grill blocking

I used black duct tape on mine on 2 of the 4 lower grill slots for now. It looks much neater and it blends in nicely with the black grill.

 

Let's see some pics, what about removal wont it leave behind the sticky residue.

 

If it does, I'm sure it will be easy enough to remove with bug/tar remover. I'll remove what I have in a few weeks and see how hard it is to remove and if there's any issues with the plastic. I'll post pics tonight or tomorrow. I picked up the black duct tape at my local auto "Auto Zone" store a while ago.

 

Here are two photos of my lower grill blocked with black duct tape.

 

It looks great.

 

Vinyl cove base molding - the kind used for the tile / wall interface for any tiled room. Black, tie -strapped to the grille. Easy to cut, easy to punch holes in for tie-straps using a leather punch.

 

I wonder how it would look if someone manufactured a vinyl aftermarket bottom grill cover, same material as the bra, with reinforced edges. Not sure if it could be tied down tightly enough to prevent all airflow from getting through though.

 

For me, that is the next step. I plan on having just such a thing constructed by a local automotive upholstery shop. It must use a quick release system so that both slots (upper and lower) can be blocked, either upper or lower or none.

 

If the quality is good, you might ask if they would be willing to do a group buy on them. I could be in for something like that.

 

I'm working on a Carbon Fiber blocker... Same release method as above, but will be on a Chloroplast backing. Will have pics once I get it all painted up before I get around to fibering it all.

 

I have had my entire grille fully blocked with 1" foam cutouts. I left a small 2x2 in hole on the bottom left for the inverter. I have kept it blocked since winter. I have a SG to monitor temps and my engine coolant temp hardly ever goes over 205F. Usually stays around 180-195F whether its 32F or 80F out. Is it staying in that temp range bc the fan is coming on to cool it? I have never heard the fan run (not sure how loud it is) but I find it hard to believe that the engine coolant temp would remain the same even when the ambient temperature changes 50F. Any help would be appreciated!

 

already done except its plastic and color coded to match and is attached but had removable plugs; circles approximately 2-3" in diameter.

still can be removed but probably not what you want to do. still no semi permanent solution for the top yet

 

i block 100 % in winter but remove when temps hit the 60's. if the fans come on and you are not moving you will definitely hear them. on my 2004 (last time i heard the fans run was like 2005??) they came on and you can definitely hear them while in cabin.

as FYI fans came on during trip to Montana 75 mph with OAT hitting 102º. they came on when i stopped for a pee. they ran 3 mins, turned off. then ran a few minutes more.

as i was pulling out of the rest stop still moving at 5 mph, i heard them come on again. unfortunately i did not have any thing to check temps so dont know what the water temps were (did not get CANVIEW) until that winter

 

The only other noise I hear from my prius other than the ICE is the whirring sound of the coolant pump for 10 seconds after I power off. Sometimes I can hear this same sound for 2-3 seconds when getting into the driver seat and depressing the brake (even if the car has been powered off and sitting for a quite a while). Drove home today with ambient 85F on highway at 70 and don't think I heard it either.

 

C-ONE makes an upper grill block part that Singma sells. I'm looking into buying one, but it's hard to get competing quotes from other vendors.