Racing Prius?

[slvr_phoenix]

Oh yeah. And does anyone know the specifics of the Prius CVT? As far as I can tell the Prius CVT isn't an actual CVT. It seems to me like it uses the same concept of solar and planetary gears, but instead of having multiple planetary gears it just has one ... and then adds the additional (lunar?) electric-driven gear of the HSD and just uses an intricate dance balance between the planetary and lunar gears to create the illusion of multiple planetary gears ... when in fact it only has one gear. Am I right about that and this is why the Prius gets such bad gas milage over 55MPH? (Like on a 75MPH turnpike.) Or does the Prius actually shift between gears and just have no excuse for such a bad high-speed mileage?

[SyCo]

@slvr_phoenix, as far as I now, the Landspeed Prius kept the Prius atkinson cycle engine. It has been modded more electronically, electrically and in it's aerodynamic.

There is however a "Racing" Prius developped by TRD. That Prius have the Yaris Otto cycle engine swapped in.

By design, I'm pretty shure you cannot "unlock" the current Prius engine. It uses the Atkinson cycle and is built for that. More efficiency at the cost of peak HP.

p.s. I know I'm not that technical, but all that information is in here if you search a little

[Pinto Girl]

Originally Posted by slvr_phoenix

But I also agree that the Prius just plain sits too high for racing. A suspension change to lower it would be a must. I know the TRD suspension kit for the Prius lowers it a little, but I have to wonder if there aren't even lower suspensions for the Prius out there. I don't want Landspeed Prius low, just ... lower.

Don't take it ANY lower than with the TRD suspension, without swapping out the TRD shocks and struts for something with LOTS more rebound and jounce damping.

As it is, with (heavy) 16" Bridgestone RE01's on Touring wheels, whoop-de-doos in the road have my car dragging the undercarriage at regular intervals; those little plastic flaps in front of the front tires are actually wearing down from scraping the pavement so often!

Also, lowering it any further reduces suspension travel that much more, which messes with the handling especially on rougher public streets.

[Pinto Girl]

Originally Posted by slvr_phoenix

As far as I can tell the Prius CVT isn't an actual CVT. It seems to me like it uses the same concept of solar and planetary gears, but instead of having multiple planetary gears it just has one ...

The only people who refer to the PSD as a CVT just don't know any better. Yeh, we all know that Henry Ford thought of it first.

[Pinto Girl]

Originally Posted by slvr_phoenix

Am I right about that and this is why the Prius gets such bad gas milage over 55MPH? (Like on a 75MPH turnpike.) Or does the Prius actually shift between gears and just have no excuse for such a bad high-speed mileage?

There's this thing called Google, it allows you to search the *entire* internet to find the answers to your questions.

Also, the search function on this site might help, too; the questions you've asked have been re-hashed so many times that you're even likely to find more than one "right" answer.

[Pinto Girl]

Originally Posted by slvr_phoenix

Oh yeah. And does anyone know the specifics of the Prius CVT?

Toyota offers an online service which you can subscribe to; for a nominal fee you can search it for 24 hours, download whatever you want, and print it out for your reference. Like shop manuals, but better.

Here you will find all of the information you're seeking, including the hard numbers you said you want...all unbiased by another's opinion and uncolored by inaccurate memory.

If you're ever going to mess with a Prius (and get it to run again when you're done), your first task is to locate the url for the site I've just described. If you can't do that, you're not qualified for the project.

Don't mean to sound harsh, but that's just how I see it.

[Boo]

Pinto Girl,

Whoa you're back?! When did that happen?

People here have been looking for you.

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by Pinto Girl

Toyota offers an online service which you can subscribe to; for a nominal fee you can search it for 24 hours, download whatever you want, and print it out for your reference. Like shop manuals, but better.

Here you will find all of the information you're seeking, including the hard numbers you said you want...all unbiased by another's opinion and uncolored by inaccurate memory.

If you're ever going to mess with a Prius (and get it to run again when you're done), your first task is to locate the url for the site I've just described. If you can't do that, you're not qualified for the project.

Don't mean to sound harsh, but that's just how I see it.

Did you bring a note from home? You been AWOL and we been worried.

There are a few things you can do to a Prius without being able to find a shop manual on line, but not many.

[patsparks]

slvr_phoenixRe: Racing Prius?
Oh yeah. And does anyone know the specifics of the Prius CVT? As far as I can tell the Prius CVT isn't an actual CVT. It seems to me like it uses the same concept of solar and planetary gears, but instead of having multiple planetary gears it just has one ... and then adds the additional (lunar?) electric-driven gear of the HSD and just uses an intricate dance balance between the planetary and lunar gears to create the illusion of multiple planetary gears ... when in fact it only has one gear. Am I right about that and this is why the Prius gets such bad gas milage over 55MPH? (Like on a 75MPH turnpike.) Or does the Prius actually shift between gears and just have no excuse for such a bad high-speed mileage?

Oh yeah, 4.3L/100km is ok fuel consumption around town but on the highway that increases to a shocking 5.2L/100km! Totally unacceptable when compared to a similar sized 2 litre car which averages about 8L/100km.

The reason Prius uses 0.9 litres more fuel per 100km at highway speeds is higher drag due to moving through the air faster. The reason conventional vehicles get such shocking bad mileage around town is they are so very wasteful. They idle when stopped and are forced to pull when the engine is not at its most efficient RPM and throttle. Automatics dump heat from torque converters and hydraulic systems while Prius has a hard time getting warm enough. A conventional vehicle only hits peak power for a short time in each gear, Prius can hold it's maximum power RPM from stationary to maximum speed or at smaller throttle it can run at the most efficient from 0 to what ever speed you chose to drive.

I can't begin to express my disappointment at my Prius using 3 litres per 100 kilometres less at highway speeds than the 2 litre EFI manual Camry it replaced.

[V8Cobrakid]

change the tires. my tires (listed in my signature) work well. a little too well.

with tires that wide ( i still need spacers.. preferably lighter tires and spacers) i never set off trac or vsc.. well.. i do.. but only when i'm really really trying.

if it really bugs me.. i turn trac off entirely.


btw.. welcome back pinto