Has anyone ever took out their stock grille and cut out all the plastic thats behind some of the honeycomb that restricts air flow???
Why would ford put such a restrictive grille in there in the first place??? Is there any reason for it?? Is there any reason i shouldnt try it??? Shouldnt be hard just need a drill and a dremel.
I was thinking about trying it instead of spending a few hundred on a high flow grille. If I butcher it i guess its a good reason to get an eleanor grille.
the stock grill is designed to optimize aero dynamics around the car... I think the stock provides enough flow to cool the engine and seen that you live in Canada I don't think that would be a problem there,, on the other hand it's a serious problem in the summer where I live although I've never had any cooling problems so far,, so if I were to change my grill it'll be purely cosmetic.
just my 02
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2007 GT Alloy Metal with Auto transmission.
JLT II CAI, Steeda UDPs , Steeda CMDP, Borla full exhaust (LT's + x-pipe + stingers) , Bamachips 95 octane Race/ Torque tune
CHE adj.panhard bar & brace, adj UCA, LCA and anti-squat brackets.
FRPP 4.10s
the stock grill is designed to optimize aero dynamics around the car... I think the stock provides enough flow to cool the engine and seen that you live in Canada I don't think that would be a problem there,, on the other hand it's a serious problem in the summer where I live although I've never had any cooling problems so far,, so if I were to change my grill it'll be purely cosmetic.
just my 02
You got a fairly good point, although its not always igloo weather up here in the great white north. We park the dogsleds around May and it gets up to 30-40 degrees celcius sometime. but you are right its probably nothing to really worry about for the most part.
Thanks
My understanding was they actually designed the grill like that FOR better flow. Something about the shape and design gets more air into the engine. I forget where I heard this, I just remember reading about how the honeycomb grill design is good for air flow to the engine.
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-A7X- ~Stang Syndicate Boston~*2006 Torch Red GT*10/10/07 Performance:Borla FRPP Stingers w/ True Dual Midpipes, Magnaflow High Flow Cats, JLT CAI, Bama 93 Race Tune, Ford Racing 4.10 Gears, Nitto 555 Extremes. Visual: Black AVS Tail Light Trim, Honeycomb Tail Light Vinyl, Black Racing stripes, 35% Window Tint, Trunk Blackout Panel, Billet Antenna Delete, Mirror Covers, 17" Konig "Further" Rims, Quarter Window Louvers, 20% Tinted Head Light/Turn Signal, Boss C-Stripes, CS/GT C-Scoops.
yep dremeled the hell outta mine ..... did it do any good , i have no idea but i was bored and seemed restrictive to me so i got to it , would i do it again yep actually will be pulling it off and removing even more in the coming weeks
My understanding was they actually designed the grill like that FOR better flow. Something about the shape and design gets more air into the engine. I forget where I heard this, I just remember reading about how the honeycomb grill design is good for air flow to the engine.
You are 100% right. The restricted airflow improves cooling. Take a look under the hood of a FR500. The sides of the grill are blocked off for 6-8 inches.
In addition to that, peak pressure in front of the radiator (which = peak cooling) is achieved by restricting the inlet and then opening it up behind the restriction. The angle that you open it up at is determined by what speed you want it to be the most efficient at. I am setting mine up at 8 deg which will be at maximum efficiency at 100mph. Every other speed will be a compromise. You then need to seal the “sides” of your restriction or “duct” to the face of the radiator to ensure the air goes through it instead of around it. A system like this will improve cooling by a factor of two in most cases. It also improves the aerodynamics of the car dramatically because the only air you are getting under the hood is going through the radiator.
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I read an article by one of the designers that said the front fog lights on the GT were placed so that high pressure air would go through the radiator. The same design applies to the V-6. If you look at the honeycomb, it is solid where the GT's fog lights would be for the same purpose, to supply high pressure (speed) air to the radiator for proper cooling.
I don't have access to the book at my office, I'll get the name of it when I get home. It's an excellent history of all the mustangs and goes into depth about the complete design of the S197. It answered lots of my "why did they do it that way" questions.
what about the center fog light kit ? will that make better air flow or worse air flow. oh and i have seen a company called veil side take out the foglights and put a carbonfibor ducts in there is that better air flow or dose it make it even worse thanx
what about the center fog light kit ? will that make better air flow or worse air flow. oh and i have seen a company called veil side take out the foglights and put a carbonfibor ducts in there is that better air flow or dose it make it even worse thanx
Center mount lights will hurt cooling. The most efficient cooling setup can be thought about in really easy terms. The trick is to start at the radiator and work your way forward instead of the grille back though.
You want to start at the edges of the radiator (top/bottom, and sides) then figure out what angle you want your duct to be based on what vehicle speed you want to tune for. For a pure street car tuning for 75mph would probably be best. A good duct design only works “perfect” at one speed though. Everything above and below that speed will be less efficient than what it is set up for. Once you have the speed you are setting up for you calculate the ducting angle (the angle that it will neck down toward the grille) and then see if that angle will match up to the back side of the grille. There will be no problem getting the ducting to contact the grill in front the sides of the duct. But if you use the same angle on the top and bottom sides of the duct you will fid the grill is not tall enough to meet up with the duct. In this case you are trapped into running the upper and lower sides of the duct from the upper and lower edges of the radiator to the upper and lower edges of the grille. Effectively using as much grill and radiator surface area as possible.
Once you have the ducting butting up against the back side of the grill you need to build block off plates behind the grill that run from the outside of the duct to the outside edges of the grill. When you set it up like this the only air the going through the grill gets through the radiator. No “stray” air is introduced under the hood (you still need to block off where the hood meets the cheesy black plastic core support cover too though). This will force all of the air that is not going through the rad to now be used for downforce (as long as more is going over the car than under).
If you block off anything in the center of the radiator you will be dramatically be reducing the ducts ability to produce pressure in front of the rad. If you are in love with the center mount lights you could always make two ducts to feed the rad, one on each side of the lights but you will be shorting yourself a lot of efficiency compared to the one big duct method.
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Under Construction. Better, Stronger, Faster than it was before.
"customizing"the stock grille for better flow 
although I've never had any cooling problems so far,, so if I were to change my grill it'll be purely cosmetic.
