So I know the world is divided on the deck plate intake mod, but everyone is so concerned w/ increased hp and not so much on increased mpg.
Living in WI, my fuel economy always takes a hit in the colder winter months. All the research I have done says that the main reasons for the decrease in mpg is between the cold air being sucked into the engine, and the engine actually never reaching ideal operating temps. A lot of guys who look for increased mpg favor air drawn from withing the engine bay, and will actually route an intake hose close to the exhaust manifolds year round.
For my 02 Honda CRV I made a upper grill block, and partial lower grill block to basically block all air from coming into the front of the engine bay.
The intake for the CRV happens to be routed into the upper grill area, and near the top of the radiator. Using the torque app on my phone and a BT obd2 reader, I was able to monitor engine and intake temps to ensure I wasn't doing any damage. What I found was in cold temps (20f and below?) my thermostat barely even opened even w/ the grill 95% blocked (only really opened when stopped at a light after 70mph highway speeds). I also found that on very cold days (-20f) my intake temps remained 40-50 degrees warmer than ambient temps. The result was for the first time that I can remember my mpg dropped very little, if at all in the colder months.
My plan will be to actually block the cold air intake tube from the fender, and do the deck plate mod. If intake temps aren't warm enough after the deck plate mod, I may even route a tube to draw air from the exhaust manifolds.
Suck it high horsepower, hello lower fuel costs!!
Living in WI, my fuel economy always takes a hit in the colder winter months. All the research I have done says that the main reasons for the decrease in mpg is between the cold air being sucked into the engine, and the engine actually never reaching ideal operating temps. A lot of guys who look for increased mpg favor air drawn from withing the engine bay, and will actually route an intake hose close to the exhaust manifolds year round.
For my 02 Honda CRV I made a upper grill block, and partial lower grill block to basically block all air from coming into the front of the engine bay. The intake for the CRV happens to be routed into the upper grill area, and near the top of the radiator. Using the torque app on my phone and a BT obd2 reader, I was able to monitor engine and intake temps to ensure I wasn't doing any damage. What I found was in cold temps (20f and below?) my thermostat barely even opened even w/ the grill 95% blocked (only really opened when stopped at a light after 70mph highway speeds). I also found that on very cold days (-20f) my intake temps remained 40-50 degrees warmer than ambient temps. The result was for the first time that I can remember my mpg dropped very little, if at all in the colder months.
My plan will be to actually block the cold air intake tube from the fender, and do the deck plate mod. If intake temps aren't warm enough after the deck plate mod, I may even route a tube to draw air from the exhaust manifolds.
Suck it high horsepower, hello lower fuel costs!!
