[JakiChan]

One might argue that a design flaw in our cars is the lack of a mesh on the front intakes. I know there are aftermarket options and I may need to go that route.

In the meantime is there a recommended procedure to try and clean the fins? There’s stuff in mine. Not sure what’s safe to try.

 

[MLJJ]

One might argue that a design flaw in our cars is the lack of a mesh on the front intakes. I know there are aftermarket options and I may need to go that route.

In the meantime is there a recommended procedure to try and clean the fins? There’s stuff in mine. Not sure what’s safe to try.

Spray with a hose, let it soak, spay it again, repeat, repeat... Eventually all the debris will dissolve. Done it a couple of times. I now have the aftermarket grill guards that largely eliminate that problem.

 

[JakiChan]

Spray with a hose, let it soak, spay it again, repeat, repeat... Eventually all the debris will dissolve. Done it a couple of times. I now have the aftermarket grill guards that largely eliminate that problem.

Is a pressure washer ok? (That’s what I wash the car with.) Should I maybe hit it with the foam cannon and let that soak?

 

[InTgr8r]

FWIW, this is my procedure:
Remove the wheel well liners and flush from the back.
That way debris will be pushed forwards and out.
Flushing form the front can drive debris deeper into the rad.

 

[JakiChan]

Hrm. Not sure I’m comfortable taking the car apart.

 

[InTgr8r]

BTW, I use air, not water.
You could try it without removing the liners, just blow through the discharge grill in the liner

But, all it is , is a few screws; max 5 min per side.
I also pull the front wheels off.

 

[GregW]

A pressure washer risks bending the fins flat! = new radiator core.

 

[don]

vacuum cleaner?

 

[Bob D.]

@JakiChan is more diplomatic than I would be. IMO it is 100% a design flaw that there are no protective screens in front of the radiators on our cars. In just 2,500 miles my car had a shocking number of bugs and small stones impaled in its radiators.

Before I installed the Zunsport grilles that will protect the radiators going forward, I had to clean the radiators. After trying a few different methods, here's what worked for me:

1. Vacuum with ShopVac, being careful not to bend delicate radiator fins.
2. Spray with 1:4 solution of Simple Green and water, 3 times, waiting ~10 min between coats.
3. Soak radiators with gentle stream of water until suds in runoff are gone.
4. Using detail brush soaked in clear water, brush using brisk up-and-down motion.

Using this method removed 95% of the bugs/rocks on my car. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone in the future.

 

[wriggly]

FWIW, Simple Green is highly corrosive to aluminum.

Simple Green FAQs

Find frequently asked questions and answers about Simple Green, the non-toxic, biodegradable, environmentally safer cleaning product.

simplegreen.com

 

[Viffermike]

@JakiChan IMO it is 100% a design flaw that there are no protective screens in front of the radiators on our cars.

It's not a design flaw. Many, many performance vehicles made for public road use have, and have had, exposed front-mounted radiators with no protection as OEM. I could rattle off a list of at least a dozen off the top of my head, but there's really no need because if you look for it specifically, you'll realize that such cars are everywhere. Simply put, a radiator is more solidly built than most any grille you can put in front of it.

The key phrase above is 'for public road use'. Track/race cars often have grilles for a few reasons:

• The speeds make road detritius that much more destructive
• Some track-specific road detritus can affect car performance immediately, even if there's no actual damage. Most notable among these: rubber from tires (so-called 'marbles') and dirt/mud/plant life from running off the track
• Other types of road detritius can cause instantaneous failure; grilles simply make sense to prevent this as much as possible. Best example: parts from other cars after a crash.

Also notable is the way some of these aftermarket grilles are mounted: with zip ties. This is common in many forms of amateur racing because it allows for the quick removal-reattachment of the grilles, and it's cheap.

 

[Bob D.]

@Viffermike yikes, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. I believe that the amount of large bugs accumulating on the radiators on my car would have surely impacted cooling at some point. As a former Floridian, I’ve experienced that phenomenon firsthand and it’s not pretty (see also the Suncoast project 718, which needed the radiators and intakes cleaned of bugs multiple times in one track day). I also had an exposed heat exchanger on a supercharged Mustang, mounted at about the same height and angle as the side radiators on my GTS, taken out--twice in four years--by rocks or debris on the interstate. So to me, these easy snap-in grilles are cheap insurance and are aesthetically a plus or, at worst, a neutral. Again, though, just my opinion/experience.

@wriggly, thanks for the note re Simple Green, very helpful to know. My mixture was one part SG to four parts water, only on there a short time, and probably 1/2 cup total of this diluted mixture was sprayed on the bugs then thoroughly rinsed until all suds and smell were gone, so I think I'm good. Your info is great for future readers of this thread to know though--appreciate your taking the time to share it. ?

 

[MLJJ]

Have to agree with Bob D. Saw my first love bug of the September season today. Pending spatters are coming this month. Some places/uses may not require such protection, but grill screens seem like a simple and inexpensive insurance policy for those of us that need it. I use SG regularly on my house and front of cars for a quick soak to remove stubborn residue. Love that stuff!

 

[Viffermike]

@Bob D. & @MLJJ

Bob, you probably don't know this about me yet, but MLJJ should by now: I take my cars on multi-day, multi-state road trips regularly. I live in Texas. Those two facts alone should be all that's needed for y'all to know that I deal with the same things you do regarding bug-festooned radiators.

But I'm also stating facts about OEM radiator protection. It's simply not all that necessary on a car operated on public paved roads. Four of the last six cars I've owned have had multiple low-mounted radiators with no 'grille' as OEM: My current 718, a BMW 2 Series, a Nissan 370z, and a Subaru WRX.

I'm just saying it's not a design flaw. I'm not saying radiators don't get dirty and don't get dinged. Thing is, radiators are designed to get dirty and dinged.

Think about it this way: How much more difficult would it be to clean bugs off of radiators if heavy plastic grilles (or chicken wire, or woven wire, or whatever) were installed that weren't easily removable? It's a question I've posed to others many times on other car forums.

For the next couple of weeks, look for grilles over low-mounted radiators on other performance cars you see out and about. You'll find many don't have any.

Just sayin' (and I'll repeat): It is not a design flaw. It is simply not necessary.

 

[MLJJ]

Still an inexpensive insurance policy that I was happy to pay for and install. Go for it without! And yes, I have been around a while. Its only a matter of time without protection. I have many stone chips/dings in the three other vehicles I own so in my opinion its not worth the risk. It depends on where you live and conditions you drive in. I'm glad you don't have to worry about it. To each his/her own.

 

[dave92101]

Still an inexpensive insurance policy that I was happy to pay for and install. Go for it without! And yes, I have been around a while. Its only a matter of time without protection. I have many stone chips/dings in the three other vehicles I own so in my opinion its not worth the risk. It depends on where you live and conditions you drive in. I'm glad you don't have to worry about it. To each his/her own.

Adding the front grilles is the next project for my 718 BS. I was in the middle of a West Coast road trip a few years ago in my 981 and needed to use the A/C. Nothing but hot air blowing, so a stop at the Porsche dealer in Bend confirmed that one of the condensers (aka radiators) had been punctured. The mechanic handed me an old school rim-style wheel weight that must been kicked up and hit the 'target' perfectly. "Here's the culprit", he says. It was still stuck in the condenser when he put the car up on the lift. ?

 

[Viffermike]

I'm glad you don't have to worry about it. To each his/her own.

No, I just choose to not worry about it because the risk of failure is extremely low -- just as the manufacturers of these vehicles choose to not slap a grille in front of them because the risk of adverse financial liability is extremely low, which is a fact borne from decades upon decades of experience.

If I worried about every little ding and fractional chance that something environmental was going to damage my car, I wouldn't be driving at all. Or, put another way: Why don't our windshields have grilles in front of them for extra protection?

Saying that the lack of grilles on our cars is a 'design flaw' is just not accurate. That's all I'm defending.

 

[MLJJ]

I have mine fully protected, you do not, and we are both happy whether or not it is a design flaw and that's all that matters.