I'm will now be using my 06HH for short suburban trips where the ambient temperature is almost always below 30F (Canada). I have read through numerous threads on this and am fitting a block heater.

I believe there are other minor mods/settings that can encourage stealth mode as much as possible and this is what I would like to focus on.

Does a radiator cover help maintain the 187F operating temperature and reduce the number of ICE cycles (?doesn't the coolant thermostat do this?)

Are there other insulating tricks?

I have noticed that adjusting the cabin temperature can cycle the ICE on and off, is there an optimum setting? (We have heated seats so we can accomodate a cooler setting).

 

I would use a small ~500 watt ceramic/blower type heater on a timer to preheat the cabin before starting out each day. Cloth seats (covers..??)would then eliminate the need for lower FE due to seat heating use. Be sure, CERTAIN sure, the A/C is disabled during the winter months and then you can safely use the system in recirculate mode until the ICE is fully heated due ONLY to roadway/speed requirements. Just remember to NOT leave the system in recirculate except for the first 5 miles or so.

 

I preheat the engine for 2.5 hours with a block heater. I also block much of the air flow to the radiator in winter while the temperatures are below 50 F. I find that blocking the radiator allows the engine to reach 181 F and open the thermostat on my drive to work in winter. Without the radiator block, I can drive the 10 miles to work without the engine exceeding 170 F.

If you turn on the heater when the engine is still warming up, the engine will not stop until it gets up to about 164 F. For me this is a problem as there are a few long traffic lights I get stopped at soon after leaving my driveway. With the heat off, the engine will stop as soon as the water temperature is over about 100 F rather than the 164 F required when the heater is on.

If you have the rear heater option, this can be left on all the time as it does not prevent the turn-off of the engine as the front heater does.

 

Thanks for your responses.

Regarding radiator covers - Do you insert something against the front of the radiator, do you also cover the smaller rad in front of the rad?
What %age of the rad do you cover?

Or do you block the airflow vents on the front of the vehicle? If so how?

 

I waterproofed two pieces of corrugated cardboard and painted them black. I place them directly in front of the radiator. One on the left and one on the right as there is a metal bracket that bisects the radiator in the middle. the pieces cover the entire radiator except for about an inch on either side of the center bracket. They can not fall out as they sit on top of the front bumper reinforcement and tend to wedge in place if cut to the proper size. They stay quite snugly against the radiator without any fasteners for the entire winter season. From the front they are nearly invisible as they are behind the front grill and bumper.

to install them simply remove the 6 push pins that secure the front radiator grill shown in the diagram below. To remove the push pins, take a small flat blade screwdriver and raise up the plastic pin in the center of each. the push pin then easily pulls out and can be used over and over. Once the 6 pins are removed, the front grill can be moved forward an inch or so - just enough to slide in the two baffles. Then just replace the push pins pressing down the center pin in each after reinstalling them.

 

Thanks Don. I used some aluminum foil as a quick test, which I inserted behind that center bar across the bottom half of the 2 rads. I'm now getting ICE switch off within 4 minutes of town driving with <32F. (Still waiting for the block heater).

I'm thinking it might be a better solution to block the airflow at the bumper inlets and through the black rad cover. That way if the fans do need to come on, they can still draw air through the rad, the rad is just protected from airflow while driving.

 

The two inch vertical opening at the center bracket provides more than sufficient airflow through the radiator for my winter driving. Also, the sides and tops of the two cardboard air blocks are not really sealed against the radiator and also allow some air flow. I have used this last winter and constantly monitored the engine coolant temperature with a Scan Guage II monitoring device. I never went over 181 degrees all winter - even with long 2 hour highway drives.

I drive in an area with no significant grade changes. Your conditions may be different if you drive in the mountains, tow, or otherwise place a heavy load on the engine for an extended duration.

 

Thanks