2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy

LOL... turn it off if its too warm for you!!

 

Yes, that is certainly another option. I personally do not prefer it because the windows then tend to fog up, which is a safety issue, and manually cycling the defroster on and off is inconvenient. But for those who don't mind, that is definitely another alternative.

Yet another alternative is to manually set the fan speed to low. In cold weather, low fan speed limits the amount of heat transfer, so that it is possible to maintain a cabin air temperature below 65°F (16°C in my car) without manually cycling the heater. On the rare occasions when I am alone and dressed very warmly, I also use this method. This is also a good alternative for those who prefer colder cabin temperatures.

Getting back to the subject of this thread, to get the maximum benefit of grill blocking during cold weather, optimizing your heater settings with consideration to your personal priorities should be part of your 2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy.

 

I have read several post on blocking the air inlets. All of them seem to use styrofoam pipe wrap....maybe it's the old truck driver in me. But I wish I had a cover that would snap over the lower inlet...much like you see on the heavy trucks on the road. It would be even better if it were printed with something like "Prius Power" or even "Mack Power"

 

A kit was sold for the Gen II Prius:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/70588-review-hybrid-effects-grille-block.html

 

defrost is a major concern here in the Northwest, but i do cycle it on and off because it does make a difference in mileage and engine temps. i am currently tracking the effects of grill blocking and i see as much as a 6º temp drop when defrost is running. now, this has to weighed over many instances because driving at street speeds where EV operation will be cycling as well.

to be honest with ya, i know a lot of people who want things set (like the person i live with) and then never touch it again. i am not one of those people. i like gadgets, button pushing, tweaking or whatever you want to call it... blends well with my OCD.

if i was not playing with climate controls, i would probably be playing with the vent directions, radio stations, lumbar support...

P.S. the tracking of the grill blocking hit a major stumbling block and not sure i want to restart.

the objective; one tank with zero blocks, one with 100% lower, then one with 100% lower and about 70-80 % upper (blocking all 4 vents but with air gaps on both ends of all slots)

well everything was going good. the zero block tank is in my sig. but a few days after phase 2, my place of employment burned down, so my controlled commute was drastically changed. now as bad as it seems, it actually only accelerated our move to the already planned new facility on the opposite side of town of which i happen to live between.

so i went from a 6.9 mile, heavily controlled commute (has about 11 traffic lights) to a 9.1 mile commute that skirts the back roads at 40 mph (the first 6 miles consists of a right turn and and left turn after i exit my complex). there is a traffic congestion area for the middle 2 miles but since my tank is sitting probably 8 mpg higher, i dont feel the results can be extrapolated.

so i will probably keep what i have as far as data and restart it next year maybe...but then again, i will have my Leaf,so maybe not

 

Wow, that is excellent. When temperature went from +2C to -10C my fuel effeciency went from 4.7l/100km to 5.5l/100km. I have a short commute 11km and with -10C there is hardly any glide. The ICE will allmost never turn off until the very end. 100/30 grill block, block heater and internal heater.

 

I thought that on the Gen 2 the lower grill shouldn't be blocked because of the hybrid motor? I just started blocked my lower grill and have a Scan Gauge on the way, but seeing this picture is making me confused

 

Anyone know where the air intake for the ICE is? I'm worried that with all the grill blocking, the ICE will be starving for oxygen to maintain optimal burn.

 

Gen 2's inverter radiator is behind the lower grill, Gen 3's is behind the upper grill.

 

The intake is between the fender and the engine compartment. No worries here.

 

This is much like my former commute. Using a block heater for 3 hours have helped. I have not saved money but I have reduced my fuel consumption (ie the cost of the electricity for the 400W for 3 hours @ 0,08$CAN/kWh = the cost of saved gas @ 1,2$CAN/L.

BTW, if you have the 3rd gen Prius, common knowledge is that you should fully block the lower grille then block 0-50% of the upper grille, as the inverter radiator is behind the upper grille. By stating that you blocked 100/30, it seems like you have fully blocked the inverter radiator and partly the engine radiator... not good.

 

I recommend EPDM foam pipe insulation, also known as solar pipe insulation. It is more expensive, but it is more durable, and stays soft and elastic much longer.

I used a 19 x 18 mm size (inside diameter x wall thickness) and cut it with a sharp knife into 35 mm wide strips that I stuff between the slats of the grill.


I can block and unblock individual slits in the grill very quickly, and the EPDM foam is still in good shape after inserting and removing it repeatedly during the last three years.

 

I bought this at Manards this morning for 97 cents. It fits fine in the 2010 prius.

 

I guess it should be 30/100 (up/low).

Tomorrow -25C and 250km (210km @ regular highway, 40km @ autobahn). I am not expecting superb mileage. I decided to add more grill block (now 60/100(up/low)). Maybe I could go 100/100 as it is becoming so cold. What do the Canadian Prius experts think, after all you are used to this kind of weather?

 

As the upper grille as two rows, I thought it was strange to say that 30% of it was blocked...

I did not and would not without a ScanGauge to monitor the inverter temp.

 

How is that? I would claim that the lower grill has two rows and the upper grill only has one row. Or have I misunderstood something. See picture of my 60/100 configuration.

 

well had MAJOR plans to post some stats on grill blocking. i did a tank earlier with no grill blocking tracking my morning commute. i use this because i start at 6 am and the variances due to traffic is nearly nonexistent. BUT our building burned down Nov 28th, so that basically pushed up our scheduled move to the new building. now i had completed the zero block tank and was a few days into the 100% lower block when this happened. but can say that there was a DEFINITE jump in mileage. now the mileage registered has a variance of 6 miles over time due to changing weather, etc. but each of the grill block days went up except one which was about the average of the non grill block days.

on my sig is the tank with the 100% grill block. now granted this is all driving so includes the evening commute which is VERY congested for the first 3½ miles and all other driving. but at better than 50 mpg in real #'s i feel that was significant.

now, my new commute is better for mileage but slightly uphill in the going direction. its now 9 miles with 25 mph for the first 1.2 miles then 40 mph for the next 5½ miles with only a single left turn and no traffic controls. the last few miles are pretty congested and at 35 mph but that speed is mostly unattainable and has a slope that creates a huge hit on mileage (the overpass to I-5) since the far side is at a slightly higher elevation.

but just for comparison keeping in mind the differences in the commute, the tank before this one without grill blocking and the first part of the tank being much milder weather than we are having now was 46.1 mpg