Active grille shutters

[cfd911]

Ok so I am gonna post a thread on what i recently did and why . So after looking up active grill shutters and what they do , I decided to do a mod on them . So i removed my front bumper facia ,( fairly easy ) and removed and modified my active grill shutters. Why ? Simply to give better cooling . I inow people are are gonna say why , the engineers designed them that way . Well are these the same engineers who designed The PTU without liquid cooling on ALL PTUs ? Are these the same engineers who designed some PTU’s without drain and or fill plugs? The same engineers who said it is life time fluid. Well 2015 explorers NO active grill shutters! 2016 and newer AGShutters. Sports PIU no shutters ! My son bought a 2022 explorer ST active grill shutters. So if anyone thinks the engineers have figured it out Bulls*it!!!! My point is this do your homework wisely , don’t listen to people on this site who say ohhhhh don’t it the engineers know best hahah!!! So i thought I’d share some of my mods with you ! If you don’t mind. 1. Remote start . 2. Police secure idle. 3. Front door tethers. 4. Remove auto shut down 5. Remove double honk . 6 added Livernois 87 performance tune ( not bad much peppier even on just 87) 7. added derale 13224 additional trans cooler . 8 . Removed 4 middle active grill shutters top and bottom . I have a 2017 3.5 xlt very happy with my mods .

 

[peterk9]

Cooling is not the primary function of the grille shutters.
"Whilst the primary function of the active grille shutters is to reduce the aerodynamic drag of the car, there are some secondary benefits like improving the warm up time of engine and also retaining engine heat when parked."

purpose of active grille shutters - Google Search

Peter

 

[cfd911]

Ok thats fine . I really don’t think active shutter are gonna put ANY explorer into a better mileage category so be it ! Thanks for YOUR input !

 

[peterk9]

Ya know Peterk9 i’m not here to debate you or discredit you thoughts or opinions or even your facts . Here’s a fact for you , since the engine is warming up on a very cold day , the thermostat doesn’t even open till approx 190 degrees and the cooling fans aren’t on so how do active shutters aid in warming up the engine faster . ? Well it says that in the brochure !!!!’ Again these are the same guys who said PTU oil is life time fluid . Again i’m not a know it all or even claim to be All i’m giving is what i did to my explorer . Just like a similar person took the back seat out and put the PIU 70mph cross brace in his explorer . What’s the point? Because he wanted to and i respect that ! So when people put their ideas or mods on here maybe their not looking for a lecture . But thank you .

It wasn't a lecture, it was just meant to point out the reason for their existence since your post was all about cooling. It should be helpful to all to reiterate their intended use.

Peter

 

[cfd911]

Ok thank you for your input .

 

[Mohawk996]

Ok so I am gonna post a thread on what i recently did and why . So after looking up active grill shutters and what they do , I decided to do a mod on them . So i removed my front bumper facia ,( fairly easy ) and removed and modified my active grill shutters. Why ? Simply to give better cooling . I inow people are are gonna say why , the engineers designed them that way . Well are these the same engineers who designed The PTU without liquid cooling on ALL PTUs ? Are these the same engineers who designed some PTU’s without drain and or fill plugs? The same engineers who said it is life time fluid. Well 2015 explorers NO active grill shutters! 2016 and newer AGShutters. Sports PIU no shutters ! My son bought a 2022 explorer ST active grill shutters. So if anyone thinks the engineers have figured it out Bulls*it!!!! My point is this do your homework wisely , don’t listen to people on this site who say ohhhhh don’t it the engineers know best hahah!!! So i thought I’d share some of my mods with you ! If you don’t mind. 1. Remote start . 2. Police secure idle. 3. Front door tethers. 4. Remove auto shut down 5. Remove double honk . 6 added Livernois 87 performance tune ( not bad much peppier even on just 87) 7. added derale 13224 additional trans cooler . 8 . Removed 4 middle active grill shutters top and bottom . I have a 2017 3.5 xlt very happy with my mods .

Hey cfd911,
I like the mods you listed. My 2014 Ex Sport came with remote start but what is police secure idle? Sounds like an elevated idle speed to run the police equipment and provide extra cooling.
Also, the double honk when I leave the vehicle while its running is aggravating...woke up my grandson while dropping him off so no bueno! Do you have any details or a write up on how you made those changes?
Thanks

 

[Odrapnew]

Here's a fact, the heater core bypasses the thermostat, so even though the thermostat doesn't open until a certain temperature, coolant is still flowing through the engine.

The active grill shudders help to warm up the engine faster by not allowing cool air to pass across the full area of the radiator.
By blocking the cool air, it lets coolant in the radiator warm up faster, hence the engine warms up faster.
They also limit the amount of cold air passing into the engine compartment which would also slow down the warmup of the engine.

I do find it interesting if Ford does advertise them to improve MPG, it doesn't show on the ratings.

Oh, and I remember someone on one of those Fakebook groups claiming he gained 4mpg by removing the shudders. Apparently physics didn't apply to his vehicle. LOL

 

[cfd911]

Hey cfd911,
I like the mods you listed. My 2014 Ex Sport came with remote start but what is police secure idle? Sounds like an elevated idle speed to run the police equipment and provide extra cooling.
Also, the double honk when I leave the vehicle while its running is aggravating...woke up my grandson while dropping him off so no bueno! Do you have any details or a write up on how you made those changes?
Thanks

Here's a fact, the heater core bypasses the thermostat, so even though the thermostat doesn't open until a certain temperature, coolant is still flowing through the engine.

The active grill shudders help to warm up the engine faster by not allowing cool air to pass across the full area of the radiator.
By blocking the cool air, it lets coolant in the radiator warm up faster, hence the engine warms up faster.
They also limit the amount of cold air passing into the engine compartment which would also slow down the warmup of the engine.

I do find it interesting if Ford does advertise them to improve MPG, it doesn't show on the ratings.

Oh, and I remember someone on one of those Fakebook groups claiming he gained 4mpg by removing the shudders. Apparently physics didn't apply to his vehicle. LOL

Well i can accept that explanation but 2015 and early explorers never had grill shutters right????Right I never heard if anyone complain their explorers took too long to get hot air into the cabin . The sports as far a i know don’t have shutters either are they complaining their explorer takes too long to heat up ??? Maybe it could be the shutters are there to just heat the engine faster so the ECU goes into closed loop faster so ford can show the gov that their vehicles are within mpg standards????

 

[cfd911]

Hey cfd911,
I like the mods you listed. My 2014 Ex Sport came with remote start but what is police secure idle? Sounds like an elevated idle speed to run the police equipment and provide extra cooling.
Also, the double honk when I leave the vehicle while its running is aggravating...woke up my grandson while dropping him off so no bueno! Do you have any details or a write up on how you made those changes?
Thanks

Police secure idle locks the shifter if you walk outside the car with your key fob . Check on the forscan website

 

[cfd911]

Here's a fact, the heater core bypasses the thermostat, so even though the thermostat doesn't open until a certain temperature, coolant is still flowing through the engine.

The active grill shudders help to warm up the engine faster by not allowing cool air to pass across the full area of the radiator.
By blocking the cool air, it lets coolant in the radiator warm up faster, hence the engine warms up faster.
They also limit the amount of cold air passing into the engine compartment which would also slow down the warmup of the engine.

I do find it interesting if Ford does advertise them to improve MPG, it doesn't show on the ratings.

Oh, and I remember someone on one of those Fakebook groups claiming he gained 4mpg by removing the shudders. Apparently physics didn't apply to his vehicle. LOL

I do find it hard to believe 4mpg on removing shutters , between you and all i did was initially put a post up of my mods and what i thought . And you were kind enough to give your input in a nice way . I respect that . My original post was just what i did , but the moderator thought it was his place to educate me on grill shutters , that’s fine i’m over it but i will be sure not to post anything if you have a bunch of back yard computer engineers /mechanics . I can bet my ASE cert yes ASE cert that most of the people on here are pretty decent and are willing to share snd learn but again theres always 1 person who knows it all (not directed at you)

 

[Odrapnew]

Was your Explorer overheating?

I can almost guarantee you that yes, they were added because Ford could show the EPA that they can reduce warmup time, retain heat better and deflect air around the vehicle, therefore reducing emissions, however minute that was, and not impact overall cooling.

Also, in cold climates, closing the shutters will help retain more heat in the engine to keep it running at peak efficiency, especially at highway speeds. Similar to why you see some OTR trucks with the 'blankets' covering part of the radiator in the winter time.

Deflecting air around the vehicle may actually improve the PTU cooling. Instead of air going through radiator and engine compartment (heating up along the way), with the shutters closed, cooler ambient air can be deflected under the vehicle with a more direct path to the PTU. That's just a theory though.

Some things the engineers do is not by choice, it's the penny pinchers, warranty people and EPA requirements.

And jumping back to the post by the moderator, I see no lecturing or anything. He just pointed out their true purpose.

Not completely unrelated example, my motorcycle has a 180F thermostat (factory). When temps get much below about 70F, engine will not reach 180F at highway speeds due to all the air flow going through the radiator and around the engine. On cold mornings (like 40-50F), engine will barely break 150F on the highway, which is not really good for the engine or efficiency.

 

[J_C]

My two cents: Engineers don't know everything in real world use or lifespan (which really just means marketing and beancounters get their say too often), but they are not going to add more cost to the build if it didn't have benefits warranting the cost. What they will do instead is not build up something elaborate enough, to reduce cost which is the opposite situation.

Cent two: If you are happy with your mods, that's what matters. Personally I would have left the dampers until they broke, and then removed, not repaired them. Maybe put them back on for winter in the closed position if it's not too much trouble. Probably not, wait and see if there ends up being a problem getting the engine warmed up in a reasonable amount of time in winter in my particular usage scenario.

 

[dglass]

I do find it hard to believe 4mpg on removing shutters , between you and all i did was initially put a post up of my mods and what i thought . And you were kind enough to give your input in a nice way . I respect that . My original post was just what i did , but the moderator thought it was his place to educate me on grill shutters , that’s fine i’m over it but i will be sure not to post anything if you have a bunch of back yard computer engineers /mechanics . I can bet my ASE cert yes ASE cert that most of the people on here are pretty decent and are willing to share snd learn but again theres always 1 person who knows it all (not directed at you)

Thats what that Peter guy, bless him, does here.
Heres what i did for a bit of extra cooling though: I drilled about 10 small holes in the grille where the fresh air tube is on the other side. It gets fresh air before the filter that way and since the upper part of the PIU grille is not vented, i thought that was a good fix.

 

[Mohawk996]

Police secure idle locks the shifter if you walk outside the car with your key fob . Check on the forscan website

Thanks for the heads up. I went to the website and found some good info. Much appreciated!

 

[cfd911]

Very welcome always glad to help