Racing Prius

[Devil's Advocate]

118 MPH, downhill run between Vegas and LA.
That is what the read-out said, no radar confirmation.
(Confirmed reading +3 MPH at 80 MPH)
Felt the engine regulator kick in at 118, so actually still accelerating.
Of course that was on a 10 mile straight-away with a slight down-hill grade.

[mjms2b]

yeah i get that jerk and delay too, of course, but it's part of the "character" that is the Prius, i suppose.

[kdmorse]

109 - just couldn't get it up to 110....

-Ken

[tnthub]

I am suprised the governor doesn't kick in at lower speeds and I "assumed" the tires were only "S" rated which is a max of 112 (if I recall) and high heat can degrade that rating as well as load limits.

When I was a teenager in the 1970s I had my Dad's 1972 Pontiac cataline with a 400 big block and had the pedal to the metal for a couple of miles, side by side with a pickup truck on a long straight and pretty empty piece of highway. I do not know how fast we were going but when the brand new rear tire blew out and shredded I was very fortunate nit to have been hurt or killed, or something worse like swerving into the pickup that was racing me...

The Prius is a vehicle with handling characteristics that I would consider sluggish at any speed (not a bash, just based on years of professional (legal)racing), and is front end heavy with stock tires that many people complain about.

I understand the desire, especially amongs us males, to "see what it will do" because many of us are just like that. However I hope that anyone wanting to do this will go to the track instead.

Cars that run over 100 in the quarter mile at a sanctioned drag strip are usually quicker than 14 seconds. When a car runs quiler thhan 14 seconds a helmet is required and most of us that do this for a living also have a five point harness although that is generally not required until 11.99 or quicker.

Now in my car I can run 11's at only 109-110...

A good friend of mine was racing his Belair "bubble top" a couple of seasons ago and it was a mid 12 second car with a top speed of between 104-107. He lost a front wheel at top speed and rolled the car. He had his seatbelt on and spent the next several months in a back brace and that was with trained medical personnel and ambulance ready for him as soon as he flipped.

Accidents can happen anytime and anywhere and for a variety of reasons... A flat tire, a seagull, a rodent or tire debris from a truck... Driver error or vehicle malfunction...

As much as I understand the rush and the thrill the Prius under no circumstance on a public road should be remotely thought of as a performance vehicle.

I knwo some folks here believe it is "sporty" or has enough pickup to be considered "fun" but I have some news... I have over 4500 passed at sanctioned drag strips across the country, 45 event wins, 22 second place finishes, and two season championships at my local tracks (both 1/8 and 1/4 mile), and the Prius, although a reasonable and competent daily driver is in no way appropriate for speeds approaching tiple digits, period... The car was designed for efficiency, clean air, and outstanding gas mileage. It is designed for comfort and practicality at normal speeds. A strut brace, aftermarket rims, and a chrome exhaust tip do not begin to constitute what would be considered "performance modifications".

The Prius weighs roughly 3000 pounds and the ice produces about 70hp. The 2007 Corvette base model weighs roughly 3200 pounds and has about 400 horsepower. No vehicle is safe at 100mph but if I had to take my life in my hands and drive a public road at the risk of other people lives the Prius would be on the same list as a 1965 mack dump truck of vehicles I would not under any circumstances consider.

This is not a bash on the Prius. I just hope that if even one less person tries to take their Prius over 100 mph on a public way then the world will be a little bit safer for the rest of us.

[usbseawolf2000]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(silver-machine @ May 14 2007, 05:50 PM) [snapback]441949[/snapback]</div>

When getting up to speed ( when merging into fast traffic) I do find the slight pause between pressing the pedal hard and power kicking in slightly annoying ( a bit like old fashioned turbo lag) but it is just a quirk of the car.
[/b]

Don't get mislead by the engine sound. The car is accelerating as soon as you press the pedal. There is no lag in the power delivery, just the noise.

[patsparks]

What I like is at 160km/h there is just a roar like you hear as a passenger in a jet, with no audible engine noise. Just the sound of the air smoothly moving over the panels. Of course I only drove that fast on a closed circuit.

[prius are ugly]

Prius are not fast and thats that. They handle badly because of the stupid "efficient" tires toyota puts on them.

To the original poster, your friend had the right idea, prius are slow.

BlackOne- I couldn't agree more. Prius people seem to just think so highly of themselves and their ugly fat cars.

[hill]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius are UGLY @ Sep 5 2007, 09:41 PM) [snapback]507687[/snapback]</div>

Prius are not fast and thats that. They handle badly because of the stupid "efficient" tires toyota puts on them. To the original poster, your friend had the right idea, prius are slow.
[/b]

Hey! He forgot to include an avator!




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Now, back under the bridge

[a priori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BlackOne @ Sep 5 2007, 07:37 PM) [snapback]507637[/snapback]</div>

The Prius would have to be one of the lamest and slowest cars I've ever come across. And to see you people talking about how fast they go and stuff is very funny to say the least.
[/b]

Come to think of it, I never saw it that way before! Maybe you're right, BlackOne. I took a look to see just how awfully slow the Prius is, and I found that it is only barely faster than a Hummer H2 in the 0-60. And here I thought the Hummer was just ugly. I hadn't realized it was ugly AND slow.

This has to be the first time I've ever considered that my little Prius had so much in common with a Hummer.

It appears that my ugly little Prius also has a lot in common in this "slowness" with a few other ugly cars like the old 318i and 735i Beemers, that ugly little '66 Mustang (289 V-8), the Caddy Sevilles, the old Dodge Charger Shelby cars, the Infiniti M30 Coupe . . . well, you get the idea. To see a few more, follow this link to see other ugly cars and their 0-60 times.

[patsparks]

prius are UGLY, sorry but what your looking at there is the REAR VIEW MIRROR!!!!

Hahahahhahahahahahahahahaha