2023 Toyota Prius - WOW!

[Phase]

I mean a lot of company’s sell “ cat shields” anyways that cover the converter with stainless steel panels with a few heat venting ducts

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Phase

I mean a lot of company’s sell “ cat shields” anyways that cover the converter with stainless steel panels with a few heat venting ducts

Cooling in general is overkill on any car. You could probably put in a radiator that's half the size of the one you have and be just fine. It's a similar story with the catalytic converter. They overkill on the cooling because of those rare instances someone drives like a race car driver in extreme temps.

[Phase]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Cooling in general is overkill on any car. You could probably put in a radiator that's half the size of the one you have and be just fine. It's a similar story with the catalytic converter. They overkill on the cooling because of those rare instances someone drives like a race car driver in extreme temps.

i mean i do do long summer trips in arizona and new mexico and texas. 10 hour nonstop drives with 105 ambient temps at like 80mph. im assuming thats not too extreme because its steady state? or would it be too hot from the duration?

[redpoint5]

Steady cruise is easy. Shedding heat is hard when the load is high and the speed is low, like ascending up a mountain.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Phase

well i got no warranty period, so everything is fair game now i suppose...

Yes, and if you break it you pay to fix it. Are the tiny possible fuel savings from covering the exhaust worth the risk of killing a harness and sensor that likely cost hundreds of dollars? That is for you to decide.

Manufacturers are risk adverse. We do millions of dollars of testing to reduce warranty costs and also have very little tolerance for warranty issues. At my company a 1% failure rate will get a problem escalated to the CEO. For any company a 4% failure rate on a powertrain or emission item triggers a mandatory recall.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Steady cruise is easy. Shedding heat is hard when the load is high and the speed is low, like ascending up a mountain.

Steady state can be easy or a pocket of still air can cook components. I've seen it happen.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Cooling in general is overkill on any car.

Had it been 100% accurate, nobody would be removing the thermostatic valve and setting the fan to be triggered on at a lower temperature in certain cars. Ford for instance, a lot of its models were plagued with overheating issues back in the day of the Zetec-Rocam engine, which used to be its bread-and-butter in Brazil from the early 2000s until around 2013.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Had it been 100% accurate, nobody would be removing the thermostatic valve and setting the fan to be triggered on at a lower temperature in certain cars. Ford for instance, a lot of its models were plagued with overheating issues back in the day of the Zetec-Rocam engine, which used to be its bread-and-butter in Brazil from the early 2000s until around 2013.

Usually overheating is a problem from some sort of failure, not lack of cooling capacity, although I could see a company cheaping out on cooling or overall engineering, just to make a better profit.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Usually overheating is a problem from some sort of failure, not lack of cooling capacity, although I could see a company cheaping out on cooling or overall engineering, just to make a better profit.

Man I remember when just about every single car at a car show had overheating problems. I was like dang did they not design these old pieces of crap to idle back in the day? I see none of them have cup holders either lol.
Then fast forward to like 96 and every Ford and Toyota had a super cooling package on it like it was ready to tow up the wall of a mountain.

[freebeard]

Man I remember when just about every single car at a car show had overheating problems.

Ford didn't get all the sand out of their flathead blocks.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Usually overheating is a problem from some sort of failure, not lack of cooling capacity, although I could see a company cheaping out on cooling or overall engineering, just to make a better profit.

Not sure about Mexico, India and South Africa, but in Brazil many owners of Ford cars with the Zetec-Rocam engine say replacing the thermostatic valve by one with an aluminium housing instead of plastic improves cooling noticeably.