Grill blocking on the C

I would be interested in this as well, based on my hobbies (snowboarding) I do significantly more winter driving than most people, some grill blocking to help the engine get warm and stay warm would be nice.

Revan - if the info you found regarding Grill blocking was for the GenII prius it would probably apply here given they use the same powertrain. That being said I doubt the grill openings are the same size so it may take some measurements of both openings to determine a good adjustment rate.

 

Get a scangauge (or similar) so you know what normal engine coolant temps are, so you can judge how much is too much. (100% may not be too much)
On the Gen 2, you could not see the inverter coolant temp, so folks were MUCH more cautious blocking the inverter radiator. If this is also true of the C, be sure you know where the inverter radiator is, and don't block it 100%.

 

Here is what I have done, I live in Northern VA. I made grill blocks for the upper and lower grills. Only have the upper installed until it gets cooler. Made the grill blocks out of plastic and covered in left over vinyl from blacking out my front bumper. Attached to the grill using toggle bolts. All materials bought at Home Depot for approx $12.
Plastic Sheets were "4' Solid Gutter Covers
Toggle Bolts were 2.5" x 3/8" (2 to attach the top Grill and 3 for the bottom Grill

Found this on the web looks like the inverter is on top


For Uppper Grill

1 Created a template using clear plastic sheets taped to front of car
2 Traced to the gutter cover and cut to shape
3 Test fit to grill and trimmed for better fit
4 Drilled holes for toggle bolts and final fit to grill
5 Removed from grill and covered in 3m flat black vinyl.
6 Attached to grill and covered screws with vinyl

For Lower Grill

1 Measured grill size (30” x 4.5”)
2 Traced rectangle to gutter cover and cut
3 Drilled 3 holes for toggle bolts
4 Attach and test fit
5 Covered in Vinyl
6 Will attach to grill when temps drop below 45F

 

Frost King comes through again. I run blocked to one degree or another almost all the time. Coolant temp isn't the concern and seems to be fairly predictable. The concern is inverter temp which varies by use. I don't know if any of the xgauges work for the c. Expect the inverter temp to be OAT +20F.

 

Regarding the xgauge, I believe the Gen III PIDs work for the C.

On the topic of Grill blocking, does anyone else have some other methods to share. I'm not sure I want to drive around with pipe insulation shown on the front of my car. Could someone explain the gutter method above in more detail?

 

Thanks for the post. I made my mod today. We'll see how the milage improves.

 

Here is my grill blocked.The other day before the grill was blocked when it was 68 I was getting46.5 mpg. The last couple days with the grill blocked with the outside temp being mid 30's I'm still getting 46.5 mpg where it had been 43 mpg in such cold weather. I'm only making 10 mi. round trip excursions since I've done this so if I were traveling a longer distance would I get better mileage? I haven't driven it since the temp. is now upper 20's. If I covered the grill below the Toyota logo would that help? I used the 3/4" tubing. (My daughter said it looks like hair rollers. LOL!)

 

I used black Tiger Tape and completely closed the bottom grills. We were down to the high 44's by then and now we're back up to the high 48's. On a couple of warmer days recently (low 60's) the trip mileage indicated 58+ on a 38 mile one way trip. Normally I would have gotten around 53 on that same trip.

 

Hybrid Effects does have a prototype grill block all ready made for the Prius C but I have not released any photos yet because we have no released the product yet. It is a very nice product and it looks like something the factory would have made and it is flush with the lower grill opening and will help with aero dynamics im sure, but it is a complicated part to make due to the reverse angles incorporated from the factory into the bumper. So the molds have to be two piece molds , Like every thing else with quality and good workmanship to make a nice product there is more time and money to achieve a good product. The only reason we have not released the product for the prius C is that the car we were using to prototype the parts the sponsor whos car we were using the guy vanished.

note: We assume no responsibility for the grill blocking products we sell but we have sold lots of grille blocks for the second generation prius with and with out vents and i have yet to hear one problem from the second generation owners, one guy told me he uses his grille block year round in Texas.

 

Noticed your website appears to be down / broken. Did you ever come out with this product?

 

Getting back into winter so this is relevant again. Been meaning to post this for a bit since I did most of my grill a couple of weeks ago.



Cost: <$3
Tools Needed: Scissors
Time: 5-10 minutes

Used 1" pipe insulation, two 6' lengths was more than enough, I still have spare to finish when the temps drop more severely. On the bottom each length is clamped across two slats, if you do them singly use a smaller diameter insulation and get an extra 6' length of it. On the top I double wrapped each slat so that it would cover better and hold more solidly.

It seemed to hold temp much better right off the bat. Had a couple of 30 and 40 degree days and even some October snow (that's two months earlier than normal for us), MPGs seemed to hold steady enough. I didn't have my C last winter, so I admit that I'm not familiar with what kind of drop off I'm looking for.

 

I tried the 1/2 inch insulation. It left unintentional gaps in the upper grill. I intentionally left a gap on the passenger side upper grill directly in front of the ICE intake.

I've only driven for an hour since adding the insulation. The results are very promising. It is 54° here today and the MPGs are equivalent to a day in the 70's.

I will post photos shortly.

I couldn't upload the photos from my android phone but here they are.

 

hey guys

where in the prius c is the ice and inverter radiator? upper or lower grill

 

The attached drawing clearly shows the layout of the Prius c inverter cooling water system, it shows that the inverter radiator is situated at the bottom.



Text in Illustration
*1 Inverter Water Pump Assembly *2Inverter Reserve Tank Assembly
*3 Inverter with Converter Assembly *4 Radiator Assembly (HV)

 

It's easier to use cardboard to control the airflow at the radiator, than trying to block the grill. Also, cardboard is easier to adjust, so you don't overheat the system.

 

Cardboard? No! The mess it becomes after getting wet doesn't even remotely compare to the foam pipe insulation... which is water & salt proof and only has to be touched once the entire winter.