CAI... in winter?

[flagmanruss]

I'm just thinking how ironic we go to all the trouble of building Cold Air Intakes... and then plug the engines in in winter! I'm thinking that maybe the warm under hood air might be better for the engine in cold weather. (Faster warm up, less rich cold time.) I want to build a new grill block out instead of the bad idea cardboard I used to use. Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

Well Russ... There is all kinds of materials you can use. Plastics, wood, metal, aluminum... Just make a set of 4 inserts to cover the grill and it will help in warming up the engine faster! Winter front BOMB... http://mopar.mopar1973man.com/cummins/general/winter-fronts/winter-front.htm So far this is my second year with them and no problem... Much better than cardboard... :thumbsup But yo let you know I'm only seeing a +10*F (+50*F total) increase in my IAT sensor with the winter fronts in... I normally are about +40*F over outside temp for IAT sensor with the winter front removed... So a +10*F is not going to hurt me...

[flagmanruss]

Moparman, I like your cold front panels. I thought I'd just loosen the egg crate grill and slip a cardboard in there to trace a template. Well, That idea just bit me in the *ss. I'm gently backing the screws out with a 1/4 rachet and the tabs start breaking off. It seems the speed nuts rotate into the brittle plastic and 'snap'. WTF? Of the ones I got out, one broke retightening it... gees, seems like they made it to be sure it "needed replaceemnt". The truck is an 01 with almost no mileage and no sign of corrosion. WD40 (on the threads) is not my choice of super lub but was enough to keep more tabs from breaking off. It just seemed so simple. So I guess I'm gonna have to figure the shapes the hard way. Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

Mine I made by cutting a piece totally square and used a rasp file and rounded the cornere to fit... I never even bothered to remove to grill or anything... 8| Sound like time for the epoxy to come out for you... :confused:

[Guest]

I am thinking about making one for my truck out of an old street sign. Don't ask, it was in my younger days I figured I would use some wing nuts and ender washers to facilitate quick easy removal.

[Mopar1973Man]

Here is my setup...

[flagmanruss]

Hi Guys,I made my winter fronts from black plastic sheeting I had hanging around from another project... The truck looks kinda cool with the grill blacked out. The plastic was thin like 1/32 (came from "Modern Plastics" a couple of years ago). I tried sawing it with a jig saw but it didn't cut well. I tried several things til I happened to cut it with a pair of shop sissors! I measured as close as I could and then It was a cut & try with trips to my bench sander. Once I got it in place, I reached around to trace the grill grid from the rear & drilled mounting holes. It worked perfect on a run into upstate NY in the cold last week. CTD warmed up quick & ran +/- needle width of center on the guage, just like before. Thanks for the ideas.Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

Glad to see the idea works for you... I've see this idea with wood, plastic, metal, and aluminum... Just about anything you can cut out and place in the grill holes...I'd love to see some pics of your finished product though...

[flagmanruss]

Hi Guys,The winter front worked out pretty well. Since I couldn't get the grill out to trace a template (I quit after cracking one mounting foot... made fragile to ensure they sell a lot of grills), it was a cut & try proposition. I got the flat black plastic in there with a couple of big stainless fender washers on the inside, 2 bolts per panel. They looked good & laid flat against the grill but one of them tended to buckle a bit in use. Maybe it needs further trimming. I admit I got tired of fussing & just screwed it in before darkness totally set in. In short, it worked well. It's under the back seat now (July) and will be going back in this fall. I'm thinking I'll tweak it more then. Thanks for this great idea.Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

Well after studying the IAT sensor and the effect it has on MPG... It seem that when the IAT sees temps of about 120-140*F it seem to produce the best MPG. So the winter fronts should help greatly with MPG in the winter time since the fuel rates are based off of ECT, IAT and MAP sensors...

[flagmanruss]

Yes, the IAT is the question... here in Southern New England (Rhode Island) air temps can have decent daytime highs say 40 or more with nights 30 down to zero. I'm guessing that come winter, along with the cold front, altering the filter set up to draw somewhat warmer air from under hood would improve the mpg. I'm sure everyone remembers the gas engines with thermostatic flappers in the air inlet to draw manifold heated air into the filter. Gotta think on this.

[flagmanruss]

It's been a tough year... didn't use the CTD much. With my knee messed up gettin in is a pain you know where. (It really sucks to fall out of your own truck... stone cold sober!)It's cold enough now, I dug the cold front plastic panels out from under the back seat. I got tired of messin with lock washers & used SS marine self-lock nuts this time. The plastic is pretty flexible so I have (2) 1/4 X 20 bolts on each. They worked like a dream last year. I put all 4 panels in as I'm not working the truck... it doesn't heat up at all. If that happened much I might use wing nuts... I've not been able to mess with it but I'm still thinking that it would be preferable to draw underhood air as "cold" fender air in winter. Since I'm still running the stock air box, maybe the through fender snorkle might get removed & fender hole find some duct tape. Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

Well even with the cold here in Idaho I'm seeing about 80-95*F in the manifold yet with or without my winter front installed... The fender hole is till open but manifold temps are not terribly cold yet...

[flagmanruss]

Well the oval opening behind the headlight, is in front of the radiator although both are "under the hood & thus blocked by the winter front. It would be interesting to explore what the air temp is in various locations... at that oval, in the fender, under hood, in the air box. I have (if it still works) a remote temp sensor in the form of an A/C service kit. A diesel runs on heat... heat of compression. I don't know how much the grid heaters affect the IAT... they'd sure run less if intake air warms up faster.

[LiveOak]

I bought a set of these grill cold front covers for both trucks from a named Eric Buckel in Utah. They work well but they are a little rough with respect to an exact fit. A little adjusting and sanding here and there as well as replacing the nuts with nylock nuts in the hardware package and the holes not drilled exactly symetrical but they get the job done. I use a Sharpie marker pen to color the screw heads so they match the covers. If you have the cover stock on hand and the equipment to shape and sand them, you can probably make a set of your own cheaper but after the expense of obtaining the materials and such, I figured it was a 6 of one and half dozen of the other..... a wash. Below is Eric's ad. Tough ABS Plastic panels that bolt in your grille to reduce cold air and help your engine warm up faster.. No drilling.$30 for chrome grille$35 for Sport modelboth are shipped for $7 shipping Eric Buckel Location: 6139 south 4480 westSalt Lake City, Utah 84118USA Telephone: 801-965-6358