What was the cost of the BH installation,V. I'm thinking of having one installed. H

 

I got it with the car. Negotiated it in the purchase price. But I think its around $200 installed.

 

Thanks V. I purchased my car in Victoria B.C. last Dec.. They never install them on the Island, never gets cold enough. I think I will have one installed when there on my next visit.

 

i'm in minnesota, and drive an HCH-I, but i think it's similar enough to share my experience. i had a block heater installed a few weeks ago, and i now find the heat gauge to be pretty much on warm after 2 miles, rather than the 10 it would take to get there before. today it was below freezing, and my AS was not working. i have to think it's the ambient temperature that affects it, since this is the first day it hasn't engaged. i also blocked the grill the same way msantos has shown, and i think that's keeping it warm. i am still pulling high 60s and even some 70s on my 45 mile commute, and that's with snow tires. my sig is not up to date, since i haven't entered any tanks in a while.

 

Thanks Laurie. Your milage #'s amaze me. The best I have done is 4.4 lit. per 100 kil. on a 1700kilometer trip. I think that worked out to 56 mpg as per the guages in the car. 900 Kil. were in the praires and 600 Kil.#3 hyway B.C. mountain driving at 60 mph.H

 

i had mine installed at a dealer here in minnesota, and the total cost was $122.

 

Well, I have driven 1 tank with the foam in place....granted the temp's. have dropped from the 35-45 range to the 15-30 range and it has started snowing but, I have not seen much improvement in the auto stop....It does appear to usually engage just before I stop for the day (about 6 miles) and my tank was just over 42 so, I guess I could say there was a slight improvement considering the colder temps & roadway.....I am also using the auto at 66-68 so I am tapping some of the engine heat.

 

Your bang on Bob with your assesment , the foam helps but not a great deal. I find the best method is to block the Rad. completely with a peace of cardboard. You have to be carefull however for when the temp goes up the engine can heat fast using this method! You also have to remove a plastic molding in order to get the rad. cover in place. To be on the safe side you can cut out a 4" to 6" hole in the middle of the rad. cover. You may want to try the full cover first, just watch the temp. I live a 100 miles to your north and the temps are going down fast tonight. Allready down to - 10 or 3 below. Hal

 

Perhaps I should have been more specific about the size of the foam tubes. If we choose the 1/2 inch tubing then the coverage may not be sufficient and gaps may remain. Instead, I would recommend getting the 3/4 inch foam tubing as it fills the gaps more thoroughly.
When cutting the foam segments it helps to make sure we cut to fit and that we cover every point of entry - it is not too hard at all and it helps to bend down and check with a flash light. Personally, I get good results and I have been unable to think of a more discrete and affordable/flexible solution.

Blocking only the radiator works very well but it does very little for the air intake temperature. Simply put, the temperature thresholds that determine the level of IMA affinity are derived from a combination of temperatures iAT, cWT, and to a minor extent the oAT.
One advantage of plugging the whole front bumper is that we basically allow more warm air to be retained in the engine cavity thus raising the intake air temp iAT (and oAT) as well. Anyhow, the main temperature value that determines whether the "Auto Stop" engages is still the cWT (coolant temp) which must be at 70C (158F) for it to engage when the iAT is at 12C (53.6F) or less.

At the moment our temps here are at -25C (-13F) and the "Auto Stop" still engages just fine when the proper temps are reached.


Cheers;

MSantos

 

OMG!!! That's COLD. My freezer doesn't even get that low. I've lived in NY and Colorado... so I remember cold weather... but So Cal has spoiled me. My body would "autostop" permanently if I was in your weather!!! And it's not even winter yet!

Good luck and stay warm!!!