Blue_Hen_TDI
Top Post Dawg
FrostHeater: I had it installed by a local guru. I started the install myself and then got cold feet when I got to the hose splice portion, so I decided to leave it to a pro. The guru knocked it out in 1.5 hours, half of which was tweaking the mounting bracket. It's fine as it ships, but it does place the heating unit only about a quarter inch over the plastic belly cover, which made the guru a bit nervous. He moved the bolt hole on the bracket so that the unit now sits about an inch over the pan.
Impressions: My car is not garaged. At startup in ~20F after sitting overnight and the FrostHeater running for two hours, monitored by ScanGaugeII the startup water temp was 140F and dropped to 107F within seconds of starting. That is a nice improvement, though I'll admit I was hoping for a bit more retained heat, but I'm still pleased. It got up to operating temperature noticeably faster.
Grille Block (home made): I picked up the only tubular foam pipe insulation offered in-store at my local Lowes. It's very cheap, ranging from $1 to $1.50 per 6-ft section. Diameters available, IIRC, were 1/2, 3/4, and 1 inch (I am not 100% certain on the sizes; just think of them as S, M, and L). I ended up using two sections of the Small diameter to fill my three lower grille gaps and the top gap in the upper grille. I used one section of the Medium to fill the bottom gap in the upper grille. I took a pair of scissors and eyeballed it, cutting to fill the gaps and meet the edges at the angles. I simply wedged the foam between the horizontal gaps and they stay put during highway speed no problem. On the very top gap in the upper grille, I also cut indentations for the vertical supports (not necessary on any of the others) so that I could make more friction to keep it in place when opening the hood. That foam is hard to see in the below pic, but it's in there just below the front hood line if you look close. It took maybe 20 minutes to come up with this, which is aesthetically pleasing enough for me, and is easily removed for car washes and warmer days:
Impressions: AWESOME! I started the car after sitting six hours outside in 22F and running the FrostHeater for two hours before starting. I was up to full operating temperature of 193F water and 203F oil in only twelve miles, doing 55 mph on a rural road. Water temperature held at 193F throughout the trip. Oil temp held at 208F, which is a tad warmer than my normal 203-205. On the 40 mile drive I returned the below mpg. Absolutely thrilled with this mod:
Impressions: My car is not garaged. At startup in ~20F after sitting overnight and the FrostHeater running for two hours, monitored by ScanGaugeII the startup water temp was 140F and dropped to 107F within seconds of starting. That is a nice improvement, though I'll admit I was hoping for a bit more retained heat, but I'm still pleased. It got up to operating temperature noticeably faster.
Grille Block (home made): I picked up the only tubular foam pipe insulation offered in-store at my local Lowes. It's very cheap, ranging from $1 to $1.50 per 6-ft section. Diameters available, IIRC, were 1/2, 3/4, and 1 inch (I am not 100% certain on the sizes; just think of them as S, M, and L). I ended up using two sections of the Small diameter to fill my three lower grille gaps and the top gap in the upper grille. I used one section of the Medium to fill the bottom gap in the upper grille. I took a pair of scissors and eyeballed it, cutting to fill the gaps and meet the edges at the angles. I simply wedged the foam between the horizontal gaps and they stay put during highway speed no problem. On the very top gap in the upper grille, I also cut indentations for the vertical supports (not necessary on any of the others) so that I could make more friction to keep it in place when opening the hood. That foam is hard to see in the below pic, but it's in there just below the front hood line if you look close. It took maybe 20 minutes to come up with this, which is aesthetically pleasing enough for me, and is easily removed for car washes and warmer days:
Impressions: AWESOME! I started the car after sitting six hours outside in 22F and running the FrostHeater for two hours before starting. I was up to full operating temperature of 193F water and 203F oil in only twelve miles, doing 55 mph on a rural road. Water temperature held at 193F throughout the trip. Oil temp held at 208F, which is a tad warmer than my normal 203-205. On the 40 mile drive I returned the below mpg. Absolutely thrilled with this mod:
Last edited: