Does anyone have experience blocking the airflow to the radiator in the TCH to keep it running warmer in the winter? I've seen threads discussing this for the Prius but not the TCH. If anyone's done this, I'd like to hear about their success (or not), gains in FE, and maybe even some suggestions on how-to. Thanks.

--My hybrid came home!--
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Randy

From a previous post of mine...

I have a ScanGauge and haven't seen any over temperature issues with the grille block. I did take it out when the temperatures remained above 50 or 60 consistently last Spring.

Haven't done any real analysis of before vs after, but it supposedly helps with the Prius. If it helps the Prius, it should help the TCH as well.

The TCH's radiator thermostat opens at 82 degrees C. In cooler weather in in-town driving, the engine block coolant temperature often never gets hot enough to open the thermostat's valve. ScanGauge shows readings frequently in the 50-70 degree C range in town. The engine coolant then circulates only through the cabin radiator to provide heat to the occupants. [Incidentally, this is enough to pull the block temperature down by a degree C every few seconds!] On the highway, the water temperature will rise higher, and grille blocking is not beneficial. In consequence, blocking the radiator grille will have only a marginal effect on engine temperature, and is not worth doing in my opinion.

Stan

Even if there is no effect with temperature, blocking the grille in the winter helps keep salt spray out of the engine!

As I said I never did a controlled before-after experiment. But my gut feel was that there wasn't a big (if any) difference in warming up time.