be talking a load of bks

Matt80MINI

1,140 posts

188 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
My mums 2CV in the late 80's had some plastic cover to go over the grill in the winter I seem to remember.

DennisTheMenace

15,605 posts

284 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
Older cars had poorer cooling systems, these days the antifreeze is far more advanced the cooling system far more effective and the temp control is now starting to be controlled via the ECU rather than a wax thermostat.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

214 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
One benefit is that the engine heats up quicker, thus is more economical (spends less time on choke - or whatever it's called in mapping terms), so you save a few quid. Waste of time IMO unless you do lots of very short journeys.

Eggman

1,253 posts

227 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
I've been meaning to fit my bit of lino to the Defender for some weeks now. Land Rovers don't have great heaters at the best of times, and they have huge radiators so you won't overheat if you're towing 3.5 tonnes in 40C. Consequently, they never warm up in cold weather unless the engine is working really hard. Diesels don't generally make a lot of heat anyway; that's why you see all the cabbies doing it too.

Petrolhead_Rich

4,659 posts

208 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
I fitted one to the Audi, it warmed up ok until the thermostat opened (70degrees) but then just hovered around that point forever, blanked off 75% with some fibreboard and now she warms up to 90 pretty quickly and just sits there, keeping me nice and toasty smile

Sat in traffic jams for hours with no problems too thumbup

Cars are designed to sit in traffic on a hot day without overheating so when it's -10 and your blasting down a motorway, don't expect it to get upto temperature!!

I should add that the Audi has a viscous fan, which freezes and therefore is on until the ice melts too!

Also Stops snow and ice damaging the radiator smile

MondeoMan1981

2,444 posts

199 months

Monday 20th December 2010
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Could do with one of these for my HDi, its a very cool running engine to start with - never ever had the fan come on in it.

Normal running temp 75-80 degrees on the dial, more like 70-75 in the current climate!

davepoth

29,395 posts

215 months

Monday 20th December 2010
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All cars come with plenty of cooling capacity these days. Running too cool is almost as bad as running too hot as the oil doesn't work properly.

The plastic used to make estate agent signs is good for this, doesn't go soggy like cardboard.

Fish981

1,441 posts

201 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
They're completely pointless on any vehicle with a fully functioning cooling system.

The thermostat wont let water through the radiator until it's approx 90 degrees regardless of the
external temperature. If your car is showing a lower temperature than that then it's broken, fixing it
doesn't involve bits of cardboard on the front of the car.

Fish981

1,441 posts

201 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
DennisTheMenace said:
Older cars had poorer cooling systems, these days the antifreeze is far more advanced the cooling system far more effective and the temp control is now starting to be controlled via the ECU rather than a wax thermostat.
Which cars don't come with a wax (or equivalent) thermostat now?

vit4

3,507 posts

186 months

Monday 20th December 2010
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Always wondered why this was (only ever seen it on older black cabs). Thought it was advertising space paperbag

Eggman

1,253 posts

227 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
Fish981 said:
Which cars don't come with a wax (or equivalent) thermostat now?
I wondered that too, and a quick Google revealed that E46 BMWs do. Sounds like something else to go wrong to me.

Also, Land Rover would appear to disagree with your comment about fully functioning cooling systems, hence they offer part number DA2161 ('Radiator Muff (Defender)') as an accessory. Cheapskates like me use offcuts of lino which works perfectly. My tip is to secure it with wire so it can be easily removed when required.



Edited by Eggman on Monday 20th December 17:58

AlexS

1,573 posts

248 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
Petrolhead_Rich said:
I fitted one to the Audi, it warmed up ok until the thermostat opened (70degrees) but then just hovered around that point forever, blanked off 75% with some fibreboard and now she warms up to 90 pretty quickly and just sits there, keeping me nice and toasty smile

Sat in traffic jams for hours with no problems too thumbup

Cars are designed to sit in traffic on a hot day without overheating so when it's -10 and your blasting down a motorway, don't expect it to get upto temperature!!

I should add that the Audi has a viscous fan, which freezes and therefore is on until the ice melts too!

Also Stops snow and ice damaging the radiator smile
70°c seems rather cold for a thermostat, you haven't got an extreme hot weather one fitted have you?

Saabs have a range of stats from 82° to 92°c.

AlexS

1,573 posts

248 months

Monday 20th December 2010
quotequote all
Eggman said:
Fish981 said:
Which cars don't come with a wax (or equivalent) thermostat now?
I wondered that too, and a quick Google revealed that E46 BMWs do. Sounds like something else to go wrong to me.

Also, Land Rover would appear to disagree with your comment about fully functioning cooling systems, hence they offer part number DA2161 ('Radiator Muff (Defender)') as an accessory. Cheapskates like me use offcuts of lino which works perfectly. My tip is to secure it with wire so it can be easily removed when required.



Edited by Eggman on Monday 20th December 17:58
The ECU controlled thermostat is designed to increase efficiency. Allows the engine to run hotter when on light throttle cruise then opens wider on acceleration.