A ground plate is one of the four main components on a vehicle’s radiator. When the temperature outside falls below the freezing point, known as the frost point, the air is forced to enter the vehicle’s radiator system through the underside of the ground plate. The heated air is cooled as it exits the radiator system through the vents in the hood or by re-circulating into the engine’s intake manifold. If you’re wondering how the hell a ground plate heats up the winter air and why it’s called a ground plate, here’s an explanation call us today:
How the hell a ground plate heats up the winter air?
Basically, a ground plate (also called a front mount) is one of several components that act as an insulator for the engine of a vehicle. In plain English, it’s the “sucker” for the radiator without which the whole engine compartment would not function. The reason it gets called a ground plate is that when you install any radiator on your vehicle, it’s always best to install it under your ground mirror – this acts as a thermal barrier that slows down heat transfer from the exterior to the interior of the engine compartment. As any radiator fan will tell you, this isn’t just a cosmetic change, this makes a real difference in the way that your car runs and how warm it is when it’s running.
If you’re wondering how do ground plates actually work in an engine and what causes it to heat up, the answer lies in the engine’s radiator duct system. Essentially, as you can imagine, the heat produced by the engine’s radiator is warmed by the back end of the radiator duct piping but also from the underside of the ground plate. This is why a cold ground can actually reduce the temperature of the interior by several degrees making it a much better choice than a warm surface.