Toyota Prius hate in the enthusiast world is nothing new. Left lane hogging, environmental smugness and driver obliviousness have become comment section Prius clichés, and more than one coal roller has showed a confused Prius pilot who’s really boss by demonstrating the features of the…
I second the use of screaming chickens on cars other than Trans Ams.
Not too shabby!
The old "to win on the track you have to be on the track".
Or something like that.
I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
hunter47 said:I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
Good efficiency, ergonomics, visibility, ingress/egress....they probably made up 15 minutes each day on saved fuel and driver swaps. Those big ass truck mirrors probably help with situational awareness. Solid strategy.
I don't know anything about Priuses. Are there any ways to upgrade the hybrid system to be more sporting? Increased regen so you don't lay into the brakes as hard? I guess it would require a battery pack that would charge and dump faster. For racing, it would be great if you could harvest more of your braking and use the electric motor just to pull you through the apex and track-out.
Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself said:hunter47 said:I'm more surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
IDK about you guys, but what really got me was to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
Years ago I raced against a 2nd gen Prius at CMP. It was on the original 300,000 mile battery. He'd get one flying lap and then like 3 laps of recharge. Kinda weird to have this thing fly past me, then I'd put busses on him the following lap.
I mean, the things generally do better under heavy use. Keep oil in the engine and keep it cool and find any possible weight savings... I don't see why it couldn't be a serious contender.
Also I'm just a big fan of the audacity.
I'll admit that I probably spent way too much time driving the Prius in Forza Motorsport 3. Did driving the Nürurgring take up a good chunk of my afternoon? Yes. Was it worth it? Also yes.
I genuinely want to autocross a TNGA Prius. On the stock tires they put out similar grip levels as our Mk4 Supra did.
Granted tire technology has made leaps and bounds since the early 90's, but still... that was a top shelf sports car in its day, and a new Prius generates over 0.9g in steady state turning, that's bonkers.
In reply to hunter47 :
Hell thats more wheel and tire than I can fit under my subaru legacy...I'm stuck at 17x8
livinon2wheels said:In reply to hunter47 :
Hell thats more wheel and tire than I can fit under my subaru legacy...I'm stuck at 17x8
That's quitter talk! Sawzall and beer are cheap!
Guys, you'll never believe this but I'm surprised to find out 17x9 wheels fit the little beast.
Tyler H said:I don't know anything about Priuses. Are there any ways to upgrade the hybrid system to be more sporting? Increased regen so you don't lay into the brakes as hard? I guess it would require a battery pack that would charge and dump faster. For racing, it would be great if you could harvest more of your braking and use the electric motor just to pull you through the apex and track-out.
All of that stuff is controlled by software that nobody seems to have hacked yet. The best you can probably do is replace the batteries with LiFePO4 and keep them in a temperature range where the ECU gives best torque output.
The basic handling of these cars has been rather impressive. Putting a set of decent tires on has made it fun to drive considering the lack of power. The fact that there are so many gen 2s out there with 300K miles is proof they are tough but survival on a race track is another thing. Should be an interesting experiment.
In reply to porschenut :
I agree, SWMBO's gen 2 Prius handles significantly better than I ever expected. I can imaging needing to leave it in "B" mode for decent track manners though, that way it goes to full regen as you let off the throttle. Otherwise, it'll coast, but if you grab the brakes too suddenly it snaps right to full regen and makes it hard to get the amount of braking you wanted.
red_stapler said:Tyler H said:I don't know anything about Priuses. Are there any ways to upgrade the hybrid system to be more sporting? Increased regen so you don't lay into the brakes as hard? I guess it would require a battery pack that would charge and dump faster. For racing, it would be great if you could harvest more of your braking and use the electric motor just to pull you through the apex and track-out.
All of that stuff is controlled by software that nobody seems to have hacked yet. The best you can probably do is replace the batteries with LiFePO4 and keep them in a temperature range where the ECU gives best torque output.
I wonder if the "OpenInverter" projects aiming to open up the Prius Inverters for EV use will yield any gains in being able to juice out more MGU output even in hybrid setups?
The "big" issue (from my perspective) on the 2G & 3G Prius is having to use "maintenance mode" to cancel the traction/stability control.
Noddaz said:Not too shabby!
The old "to win on the track you have to be on the track".
Or something like that.
"To finish first, you must first finish."
Is how I've always heard it, but it's the same sentiment.
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