coolant temps during winter

[atc250r]

It definitely is a good thing to do. I ran a piece of regular cardboard on my diesel pickup and it turned all mushy as the snow melted against it. Then I switched to a case from a Budweiser 18 pack and it worked great for the whole winter. I got a winter front for the truck now but the beer case worked just as well.

John

 

[iceman69510]

Beer to the rescue!

 

[belize1334]

You have lit on another key point for using the card-board. If you're only blocking part of the radiator, be sure that the bit you leave unblocked corresponds to the main radiator fan. By putting cardboard in front of a fan (particularly between the fan and the rad) you effectively disable so that it has no effect on the system when switched on. Keeping an unobstructed area in front of the fan will allow the it to operate more effectively if you get into a situation where you need to make use of it (climbing a steep grade etc).

 

[turbowop]

Yeah, that's why I planned to put the cardboard on that side anyway. I didn't want to block the main fan. Blocking the AC fan in the winter isn't a big deal and it just worked out that the fan shroud holds the cardboard in there nicely. It also works out that the cardboard isn't up against the hot radiator and the condenser doesn't even wick any heat from it.

 

[Romanova]

Nice pipes Mark! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[KT]

When I lived in ND, I could never get my Quest to warm up when the weather hit the single digits.

I ended up putting a piece of cardboard over the intercooler. This kept the intake charge from getting cooled from the IC and it also kept the radiator from being obstructed.

Worked like a charm.

KT

 

[turbowop]

So the radiator still cooled the coolant because it had plenty of airflow but the intake charge was kept hot by blocking intercooler airflow? Besides the fact that this wouldn't work, the intake charge wouldn't be hot unless in boost anyway, which I'm usually not during the first few minutes of driving. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif I'm either following this logic incorrectly, or you're smoking crack. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif

 

[toybreaker]

Mark,

Trust me man, I live with winter for nine months every year. Everyday I go thru the exact conditions you're gonna see going skiing just getting back to the ranch

Since your primary concern is getting it to the closed loop temp, a lil carboard kinda only sorta works.

The cooling system works on the differential between the ambient temp and cooling system temperatures. The stat trys to maintain it's set temp, but when it's brutal cold outside, any airflow will drop the temp to the very bottom of the stat's range. If you block it well enough to prevent the thing from cooling to the bottom of the stats range under low load and highway speed, you're gonna get it all hot and bothered if you put any heat into it with a little spirited driving.

It has been my personal experience on these cars that if you block the radiator with cardboard, you'd better not boost much climbing hills, as sooner or later, you'll get it too hot having fun. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif You'll end up popping something in the cooling system, most likely one of the little cooling hoses to the t-body/oil cooler, or the radiator itself.

In addition, you will shorten your alternators life considerably blocking it's airflow, and then asking it to run the fans 24/7 climbng hills... crazy heat comes off the downpipe under boost. Even in the winter, mitsubishi alternators are prone to failure.

Even if you don't have any mechanical failures, as you've already found, you're still going to have issues getting the system up to temp going back downhill as the deck is stacked against you. The ecu turns the injectors off against a closed throttle, and so you're not putting any heat into the engine.

Trust me, get the hot stat, plug the bleeder dingus, and you'll be good to go.

It works for me, and I gaurandamntee you I'm harder on my sh*t in winter than anyone here. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

**Note, this advice only really applies to Mark, Karter, and a few others that will see artic conditions and spirited driving for extended periods climbing mountains in the winter. Flatlanders can get away with cardboard just fine. Just pay attention to the temp gauge, and make note that when the fans start running all the time, you've got too much airflow blocked for the conditions.

If you do use cardboard, follow Atc250r's excellent advice and use glossy cardboard, as it'll stand up to wet conditions better. I usually make a good one once, out of regular thick cardboard, and then cover it with clear packing tape. I've used the same piece for my truck for five years.

 

[curtis]

Just a thought is a flow restriction in the lines. Ford Mustangs have a small insert that goes in the outlet line from the heater core. This lets the warm water sit longer in the core so the blower fan is able to pull all of the heat from the water. I had a 240sx once that was part igloo. MF would never get warm enough to blow heat even after 45minutes of driving so I cut a chunk of aluminum down on the lathe at work to the id of the radiator hose and drilled a 1/4 inch hole in it. Instant heat on the way home. In effect maybe the same thing could be done on the main water hose from or to the radiator. It would rust but a large 1/2 inch socket or freeze plug with a hole drilled in the middle would be a good test or just go to a bunch of different size rubber hoses 3 or so inches long stacked up inside each other maybe the smallest being a 5/8 inch heater hose then step to a larger then larger until it fills the radiator hose then a hose clamp on the outside to keep them from sliding. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif


If you want to spend some money and keep from having to play with it so much get two barb fittings gray pvc from lowes and a pvc ball valve a brass one that big would be 30 or so dollars but a ball valve on there could be set to the way you want it and could be changed in just a few seconds from high altitude cold to flat land warm.

 

[turbowop]

Well, I made the drive to Seattle in the car yesterday and am still here in a hotel for the week. The drive here is 2.5hrs over one large mountain pass (Snoqualmie) and a lot of steep grades between Ellensburg and Yakima...

So, the ambient temp outside was about 17F. With half the radiator blocked (the driver's side) the coolant temps going both up the long grades at 5-10psi as well as going down were in the 160's. Heater was blowing hot air and o2 trims were cycling, so at this point, I'm just going to leave it as is. Fuel mileage seemed decent as it took me just under half tank to get here, about 150 miles or so. I won't know exactly the MPG until I fill back up for the drive home, but considering the ski rack sticking up and hindering aerodynamics, I think it did pretty well. I also don't have a custom eprom chip on this car. Just an SAFC to tune a set of 550's and a 2gMaf.I think a chip would make a lot of differnce to economy.

 

[jepherz]

Good thread. I'm trying to scheme ways to get better gas mileage out of my daily vr4. It's completely stock at this point and I was maxing out at about 24 MPG 100% highway driving. The gas gauge in my car is horrible at being accurate, so you should update your MPG when you find out at the pump.

 

[KT]

Quoting turbowop:
So the radiator still cooled the coolant because it had plenty of airflow but the intake charge was kept hot by blocking intercooler airflow? Besides the fact that this wouldn't work, the intake charge wouldn't be hot unless in boost anyway, which I'm usually not during the first few minutes of driving. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif I'm either following this logic incorrectly, or you're smoking crack. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif



The radiator had restricted airflow because the cardboard kept air from flowing through the intercooler. It had enough air flow, but not direct airflow allowing the motor to warm to normal operating temp, but not overheating. The intake air was by now means "hot", we're talking single digit ambient air temps.

My drive was 20 minutes all highway. If the car wasn't allowed to warm up completely, 65 MPH in these temps would not generate enough heat to be comfortable on the trip.

From front to back: cardboard->intercooler->AC condenser->radiator

Yet another option is a block heater. The one I had in the Galant would keep the motor warm to the touch even parked outside in subzero weather. Unplug it, let it warm up a few minutes and you're good to go. Less than $100 installed, or do it yourself for much less.

Still confused? Just bundle up and keep an ice scraper inside to scrap the condensation from your breath off the windshield. It works, but it is a f'ing miserable way to drive.