Active shutters, what's the consensus?

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Dan Topp

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Ridiculous bunch of finger pointing,and lecturing. Go do a oil change on my 5.7 and put those big mouths directly under the passenger side steering gear. That’s engineering!
 

Wild one

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So I got a 2020. I live in the south. Whats up with the active shutters?

Keep em or remove some of them to run cooler?

Its winter now, but not that cold here in SC. If I was back in Jersey I may find a benefit, but I tow a camper.

Just wondering what benefits are yall seeing if they are removed. Temps?
For all it takes to pop the middle slats out,it's worth trying,if you don't like the way it runs with them out,it's easy enough to re-install the slats you removed.There's a few guys kicking around,who remove the middle shutters for the summer,and re-install them in the colder months.
 

ramffml

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The thing with physically removing active shutters and re-installing them; they do that automatically on their own, it's completely pointless to do it yourself.

When your truck is cold, the shutters close to heat your engine up quicker; this is a good thing!
When your truck is hot, the shutters open to release heat; this is a good thing!

If you're towing and seeing excessive temps > 230, removing the shutters won't do squat to cool it down because at that temps the shutters are already open and remain open until your temps drop into a much cooler range!

So where is the benefit of manually removing and inserting them again for the seasons?
 

Octane

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I always let my engine run up to 229° because engineers know that 230° and up is bad for engines. Lol
 

Wild one

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The thing with physically removing active shutters and re-installing them; they do that automatically on their own, it's completely pointless to do it yourself.

When your truck is cold, the shutters close to heat your engine up quicker; this is a good thing!
When your truck is hot, the shutters open to release heat; this is a good thing!

If you're towing and seeing excessive temps > 230, removing the shutters won't do squat to cool it down because at that temps the shutters are already open and remain open until your temps drop into a much cooler range!

So where is the benefit of manually removing and inserting them again for the seasons?
Guess you'll never know,if you don't try will you.They're easy to remove to experiment,if it doesn't pan out,they're easy to re-install.For all it takes to pop them out or back in,it's worth trying at least once.That's all i was saying.Some guys remove them for summer ,and re-install them for the colder months,as it's not much of a job,if that's what they like to do,that's their prerogative.
 

ramffml

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Guess you'll never know,if you don't try will you.They're easy to remove to experiment,if it doesn't pan out,they're easy to re-install.For all it takes to pop them out or back in,it's worth trying at least once.That's all i was saying.Some guys remove them for summer ,and re-install them for the colder months,as it's not much of a job,if that's what they like to do,that's their prerogative.

Absolutely, I'm just wondering what theory they're using to do this. To me it seems that removing them is based on a misunderstanding of how/what they do. Seems like a lot of effort and work only to have a system in the end that works less efficently than the factory one.
 

bm02tj

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They do a lot of dumb things but the shutters are a good thing
This year we had 46C (115F)
and on occasion we get extreme cold -40 years ago but lots of -25C (-13F)
All worked well
 

Gary2

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If I didn't see them I would not of noticed they were there. Temps on this 17 run about the same as my 14 ,08 ,03,00,99 Rams.....
 

WireEd

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I do not believe the my ‘21 has these shutters. I compared to a buddies 17. His I could see. Nothing on mine. Mine is the warlock 5.7. Is this an option does anyone know? I suspect they removed for cost savings.
 

kurek

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I do not believe the my ‘21 has these shutters. I compared to a buddies 17. His I could see. Nothing on mine. Mine is the warlock 5.7. Is this an option does anyone know? I suspect they removed for cost savings.
Not every trim level had them, Tradesmans didn't typically come with the shutters for example.
 

Wild one

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Not every trim level had them, Tradesmans didn't typically come with the shutters for example.
Got any proof of that? If the Tradesmen has the 8 speed,i think it should have the shutter assembly.I might be wrong,but i was under the impression all 8 speed equipped 4th Gen 1500's came with the AGS in place
 

kurek

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Got any proof of that? If the Tradesmen has the 8 speed,i think it should have the shutter assembly.I might be wrong,but i was under the impression all 8 speed equipped 4th Gen 1500's came with the AGS in place

I don't have proof of it, I only know that my (6 speed) tradesman doesn't have them and the 8 speed, 2wd express RCSB I test drove six years ago while shopping also didn't have it.
 

Wild one

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I don't have proof of it, I only know that my (6 speed) tradesman doesn't have them and the 8 speed, 2wd express RCSB I test drove six years ago while shopping also didn't have it.
Doubtful unless somebody had removed them off the 8 speed Express.They were never put on the 5/6 speed 1500's,only the 8 speed equipped 1500's have the shutters,and as far as i know every 8 speed 4th Gen 1500 has them.You'll have to come up with some proof to back up your claim
 

rule18

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Doubtful unless somebody had removed them off the 8 speed Express.They were never put on the 5/6 speed 1500's,only the 8 speed equipped 1500's have the shutters,and as far as i know every 8 speed 4th Gen 1500 has them.You'll have to come up with some proof to back up your claim
I can only speak for my 2017 Rebel, but there are no active shutters and I'm the only owner.
 

jagman_xjs

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I like AGS because it is suppose to help on gas mileage and the engine warms up a LOT quicker in the winter. But they just do not work for me .
 

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dstrohfus

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Man, I wish I was seeing info that helps... On my 2015 (8 speed; 3.92) I'm one of the guys exceeding 260. Granted I tow in Colorado over 10,000 feet - and STEEP.

My shutters work - they're open, so I don't see this as the problem. Most of the time they open under regular driving conditions, at least now that I'm checking. My mechanic said if we permanently disabled or removed, I'd have a hard time getting warm on our really cold days, but it they're working normally, that's not the issue. Would adding additional fans help disperse heat quicker? Some mention an external oil cooler. Not even sure what that entails... One thing is for sure... I don't really know what the acceptable limits are... I've had one mechanic say that 260 on synthetic is fine, while another says that's too high - even in short bursts. I also have a lot of throttle left. It's not a power issue. I'm backing off quite a bit due to temps.
 

MRFREEZE57

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Am curious, has anyone ever had the shutter system fail and do they have a fail safe in the open position?
 

Wild one

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I can only speak for my 2017 Rebel, but there are no active shutters and I'm the only owner.
Post a picture of the front of the rad then.Maybe the Rebels don't have them,but i highly question that if it has the 8 speed,i'd have to see a picture first before i'd believe they don't have them
 
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