Winter fronts

[GrumpyIII]

Does anyone out there know if there is a winter front available for the 02-06 era crvs? I haven't gone to honda yet, but I tried looking on their web site and had no luck. I'm looking for one that clips into the grill. Thanks

[2RedV's]

You could simply put a piece of carboard in front of the radiator if your intent is to keep the vehicle warmer. However, if you totally block the radiator and then run it hot, even once, you run the risk of blowing the head gasket and warping the aluminum head. Also, do not put anything in front of the factory tranny cooler (if you have an automatic). Unless you are near the Arctic Circle, it would be hard to justify the possible side effects.

[GrumpyIII]

Cardboard looks like crap. Covering the grill of your vehicle is a very common thing in this part of the world, and we are far from the artic circle. The mercury dropped to -27 celcius the other night. I don't know what that is in farenheit, but I'l tell you, its damn cold

[2RedV's]

Put the cardboard between the radiator and AC condensor and you won't see it. You can also paint it black. Before you do so, measure and cut the piece, test fit it and have it laminated after you paint it for a couple of $. Then, when it gets wet, it won't affect it.

[GrumpyIII]

Th point of a winter front is to restrict the cold air blowing onto the rad, not block the rad off completely. What part of the world do you call home 2RedV's?

[2RedV's]

I know the purpose of a winter front and I also know that Honda doesn't make them for the V, which is why I gave some advice on how to make one yourself. I didn't say to block it off completely. That's why I gave the caveat about getting it too hot. I have done this for years on my diesel truck which would take all winter to warm up without it. Just leave a portion of the radiator unblocked. On the truck, I don't block the intercooler either. It runs better that way.

[T Mac]

You can get some great grills from Cloud Rider (http://www.cloud-rider.com/index.php), based in Canada. They have been sponsoring our sites for several years and they sell a lot of grills for the many vehicles, including the Element, Ridgeline and CR-V.

If you're curious, here's s a link (http://www.google.com/custom?domains=www.elementownersclub.com&q=%22cloud+rider%22&sa=Search&sitesearch=www.elementownersclub.com&client=pub-7910346627747706&forid=1&channel=0387677496&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&flav=0000&sig=fMYLOIGuyg738Rg_&cof=GALT%3A%230066CC%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23FFFFFF%3B VLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3 AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0066CC%3BLC%3A0066CC%3BT%3A000000% 3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A1 40%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elementownersclub.com%2F forums%2Fimages%2Fforum_logo.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F% 2Fwww.elementownersclub.com%2Fforums%3BFORID%3A1%3 B&hl=en) to a Google search on the EOC Forums (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums) for more information on the Cloud Rider.

Good luck.

[GrumpyIII]

Thanks T Mac, that's all I was looking for!

[2RedV's]

Thanks T Mac, that's all I was looking for!

You asked for a winter front. Those are just fancy gutter guard material you stick in the openings. They won't restrict airflow and keep your V any warmer. They will keep large chunks of snow/ice from flying thru the openings and bending the fins of the AC condensor and auto tranny cooler though.

[T Mac]

You asked for a winter front. Those are just fancy gutter guard material you stick in the openings. They won't restrict airflow and keep your V any warmer.

Did you see the ones they refer to as "winter shields"? Below is one example I found. I hope that helps.