Last winter I blocked the radiator on my 2003 Jetta TDI (EGR removed) with a simple piece of 3 inch thick foam. The car warmed up much quicker and engine held steady at 190°F while driving. Without the foam, the car struggles to maintain temp when ambient temps are below 20°F. I was thinking of doing the same with my 2015 Passat TDI as it is slow to warm up in the winter but am concerned about reducing cooling to the DPF during regens. Thoughts?
Blocking off radiator in the winter
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Interesting thought about the re-gen issue. I'd contact VW tech service for an opinion. They get plenty of cold weather in Europe.
I ran radiator blockoffs all the time in Wyoming, but never owned a diesel. What's the location of the DPF in relation to the grille & radiator?
The DPF isn’t near the radiator. It’s underneath the car just behind the front seats. That said, if the dpf is in regen when I turn off the car, the radiator fans will keep running which leads me to believe it plays a role in cooling the dpf.
You may have to resort to a grille blocker, vs. a radiator blocker if your fans will be running at any time. Not as effective in the cold, but also not as hard on fans that are trying to suck air through a blocked radiator.
Have you tried replacing the thermostat ?.,,,
Cover half the rad, or more than half with a 6 inch dia opening in front of the fan. Have a failsafe for if you're disabled or just forget and someone else has to drive the car in the heat.
I blocked rads in my old saturns-- they shed a lot of heat through the engine block, oil pan etc and I think it was good for it to have a little better underhood temperature. I also like the idea of the thermostat being in the half-open "happy zone" vs cracking open and letting some very cold antifreeze thermally shock wherever it gets pumped.
I blocked rads in my old saturns-- they shed a lot of heat through the engine block, oil pan etc and I think it was good for it to have a little better underhood temperature. I also like the idea of the thermostat being in the half-open "happy zone" vs cracking open and letting some very cold antifreeze thermally shock wherever it gets pumped.
We're not so smart anymore. Sixty years ago Saabs had a radiator blind controlled by the driver.
More than ten years ago BMW introduced ECU controlled
radiator shutters and they're still in use on some models.
radiator shutters and they're still in use on some models.
I never had to use them in any of my vehicles. With my luck I would obtain a new problem.
I used a winter blanket (grill cover) on my 2012 Ram Cummins. Without the cover it takes forever to get to operating temperature. Covering the grill shouldn't impact your DPF, my grill cover didn't...
just my $0.02
just my $0.02
We have grill shutters on many new vehicles, but it is mainly for EPA aerodynamics.... and then they throw a code if a rock jams it up. Why nobody using these for faster winter heatup?
I remember when I was a kid (in the '80s and early '90s), it was common to see people put a piece of cardboard in front of their radiator to achieve the same thing.
Tell how to retrofit these and I'll do it.
I was seriously considering doing that but I don't have the time to
be the first to do it. Being a pioneer requires lots of research and is
time consuming. That said I did own a BMW that had such electric
grill shutters. I liked the idea.
Ah, grille shutters.
Allowing the entire engine to warm up by regulating the airflow through the radiator, instead of the coolant flow, so that no matter the temperature of the air moving through, the heat will be managed to allow a full warm-up and proper engine operating temperature.
Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?
Oh, wait...
Skip forward to 07:30 in Jay's video for how radiator shutters worked in 1932.
Of course, he explains how the adjustable suspension damping works, another 1932 Packard feature, known as "Ride Control"
Allowing the entire engine to warm up by regulating the airflow through the radiator, instead of the coolant flow, so that no matter the temperature of the air moving through, the heat will be managed to allow a full warm-up and proper engine operating temperature.
Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?
Oh, wait...
Skip forward to 07:30 in Jay's video for how radiator shutters worked in 1932.
Of course, he explains how the adjustable suspension damping works, another 1932 Packard feature, known as "Ride Control"
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