How to block your front grill with pipe insulation

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Had one piece blow out at a car wash last week - I can tell the difference in warmup time! Especially since it was -22ºC this morning (high today of -14ºC), I'm picking up a new piece on my way home... looks like the vertical slits I put in the insulation last year really helped keep it in place.
 

hroush

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Location
Bloomington, IN
TDI
2000 jetta
I wish I would have found this thread 3 months ago! I think I'll have to stop at Lowes tonight on the way home to pick some up. My car is white, so it will probably show a lot more, but I (and especially my wife) want faster warm up times.
 

Jackiechan005

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Location
Rochester NY
TDI
2010 Golf TDI
Anyone with MK VI Golfs stuff their grills? My car heats up just fine above 30F, but in the low 20F and teens it takes a little longer. The grill above seems to have more surface area blocking it so I was thinking of just blocking the lower half.
 

russo

Active member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
Buffalo, NY
TDI
2010 Jetta Sportwagen
I bought a clear sheet of plastic from home depot 36" X 30" about $20. You can make about 5 plates out of it if you split the cost among friends. it is just ziptied to the lower slats on my 2010 TDI sportwagen.

cannot figure out how to attach a image or i woudl show what it looks like
 

tico27464

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Location
Mid-Atlantic Traffic Jam, USA
TDI
2011 Golf TDI (DSG)
Anyone with MK VI Golfs stuff their grills? My car heats up just fine above 30F, but in the low 20F and teens it takes a little longer. The grill above seems to have more surface area blocking it so I was thinking of just blocking the lower half.
As a new owner of a 2011 Golf TDI, I'm curious about this, too. Also, are there any areas that should be left open? Do you grill-blockers remove the blocks at a particular ambient temp, or do you wait for the temp gauge to let you know? Apologies if this has been discussed already.
Thanks,
t
 

gergg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Location
Georgia
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6M
I have a 2011 Golf TDI and it warms up plenty fast, this time of year I only see high teens/low 20's in the morning so nothing like some of you guys. How long does it take to warm up when it is slightly below zero?
 

VWConvert

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Location
Cincinnati, OH
TDI
Going to purchase one
In reference to the question about why add foam if you already have tape. I'm assuming the foam would act as a better insulator aside from keeping cold air from coming in.
 

mctdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Location
se WI
TDI
2010 Jetta
I start to pull some out for the day, if above 30'F. And all if above 40'F. There is no hard rule.




As a new owner of a 2011 Golf TDI, I'm curious about this, too. Also, are there any areas that should be left open? Do you grill-blockers remove the blocks at a particular ambient temp, or do you wait for the temp gauge to let you know? Apologies if this has been discussed already.
Thanks,
t
 

77 K20

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Location
Whitefish, MT
TDI
2011 Touareg TDI LUX
As a new owner of a 2011 Golf TDI, I'm curious about this, too. Also, are there any areas that should be left open? Do you grill-blockers remove the blocks at a particular ambient temp, or do you wait for the temp gauge to let you know? Apologies if this has been discussed already.
Thanks,
t
I was wondering this in December and did a lot of searching on it. I was driving from Montana to Seattle- the weather at home was 0 degrees, and Seattle was almost 50 degrees. I have a scangauge to keep an eye on the coolant temp and the hottest temp I ever saw on the whole trip was 192 degrees. I was normally around 180. It was non-stop rain in Seattle also- don't know if that made a difference.
So I'll just keep mine in place till temps are around 50. At night the temp here always drops way down.
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
I've left mine in until temps were routinely into the high 70s. Unless you're towing or going a hojillion miles an hour, no problems.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
We need to do this to Jason's Jetta... slow warm-ups FTL.
 

South Coast Guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Location
Mattapoisett, MA
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI wagon
Manufacturers spend significant time and money designing heating and cooling systems and some drivers think they can do better by sticking a piece of plastic across the grill?
 

77 K20

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Location
Whitefish, MT
TDI
2011 Touareg TDI LUX
Manufacturers spend significant time and money designing heating and cooling systems and some drivers think they can do better by sticking a piece of plastic across the grill?
For the most part- yes. Engineers are more worried about the car overheating. It is more common for it to be a hot day out, the person is stuck in traffic with the AC on, or they are going up a long hill, maybe possibly pulling a trailer. Overheating can result in engine failure so they make sure the engine can say cool. (This has been very apparent on the Audi's I have owned).

Now if it is too cold out- so what. Engine might not run at peak efficiency. But it will not cause damage.

I block my radiator with hose inulation because it works better than running without it.
 

Jnitrofish

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2009
Location
Texas
TDI
2005.5, 2005.5, and 2006. 5m, 5m, and DSG.
Manufacturers spend significant time and money designing heating and cooling systems and some drivers know they can do better by sticking a piece of plastic across the grill.
Fixed that for you. :D

Seriously, we are letting the significant time and money that went into designing our cooling system be put to good use quicker by letting the engine warm faster. Can't let all that significant time and money be put to waste by letting mother nature cool the car. :rolleyes:
 

nate379

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Location
Palmer, AK
TDI
05 Jetta
I NEVER have trouble with my Jetta to run at 180-190* even in the coldest temps and plenty of cabin heat. I've never bothered to block off the rad.

My Dodge truck on the other hand.. brrr. Been through -40* sitting at 20,000lbs and I couldn't get the engine to go over 160*, even pulling 10% grades. I don't think it got over 50* in the truck that whole trip. I had blocked the rad and took the fan off even, didn't help much.

Try driving when it's -40 out and you don't have that rad blocked off. The engine will never get hot and you'll never get cabin heat.
 
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scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Manufacturers spend significant time and money designing heating and cooling systems and some drivers think they can do better by sticking a piece of plastic across the grill?
To be fair, it isn't just a piece of plastic - it's a few pieces of plastic foam.

And yes, this mechanical engineer knows he can do better with $2 worth of pipe insulation across the grill slats. :D But don't take my word for it, try it yourself. You'll probably save $2 in diesel on the first tank you use it.
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
I NEVER have trouble with my Jetta to run at 180-190* even in the coldest temps and plenty of cabin heat. I've never bothered to block off the rad.
Do you have a SGII or similar device to find out the actual coolant temp? The dummy gauge has a broad flat spot in the middle of its response curve (well documented in the mk4).

From my own Golf, it sits on the middle mark of the temp gauge from 73ºC up to... well, it's only ever gone up to 93ºC before. But I've had issues keeping cabin heat up to snuff without the pipe insulation on the really cold days here. When it's -28ºC and 70 kph headwinds, you lose heat very rapidly especially at stop lights.
 

mctdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Location
se WI
TDI
2010 Jetta
Yes, at -20'F, or colder, the cheap foam is a big help. Well done scurvy. Thanks
 

Camster88

Member
Joined
May 19, 2011
Location
Calgary
TDI
04 Jetta Tdi
In just did this mod last night. Unbelievable. Car warms up very quickly and stays at full temperature. Before, it would always creep down when at a long light or coasting downhill (its very cold here in Anchorage Alaska. I'm originally from Calgary, and I'm convinced the two should have a coldness competition.)

The car definitely has more power when its warm, and I'm sure MPG's will be up. The foam in the grills is barely noticable. I also popped off the VW emblem and covered the back to stop air from getting in.

Thanks for the awesome mod.

Cam
 

AV8RLEO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2011
Location
Pine Island, MN
TDI
2003 VW Jetta GLS TDI
Anyone have some close up pictures of this? Live in Minnesota and may have to try the same thing... takes waaaaay to long to warm up...
 

AV8RLEO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2011
Location
Pine Island, MN
TDI
2003 VW Jetta GLS TDI
and to clarify... I couldn't get to the pictures from your first post scurvy... probably locked out by my companies web filter... :(
 

77 K20

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Location
Whitefish, MT
TDI
2011 Touareg TDI LUX
I can see the pictures fine on this computer- so must be your company?

Looks like scurvy used just the "normal" foam (hard) insulation. Lowe's here had a foam/rubber pipe insulation for just a bit more. I took a scissors and made the slit wider to remove some material. Just maybe 1/2" of it. This was then enough so I could stuff it inside the slots of the grille. You can barely tell it is there.
I'm using the same pieces I did last year. Holds up well.
 

AV8RLEO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2011
Location
Pine Island, MN
TDI
2003 VW Jetta GLS TDI
Yep that was exactly the problem... company web filter blocked it out... was able to see the pictures just fine on my own laptop. I have the same color car, and it looks fine to me so I know what I will be doing for an hour or so on a day off!

Anyone have trouble with it getting blown off in an automatic car wash???

Thanks,
JP
 
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