Anyone else do this in the winter?

[89Suburban]

Pics:

 

[RST Dana]

I am from Florida... what am I looking at?

Nothing to see here if you live in the Deep South. Enjoy your weather!

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Well, you could paint a face or something cool on the cardboard.

 

[Scrappycrow]

Yes, I've done similar, but not with my Tahoe here in Georgia. It was with my '57 Chevy, '86 BMW 535i, and '87 AMC Eagle when I was stationed in Spokane, WA and Minot, ND. I used cardboard in front of the a/c condenser in the BMW, and used a really thin mattress pad in the AMC and the Chevy. Some guys I knew, plus the motor pool Suburbans had commercially-available grill blocks with snap closed/open flaps, and you used to be able to get plastic grille block inserts.

Something to consider to keep heated air from escaping the engine compartment when the truck is shut off is to put painter's tape over the gap between the hood & fenders. It'll make a slight, but noticeable difference (or maybe it was wishful thinking when it "worked" for me).

A lot of the new Tahoe/Yukons have shutters just behind the grill to cut the air flow. More for gas mileage than warm up but should help that too I'd think.

A number of vehicles have had these for years, for both airflow and gas mileage & emissions. They'll shut completely when the engine is off, thus keeping the engine hotter for longer, reducing the time it takes to get back up to operating temperature upon restart. This counts a smidgen for CAFE and EPA testing, even though you might not notice a difference yourself.

 

[intheburbs]

I can see it for a diesel engine, but no reason you should have to do that with a gasser. Something's wrong if it's not getting up to operating temperature. I've had my 2500 as cold as -25° F, and she got up to normal engine temp just like any other time. Now, granted, it took longer, and when I first cranked up the heat, the temp needle dropped quite a bit.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

I can see it for a diesel engine, but no reason you should have to do that with a gasser. Something's wrong if it's not getting up to operating temperature. I've had my 2500 as cold as -25° F, and she got up to normal engine temp just like any other time. Now, granted, it took longer, and when I first cranked up the heat, the temp needle dropped quite a bit.

It does. It just doesn’t in my little drive to work

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Was also curious if anyone knows if my ride has those grill shutters or if they’re on the radiator? I’ve never heard of such a thing. And has anyone had issues with them malfunctioning?

 

[ReaperHWK]

If it gets that cold then you need to move lol.

 

[Scrappycrow]

Was also curious if anyone knows if my ride has those grill shutters or if they’re on the radiator?

Yours doesn't. This generation didn't have them.