Where can I get a Winter Front?

Andy,
I searched and could not find any sources for one.
Hope someone out here can help the both of us.

Dan.

 

I was thinking of putting pipe insulation around the bars in the grille as a temporary measure. If ScanGauge shows improvements, I'll think of something more elegant.

Jay from Winipeg made his own winter front for his Prius. I'd love to know details.

I thought I could buy a bra for the prius and place black plastic sheeting from black trashbags between the bra and the grilles. Has anyone tried this?

Can the lower grille be removed, wrapped in plastic sheeting (better yet, heavy black shrinkwrap) and then reinstalled?

Aftermarket replacement grilles that restrict or eliminate airflow might be the most elegant, but also more expensive and difficult to switch with warm and cold spells. I haven't seen many choices.

 

It's not worth it. Your Prius is not a 1948 Massey Ferguson tractor: it does a perfectly good job of regulating its own temperatures. Things are so tight in the drive compartment that you can easily overinsulate and overheat something. Saving 10% on your fuel bill all winter will not begin to pay for a new inverter.

 

many have blocked their radiators and monitored temps with CANVIEW and not one single person in the dozens that have tried it came anywhere near dangerously high temps including hdrygas who lives across town from me.

here we have very mild winters (it snows an average of once every other year...used to be 1-2 a season...global warming took care of that) typical winter highs here mid 40's so severe cold a rarity here.

if you are in an area where temps hit freezing on a regular basis, i think you will find it becomes a comfort issue. your heater will work much better as well as a bump in the mileage.

ps....hdrygas besides blocking the radiator, also uses a block heater and he still doesnt have an overheating problem

 

One reason to use a winter front is to save fuel (not 10% but up to 50 gallons a year) in harsh winter weather. Another reason is to generate enough interior heat in truly frigid weather. A third might be to limit accelerated wear on engines that are too cold.

I agree that this should not be done carelessly. At the very least, I'll wait until weather is consistently below freezing and monitor the engine and air intake (engine compartment) temperatures with ScanGauge or CAN-View. I plan to watch the engine and air intake temperatures on the ScanGauge. If the air intake is below 90F and the engine-coolant temperature stays below 90C, I'll figure the car is doing better at avoiding excess heat than during the summer. Am I missing something? I like the idea of putting trimmed strips of foam cut from pipe insulation in the top grille slots as these should be extremely easy to remove and replace as ambient, engine (coolant), and engine compartment (air intake) temperatures change.

If you block the grille rather than the radiator directly, can the car still activate the cooling fan and pull some (less but VERY cold) air throught the radiator? Can anyone with a winter front describe under what conditions the ECU activates the cooling fan at subfreezing ambient temperatures?

 

another thing that has not been mentioned, (i thought about it but the database warning made me think otherwise) is that a bra eliminates airflow thru the radiator area which reduces air friction. sure the bra will add some turbulance of the air going around the front dam, but i think the overall effect will be less energy needed to maintain speed.

 

Looks like you will have to have one made. Fia only does Toyota SUVs and trucks, not the cars. Check out local truck accy. places, some of them will make them. Or you could purchase the Toyota bra (now appearantly available for the 2006/7) and have the vent covering doors sewn in by a tent or truck accy place. They add snaps so you can snap the doors open on warm days. I think I would try the bra with velcro tape on vent cover doors, but I'm a bit of a do-it-yourselfer.

 

too bad they dont make something that can be added in easily. i dont really like the look of a bra especially since black seems to be the only color