My attempt at grill blocking

Hi Evan,

Also, Polyethylene pipe insulation foam is water proof.

Unlike cardboard in the previous post. In a good storm here in the midwest, that cardboard is going to be disintigrated and all the little pieces of it weill be stuck in the tiny radiator passageways. Not good. And time-consuming to fix without access to the back side of the radiator, and a compressed air gun.

Classic Touring..., there is corrugated and other structual versions of plastic board. Cloroplast is the common traide name, and any sign shop will have it, or there will be some in their dumpster. Rigid Foamed PVC board is another good candidate - called Sintra by sign-makers. You did replace that cardboard pattern with ABS sheet stock, right ?

 

I have built radiator blockers in the past out of sheet plastic but none of the colors/sheen looked right on my Prius. I love the inexpensive and nice looking pipe insulation.

I will see if I can find a source for the large sheet insulation made from the same product as the pipe insulation. We used to use a sheet form that was about 1 inch thick to wrap well casings and ductile feeder pipes when I worked for a water company. The stuff that we got came in 12inch by 16foot pieces.

I am thinking that using strips cut slightly oversize would stay in place yet because it came from a flat sheet it would have less of the 'rounded' look to it.

 

That is very bad for the environment.
I would recommend using zip ties, or removable metal clamps (designed for foam over pipes and available at Home Depot) next time.

 

Zip ties or clamps are not necessary if you use the squeeze method instead. 1/2" pipe insulation fitted into each slot (not spanned) by squeezing the 2 layers of foam together won't come out until you pull it. And even then, it tears out into pieces.
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The mod looks fantastic.

Working from your sketchs, I have the insulation cut, and I can fold it in on itself well, but... What did you use to glue the tube to itself? The tubes I bought have a self-adhesive strip, however there is no way that glue is strong enough.

 

I agree John. I folded the insulation so it was double layered and squished it into place. I cut slots to make room for the plastic bracing inside the grille opening and ensure a tight fit. This is on the upper grille, the temps in my area on average are not low enough to risk blocking the lower much.

I ran the insulation most of last winter and never had the pieces come loose. I removed them and reinstalled them the other day and they still look new. The engine warms up much faster on my commute now.

 

Has anyone tried any grill block that was fit and store bought? Like this one Toyota Prius - Grille Blocks - Toyota Prius Hybrid Grille Block - Grille Blocking (Shipping Included)
it looks nice but the down side here is you still have to attach it some how. Was thinking of making something like this but the attachment with out any damage is my concern

 

I just did a john1701a-style foam job on my '10. This is my first time doing it. I did get a scangage 2, so I should be able to keep an eye on the temperature.

 

Well, you guys inspired me to try this myself. I did not do as fancy of a job...but I had a bunch of 1/2' pipe insulation, so I put some just on the top slots.

Will this make a difference? (Not doing the bottom slots?)

I think there is a bit of confusion with the sizes, because there are two different types of foam pipe insulation. There is the smoother, way softer, black kind, and the more rigid extruded type. I used the latter, and it fit very snugly on those two top slots. Mine is colored a strange brownish/gray color...looks great on the sand color, (sorry-brainfreeze, I don't remember the REAL color name) that my 2007 Prius is.

Frank D.

 

Frank,

I used the more rough greyish/black colored stuff. Like you stated it fit VERY snug inside the two upper slots and did not require any kind of adhesive.

Unfortunately right after I installed mine the morning commute weather jumped from 27 degrees to 40 degrees. I did notice, however, that the engine warmed up to operating temps (170deg) MUCH faster. I only got 3 miles or so down the road before the car was warmed up. Without the grille blocking and in 27deg temps the car would not warm up until about the 11th mile or so. This is a 98% freeway commute at 70mph.

 

Thank you!
Did you just do the top slats, or everything?

It is in the teens here today, with mornings in the single digits. I try not to drive my Prius much in the winter, prefering to keep it going as long as I can. I usually drive my jeep to work, but the firehouse is only about 3 miles from my home.

Frank D.

 

I just did the upper slots for now. I've been monitoring my battery temp but on my commute with 40-50deg ambient temps the battery never seems to get above 30-40deg. On a long commute it will warm up more so I have been heistant to do the lower slots. With temps in the 20s or less I'd definitely do the lower slots and just watch the temps (both water and battery) on the scangauge. This is especially true if I had a very short commute.