Hey all, For those of you that are blocking your grille, how much do you block (all of the top and 3/5 of the bottom) what about during the summer? and when do start to put on blocks for fall/winter/spring?
I have read that when temperatures remain under 50 degrees all day there is little danger of overheating with the grill blocked. I blocked my upper grill about 2 weeks ago, and will be working my way downward very soon. If you do a search for 'blocked grill' you will find tons of information. It is important to keep the inverter cool. The inverter occupies the lower third of the radiator, so the lower part of the grill should be blocked last. I just got a Scangauge II and can monitor coolant temps, so I feel more comfortable with blocking more of the grill now. Please read the posts from some of the more experienced posters though, as they are extremely helpful.
You could probably block the top year around without danger...I guess if you were heavily stressing the ICE with temps exceeding 100F there might be some small risk, but even then I doubt that. I blocked my entire upper grill about a month ago. I blocked my lower grill last week, but removed it a few days ago when temps pushed over 90 for a stretch...not b/c the inverter was hot, but b/c there was so little air flow into the engine compartment that the air coming into the cabin through the vents was hotter than the outside air temp!!! Now that temps are settling down into the 70s for highs I'll probably put the lower block back on tonight or tomorrow.
I pretty much agree with Evan there. I have had my upper two blocked all summer long. As for the bottom five: - I'm thinking of keeping 1 and 5 blocked year 'round because they are thinner and a pain to put in / take out. - 2, 3, and 4 come and go depending on the temp. When above 65ºF, I will block 2 and 4, leaving 3 open. When above ~85ºF, I will take another one out. Below 65ºF, I block them all. NOTE: I glide and stealth a lot and do not stress the engine. I do not drive on the interstate and my top speed most days is 45 MPH.
I have the top grille blocked although I lost one of my foam pieces in the torrent rain yesterday down I-5. I gotta cut another piece out and stick it in.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob64 @ Oct 10 2007, 03:49 PM) [snapback]523882[/snapback]</div> lol. For a moment there, I thought you meant StarCraft :lol:
A starcraft would also be handy for inter-galactic travel... hopefully it is fusion powered Then again a StarGate would also be very handy
both have been blocked for weeks now. After watching the ICE and inverter temps for a couple of years now I still stand by by opinon of block the lower first and the upper last. Watch your temps with both blocked off then pull the upper and watch how the ICE never gets warm (87C)in normal driving around town. In 50F weather or lower block both if you have a way of monitoring the temps.
That sorta contradicts what other people has said in other blocking threads... how blocking the top has no effect on temps... Question: would you consider blocking 75% of the front hood, only leaving a huge block of space on the inverter side, be better then leaving a row open all along the bottom grille?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob64 @ Oct 12 2007, 11:30 PM) [snapback]525027[/snapback]</div> I guess no one has looked at it over the long term. Just monitor it with CANview or Scangauge or a MiniScanner for the Classic.
i would like some answers too! so.. what works for sure? i seem to agree with evan and tony for the most part. no clue about the subject... but they're knowledgeable
I'll explain it again. I've been blocking it for 3 years now. Last 2 years I had blocked the 2k4 grill and not the upper slots and in the winter noticed that the ICE never got to 87C which is the temp at which the thermostat opens and was very reluctant to go ito stealth (it's her car and I don't drive it much). So one day when I got home from grocery shopping I blocked the top slots and went for a drive and sure enough 90 C on the same drive and every stop it was in stealth. So now I block the bottom off first and when the day time temps drop to 50F block the uppers as well. If it gets warm I just get her to pull the top 2 and no worries. This made almost 1 liter per hundred difference in the fuel ecomomy of her car over the winters where I only blocked the lower. The car now goes into stealth easily and the temp is touching 90C after a mile or so. Come spring time I pull the uppers first as the car gets enough cooling air flow thru it and then lastly the lower blockers when the day time temp is approching 50F
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon @ Oct 15 2007, 12:48 AM) [snapback]525750[/snapback]</div> That makes perfect sense. Here on the coast I don't have to worry as much about the temp changes. At least that is what I thought for the first year that I owned my Prius. Then I was looking at the plastic blockers for my truck and thinking about temperature changes affecting ICE warm up and shut offs... So I built a plastic blocker for the grill and the change was instantaneous. My ICE shut off much sooner and my mileage went up. I just hated the look of the plastic that I used (Old shop grade 1/8 black plastic.) Now from another thread I discovered people using pipe insulation. MUCH better looking...... Thank you for the concise explanation.
