New Enginer install/Any Minneapolis ReGo users here?

Use the search facility at the top and look for grill block and block heaters both will help with Fuel consumption and having heat for the heater / demisting etc

 

Grill block uses no electricity. Does wonders keeping some heat in the ICE. I run upper and lower blocks year round.
Chris

 

Yes! Grill block is a easy way to do.
In snowy Minneapolis, You can get it total block without the worry of overheating of radiator for engine.

( ICE: internal-combustion engine )

 

ICE is your gas engine (Internal Combustion Engine).

There are openings in your grill (the front bumper area). Air enters into these openings to keep components cool...too cool, really, especially in winter temps. MN knows some pretty low winter temps! Anyway inserting foam pipe insulation into these gaps and preventing cold air from cooling the engine helps MPG. a warmer engine is more efficient and less polluting, too. many threads on Priuschat about the specifics. Check 'em out for even more Prius goodness.

 

( from Grill block partial or full , wiki of eccomoder.com )
(my post is less than 5, can't use superlink)

Grill blocks have two purposes. The first is it cut down on aerodynamic drag by limiting the amount of air that enters the engine bay. The second is to allow the engine/transaxle (fwd vehicles) to warm up more quickly and retain more heat in the colder months by reducing excessive airflow through the engine compartment in colder months.
Grill blocks come in many forms, though most often they are made to be flush with the outside of the bumper for greatest benefit. Simply inserting a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator does not provide the same aerodynamic benefit.
While grill openings are usually oversized for "worst case" applications (towing a trailer through Death Valley with the A/C on), obviously care must be taken to monitor coolant temperature. If your cooling fan runs more after installing a block, you've gone too far. So, pay attention to your temp gauge and making your grill block easy to remove.
The idea is to block air from entering your engine compartment. This does two things, it reduces drag and helps the engine warm up faster.
This modification can cause the engine to get too hot as the grill block will block off air flow to the radiator. Some users have made actuated grill blocks which open when the radiator gets too hot. This reduces the use of the electric fan which draws power from the battery and therefore from the engine.

 

I have an Enginer system here in Jersey. This is my first winter with a Prius and I recently learned the Prius hybrid system does not work very well when it is cold out. If you watch your MFD you will see the battery is hardly used in the cold. I thought there was something wrong with the Enginer system until I was given this information. I have also found you cannot use EV mode if it is too cold. Hope this helps.

 

MFD= Multi Function Display. The screen in the center of the dash. If you watch the power flow you will see that little to no battery power is used when it is below freezing.

 

USE the search function