Grill blocked for the first time (Phoenix)..questions

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by kalome, Dec 17, 2012.

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  1. kalome

    kalome Member

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    Grill blocked today for the first time and have a couple questions.
    Temps have been dropping more these last 3-4 days and have noticed my MPG dropping as well so I thought I'd try grill blocking.

    Temps have been and will be high 30s-low 40s in the morning and upper 50s to mid 60s for the high.

    At first I just wedged the pipe insulation and drove one trip. I didn't feel comfortable that it would hold for the long haul so I added zip ties.
    I used two pieces of pipe insulation 1/2 inch copper / 3/8 inch iron. Up close it looks like 2/3 or 3/4 of the grill is covered.
    I attached some pics...before and after I added the zip ties.

    My two questions:
    For fWT, at what temperature should it not exceed?
    At what outside temperature should I remove the pipe insulation? In the Phoenix area, temperatures rise in March and sometimes we will have a short period of warmer than normal temps in February. I just want to make sure I do not cause overheating.

    Thanks.



    IMG_0968.JPG
    IMG_0969.JPG
     
    #1 kalome, Dec 17, 2012
  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Ohh boy. We need to show you how to make it cleaner looking. Can't have my buddy looking ghetto. :p

    I feel that Fwt over 198F on flat land is getting too hot. Going up a long hill I expect Fwt to hit 200F but it should come back down quickly. Anything above 200F for any length of time worries me.

    A long steep grade at 60mph has made me hit 202F when it was only 65F+- when using a full lower grille block and no upper grille block.
     
    #2 F8L, Dec 17, 2012
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  3. kalome

    kalome Member

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    LOL. Its that bad huh? I was looking all over for black to match, but couldn't find the right size. Went to three (Ace, Lowes, Home Depot) different hardware stores and they all had the larger size ones in black only, so went with grey.
     
    #3 kalome, Dec 17, 2012
  4. Mark Knight

    Mark Knight Junior Member

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    Heres a good link
    http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17560
     
    #4 Mark Knight, Dec 17, 2012
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  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The grey is fine but you need to sandwich it between the grille openings. That way you don't see it so much. It fits snug and doesn't require zip ties. :)
     
    #5 F8L, Dec 17, 2012
  6. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Sorry for the terrible iPad picture but I didn't want to pull my car out of the garage for a shot. :)
     

    Attached Files:

    #6 F8L, Dec 17, 2012
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  7. Ragin Cajun

    Ragin Cajun Junior Member

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    Im not following how temps above 200 can cause issues. Many cars run higher temps at certain times during a drive. The coolant is designed to not boil at 212 and it will protect the engine. My gen 3 normally runs at 194-197 on any given day. I dont see how this can harm anything.
     
    #7 Ragin Cajun, Dec 17, 2012
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You do not want the fans to activate and draw power. Besides, it smelled like hot plastic after my uphill drive with 202F temps. LOL
     
    #8 F8L, Dec 17, 2012
  9. kalome

    kalome Member

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    Yeah I actual fixed it before I saw this message. How is this? Looks a lot better.
    image.jpg
     
    #9 kalome, Dec 17, 2012
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  10. Ragin Cajun

    Ragin Cajun Junior Member

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    The fans running and drawing power I can understand but some posts suggest running above 200 will cause engine issues. I just ant to get my facts straight.
     
    #10 Ragin Cajun, Dec 17, 2012
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    looks much better.(y) did you have to slit the foam for the vertical supports?
     
    #11 bisco, Dec 17, 2012
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  12. kalome

    kalome Member

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    Thanks. I should of looked at some Prius grill blocking pics before I tried the first time. I did cut vertical slits for those vertical supports. The spacing between each vertical support is about 4 inches if I am remembering correctly.

    Edit - The spacing is 4.5 inches.
     
    #12 kalome, Dec 17, 2012
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  13. kalome

    kalome Member

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    I added another piece so I am now 75% blocked for the lower grill.
    It is going to be in the high 30s tomorrow morning and 62 for the high. It should continue around that temp range for a while, maybe a tad warmer (low 40s/mid 60s), so I decided to add another piece tonight.
    Thanks for the quick response and help on this.
     
    #13 kalome, Dec 20, 2012
  14. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You should be fine. I have mine 100% blocked again now that temps are staying in the 50s for the high. :)
     
    #14 F8L, Dec 20, 2012
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  15. kalome

    kalome Member

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    Ken from Japan posted this a while back regarding grill blocking on the Gen III. He has 75% lower for the temp range of 64-86.
    Not sure if I feel comfortable with that. I may go 50% for temp ranging 64-86.
    What is your opinion on his recommendation below?

    following is my personal recommendation.
    temp in Celsius temp in Fahrenheit lower blocking % upper blocking %
    1 below 5 below 41 100 50
    2 5 - 18 41 - 64 75 50
    3 18 - 30 64 - 86 75 0
    4 above 30 above 86 50 0
     
    #15 kalome, Dec 20, 2012
  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    It really depends on how hard your car is pushed. If you are driving long distances at higher speeds then I wouldn't block so much. If you have a short 10 mile commute on city streets then go for it but watch your temps. If you have a 2-3mile commute you may be able to do a 100% in those conditions. :) I would suggest inflating the hell out of your tires in the last scenario!
     
    #16 F8L, Dec 20, 2012
  17. kalome

    kalome Member

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    I try to keep my tires inflated 42/40. Because of the cold weather I had to inflate them last weekend. The temp was 49-50 at the time I inflated them.
    My commute to work is 14.5 miles one way, 2/3 highway, 1/3 city driving. This morning was about 37F and my fwt temp peaked 190 on the freeway staying mostly in the 180s.
     
    #17 kalome, Dec 20, 2012
  18. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Unfortunately, the coolant temp is not everything. Has anyone monitored oil temp and MG temps with grill blocking?
     
    #18 Former Member 68813, Dec 20, 2012
  19. kalome

    kalome Member

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    Hey Justin,

    Unless I am blind I don't see anywhere on Priuschat where I can PM someone, only public messages on their profile page.
    I PM you on Fuelly just now. Please take a look.

    Thanks.
     
    #19 kalome, Dec 20, 2012
  20. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Click on the username. In the popup window click "start a conversation". That is the new PM. :)
     
    #20 F8L, Dec 20, 2012
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