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mad question - cover rad in foil

P

philepo

Active Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2009
Messages
294
Car
C270 CDI (2004 w203)
My car has had a new stat but still takes at least 15 mins to get warm. Since the mpg is so bad during this warming I was wondering if I could speed things up by covering half the rad in foil (like proper blokes used to do in the 1970s :p). Is this method now old hat, or just plain daft?:D
cheers
p
 
The 270cdi does seem to be a slow warmer. I fitted a thermostat to mine last week and whilst I have seen a tremendous improvement it still takes a while to come up to temp. This is not helped by the fact that most of my 2 mile journey to the office is downhill. 15 mins does sound a long time though. What sort of driving are you doing during this time?
 
Since the rad isn't doing anything before the thermostat opens, I doubt that blanking the rad will make any significant difference to the warm up time.

It may, however, cause overheating after the stat opens!
 
Peter T said:
Since the rad isn't doing anything before the thermostat opens, I doubt that blanking the rad will make any significant difference to the warm up time.

It may, however, cause overheating after the stat opens!
Click to expand...

Reducing the volume of intake air makes a significant difference to the warming of the engine, especially as all cars are over cooled.
 
Dieselman said:
Reducing the volume of intake air makes a significant difference to the warming of the engine, especially as all cars are over cooled.
Click to expand...

Thanks & welcome back DM.

I've had my ML 270CDi for 2 years - new stat & many mods done since I acquired it, still not happy with time/distance taken to reach op temp.

If I get time over the hol's I'm going to attempt a rad shield, will report back on this. Done it before on my Austin A40, Ford Cortina Mk2, Escort, Capri, Granada, VX14, TR6 etc etc.


Or are the winters getting colder now - having said that - I lived thru' the winters of '47 & '63!
 
My W166 ML has automatic shutters to reduce airflow during warm up.

Pity these can't be easily retrofitted or generic kits purchased.
 
flanaia1 said:
If you have a garage what you need is one of THESE at around £90 and your problem is solved.:thumb:
Click to expand...

That does look like a good idea. My only concern is why everything looks like it was drawn regarding a mk1 cortina1
 
Dieselman said:
Reducing the volume of intake air makes a significant difference to the warming of the engine, especially as all cars are over cooled.
Click to expand...

So blocking the grill may be an idea?
cheers
 
camerafodder said:
The 270cdi does seem to be a slow warmer. I fitted a thermostat to mine last week and whilst I have seen a tremendous improvement it still takes a while to come up to temp. This is not helped by the fact that most of my 2 mile journey to the office is downhill. 15 mins does sound a long time though. What sort of driving are you doing during this time?
Click to expand...

It takes about 15 mins to warm up and thats on the dual carriageway. Similar in town, unless largely stationary in which case it could be 30 mins. It has had a new stat and reaches 82 C when warm, is that enough?

Mpg is 36-38 in mixed driving, which although dissapointing, is probably about right? (I know most people believe the on board random number generator, and that is very annoying, it always says 43-50 mpg, and has never cracked 40).

thnaks
 
philepo said:
That does look like a good idea. My only concern is why everything looks like it was drawn regarding a mk1 cortina1
Click to expand...

I think because thats what they were designed for and never updated the drawings :D I can vouch for the product though we had one on our explorer took the average mpg on swmbo commute from 14 mpg to nearer 17mpg and what a joy to get into a warm car every morning no icy windows or condensation
 
philepo said:
It takes about 15 mins to warm up and thats on the dual carriageway. Similar in town, unless largely stationary in which case it could be 30 mins. It has had a new stat and reaches 82 C when warm, is that enough?

Mpg is 36-38 in mixed driving, which although dissapointing, is probably about right? (I know most people believe the on board random number generator, and that is very annoying, it always says 43-50 mpg, and has never cracked 40).

thnaks
Click to expand...

Just for interest and as my newest hobby since fitting the thermostat is seeing how quickly the car warms up! I kept an eye on things on my journey to the office this morning. Its a bit anecdotal but at least we get a picture.

Outside temp 5 degrees
Journey 3 miles (first 2 miles at about 50mph, final section in small town traffic)
Time 9 mins
Probably 70% downhill journey with the rest fairly level with two traffic light stops of perhaps 30 secs each.
Estimated temp at end of journey 50 degrees.

I must admit I've been thinking for sometime about engine pre-heaters as living on a hill near the coast we get a lot of frost. Iain's Kenlowe suggestion is something I might try out this Christmas.
 
I recently did mine w203 270 cdi. it now gets to 80 + pretty quickly. I did have a new sensor at the same time.

Before it was the same as yours
 
In Alaska and other really cold places they simply attach a cheap electric heater to the sump.

Little to go wrong and can be left on all night with low power consumption.

I wonder how much that webasto is fitted?
 
I looked into this for my 270CDI. MB do a simple block pre-heater for ~£400 but it only warms the engine coolant. I suppose you would benefit from near instant warmth in the cabin once the engine starts. The Kenlowe at approx £500 would offer more options but I couldn't find anywhere to fit it in the engine bay!

The Webasto was approx £1300 IIRC. That would go in the under wing area where MB used to fit them.
 
If you blank off the lower third of the radiator make sure you don't impede the airflow to any other supplementary radiators------ transmission or engine oil--- if fitted? The efficiency of such an arrangement will heavily depend on the temperature of the ambient air the car is driving through. You would see descernable advantage in 4degC to sub zero temps- above that not so sure. :dk: You would also have to keep an eye on the temperature gauge in a warmer spell /heavy traffic.:eek:
 
Last edited:
whitenemesis said:
I looked into this for my 270CDI. MB do a simple block pre-heater for ~£400 but it only warms the engine coolant. I suppose you would benefit from near instant warmth in the cabin once the engine starts. The Kenlowe at approx £500 would offer more options but I couldn't find anywhere to fit it in the engine bay!

The Webasto was approx £1300 IIRC. That would go in the under wing area where MB used to fit them.
Click to expand...

The Kenlowe is only £90
 
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