[Scarlett]

Looks great, hfouche! I'm glad you like them. Feel free to tell all of your AscentFriends about them! I just mad a new batch of AscentScreens today and have a pile of IntercoolerScreens on my work bench to finish up tomorrow, so I'll have some for everyone.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Gsubaru]

I decided to go a different way. I had a bunch of perforated metal lying around,so I made a couple screens to go in the grill before the intake. Wasn’t sure how restrictive it was going to be to the airflow so I made some of the holes a bit larger. Then I cleaned em up and painted them. I only had some brown metallic paint in the garage so I went over that with some black graphite dry lube spray. For now they are just held in place with some black plastic coated wire.

I have no idea why the pics post twice?

 

[Scarlett]

Looks good, gsubaru. A neat idea. It is hard to judge that by eye, but yes, it does look pretty restrictive to airflow.

 

[Gsubaru]

Yeah, not sure about the airflow yet, I’m going to give it a few days to see if I notice any performance or fuel consumption differences. I’ve already got a few pretty good dings in the intercooler from bug impacts, those are going to add up in a hurry restricting airflow without the protection.
I’m wondering if snow getting in the grill over the winter will have a big effect? We get blowing snow here that’s like stucco all over things, car grills, houses, fences, you name it. You can’t always clean it off before you drive home to a warm garage, (if you’re lucky enough to have) to clean it of in and/or let it melt.

 

[Gsubaru]

The other thing I thought I might try is some plastic eavestrough guard. It’s cheap and easy to cut and shape, plus I’ve got some over at my moms place. It has larger spacing so better flow, but will also let more debris in...

 

[smart_alec]

How are you getting it inside the grill? I looked at this and thought it would be hard to get anything back there because of the little braces between the horizontal horizontal slats that form the grill. Is there a way to get them in from the top? (I’m away from our car right now so can’t look myself)...

 

[Scarlett]

Ok, so I had a glass or two of cider watching the Bills try to blow it today. When I calmed down, I needed to do something to get my mind off whatever it was that happened in the second half. So....

Here is a quick calculation for the open area of this piece based on the first picture above. I counted 20 rows of holes and measured this for the calculation. YRMV.
Sample piece 78mm x 53mm = 4134 sq mm total area

20 row, 12 holes per row = 240 holes
@1/4 of the holes enlarged, so 60 large holes and 180 small holes
Large holes are @ 4mm diameter Area = Pi x D, so 3.14159 x 4 = 12.57mm sq per hole
12.57 x 60 = @754mm sq used for the large holes.

Small holes are @2mm diameter Area = Pi x D, so 3.14159 x 2 = 6.28mm sq per hole
6.28 x 180 = 1130mm sq used for the small holes

754 + 1130 = 1884mm sq total open area

% open area = total open area / total area So 1184mm sq/4134mm sq = @45.6% open area.

Again, this is a rough estimate, just for the heck of it....

 

[Gsubaru]

That part of the grill is open from the top so it’s super easy to get at. I checked and nothing contacts or interferes with the rubber piece that comes down with the hood.
Thanks for the calculations! I’d be interested to know if the factory opening is overkill for airflow or not? I would assume they’d be overdoing it, (to allow for snow build up, freezing rain, leaves, who knows what, a plastic bag from the road etc.) but by how much?

 

[Gsubaru]

So my friend at work who’s got a wrx, asked his friend, (one of the local guys in the know about Subaru’s and turbos) about my airflow question. He said I should be good, as it’s not like I’ll be doing any performance driving in an Ascent, lol!
I will be taking them out over the winter however, too much snow will build up if I don’t.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

I'd be more concerned with protecting the radiators. Nothing is going to get through the air box, filter, carbon filter and numerous sharp turns.

But, as far as air flow is concerned, yeah, the MGT-22 isn't even in its peak boost efficiency range in the Ascent (it's below it). And, if you have a COBB Accessport, you're barely dipping into that peak boost efficiency range.

 

[Gsubaru]

I had a look at the rad, and it’s got a few bug hits but oddly not as many as the intercooler which has had about 5 big ones and 10 smaller. All this in just about 1700kms. I might put something in behind to protect the rad next summer but I’ve yet to have a rad negatively effected by bug damage. They always seem to get some damage on about 10-20% of the surface area at most.

 

[Scarlett]

Hi Everyone,

A quick update- I found the problem with my website that has been preventing many of your contact forms from reaching me. I was able to correct this, so it should be working fine now. I am going back through the contacts and reaching out to everyone that I have not heard from with an email. Hopefully, I can get through the list this afternoon. Thank you all for your patience with this issue.

Also, some have asked if I am still making these items. I am, and I will continue to do so as long as there is a need. Given that the Ascent and Outbacks are still relatively new designs, This will be for the foreseeable future. I am looking at developing a new item for both vehicles, based on my VoltMat 2. This is a trunk mat with an additional piece that extends up the back of the rear seats. It works with the seats upright and when they are folded down, and does not need to be removed when the seats are lowered or raised. If anyone is interested, your thoughts and comments are welcome. These are very popular for the Volt notably among outdoors folks and dog owners besides others. If you are interested, your thoughts and comments are welcome as I start the development process.

HTH!

Steve

 

[pdxeca]

Hi Everyone,

A quick update- I found the problem with my website that has been preventing many of your contact forms from reaching me. I was able to correct this, so it should be working fine now. I am going back through the contacts and reaching out to everyone that I have not heard from with an email. Hopefully, I can get through the list this afternoon. Thank you all for your patience with this issue.

Also, some have asked if I am still making these items. I am, and I will continue to do so as long as there is a need. Given that the Ascent and Outbacks are still relatively new designs, This will be for the foreseeable future. I am looking at developing a new item for both vehicles, based on my VoltMat 2. This is a trunk mat with an additional piece that extends up the back of the rear seats. It works with the seats upright and when they are folded down, and does not need to be removed when the seats are lowered or raised. If anyone is interested, your thoughts and comments are welcome. These are very popular for the Volt notably among outdoors folks and dog owners besides others. If you are interested, your thoughts and comments are welcome as I start the development process.

HTH!

Steve

May be interested in the bugscreen but DEFINITELY interested in the mats.

 

[Scarlett]

Hi Everyone,

A quick update to the welded vs woven stainless steel IntercoolerScreens. I just got the new woven SS mesh in and it is closer than before to the welded mesh in terms of airflow. The woven is still 6 holes per inch, but it is now @70% open area, pretty close to the welded (74% open.) If you are looking at the two of them and can't decide, it is now easier than ever to just say you like the looks of one more than the other. Even more than before, which screen won't make a huge difference in what it does or how well, so I would not agonize over the decision.

HTH,

Steve