Radiator mesh: functions, types, making their own hands.
Protective grid on the radiator grille – an indispensable component of almost any modern car. Today, products of this type are produced for any model, but if you want, you can also make it with your own hands.
The functions of the radiator grid.
Radiator mesh is necessary for the car to protect the radiator of the power plant from possible damage. In addition, this element is a decorative component that decorates the front of the car body. If necessary, the grid can be removed.
On some vehicles (to a greater extent this applies to SUVs), the radiator grille is an element with large-sized slits, and the grid is missing. In cars with a rear-mounted engine, the radiator grid is not provided for its uselessness.
Advantages and disadvantages.
The main advantages of the radiator mesh:
- protects against the ingress of stones, dirt, insects inside the power unit;
- the appearance of the car becomes more attractive;
- the grid is easier to clean than the grille.
- Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right product for a particular make of car;
- a heavily contaminated grid blocks the air flow to the engine, which can have unpredictable consequences (up to engine failure);
- there may be difficulties with installation;
- in case of improper installation, backlash and, as a consequence, noise and rattle at high speeds are possible.
Types of radiator grids.
There are many different types of grids on the radiator grille. Products vary in quality and cost. According to the method of manufacturing grids can be divided into:
- industrial , made in factory conditions for specific brands of cars;
- Homemade, made by hand for yourself or to order.
Both the first and the second differ in the way of fastening:
- with rigid fastening – such a design does not shake and does not rattle while driving on an uneven surface, but it is quite difficult to dismantle if necessary;
- Removable radiator grids – they are easy enough to remove and clean, but not rigid enough mountings can cause noise while driving.
Both homemade and commercial radiator screens can be made of different materials:
- Plastic – cheap, well processed, very light, but not strong enough;
- aluminum nets are light, fairly reliable and not too expensive, but over time they become dull, losing aesthetic appeal;
- stainless steel nets – the most durable, look great after a long period of use, but expensive and difficult to install.
Radiator grids vary in size and shape of cells, and come in external and internal. The former are installed in front of the radiator grille and have the following advantages:
- They are easy to install and remove;
- external grids can be cleaned directly on the car;
- aesthetic appeal – design solutions add uniqueness to the appearance of the car.
The only disadvantage of an outdoor safety net is the price. Original branded products cost starting from 2-3 thousand rubles.
Inner elements of protection are cheaper, and they also have the following advantages:
- the component is installed on simple plastic clamps (there is no need for a complicated mounting system);
- High-precision machining of the material is not necessary, which significantly reduces the cost of the product.
A significant disadvantage of this type of protective component is its problematic assembly and disassembly with the obligatory removal of the bumper and the resulting complexity in servicing. For this reason, it is recommended for self-made external radiator mesh.
How to make a grid on the radiator grille with your own hands?
To make an external radiator grid with your own hands, you will not need expensive or scarce tools and materials. However, before making the part yourself, you need to carefully study the design for its attachment. In cars of different brands it can be implemented differently.
The following materials and tools will be needed:
- metal fine mesh mesh;
- cardboard;
- rubber trim of the required length;
- duct tape;
- marker;
- pencil;
- glue gun;
- pliers;
- ruler;
- scissors.
Instructions for making a mesh on the radiator grille:
Despite the fact that the grid on the radiator grille in a wide range produced by the automotive industry, you can easily make this element of protection in the conditions of the garage or at home. Self-made product is not worse than the factory one, and its cost is much lower.
I hope that this article was useful to you. If you still have questions, or you want to complement the article – write comments.
The experiment – Grids (protection of the radiator) in practice!
WARNING! Today’s experiment is the reading on the radiators inside the car itself! which were obtained in the first part of the experiment. The data inside the bumper on the radiators were recorded there, in the first part! Today I will try to visually show WHY exactly then the car overheated.
For regular readers of my blog, the topic of nets will seem already over-discussed. Since the time of publication of the first experiment (About a grid to protect radiators from stones) more than 5 years have passed, but nevertheless, the topic not only has not subsided, but every day it comes up again and again.
Earlier this “illness” affected only the Russian region, but by 2020, even our dealers have already started to “тютю” this extremely dangerous and harmful “addition” when buying new cars in the showrooms. Replication of gossip, innuendo and ignorance is a modern plague.
Let’s try once again this blatant illiteracy, if not to knock it out, then at least to touch it with a stick. Let us try to reproduce the exploit of the glorious Don Quixote and once again attack the windmills.
This time we will arm ourselves with a device that meteorologists know well – an anemometer.
The essence of our experiment is to show how much the velocity of the air flow changes, passing through the grids, and whether it changes at all. The flow velocity is the main parameter for the analysis. An inquisitive reader will have no difficulty in recalculating the density of flow, and the efficiency of heat transfer, having a relative difference, which we will try to identify and establish today.
There will be two grids for experiments today, with different cross-sections:
One, ripped from the bumper of my dad’s new car (kpxHXA1cd2E)
The second one is the grid from Slava, who recently reproduced a similar experiment with measurements on his car (Protective radiator grid and overheating, KIA RIO)
The difference in the flow rate with and without the grid was 35.7%+-3% (instrument error + wind). The difference between the grids could not be established reliably, it is lower than the error of measurements and experimental conditions.
As a result, I will give a simple table as a guide for using the grids for different regions as a conclusion:
Maybe in some regions, where it never gets higher than +32 in summer and you can set the nets, but still think twice or even three times. Well and once again I shall remind you, that on the majority of modern automobiles the radiator of conditioner is the first. Even if suddenly you will penetrate it, so in the first place the car will go further as in anything happens, simply there will be no conditioner… and the second – its replacement entirely COSTS cheaper than a grid, well and simply to solder a tube and fill up with freon and there is nothing to talk. And yes, you have to wash both, even more than that – the gnat from the 90+gr radixes dries out and just falls off by itself down and hangs on the grid! In winter, ice and snow cover the mesh – icing everything … and on the radics melts and drains. And, as I said before, the main trouble with radiators is salt and reagents. Since the last reel another radiator of an air conditioner rotted and crumbled with white powder, though outwardly there is no damage.
PS By the way one of the readers has made his own investigation from where they put it on cars. In his opinion, the roots of the whole history goes back to the 90’s, when the cars from the Far East (Vladik) with the steering wheels in the glove compartment were shipped to the Central Russian regions. There were no roads in those years from the word “no”. 90% of the way through the dead gravel roads. To keep the equipment and to deliver it to the customer in a marketable condition, the front end was simply taped over. Hood, fenders were covered with cellophane/cardboard, almost with roofing felt. There were even ready-made covers made of tarpaulin/pvc. Only the openings for headlights and radios were cut, which were covered with construction nets. According to the reader, it was from that time and after those heroic rallies and went this fashion. The cars made it, the Japanese car industry of those years was able to withstand even such barbarism. Its appearance remained intact. Since that time, this dreary people’s cunning has fallen upon us with a heavy stone. Nowhere in the world, no other country has such experience. Of the useful, in his words, that came from the same place – protective films for paintwork and headlights.
