Grill Cover Sets Available To Improve Winter MPG's

[ptjones]

I have had a number of members ask me for LEXAN Grill Cover Sets which they can't do themselves, so I decided to help them out.  I bought some more LEXAN Sheets to make Grill Covers for those who need them. They are going for $100 including USPS Priority Mail.  PM me for the details. :)

 

Paul

[hybridbear]

FYI for those interested - foam pipe insulation costs less than $5 & offers a number of advantages over the covers that Paul makes. Foam insulation is infinitely adjustable in terms how much much grille space is blocked. It is also much more air-tight if you so desire. It also provides better insulation when the car is off.

Edited December 3, 2015 by hybridbear

[okashira]

Thx Paul - will mail check tomorrow

[ptjones]

FYI for those interested - foam pipe insulation costs less than $5 & offers a number of advantages over the covers that Paul makes. Foam insulation is infinitely adjustable in terms how much much grille space is blocked. It is also much more air-tight if you so desire. It also provides better insulation when the car is off.

This is true, but from my testing I saw a 2mpg improvement from the smooth aerodynamic surface at HWY speeds. If you really want to save money just use Packing Tape, it's just as effective as foam and doesn't cost anything. :yahoo: But it doesn't look that great, function over looks.

 

 

I just drove to Williams, AZ  and back, about 3600mi on   I-20/I-22/I-40 and averaged 47.2 MPG with temps from 20*F to 70*F(most of the time 40's to 50's) and strong winds in OK and TX, not ideal conditions for the best FE.  BTW  I use clear packing tape to tape around the edge of center Grill Cover to seal it off completely, (very aerodynamic) when it is cold.  Also I  taped up the Top Grill to limit the cold air in ICE compartment and Air Intake before coming back from AZ. I monitor air intake temp on ScanGaugeII and typically it is abut 10*F warmer than outside temps at FWY speeds so best IT(air intake temp for ICE(engine)) is probably in the 90-100*F range, outside temp 80-90*F when we get the best FE.  That helped raise up IT by 20-30*F which I think helped my FE by 1 mpg and speeds up heating up the ICE also. :)  I averaged EV% about 43% of the time.

 

Paul

Edited December 10, 2015 by ptjones

[ptjones]

Hope to start shipping Grill Covers Monday. :)

 

Paul

[ptjones]

I just remembered when ordering Grill Covers I need to know if you need to install License Plate on center Grill Cover. :) 

 

Paul 

[ptjones]

I shipped out today all Grill Covers ordered by members and they should have them by Thursday according to USPS. I do have a few sets left for those interested, I'm excepting Pay Pal and checks for payment.  I'm sure CMAX members would appreciate hearing from those getting them about their results. :) 

 

Paul 

[ptjones]

Has anyone got their Grill Covers yet? :)

 

Paul

[ptjones]

I would recommend taping up the Top Grill to minimize cold air getting into the ICE compartment, optimum IT is around 80-100*F.  This morning with preheating ICE w/Oil Pan and Block Heaters to 110*F (only took 1/2 mile to get WT to 128*F) with outside temp 33*F.  I only got to 48*F IT in seven miles with all Grills blocked off.

Also I would recommend permanently  attaching center Grill Cover for there is no good reason to remove it all year long.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Paul

[okashira]

I had 60% of my top grille tapped but ran into some issue when I needed to add water to my windshield washer... :-D

[ptjones]

I had 60% of my top grille tapped but ran into some issue when I needed to add water to my windshield washer... :-D

Yes that is problematic. LOL  I made a LEXAN one but it is more trouble to install but I can open the hood. ;)  Did you get your Grill Covers on?

 

Paul

Edited December 21, 2015 by ptjones

[N7VY]

Did anyone have any comments about their lexan covers?

Edited January 4, 2016 by N7VY

[ptjones]

Did anyone have any comments about their lexan covers?

Four sets have been delivered with one installed with no problems. Waiting to hear on results. Go to  "CMAX Grill Cover Testing, 2-5mpg Gain"  Thread to see what others have said in the past 3 years.

 Tonight I filled up at BJ's Premium 93 Octane  made four trips:

 

13. mi. 59.7 mpg at 36*F

10.6 mi. 50.7 mpg  33*F

7 mi     48.3 mpg    33*F

7 mi.   60mpg         32*F

with speeds 45-55 mph.  IT 57*F and WT got up to 190*F and I also had top Grill taped off too.  I averaged 54 mpg total. I think these are very good numbers given the outside temps. :)

 

Paul

Edited January 5, 2016 by ptjones

[fbov]

Mine is on... After some mods.

 

I wanted to keep my license plate holder, and use a positive attachment, not glue/Velcro. My grill is blacked out with PlastiDip, and I didn't want to remove it under every pad.

 

I fit it in the recess with fingers between grill ribs. I had some plastic standoff rivets like under the hood so its still removable, but not going anywhere!

 

Also filled with 91E0, so lets see how I do in cold this year!

 

Have fun,

Frank

[fbov]

Duplicate.

Edited January 18, 2016 by fbov

[SnowStorm]

Ah... grill covers, E0, 91 octane - sound great.  A boattail is next!

[ptjones]

IMG_20160116_151741730_HDR.jpg

Mine is on... After some mods.

 

I wanted to keep my license plate holder, and use a positive attachment, not glue/Velcro. My grill is blacked out with PlastiDip, and I didn't want to remove it under every pad.

 

I fit it in the recess with fingers between grill ribs. I had some plastic standoff rivets like under the hood so its still removable, but not going anywhere!

 

Also filled with 91E0, so lets see how I do in cold this year!

 

Have fun,

Frank

Was wondering what the rest of the cover looks like? :) Any results yet?

 

Paul

[fbov]

The rest of the cover is on the shop floor... or were you looking for a long shot? It's in my gallery, as I didn't greek my license plate.

 

Seems to heat faster, but it's been hard to measure shivers/minute...

 

Frank

Edited January 19, 2016 by fbov

[ptjones]

The rest of the cover is on the shop floor... or were you looking for a long shot? It's in my gallery, as I didn't greek my license plate.

 

Seems to heat faster, but it's been hard to measure shivers/minute...

 

Frank

Is that a Scientific Measurement? :) Did you install lower cover? I couldn't tell and It is very important to keep temps up.

 

Paul

Edited January 19, 2016 by ptjones

[SnowStorm]

Is that a Scientific Measurement? :) ....

 

Paul

No - at least not on a whale watching cruise!

"What’s the difference? About 10 shivers per minute. (Okay, so that’s not scientific. But you get the idea.)"

But I like the concept - an SPM Meter!  Could be the next great smart phone App!

(If you have a passenger, you could also measure Complaints / Minute! :rant: )

[SoCalJT]

Bought these grille and rear wheel aerodynamic covers back in January 2018 from ptjones, before I even bought my car since I was still in the market for one. Then the car arrived from the freight shipper from outta state and with an unexpected majorly cracked sunroof and that took some time to get sorted out and replaced. I then wanted to drive the car a full tank before before adding the mods and I wasn't doing much driving at the time and I let my dad use the car more than I did since he's in the market for another car and he only has our work truck to drive around currently and the mpg isn't great at all (especially compared to a hybrid lol).

 

So I plasti dipped the covers satin black (as I didn't want to see the velcro and/or 3m tape, plus I like the red/black contrast) and installed them at the end of last week finally before my 

 

So here I am on only my 2nd tank of gas when I installed these and have driven the car ~350 miles with them on.

 

I had to remove the lower grille less than 50 miles after installing it, as the car warned me the engine was getting too warm... it was ~65* F outside in the evening and I was driving on the freeway during a 90 mile trip when it happened. So I pulled over and off it went and temperatures dropped back to normal operating temperature right away.

 

I reckon I won't need the lower grille block off much at all here being inland in southern California with the heat we get here, maybe only for a month or 2 in the winter when we get some cold fronts.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE:

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by SoCalJT

[raadsel]

Bought these grille and rear wheel aerodynamic covers back in January 2018 from ptjones, before I even bought my car since I was still in the market for one. Then the car arrived from the freight shipper from outta state and with an unexpected majorly cracked sunroof and that took some time to get sorted out and replaced. I then wanted to drive the car a full tank before before adding the mods and I wasn't doing much driving at the time and I let my dad use the car more than I did since he's in the market for another car and he only has our work truck to drive around currently and the mpg isn't great at all (especially compared to a hybrid lol).

 

So I plasti dipped the covers satin black (as I didn't want to see the velcro and/or 3m tape, plus I like the red/black contrast) and installed them at the end of last week finally before my 

 

So here I am on only my 2nd tank of gas when I installed these and have driven the car ~350 miles with them on.

 

I had to remove the lower grille less than 50 miles after installing it, as the car warned me the engine was getting too warm... it was ~65* F outside in the evening and I was driving on the freeway during a 90 mile trip when it happened. So I pulled over and off it went and temperatures dropped back to normal operating temperature right away.

 

I reckon I won't need the lower grille block off much at all here being inland in southern California with the heat we get here, maybe only for a month or 2 in the winter when we get some cold fronts.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE:

IMG_4039.jpg IMG_4036.jpg IMG_4035.jpg IMG_4096.jpg

 

They look really good in black, good job.

[ptjones]

What WT were you seeing? I don't worry about it until it gets to 230*F.  The alarm goes off at 246*F and the system is design for 264*F before it boils. :sad:  I didn't think about it, but I could have used black LEXAN. When New the Grill Covers aren't very noticeable. The Black looks good. :) What's the MPG's looking like on this tank compared to last? 

 

Paul

[SoCalJT]

What WT were you seeing? I don't worry about it until it gets to 230*F.  The alarm goes off at 246*F and the system is design for 264*F before it boils. :sad:  I didn't think about it, but I could have used black LEXAN. When New the Grill Covers aren't very noticeable. The Black looks good. :) What's the MPG's looking like on this tank compared to last? 

 

Paul

I'm not sure what the temp was, I pulled over as soon as the warning light came on and I knew I had to remove the lower cover.

 

We have LOTS of hills here in SoCal, both on the streets and highways... so it's been hard to push for higher mpg considering some of these uphill battles that just pull away the mpg.

 

I've been hovering around the 43 mpg mark for the most part and that's with I'd say 75% highway driving.

Edited April 24, 2018 by SoCalJT

[joshg678]

Black does look Really Nice.  

The Big one kept falling off for me with the license plate (Once wind, another car wash that i didn't know was automated [used to be hand wash]) so i don't have any on my car currently since its been mostly above 50.