Still in quandry about new grill and what about those Active Grill Shutters??????

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zogg

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I have been looking at various aftermarket grills for my 2019 Classic Ram. My issue is that OEM grills have panels on either side behind the grill that apparently direct the air flow toward the center, assumingly toward the radiator. None of the aftermarket grills have these panels such that the incoming air goes right through to the panel behind the grill and is not directed to the radiator.

I felt that if the OEM grills had these panels that there must be some logical reason for them to exist.

I did contact American Truck Accessories and asked if there was any issue in swapping grills and there response was "absolutely no issues". But still I wondered....I certainly do not want to goof up my cooling system or the Active Grill Shutters or ????

So, I’ve been doing some further research and finally came up with this idea after a couple of weeks…..

The Active grill shutters are there to help engine warmup when cold and add aerodynamics to the truck when closed at hiway speeds.

Could it be that these side panels are there to feed air towards the active grill shutters (not necessarily the radiator) to help the aerodynamic effect???? Without these panels (as on the aftermarket grills) the air hits back behind the grill, the windshield washer, etc, and is thus NOT directed toward the shutters or radiator.

If, in fact, that is the case, I would assume that the lack of these panels (as on aftermarket grills) probably has a very minimal effect on the overall operation of the active grill shutters….but then, why are the panels there in the first place?? Certainly, I have seen a fairly large number of 4th generation Rams with aftermarket panel-less grills on the road. Not one has been spewing coolant or oil all over the hiway.

Then, there is the whole idea of the Active Grill Shutters themselves....do they really make any difference or are they like the ridiculous "stop-start feature" as on the 5th generation Rams or my son's F150 ecoboost. Actually, he disabled it at 10,000 miles with the stop-start eliminator and noted absolutely NO MPG DIFFERENCE, except that the truck didn't shut down and restart at every stop sign or traffic light. So, are the Active Grill Shutters the same? My research indicated that in an ideal situation of straight hiway driving on level ground, the fuel savings it about 1.2% !! So, I get right at 20 mpg hiway at 65-70 mph. Given the 1.2% fuel savings that means that I save .24 miles per gallon. At that rate, over a distance of 10,000 miles at 20 miles per gallon I would need 500 gallons. But (hold on) driving 10,000 miles at 19.76 miles per gallon would use (get ready) 506.07 gallons. You got it....6.07 gallons of gas at $3.50 per gallon....the extra cost is $21.24 for the 10,000 mile jaunt.

Knowing that to replace the Active Grill Shutters cost about $1,000, and I personally know two folks that had it done AFTER the warranty ran out. It seems to me that the better thing to do is rip that whole system out of the truck, since I can buy a lot of gas for $1,000....or at least I used to be able to. Everything I read describing the procedure indicates that without the shutters, the engine runs cooler and the temperature is more stable. Also, the oil temp and trans temp both drop at least a couple of degrees. Further, it appears that the 4th Generation Ram Rebels and some Tradesmen do NOT have the shutters from the factory...can't totally verify this. Also, I can find NO EMISSIONS MANDATE from the government that requires the active shutters. Though lots of manufacturers use them, most likely for CAFE ratings, there does not seem to be any requirement, especially not all vehicles have them.

Why do I believe that I’m overthinking this whole thing…good grief !!! ‍‍‍
 

retired

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I thought I read on here somewhere that some new trucks were not coming with them due to the chip shortage and supply chain issue.
 
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zogg

zogg

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Oh…I had not seen that. Thanks
 

GTyankee

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I for one like the AGS
If it keeps the engine compartment at a constant temperature is all good, especially in winter conditions
Keeping bug & straw out of the radiator & condenser that is even better,
If it gives me just a bit better mileage, that's great
 

Bigskyroadglide

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AGS were not on the early 4th gen rams. The 6speeds. Alot of people have deleted removed or otherwise disabled AGS. Me being one.

They are there to improve fuel economy but I have not seen any difference. I get 16 to 18 in town 25 on the road in my RCSB if I drive conservative. If I push it and drive aggressive, then mileage goes down fast.
 

Jwithing

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I removed my AGS when I put my royalty core grille in. Oddly enough, my mpg went up about 1.5 mpg lol. Mostly highway miles.
 
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zogg

zogg

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I’m wondering what the difference is (time lag) when warming up the truck on a very cold without the active shutters???
 
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@zogg you are seriously over thinking this ... those panels are not needed ...

So many aftermarket grills especially the mesh inserts where you have to actually cut the the middle section to lay it over the existing grill and no one has reported any problems with these grills ..

Don't over thing this, get whatever grill you want and slap it on there seriously ....
 

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I don't believe my '12 RCLB with the 4.7, has them. I briefly looked when I did the tuneup on it.
 

Dinky

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My 2014 had active shutters. I did a center cut out mess insert with active shutter delete. I saw no issue at all even took my truck in for warranty work and nothing was said. You might need a paper back and breath.
 

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My 2014 had active shutters. I did a center cut out mess insert with active shutter delete. I saw no issue at all even took my truck in for warranty work and nothing was said. You might need a paper back and breath.
That is exactly the type of grill i was talking about earlier ...nothing wrong with not having them
 

Dinky

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That is exactly the type of grill i was talking about earlier ...nothing wrong with not having them

Well trucks seemed to have managed to run without them for how long? I am not a fan of holding heat into the engine bay that's what the thermostat is for. High heat and engines never end well. What happens if he active shutter system fails shut and does not open?
 
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Well trucks seemed to have managed to run without them for how long? I am not a fan of holding heat into the engine bay that's what the thermostat is for. High heat and engines never end well. What happens if he active shutter system fails shut and does not open?
I can't answer that lol ... but I haven't seen anyone who has done that to their grill report any issues ever ...
 

Dinky

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I can't answer that lol ... but I haven't seen anyone who has done that to their grill report any issues ever ...

2013 was the first year for ram seems all the years before that did just fine lol. It's the new sales gimmick like mds and people are eating it up.
 

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I also deleted the AGS when I installed my Royalty Core grill. I did notice the truck seems to run a bit cooler. Tough to tell if it affected MPG as I also swapped my tires at about the same time. No error codes.
 
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zogg

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Thanks for the info…I’ll also be swapping to A/T tires when the crummy wranglers are warm out. Let me know how it goes. Thanks
 
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