More MPG, less ICE noise, and very cheap.

Baxter! You know I don't speak Spanish! I'm gonna need a friend to translate for me. Looks like you are insulating the hood.

 

You blocked those two holes to prevent heat loss?

 

Google Translate it. Seems reasonable. Less heat-loss the better.

 

Hi Motoleon,

Very interesting. For the heat to be so effected, there must be a allot of air flowing though that gap. This is directly indicated by the picture on the second page of that thread, showing the melted snow around the outer edges of the hood, as well!

I had a gasket on the front of my 2nd Gen Prius hood. Similar to what is on the 3rd Gen Prius. This improves on the 3rd Gen Prius hood seal even more. Its probable the 3rd Gen Prius was designed as you have modified it, and the seals were eliminated for cost issues. Since there are those punched holes in the fender.

I am curious if the lack of these seals are causing the worse aerodynamics I have experienced with my 3rd Gen Prius, versus my modified 2nd Gen Prius (may she rest in peace). The air coming out the sides of the hood might be causing turbulent flow down the side of the car. The difference in noise you hear, might not be engine noise isolation, but reduction in turbulent flow of external air?!

The picture is of a 2nd Gen Prius. On my modified 2nd Gen Prius, I had my top grill blocked all year. This in combination with the front hood seal, probably choked off the flow out the sides of the hood, even without the seals.

In the 3rd Gen Prius, the top grill is the inverter radiatior, so it cannot be blocked off. Thus there is a more direct path for the air from behind the upper (inverter) radiator, along the underside of the hood, to the side gaps. Resulting in much greater siphoning action of the air along the underside of the hood. And greater heat flow out of the engine comparment than the 2nd Gen Prius with the upper grill blocked.

 

This mod can be combined with grill blocking.

 

How exactly is this done? Tried following the translated page but I don't fully understand what is going on.

 

This is a great idea. Simple concept. Secure a piece of insulation, either pipe tubing insulation or rubber door insulation, to the sides of the hood area just past the headlight assembly. Insulation can go up to where the hood meets the body. Secure the insulation using the two holes on the ledge as mounting points for zip ties. This compliments grill blocking. I'll be watching my temperature readings for anything abnormal, but for now, ambient temperatures are quite low so it might be awhile.

 

Would like to find some of the door gasket material. Anyone know where to get some cheaply?

 

Seems pretty easy. I already have top and bottom grill blocking. Does anyone think this will be too much even for the winter?

 

If you get the temp idiot light then yes. If I can find some of the material I will do it and watch the water temp with my Scan Gauge and post the results. I really doubt there will be any issue though.

 

FWIW, for my Gen-III, I just used left-over generic 3/4" pipe insulation material from the stuff I had purchased to block the upper & lower grills. This can be purchased by the bag from any big-box home improvement store. Examples here in the lower 48 include Lowe's, Home Depot, or basically any hardware store.

 

Hey we got those too.

I have that pipe stuffed in my grills but I was thinking a little more like what the OP had in the second picture which would be more durable and aesthetically pleasing.

 

Why is trapping the heat good for the car?

 

Because Prius is so efficient that it does not generate a lot of heat. During the cold season, we trap the heat so the gas engine can shut down more often like during the warm season.

 

Ha! I looked at the OPs pics again, and I think are right. I'm just too cheap & too lazy to go find the good stuff, although I think his version might also provide the better seal. Still, it killed 15 minutes this afternoon, and I was pleased to have "recycled" the stuff I had laying around from before. We'll see if it does any good here in MN.

I lived in Kodiak for 3 years. As I recall, bars outnumbered churches 2:1 (Beachcombers FTW, & the Russian Orthodox church was also fabulous), but it was tough to find anything useful in Kodiak unless it was associated with fishing. My only experience w/the "interior" is (a) my 2nd cousin Alec still lives in Fairbanks & (b) I think I remember driving through Anchorage to access the Al-Can when I drove back after Exxon Valdez. So basically, nothing recent

 

I think you could do the job with some hardware store garage door weatherstripping. The big rubber weather srtipping.

Here's an examplehttp://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B000052036?tag=priuschatcom-20's different than what the OP used but I think there is enough flexible rubber there to do the job.

 

Clever. I actually have some of that. But to get the height, one would have to double it over.

I think I might check out a junked car for the door gasket. Might even check out the autoparts store too.

 

A walk through an autoparts store and a hardware store weather strip area is a good idea. Sometimes ideas jump out at you when you see what they have.

If I understand your need to double it over to reduce the height, you could trim it. It took me awhile to remember what I used it for. I used some of it to seal around a 96 Corvette radiator to force all the air to go through the radiator instead of around it. I trimmed is severely and ended up with what I needed..

I believe he said he used some automotive weatherstrip from a wrecking yard car. Pero mi castellano es muy débil.