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Active grill shutters

R

RED MONSTER 4X4

1/2 ton status
Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Posts
141
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Location
San Bernardino,CA
Just spit balling silly ideas, I have been in an aerodynamics kick as of late looking for new ways to make this gas hog Suburban a little better on fuel.:D I found that some new cars by Chevrolet, BMW and Dodge have what is called an Active Grill, which means at the correct temps and correct speeds, the grill will shut, supposedly minimizing the drag coefficient on the front of the car/truck with the absolute gaping Maw that our Blazer/Suburbans have i can only imagine what this tech could do for us? I have not found any hard numbers on it or percentages, but for what it could be worth,every little bit could help.

My Red Monster is NOT a daily Driver. I have put maybe 5k on it since last February when I got it. My goal is to use it as a Fun Utility Travel Camping rig on an as needed basis, so that being said Long haul trips to San Diego or Vegas would be Prime opportunities to try this out. I don't expect ANY gains going to get groceries, but if I could get 3-5mpg hwy on something as silly as that I feel it could be worth it to R&D something for my/our trucks

Thoughts? I know most of you are Big tires and big engine guys not really concerned with MPG,off-roading etc, but us Like minded folks who want a little fun and a little comfort while hauling our family,pets and gear around on long distance travel what do you think, below are examples of what Dodge is doing....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB-enoduEF4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTV2UwiHTEM
 
Neat tech but I can't imagine it doing much for improving the aerodynamics of something shaped like a brick.

Imo, smart weight reduction would help more.
 
nvrenuf said:
Neat tech but I can't imagine it doing much for improving the aerodynamics of something shaped like a brick.

Imo, smart weight reduction would help more.
Click to expand...


Fully agree. That Dodge probably has a much lower drag coefficient, but as a basic theory, this "should" make a difference...I can't see it hurting anything.
 
Agreed. It might be interesting but probably not worth the effort. Weight reduction, tires, keeping cargo off the roof, and keeping it tuned up would probably yield more satisfying results.
 
It could be nice when it's -30 degrees. Also for water crossings. There's actually quite a bit of space between the plastic grill and the front of the condensor to work with.
 
My 85 Burb came with a grille block off cover made of fabric that snaps over the grille,the former owner bought it to help increase the amount of heat the he'd get from the heater,and possibly improve MPG on its 6.2 diesel...(he later ended up replacing the heater core ,it was pretty plugged up,that solved his lack of heat issue more than the grille cover did!)...I hadn't seen one of these things in decades,people here usually resorted to sliding a peice of cardboard in front of the radiator on older vehicles that tended to run too cool in winter time...
 
Our 99 K1500 Suburban has rear heat. On cold days the engine stays cooler because of the amount of heat radiated in the heaters. I have checked this by turning off both heaters while sitting in a parking lot and watching the temperature hand climb then turning the heaters on and watching it fall. I've considered a grill cover for it to help keep it warm.
 
nvrenuf said:
Neat tech but I can't imagine it doing much for improving the aerodynamics of something shaped like a brick.

Imo, smart weight reduction would help more.
Click to expand...
I agree on all counts.

Very neat technology but at the same time - trucks are getting as complex as a new Mercedes!

In the spirit of this thread, what are some of the calculated weight reduction things to do? (besides pull the lift and boggers off, putting stock wheels back on)
 
RED MONSTER 4X4 said:
I found that some new cars by Chevrolet, BMW and Dodge have what is called an Active Grill, which means at the correct temps and correct speeds, the grill will shut, supposedly minimizing the drag coefficient on the front of the car/truck with the absolute gaping Maw that our Blazer/Suburbans have i can only imagine what this tech could do for us?
Click to expand...

I don't see how this could help on an old burb. The newer vehicles are already streamlined, and if they close off the grille, it would create a more streamlined surface, forcing the air to flow around the vehicle. With our trucks, you have a completely flat surface- there is no angle at all, so closing the grille wouldn't offer anywhere else for the air to cleanly flow. It would keep it from flowing through the grille, but without an easy path for the air to go it isn't going to make a difference with mpgs.

Plus, remember these manufacturers are scratching and clawing for every last tenth of an mpg right now since that seems to be the primary motivation in buying a car at the moment. So if something like this takes a car from 39 mpg to 40 mpg, they're going to go for it. But that's only about a 2.5% gain, so IF you were to get the same percentage gain, which I doubt, you would be looking at going from 10mpg to 10.25mpg. Probably not worth it.
 
As I said, this is just spit balling ideas. My first concern with that RAM Truck was that the system was behind the grill, wouldn't the air still get stuck behind the grill? but from the smoke/wind tunnel video I guess it is not an issue.In the video from magna, the guy even said "it will work and be effective on any vehicle" i'm sure a box body was not on that list. I just find this new Tech to be intriguing. And believe it or not, even a Brick can be made aerodynamically stable.

I usually Drive the Suburban Empty, besides passengers.with a light foot and Cruise on at 65mph(when possible) and all the 32' tires are at the factory pressures, I have single pipe flowmaster and flipped air cleaner lid(which seems to help quite a bit mileage wise) last estimate for FWY driving was about 14mpg or so. it looks like i'm at the best i'll get with this monster! :dunno:
 
If you want to increase your MPG by toying with aerodynamics, there are a few things you have to think about:

Put an underbody pan on the truck. You will likely have to go above the axles, but now you suddenly have a perfectly smooth underbody. Have that air from the engine compartment come out under the truck. This will dramatically decrease wind resistance.

Get rid of your side view mirrors. Install cameras and a dash monitor. Another big change.

Other stuff:

Get harder, skinnier tires.

Make sure you are running a 195 degree thermostat for fuel injected trucks, 180 for carb'ed. Ensure all your engine equipment is working properly. You want to ensure the best combustion possible.

Your flipped air cleaner lid is pulling in hot air from the engine compartment, which decreases performance. Hot air holds less oxygen, so you get less combustion. You want to draw in COLD air from outside the engine compartment, which is why every car has an intake that goes off to the side. In addition, if your exhaust is not properly sized, you may be reducing efficiency due to improper exhaust scavenging and backpressure (although there is debate to this).

Be sure your tire pressure is correct, wheel bearings are good, alignment is perfect, brakes are no dragging, and so forth.

FWIW, I get about 20 mpg around town in my 91. Everything is stock.
 
Jessie James said:
Your flipped air cleaner lid is pulling in hot air from the engine compartment, which decreases performance. Hot air holds less oxygen, so you get less combustion. You want to draw in COLD air from outside the engine compartment, which is why every car has an intake that goes off to the side.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere growing up that, based on dyno testing, an engine loses 1% of hp for every 7.5*F rise in intake air temperature. I generally round to 10*F for ease of calculating when using this to defend running my stock air cleaners over open element filters.
 
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