My attempt at grill blocking

That looks great!

I'm going to head over to Home Depot in a little while if this girl doesn't call back. lol

*goes off to search for the thread about what size tube to buy*

 

Finally got to the lower grill today. Did all except the lowest space and left a little open on the left side. Looks similar to yours Green Hokie. Then went out this afternoon for a spin - OAT 61 degrees, 10% city/90% highway. fWT never rose beyond 191', but did a MUCH better job of maintaining temp on the highway. Now the heat gained from the EBH won't be undone in 5 minutes. Will see how it affects my short commute this coming week. Thanks again FireEngineer!

 

Nice! Looks very OEM. If anyone who does not know what grill blocking is, is looking at the pics they will be wondering what the heck they are looking at.

 

Very impressive Green Hokie.

Can anyone confirm if the insulation is lost by going out the back of the grill, or out the front of the grill?

Maybe if the segments are tied together or held in place with more than just friction, they will stay in place?

My next project is Amsoil oil bypass filter but will also look into adding and securing pipe insulation since it's starting to get cold in the mornings.

I would think a single piece with small concealed bungy cords holding each grill cover would better?

 

Thanks Tony

I'll try to figure out how to secure them a little better after hearing about yours (and Evan's) lossening up.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 15 2007, 08:36 AM) [snapback]525793[/snapback]</div>

It looks to me Green Hokie jammed to whole length of the insulation rod in between the ribs (you can see the individual ribs in his pictures). Since there is slightly more space in between the ribs on the upper grill he used the thicker 3/4" rods and used the 1/2" rods in between the thinner lower grill. When I used the same method I found that in the upper grill the rods stay in place much easier than on the lower. I was also thinking to cut vertical slits for the lower grill blocking to match the vertical braces and to make sure the blocker stay in place.

Green Hokie I assume the vertical slits you cut are at the point where the pipe insulation split is (perpendicular to it)? By cutting these slits the insulation can be pushed in further and there is more points of contact where the friction fit holds it in place.

Thanks for the informative post,
Gabe

 

I did the search for you: http://priuschat.com/index.php?s=&show...st&p=458625

It looks like max is ~212 oF and the engine fan will run at 204, in which case you're better off unblocking, probably. I don't know where those numbers come from, other than the boiling point of water, so if someone can verify accuracy, that would be nice.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Hokie @ Oct 15 2007, 12:30 PM) [snapback]525874[/snapback]</div>

That's clean. Nice job! Wanna redo mine for me?

I have the bottom slit on the bottom grill open, and originally planned like last winter to keep it open until winter sets in for good. This will be my first winter with Can-View, so I might plug up that slit sooner, watching inverter temperatures closely.

 

Tangent:

Is there anything other than some documented user experience that suggests that pipe insulation is the best candidate for the job of grill blocking?

What I mean is, sure it's a nice fit, and it's made to insulate, but isn't the whole point just to block airflow? So something thinner may work too? Like a custom tailored piece of windproof fabric like the fabric a wind-breaker is made from? Or a thin but firm sheet of plastic, cut to fit?

I'm the type to do something like that, so I might give it a try this winter. I'd especially love to do it with fabric and some heavy-duty snaps... maybe even put a zipper on it for variable air flow.

[adds to bottom of long to-do list...]

 

I improved a grill blocker out of double corrugated cardboard. I'll then cut it out of 1/16" or 3/32" black textured ABS sheet plastic. (I'm using a small bungy cord to hold it in place in the picture.) I could also apply thin strip of foam insulation to the backing and around the edges to ensure it is sealed to the grill and surrounding edges.

I'm also going to use 3/32" black textured ABS plastic to mold/shape a cover for the NAV/MFD to block the glare from the sun.

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The explanation for the bra being pulled down is the bra manufacturer doesn't take into account the plastic trim piece found on the 2007. I haven't tried the Toyota dealer sold bra yet since it doesn't cover as much area but I have one.