I just got back from Home Depot with the foam pipe insulation and will be installing that in the upper grill this weekend after I get a few more miles in the car and can re-fuel for accurate recording. That will help to get the ICE up to temp. quicker. I might go for a few slots in the lower grill too but want to see what the temp. runs at with the upper blocked. I haven't seen anyone on any site that said they ran too hot with the upper and partial lower blocked so I'll take a crack at it.
A block heater is a tough one for me because I live in a private community with big parking lots and no electric source near the parking spaces.
I did look into the EV mode switch and it looked very, very cool. EV mode (under 34 mph) would benefit me for about 4 miles of my 11 mile commute so it's a viable option for me (I really don't drive much outside of my commute to work 6 days a week...maybe I work too much...something to think about)! For $45 how can you go wrong...although on the Coastal website it says the switch is only available for 2004-2008 models (maybe they didn't update the site yet for the 2009's)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
Oh, also for mods, don't forget:
- block heater (sooner the ICE is up to temp, the sooner it will stop when you don't need it for propulsion/charging), and
- EV mode switch
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