ptjones Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I was able to finally get to 245degress with Grill Covers on and the temp for the top white mark on MyView temp gauge.is 245degress. It took 91 degrees outside temp, AC going,going up hill for awhile at 71 mph. Engine temp is directly related to speed going uphill.` dropping from 71mph to 62mph and going into EV some of the time would drop the temp by 15-20degress. Having the grill covers on doesn't effect AC very much to my surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Do you have both lower and middle grilles blocked? or are you using the cutout grille for the middle? Did you look at the average Climate load in MyView? With the temps around 90F here once the interior of the car cools down, the climate usage will run less than 1/2 kW to maintain a set point of 74Fl with clear, sunny skies - maybe 0.35 - 0.4 kW. At 110+F my climate usage averages about 1 kW. This is with fairly low humidity. The reason I ask is that if both openings are blocked it's likely that the climate usage has increased and any gains in FE from the covers may be offset by increased climate usage. Also, is the cooling fan running with the covers and AC on? When it runs, I can see a slight increase in other usage on the MyView screen but it generally doesn't run until I am stopped or going very slow in parking lots at 100+F. I don't want to run my car around Phoenix with the lower cover or the full middle cover on for the 5 - 6 months, hot season as we have about 3 months where the average daily temps are above 90F and about another 1 - 2 months above 80F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I had both covers on blocking the opening. I haven't tried using the average climate load, will have to look into that. The fan does run some of the time when the car is moving, maybe all the time not sure. My point was that you can't hurt the engine in almost all conditions. Going uphill seems to be the only possible problem area. The engine runs cooler with AC on than with it off to start with and no covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recumpence Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Hey PT, I agree. I have my center grille and lower grilles covered (I actually removed my center grille and made a new one). My only caution is the lower grille hides the inverter cooler. I would HIGHLY recommend opening that up. I have about 2/3 of the original airflow opening area retained on the lower grille for cooling purposes. The max temp I have ever seen is 213 degrees. Normally it never goes above 209. With my two grilles and my smooth wheel discs I average about 2mpg improvement, total, in town and 3 to 4mpg on the expressway (depending on other factors). Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Temps in the San Fernando valley easily do 95+. Its been sweltering her and thank goodness I finished my 800 tank before this heat wave hit...been sweating like a dog lately. So Matt...why bother with the lower grill cover than, 1/3 seems almost a waste of the effort for the return? I got my own grill cover, its been gathering dust and not even used at all...the temps here is not that cold. Plus...been trying to figure how to secure it safely to the stock grill since it has channels in it, not condusive to ordinary double sided tap/velcro. If anyone got any ideas, let me know. I can drill some holes and just plastic tie it but its ugly as pos if I did that. Also, sounds like I need :airquote: some air going to the centre as well based on what Matt has said.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recumpence Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) The lower grille has about 25% of its area not doing anything. This is the area to the left and right of the opening. So my lower grille block takes that dead air that is being caught like a parachute to the left and right of the grille and diverts it around the car. Then there is the 1/3 of the opening that diverts the air around the car. So, I have roughly 50% of the air that used to be trapped in that lower grille area blocked. Basically, I have 1/2 of the air drag that used to be present with the stock grille while only having to block off 1/3 of the airflow to the lower radiator. Matt Edited July 10, 2013 by Recumpence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG ROCCO Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) If these grill opening covers, etc. have a meaningful effect on fuel economy, what seems to be the consensus of why Ford didn't make the car that way in the first place? Mostly off subject, but we were on a road trip to CA recently - saw a lot of C-Maxes (and Priuses) - especially in SOCAL. Also saw a Tesla Type S being parked and hooked up to a charging station at the entrance to Muir Woods (just North of San Francisco). Chatted with the owner for 10-15 minutes - he loves it. he showed us the retracting door handles - that was neat. Not sure how much effect it has on aero drag, but it sure looks cool! The lower grille has about 25% of its area not doing anything. This is the area to the left and right of the opening. So my lower grille block takes that dead air that is being caught like a parachute to the left and right of the grille and diverts it around the car. Then there is the 1/3 of the opening that diverts the air around the car. So, I have roughly 50% of the air that used to be trapped in that lower grille area blocked. Basically, I have 1/2 of the air drag that used to be present with the stock grille while only having to block off 1/3 of the airflow to the lower radiator. Matt Edited July 10, 2013 by BIG ROCCO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 If these grill opening covers, etc. have a meaningful effect on fuel economy, what seems to be the consensus of why Ford didn't make the car that way in the first place?IMO, same reason Ford didn't put the side mirrors like the one below on Vekke's VW or something similar. Aesthetics / costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recumpence Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Asthetics, cost, and making sure you get enough airflow even in the worst possible conditions. Fact is, the VAST majority of drivers will never come within 50% of the worst case scinerio for cooling requirements. So, blocking a part of the grilles gives easy gains. The gains are small. But, if you do enough mods, those small gains add up to a decent overall gain. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted July 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 (edited) Hey PT, I agree. I have my center grille and lower grilles covered (I actually removed my center grille and made a new one). My only caution is the lower grille hides the inverter cooler. I would HIGHLY recommend opening that up. I have about 2/3 of the original airflow opening area retained on the lower grille for cooling purposes. The max temp I have ever seen is 213 degrees. Normally it never goes above 209. With my two grilles and my smooth wheel discs I average about 2mpg improvement, total, in town and 3 to 4mpg on the expressway (depending on other factors). MattI don't think this is a issue, Put your hand on the hoses and you will see if they are hot. Edited July 13, 2013 by ptjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recumpence Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 I don't think this is a issue, Put your hand on the hoses and you will see they are hot.That's my point, they are hot. That means the system is building up heat. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted July 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 That's my point, they are hot. That means the system is building up heat. MattWhen I tested mine they were not hot. I'm not sure if the inverter radiator is separate or not? Ford is not worried about it because there is no sensor for it. Covers don't block all the air flow.Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recumpence Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Gotcha. I am not trying to be argumentative, just trying to get everything straight in my own mind. :) Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Me neither just trying to get to the facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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