2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy

spiderman · 10-11-2009, 01:28 PM

I applied blocking to the lower grill. I used 2 - 3/8" think pipe insulation for 3/4" pipe, 3' long sections as mentioned in another poster. I attached them with zip ties. Not real fancy looking (see attached photos) but they should do the job (100% blockage). I am mainly interested in blocking the road crud from getting in the engine compartment but I am sure it will have warm up, retention.

john1701a · 10-11-2009, 04:46 PM

Using 1/2" instead, you can squeeze one into each slot. It looks really nice that way (uniform & small, making them difficult to see) and nothing is needed to keep them in place. The catch is you have to cut few small notches in the foam for fitting around the vertical plastic.

Photos of that for the Iconic are in that User-Guide. Eventually, they'll be photos of the 2010 blocked. But it looks pretty much the same as the other Prius anyway.
.

**Tideland Prius** · 10-11-2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken1784

I think you can block 100% of lower grille and 50% of upper grille on such condition.
If you're going to attack Pikes Peak hill climb, it's another story.

Anyway, following is my personal recommendation.

Celsius	Fahrenheit	lower blocking %	upper blocking %
below 5	below 41	100	50
5 - 18	41 - 64	75	50
18 - 30	64 - 86	75	0
above 30	above 86	50	0

Ken@Japan

Thanks Ken! I'll have to get some new insulating foam. This will be the first time I'll be driving a Prius in below -10°C temperatures (can get as cold as -35°C here!)

KJF · 10-11-2009, 05:39 PM

Will any of this Gen III grill blocking interfere with the outside air temperature sensor?

ken1784 · 10-12-2009, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJF

Will any of this Gen III grill blocking interfere with the outside air temperature sensor?

You might see some artifacts at slow speed, below 20 mph, but it's not a big issue.

Ken@Japan.

**Tideland Prius** · 10-12-2009, 01:44 AM

Well mine's blocked now. 75% lower and 0% upper (don't have a scangauge so I'm playing it safe).

FireEngineer · 10-12-2009, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

Well mine's blocked now. 75% lower and 0% upper (don't have a scangauge so I'm playing it safe).

Do the full 100% lower. Recently at 36F here on the highway the engine temp was about 4F lower than with no block in the summer. No harm will come to you or your Prius. Honest.

Wayne

spiderman · 10-12-2009, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJF

Will any of this Gen III grill blocking interfere with the outside air temperature sensor?

Is that the little thingy about 1" long on the end of a string of wire just in back of the lower grill in front of the radiator? If so, I wonder what effect that would have on the engine feedback?

MikeDS · 10-12-2009, 11:08 AM

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantage of blocking the grill?

spiderman · 10-12-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeDS

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantage of blocking the grill?

Good question. I mainly do it to keep the road crud out of the engine compartment. They sand/salt the roads intensely up here and it all ends up on the engine... a mess.
Also to reduce the cooling off of the coolent so the engine doesn't have to run as much (new to me for the Prius, in theory).

10-11-2009, 01:28 PM	#11
spiderman Prius I am Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Alaska Posts: 531 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: II Package: Base Thanks: 119 Thanked 65 Times in 47 Posts Friends: 2	Re: 2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy I applied blocking to the lower grill. I used 2 - 3/8" think pipe insulation for 3/4" pipe, 3' long sections as mentioned in another poster. I attached them with zip ties. Not real fancy looking (see attached photos) but they should do the job (100% blockage). I am mainly interested in blocking the road crud from getting in the engine compartment but I am sure it will have warm up, retention. Attached Thumbnails

10-11-2009, 04:46 PM	#12
john1701a Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,372 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: IV Package: Solar Roof Thanks: 9 Thanked 145 Times in 70 Posts Friends: 12	Re: 2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy Using 1/2" instead, you can squeeze one into each slot. It looks really nice that way (uniform & small, making them difficult to see) and nothing is needed to keep them in place. The catch is you have to cut few small notches in the foam for fitting around the vertical plastic. Photos of that for the Iconic are in that User-Guide. Eventually, they'll be photos of the 2010 blocked. But it looks pretty much the same as the other Prius anyway. .

10-11-2009, 05:39 PM	#14
KJF Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Small town - north central Idaho Posts: 34 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: II Package: No Package Thanks: 11 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Friends: 0	Re: 2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy Will any of this Gen III grill blocking interfere with the outside air temperature sensor?

10-12-2009, 01:44 AM	#16
Tideland Prius Moderator of the North Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 19,606 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: N/A Package: Technology Package (Canada) Thanks: 227 Thanked 344 Times in 243 Posts Friends: 23	Re: 2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy Well mine's blocked now. 75% lower and 0% upper (don't have a scangauge so I'm playing it safe).

10-12-2009, 11:08 AM	#19
MikeDS Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 198 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: II Package: No Package Thanks: 9 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts Friends: 0	Re: 2010 Prius Grill Blocking strategy Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantage of blocking the grill?

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