Is it alright to cover your radiator in the winter
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It's not good if you cover the whole thing. 1/2 or so can help warmups, particularly if your thermostat isn't quite up to snuff.
I would say that XS650's recommendation is very prudent, at least until you know how your vehicle will respond to having half the radiator's airflow blocked, because if the whole thing is blocked, it might be impossible to jump out of the car and remove the cardboard fast enough to prevent an overheating episode. This is exacerbated by today's idiot gauges installed by carmakers instead of a nice graduated scale gauges.
However, as a first step, I would replace the thermostat, followed by cautious use of the "cardboard" method.
However, as a first step, I would replace the thermostat, followed by cautious use of the "cardboard" method.
Make some covers out of plastic to put behind the front openings. It will block the wind from the front but the fan can still pull air through from underneath (check this as some are pretty sealed up under there) if it really needs to when you forget to take them out on an unseasonably warm day.
Yeah i did it no worries, till the missus took the car for a 128 mile drive unbeknown to me and she cooked it, no no not the chicken,
the bloody engine.***** .
This may be off-topic, or worthy of creating a new thread, but I am thinking of this, bigtime.
1) Last winter a mechanic asked a few questions as to the specifics on the car, like he really knew just where to put the cardboard, how much, etc. This is what he proceeded to assure me of, too. The car was not exactly warm last winter (the winter before I had a 4-banger Hyundai)
2) In summer the needle (as opposed to idiot light) climbed up to 90 C frequently. I thought that was great; if anything my thermostat is either tried & tested, or a bit prone to not really fully open up until that temp. Today I drove 10 km (7 miles) and then got caught in construction gridlock. I don't think it ever went above about 70...nor did it ever last winter.
3) I have WaterWetter in the coolant. This alledgedly gets heat from where it IS to where it's SUPPOSED to be. In the summer, that is supposed to be from the engine to the great outdoors. In winter (and I have this from RedLine) it should help get the heat from the engine into the interior of the car, via the heater core. If the heat energy that would normally cause the needle to read 20 degrees higher, is actually going into the passenger compartment, great...but IS it?
* If we can assume that the thermostat has not changed its opening temp from a month ago, what are the main factors that is causing the engine to under-heat (it WAS above 32 F!) and what can I do about it?
I'd like to form a plan and at least one backup plan well before we hit 0 F
Thanks!
Rob
1) Last winter a mechanic asked a few questions as to the specifics on the car, like he really knew just where to put the cardboard, how much, etc. This is what he proceeded to assure me of, too. The car was not exactly warm last winter (the winter before I had a 4-banger Hyundai)
2) In summer the needle (as opposed to idiot light) climbed up to 90 C frequently. I thought that was great; if anything my thermostat is either tried & tested, or a bit prone to not really fully open up until that temp. Today I drove 10 km (7 miles) and then got caught in construction gridlock. I don't think it ever went above about 70...nor did it ever last winter.
3) I have WaterWetter in the coolant. This alledgedly gets heat from where it IS to where it's SUPPOSED to be. In the summer, that is supposed to be from the engine to the great outdoors. In winter (and I have this from RedLine) it should help get the heat from the engine into the interior of the car, via the heater core. If the heat energy that would normally cause the needle to read 20 degrees higher, is actually going into the passenger compartment, great...but IS it?
* If we can assume that the thermostat has not changed its opening temp from a month ago, what are the main factors that is causing the engine to under-heat (it WAS above 32 F!) and what can I do about it?
I'd like to form a plan and at least one backup plan well before we hit 0 F
Thanks!
Rob
Rob, considering you said it's above 32 F, it sounds like your thermestat is a bit weak.
That said. Here's a rule of thumb kind of way to figure out how much to block your radiator.
You cars cooling system performance I proportional to the differenece in air and coolant temperature.
If you want 200F coolant and it cools the way you want in 100F weather, thats a 100F temp difference.
At 0F, you would have a 200F temp difference, so only need 1/2 the radiator.
At 32F, you would only need 100/(200-32) = .59 times the radiator so could block about 40% of it no problem.
That said. Here's a rule of thumb kind of way to figure out how much to block your radiator.
You cars cooling system performance I proportional to the differenece in air and coolant temperature.
If you want 200F coolant and it cools the way you want in 100F weather, thats a 100F temp difference.
At 0F, you would have a 200F temp difference, so only need 1/2 the radiator.
At 32F, you would only need 100/(200-32) = .59 times the radiator so could block about 40% of it no problem.
Kestas
Staff member
I've read of mechanics diagnosing boilover conditions for customers and find that people put in the cardboard and forget to take it out in the springtime!
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