Does anyone know why people put silver paper on car radiator grills?
I'd have thought the thermostat would still regulate the engine temperature just as well in cold weather.
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I suppose it minimises the airflow over the engine to shorten the warm up period.
Not seen it done for a long time.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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I Know a black cab driver.Who`s thermostat had stuck open.didnt get the time to have it fixed.So used silver foil to help warmup.Though from what he said it only helped a little..Fuel consumption forced him to get fixed
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Steve
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In the bad old days so called radiator blinds were fitted to some cars and leather or plastic covers could be bought to fit over the radiator or front grill of some models. The idea was that in cold weather the mechanically driven fan would overcool the engine and these devices restricted the airflow through the radiator. Not much use in todays cars. On my first few cars the radiator grill was actually the radiator matrix and the water filler cap was an external brass screw cap, unpressurised of course.
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Seem to remember my Dad shoving corrugated cardboard down the front of his Bedford van radiator at the onset of winter.
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My 1946 Rover 16 came with a lovely leather radiator blind which could be unrolled or rolled up depending on the weather and the engine temperature. I assume one was supposed to stop and adjust it as the engine warmed up.
With modern cars most of the airflow comes in umder the front bumper and restricting it there could affect general engine cooling: not too clever with underbonnet catalysts pumping out heat. Modern petrol engines warm up fully within 3 miles no matter how cold it is: diesels of course take much longer hence the auxiliary heaters may have.
I never used my rover blind. the thought of getting out of a warm car in coldest Aberdeenshire in snow to adjust it never filled me with any enthusiasm:-)
madf
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I never used my rover blind. the thought of getting out of a warm car in coldest Aberdeenshire in snow to adjust it never filled me with any enthusiasm:-)
I fitted a purpose built, spring loaded, roller blind to my 1600E. It had a chain, like a bath chain with a ring on the end, that could be operated from inside the car. I do not recall if it lived up to its promised fuel savings in the depth of West London.
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>>I'd have thought the thermostat would still regulate the engine temperature just as well in cold weather.
Yes it does.Unless faulty..
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Steve
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Early Minis (the original not the current bmw incarnation) often has a piece of foil covering part of the grill to protect the distributor and HT cables from road spray and water.
StarGazer
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Today's cars have much smaller cooling system capacities and controlled speed fans - we used to use silver foil in the old days to try and speed up engine temperature rise and the fan was a massive four bladed affair in front of the radiator.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I seem to recall my father having a selection of thermostats of various temperatures. A winter one and a Summer one.
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the fan was a massive four bladed affair in front of the radiator.
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IN FRONT of the radiator?
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You are probably right - touch typing quicker than brain power most likely...:-)
I do remember you had to keep ties, fingers etc out of the way if the engine was running.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I have thought of doing this with my car as it definately does not provide any heat until I have driven at least 10mins/10 miles, which incidentally is about how long it takes me to get to work.
Car is a 1995 BMW 520 and I have changed the fan clutch (yes it still uses an "old" belt driven fan), thermostat, water pump and coolant yet there is no difference in the amount of time it takes to warm up. The wife has nicknamed it the "Icebox" and thinks that it should only be available in appliance white.
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