Aftermarket grill block? Can you buy it?

no, yes, yes, what about it? maybe.

unless you consider styrofoam pipe insulation from home depot 'aftermarket'.

 

I just used pipe foam insulation I bought at Home Depot on my prius c last year. Got lazy and didn't block my liftback this winter. I did notice a slight improvement in mpg with the grill block when I did it though, maybe 1-2 mpg. Keep in mind I live up north, where we get regular winter weather.

I think where you live, you probably don't need it at all, since it's usually fairly warm down in NM. In fact, I think blocking it there would indeed cause the engine to overheat. Some sites I read about grill blocking say it's a bad idea to block the grill if the temps are above 50 F.

As for the engine block heater, I don't use one, but others who have said that their engine warms up faster, so it does help, but again, mostly in colder areas. I figured if it's not a plug-in hybrid or EV, there's no point in plugging my car in just to save a tiny amount of gas.

 

Yes.

Home Depot. Look in the plumbing aisle for 'pipe insulation' All you have to do is cut to fit.
A four-year-old with pair of rounded kindergarten scissors can do it in about an hour.
I think I can manage in 2.

Probably.
Remember, the Prius is designed and built in Japan.
Just guessing here, but I think It's colder in Japan than it is in New Mexico.

Yes (see above.) Some people just block the lower grill. Some people just say 'no' to grill blocking.

I've never heard of somebody with a block heater, using it in the summer. It seems to me that this would be like wearing a wool sweater to the beach.
Yeah....you can do it, but why????
You're going to use more electrical energy heating the block than you'll save with the shorter warm-up time because (as Richard Pryor would say....) Fire is HOT!
Even if you're off-the-grid and have a solar farm the size of Delaware, the electricity could be put to better use.

You might want to consider spoofing.
Some people try to trick the ICE into a shorter warm-up period, but your bunny-hugging friends might not like it since the G3 is optimized for CLEAN as well as gas frugal, which is why they have that goofy scratch-magnet interior.

Good Luck!

 

This kinda sums up our grill block, pretty standard:



As mentioned, the tubing is residential copper pipe insulation, commonly available. This is the larger of two commonly available diameters, I believe. Works well with the Prius hatchback grill bar spacing. It has a slit at the back, you push it onto the grill slats. I'm using Velcro tape, very secure, and also very easy to remove/reuse, less wasteful and more convenient than zip ties.

I leave the upper open all the time, due to the small inverter radiator being up there. There's no point to "grill blocking" it. For the c you should find out where the inverter rad is, you need to be careful blocking that area, not good to have overheating inverter.

That aside, I block the lower opening as follows:

from (say) 10C down to 0C: 50% (one tube)
below 0C: 100% (two tubes, as shown above)

I think it would be very bad to grill block through summer. Some are cavalierly doing it, but I consider it misguided, to put it mildly: ANY time you're using AC to cool the cabin, grill blocking makes no sense.

By "engine heater" I think you're referring to the the "block heater", ie: the electric heater element for warming up coolant? We've got that, and use it year 'round. Always a good idea, beneficial, at least that's my take. I try to run it for 1~2 hours before first trip of the day. Basically it'll raise the coolant temp about 20~30C above ambient, particularly with 2 hours use. Later in the day, the car will retain residual heat pretty good, for 4~5 hours, no point to use it again.