winter grille blocking, 2010 Sportwagen

[frugality]

It's that time of year. I didn't block the grille last winter, but thought I'd try it this winter. There are 5 slots in the lower grille, so the pipe insulation foam installs over one of the horizontal slats, blocking 2 horizontal slots each, and it's necessary to make some relief cuts for each of the vertical bars on the grille. There is 1 slot that's still open at the bottom.

The main grille is still open, but I haven't figured out what to do for that one yet. The pipe insulation doesn't seem to be as natural of a fit for that area. I may have to pick up some weatherstripping from a hardware or home-improvement store.

No particular reason for posting this, other than to stimulate thoughts/discussion....

 

[740GLE]

It's been done before on the mk5's without any issues with the regens. Looks good, i may try it this winter sadly it was 65 yesterday, and this week may not get any colder than 30.

 

[rdubya]

Put pipe insulation on my '09 this month for the first time- On those cool mornings I do seem to get hot air quicker. I'm hoping with a warmer engine I'll have no issues with hard starting with drastic temp changes. Also I have noticed my mpg have increased by 2-3 mpg.

 

[Cogen Man]

Looks nice and clean. I just did this with my 2011 Golf. Will be doing it to my wifes 2011 Golf also. I've decided to not do anything with the upper grill. The DPF regen was my reason. May have to re-think that.
Frug. Have you thought about using a few zip ties? I did. Just so it would be difficult for someone to just remove them and use them on their own rig. The stuff is pretty cheap tho. The zip tie less does look better than my zip tie'd.

 

[sgoldste01]

I believe this was a home-made solution to the intercooler icing problem as well. Since I had my intercooler TSB kit installed last month, I'm going to run my car without these insulation tubes as a way of trying to confirm that the kit is doing its job. Don't want to modify multiple things, as this would keep me from knowing which one provided the fix.

 

[TDiSkater]

It's that time of year. I didn't block the grille last winter, but thought I'd try it this winter. There are 5 slots in the lower grille, so the pipe insulation foam installs over one of the horizontal slats, blocking 2 horizontal slots each, and it's necessary to make some relief cuts for each of the vertical bars on the grille. There is 1 slot that's still open at the bottom.

The main grille is still open, but I haven't figured out what to do for that one yet. The pipe insulation doesn't seem to be as natural of a fit for that area. I may have to pick up some weatherstripping from a hardware or home-improvement store.

No particular reason for posting this, other than to stimulate thoughts/discussion....



I loved Scury's posts on this and actually bought the foam. I was waiting to see if this topic came up. Let me know how it goes after a couple of weeks.

 

[Feyd]

What diameter pipe insulation did you buy?

 

[fujii13]

I plan on addressing this problem this year after the tank in MPGs last year. I purchased some leatherish looking material from the fabric store with some grommets (probably use zip ties to secure it) and I plan on cutting it to shape around the emblem and another piece for the bottom like the MK4 Winter front found here:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/838/winterfronttop.jpg/
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=1195015&postcount=6

 

[Cogen Man]

What diameter pipe insulation did you buy?

1/2" foam pipe insulation was the size I used.

 

[rotorhead23]

winter front

When blocking off your grill, do not block the top slot (driver side) right up to the hood. That is your engine air intake.
Your intercooler icing is caused (usually) by temperature swings above and below freezing in relatively high humidity. There is a kit out which fixes this problem. It includes replacing the intercooler and some plumbing. I have it in my 2010 Jetta TDI. Got it under warranty. If you have had a documented issue with this problem they are supposed to give it to you. Good luck on that in some areas or dealers.

 

[BrShootr]

I did this same mod. My avg consumption went from 38mpg to now 43mpg per tank. My highway average went from low 40s to low 50s. Best $6 I've spent on this car!!

 

[veedubfreak]

I used 3/4" foam myself, and actually used 3 rows to actually cover up the entire lower grill. It's been hanging on just fine since I did it over the new year's holiday and made the 1000 mile trip home without needing zip ties.

 

[worldadventurephoto]

How'd you secure this pipe insulation? with the right size (1/2 to 3/4") is there not any need to secure it as it fits snug enough, even for windy areas?

 

[redpup]

I purchased this neoprene sheet from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0075E7ZCA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And then cut it to fit in two pieces and zip tied it to the lower grille. I don't think the upper needs anything really. My mpg jumps up from 36 to 44 where it normally is. The yellow circles are the approximate locations of the zip ties.

 

[worldadventurephoto]

That's more work than I think I want to put into it. I'm thinking about just using cardboard and putting it inside, over the front of the radiator.

 

[worldadventurephoto]

Kinda odd that mileage would increase, just enabling your car to run warmer... I mean, I can see how mileage would increase if allowing car to warm before driving, but otherwise, it seems odd...

 

[meerschm]

without the cover, when it is cold enough, it is always trying to warm up.

even if you start warm, it will cool off and try to warm up, burning more fuel.

 

[John Kuhn]

The main reason for the mileage increase is better aerodynamics. Some new cars come with grill shutters for that reason.

 

[redpup]

That's more work than I think I want to put into it. I'm thinking about just using cardboard and putting it inside, over the front of the radiator.

It really wasn't much work at all, no more than 15 minutes to sort of trace the curves of the grille onto paper, translate it to the neoprene, cut it out, and stab some holes in it with a screwdriver. Oh, and to cut out notches for the license plate. I like it better than the pipe foam I had last year, it looks better to me and blocks everything from hitting your intercooler, i.e. bugs, rocks, and of course, salt.

You'd probably spend just as much time cutting cardboard and removing the required plastic pieces/cowling to get access to the front of the radiator.

 

[r3trol0gic]

If you are interested in a more refined DIY option, you can try something like I did.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=427869

 

[John Kuhn]

IDParts winter front

Received the kit, looks like it should do a nice job blocking off the front. My only question/concern is that it is not cut out to fit the license plate holder. Look like about a 1/2" x 9-1/2" notch across the top would clear the three legs of the bracket. Before I start cutting, though, has anybody done this? My concern is cutting through the sewn seam, thinking the vinyl cover might start flapping or something.

 

[Cogen Man]

Received the kit, looks like it should do a nice job blocking off the front. My only question/concern is that it is not cut out to fit the license plate holder. Look like about a 1/2" x 9-1/2" notch across the top would clear the three legs of the bracket. Before I start cutting, though, has anybody done this? My concern is cutting through the sewn seam, thinking the vinyl cover might start flapping or something.

I cut off those 3 legs of the plate bracket instead of cutting the cover. Worked great. When I put it on I just have to pull the lower part of the licence plate out a bit.

 

[Matt927]

I cut the plate bracket on one car.

On the other car I did not let the dealer install the front plate bracket and used a US Millworks license plate mount.

 

[meerschm]

The main reason for the mileage increase is better aerodynamics. Some new cars come with grill shutters for that reason.

it is true that blocking airflow can reduce the drag, and at speed, this provides some improvement in mpg.

but it is also true that the engine/exhaust system is designed and programmed to get up to operating temperature by burning extra fuel. for those cases where the temperature never lets the poor underworked diesel up to designed operating conditions, it will continue to burn this extra fuel, reducing the mpg.

so a win/win!

 

[John Kuhn]

Thanks, guys, I cut the legs off the bracket. Now it fits up like it is supposed to, but I'm still not totally happy with it because it doesn't follow the curve of the grill as well as I thought it would. The very end tips on each side stick out a little.

 

[Cogen Man]

I hear ya. Good thing I'm not OCD or that would really bother me.

 

[ATR]

Thanks, guys, I cut the legs off the bracket. Now it fits up like it is supposed to, but I'm still not totally happy with it because it doesn't follow the curve of the grill as well as I thought it would. The very end tips on each side stick out a little.

You could heat up the ends of the cover with a hair drier then work the ends back so they no longer stick out.

That's likely going to be how I fix it.

 

[SuperDave]

Great idea. Just did this to my 09 JSW. Going to be a high of 29F today.

 

[John Kuhn]

Thanks, ATR, I will try that!

 

[Cogen Man]

Thanks, ATR, I will try that!

I can almost guarantee that when you're driving those corners are flat to the grill.