ID Parts Winter Grill Cover

snakeye said:

I use a plastic cardboard "FOR SALE" sign bought at Dollarama for $1.25. It covers the radiator perfectly, and I don't even have to remove the bumper cover to install it. All I do is roll it up, remove the lower center plastic grill, and unroll it behind it.

I did the insulating pipe mod for one winter, but this is better in every single way.

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Hey thanks for this. I just put mine on and i see what you mean about rolling it up etc. Worked great and was quick and easy. Cheers......

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Covering the grill should improve winter FE, as the engine is more efficient if it's at full operating temperature.

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Any concern about covering the intercooler? I would expect FE to suffer if it isn't getting cooler air.

(And, what section of the grill is it behind in a Jetta SportWagen?)

A4, B5.5, and earlier TDIs have side mount intercoolers. They aren't affected by the winter front. And on later cars enough air will get past the front at cold temps to prevent IATs from getting high. The '12 and later Passat has a liquid cooled intake charge, winter front won't have any effect on that.

PDJetta said:

I really don't notice much difference in warm-up time with it on or off. It's LONG. Perhaps I never figured out how to install the lower half, because it only seems to cover one of the three openings in the center lower grill (the middle opening of the center grill).

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Hmm. I have the original VW part -- or, I should say, parts, because there is a pair of specific-cut panels for the grilles on either side of the VW logo and a longer piece that has two notches to fit around the vertical supports on the lower grille. When that panel is installed, it covers the entire body-colored lower grille. Now, the opening below that is still completely open, but my front covers the entire body-colored part of the grille.

Ii is the lower, long, cover with the notches in it. I looked at pictures of it installed in the link I posted which discussed the winterfront that was introduced about five years ago. That is when I bought mine. It appears it is an aftermarket one. I do have it installed correctly. It only covers the center of the three openings (but covers it all the way accross). I figured it would cover all three openings. So if you have an original from VW, it may be different and cover all three.

Here is someone else's picture from the other link. This is all my lower covers as well, It will not wrap around to cover all three lower openings:



--Nate

First of all, thank goodness idparts has started selling a winter front again. I think they are a great idea for those cars in places that get winter. Ideally I think all our cars would have adjustable louvers on the front, controlled by a thermostat, but for cheap retrofits we can just try and adjust seasonally.

I've been meaning to post about another alternative to the pipe insulation method. This winter I decided to try using plastic ground cover, which is also super cheap (~$1.60 for way more than enough.) I removed all the grills, gift-wrapped them in the groundcover using gorilla tape to stick the plastic sheeting to itself around the grills, and then cut the plastic so that the tabs would still engage. It feels very seasonal! Happy holidays to your car... I'll just unwrap them in the spring.

Here's the center lower grill after wrapping, as an example. I put all the seams and tape on the inside/back of the grill (pictured):


And the finished front:



Obviously, I don't care a great deal about being the slickest looking TDI at the ski resort, or about the hour or two it took me to do all this wrapping. If I did, I would buy the front from idparts, although I'm still waiting for a photo that makes clear how much coverage it provides compared to what I've done here.

I basically blocked everything, and then winter here in Colorado didn't happen for a bit. I've been watching the coolant and intake temps on an Ultragauge and adjusting to try and match the coverage to the conditions. On a 70+ degree sunny day driving around town, coolant barely reached 200 degrees (not scary, based on what I've read in the thermostat mod thread), but intake temp was flirting with 120 which probably isn't good for making power. Most cool to cold drives have taken 6 miles or more to barely reach 180 coolant temp, and ~ 70 or 80 degrees intake temp (this is measured post intercooler, I believe.) I'm considering cutting a hole in the lower passenger-side cover to allow more cold air to hit the intercooler, but haven't done that yet. I can always just keep a roll of gorilla tape in the car and cover it up again if we get a cold snap. Subjectively, warm-up seems faster, but I don't use my car daily so it's been hard to tell. I think it could be useful for retaining cabin heat on those long downhills returning from ski trips, and of course I'm hoping it will help avoid some of the winter hit on fuel economy.

Any word on the B4 ones? I have 3 or 4 I would like to get.

Probably in January. We're a little overwhelmed by demand for the A4 Jetta and Golf ones.

As an aside, I put my cover on yesterday. Noticed a difference in warm up driving home. I have a 5 mile commute so the car typically doesn't get warm on that short a drive. This helps.

Great, let me know when they come out and I'm in for 4.

Just a note on the lower grill. I tried the pipe insulation method and had issues with oil temperatures. Not while running, but during stop and go traffic. Oil temps would be 170-180F all the time. Put the piping in and they went to 230F during stop and go traffic. Water temp would go to 195F. Once moving, they went down to normal. No issues with the OEM lower cover.

Odd since the oil cooler works with coolant. Perhaps coolant temps were higher too. 230 isn't that bad btw.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Odd since the oil cooler works with coolant. Perhaps coolant temps were higher too. 230 isn't that bad btw.

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Yes, 230 is not bad, just a big difference from stock to closed vent.

I did check the temp of the oil when I got home and it read the same with a thermometer as the gauge read. Might just be that the sensor, not getting any air will become inaccurate, being that the water temp did not go up that much.

Installation?

Regarding the "Jetta Winter Front - A4" from IDparts -- How is it installed?

Thanks.

PDJetta said:

This is all my lower covers as well, It will not wrap around to cover all three lower openings:

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Gotcha. For some reason, I thought you meant it only covered the middle of the lower grille (using the vertical "fins" as dividers). Yeah, that's all mine covers, too. But it seems to be enough. I can tell the difference on warmup some; better on how warm the engine stays when I switch it off while running errands. I realize it's not a lot of fun to put on that lower section, but I like to install it so the hooks/loops are not facing into the wind (which means I sort of turn mine upside down to install it).

How are the fronts secured to the grille -- is it velcro?

Platinum_PD said:

How are the fronts secured to the grille -- is it velcro?

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The top flaps tuck in behind the grill and the bottom flaps tuck between the slats and the grill.

Any pics of how the upper is installed?

rob251 said:

Any pics of how the upper is installed?

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That doesn't look bad.

Any word on one for a 2006 jetta?

We're working on a bunch of these, but have to come up with a BRM Jetta as a template. Shouldn't be too long.

I'll have to hunt down a picture of my car but I've had the lower grille blocked off now for about 2 years. Year round. It's a clear lexan cover. I came up with the idea because I either lost or someone stole my lower grille. It's possible that one day when my wife was driving the car she parked too close to a packed up snow drift and it dislodged that way...
Having the lower grille blocked out has had no ill effect on my running temps. I usually run 188F once warm. I have seen 200F on hot summer days with some city type idling but it drops right down when air starts moving freely again.
My idparts winter front should be landing on my doorstep today. Night time temps will start to dip into the 30's now so it will get installed soon. I also run a FrostHeater and expect that to help the warm up considerably.
Incidentally, I did run the pipe foam for a couple winters but it was a bit of a headache for me. And, it gathered the little stones a crud that NYS roadways provide us. Chipped up my grille a little.
I look forward to the clean look of the winter front.

First drive tonight with the new IDParts winter grill block installed on my 2011 Golf TDI. What a difference in engine warmup time. Ambient was about 19*F. In about 1 mile my ScanGauge was at 125*F. The cluster gauge just coming off the bottom. In 2 miles of travel I was up to 170*F on SGII. In about 5 miles travel SGII at 194*F and cluster gauge at 90*C(194*F). Solid as a rock at these temps for the rest of the 20 mile drive. Without the block at this ambient that 20 mile drive the coolant temp would be just getting to about 160*F. So a much faster warmup time with the block. I'm impressed. Can't wait for the next DPF regen. to see what my SGII goes to on coolant temp.

Update
Coming to work tonight about 10 miles into my 20 mile commute EGT went to about 1150*F. Regen in progress. Coolant temp was already at 194*F. Ambient was about 8*F. Coolant temp never exceeded 198*F on the ScanGauge.

Glad you like it, Garry. I see similar quick warm-ups. Since you have a ScanGuage, it would also be interesting to see what air intake temps do in a similar drive.

I also wonder if keeping the engine at full operating temperature when it's cold out will help prevent moisture build-up in the intercooler system. If the IC system is warmer perhaps the high humidity air will pass through instead of condensing on cooler pipes. Just speculating.

Last year I jammed cardboard between the rad and lock carrier assy. Worked great and cost nothing which reminds me I should do that again.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Glad you like it, Garry. I see similar quick warm-ups. Since you have a ScanGuage, it would also be interesting to see what air intake temps do in a similar drive.

I also wonder if keeping the engine at full operating temperature when it's cold out will help prevent moisture build-up in the intercooler system. If the IC system is warmer perhaps the high humidity air will pass through instead of condensing on cooler pipes. Just speculating.

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I have to find the coding for IAT on the Golf for the SGII and make an XGauge. You have a valid speculation on IC system.

I just got my winter front,
How does the upper pieces attach on the bottom? I can’t tell in the pics in the above post.

Thx

atmarine said:

I just got my winter front,
How does the upper pieces attach on the bottom? I can’t tell in the pics in the above post.

Thx

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There will be 2 pieces on the bottom that push in between the grill slates. At least for the 2011 Golf there is anyway.

What I did on my 03 Golf was slide the bottom flap(s) for the two upper pieces under the black plastic part of the grille (on the very bottom edge of the grille). This wedges it in solid between that part and the bumper cover. The top flaps simply slide behind the vertical part of the grille.

I ordered two of these the other week for my Jetta and Golf. Couldn't be happier... looks way better than the pipe insulation I was using previously.