Why is the bottom half of the front grill solid?

green_henry

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#1
I'm not sure why I haven't noticed this before, but why is the bottom half of the front grill solid? The honeycomb is just a facade for the bottom half. What would be the drawbacks (if any) to drilling it out to increase airflow to the radiator?
 


Dpro

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#2
I'm not sure why I haven't noticed this before, but why is the bottom half of the front grill solid? The honeycomb is just a facade for the bottom half. What would be the drawbacks (if any) to drilling it out to increase airflow to the radiator?
Ford did that on purpose. it literally cuts down on turbulence airflow wise as that whole blocked off area is covering the crashbar. People open it up thinking it hellps airflow to the radiator. It can actually can cause more turbulence as the air hits the crashbar and suddenly shoots upward hitting the incoming air that has a straight path into your condenser and radiator. Which will disrupt flow,.. now if the crash bar is removed? It would be a different story and one could also cut channels for airlfow in the crashbar.
take a look at the Pro Allow crash bar for an example of that.
 


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green_henry

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Thread Starter #3
Ford did that on purpose. it literally cuts down on turbulence airflow wise as that whole blocked off area is covering the crashbar. People open it up thinking it hellps airflow to the radiator. It can actually can cause more turbulence as the air hits the crashbar and suddenly shots upward hitting the incoming air that has a straight path into your condenser and radiator. Which will disrupt flow now if removed the crash bar that is , it would be a different story or even cut channels for airlfow in the crashbar.
take a look at the Pro Allow crash bar for an example of that.
Interesting. The Pro Allow crash bar looks great but it doesn't seem to be available separately -- dang.

Any thoughts about drilling out the holes and backing them with a louver to direct the air under the crash bar? Of course, Ford could have done that but maybe the extra cost wasn't worth it to them (?)
 


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#4
The top of the radiator does most of the cooling.
 


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green_henry

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Thread Starter #5
The top of the radiator does most of the cooling.
After seeing that the grill is blocked, I can see why. The lower grill only provides air to the intercooler, and the upper grill only provides air to the top of the radiator. Shouldn't the lower part of the radiator get some love?
 


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#6
After seeing that the grill is blocked, I can see why. The lower grill only provides air to the intercooler, and the upper grill only provides air to the top of the radiator. Shouldn't the lower part of the radiator get some love?
Not if you see infrared pics of a working radiator. Invest in a Mountune radiator regardless
 


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#7
I’d bet Ford did some wind tunnel testing as well but some who have opened it testify to it working better. Wtfk
 


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green_henry

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Not if you see infrared pics of a working radiator. Invest in a Mountune radiator regardless
I have a Mountune radiator; it's fine during normal driving, but I managed to hit 228 degrees at the track running E30 (ambient temperature was between 95 and 100).
 


PhoenixM3

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#9
I'm not sure why I haven't noticed this before, but why is the bottom half of the front grill solid? The honeycomb is just a facade for the bottom half. What would be the drawbacks (if any) to drilling it out to increase airflow to the radiator?
To piss me off when I wash the car.
 


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#11
I have a Mountune radiator; it's fine during normal driving, but I managed to hit 228 degrees at the track running E30 (ambient temperature was between 95 and 100).
There are ways to combat heat and better airflow in and out of the block is first. Cerakoting external and internal engine parts is next. Reducing heat soak should be the ultimate goal which is a multi pronged approach
 


Ford ST

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#13
That would work but I don't like the idea of blowing unfiltered dusty air on my car at 100 plus miles an hour.


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Ford ST

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#15
You need to move out of the Sahara bro
I will never move. Randolph county North Carolina is home. Definitely not the Sahara it's just farm/landscape dust.

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green_henry

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Thread Starter #16
Before I sold my last car, I cleaned the engine bay with a gentle stream of water, diluted Simple Green, a lot of brushing with a soft brush, and then dried it with my leaf blower. Worked great!
 


Mikey456

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#17
U can do if you want. Looks like a PIA though. There was some guy in the UK with a YouTube video describing how he did it.


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#18
I will never move. Randolph county North Carolina is home. Definitely not the Sahara it's just farm/landscape dust.

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Then just leave the water in all the crevices to collect all the farm/landscape dust rinse and repeat and repeat repeat repeat lmao
 


PunkST

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#19
There is a bumper support thats attached to the back of the grill too. I need to replace mine cuz its broke and my bumper is kind of saggy.
 


Mikey456

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#20
U can do if you want. Looks like a PIA though. There was some guy in the UK with a YouTube video describing how he did it.


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If you’re interested:
The guy is B7 TMY on YouTube
Title: how to honeycomb delete your fiesta upper grill


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