Ground clearance

[josha]

Maybe it's becuase I've mostly driven Jeeps, but the Prius seems really low to the ground. Has anyone lifted it a couple of inches at all? I'm curious to how it would look and perform! Yeah, I'm nuts. Whatever.

thanks!

[plusaf]

Maybe it's becuase I've mostly driven Jeeps, but the Prius seems really low to the ground. Has anyone lifted it a couple of inches at all? I'm curious to how it would look and perform! Yeah, I'm nuts. Whatever.

thanks!

part of the low air resistance is related to ride height. if you raised the car to clear some hurdles, you'd probably be paying a gas mileage penalty all of the rest of the time. get the suv hybrid from ford or toyota if you're looking for ride height and gas mileage, though i don't think either one will touch the prius....

+af

[TonyPSchaefer]

I wonder a little about aerodynamics and lift. I might be way off here, but I would think that with such a light car and such a low coefficient of drag, if you give too much air underneath you might actually create lift that would pick you up at high speeds.

Isn't that what happened to the Fieros?

I mean, it would be one thing if the car were heavier and lifting it would be much more difficult. It would be another thing if the coefficient of drag were higher creating a downforce. But with those two items racing to the forefront of my mind, I'm wondering if the air moving smoothly over the car wouldt create a low pressure and the increased, unhindered air wouldn't act to pick the car up. Even if you don't go completely airborne (which I seriously doubt) I would think that you would be decreasing the traction and steering abilities.

But then again, I'm no rocket scientist.
Victor, what are your thoughts on this?

[josha]

Ohhh! Do they sell aftermarket wings? Who'd need carpool lanes then?

[bruceha_2000]

Even if you don't go completely airborne (which I seriously doubt) I would think that you would be decreasing the traction and steering abilities.

Not to mention raising the COG making the car more likely to tip. Maybe not Explorere likely (30+% ??) but still not a good thing.

The thing that struck me funny about this thread is that there was an earlier one asking about LOWERING the car. :-)

[Areometer]

If I have to go between raising or lowering my Prius, I will pick lowering as this enhances cornering. In reality, I will just change the shocks without changing the height. I believe stiffer shocks like Bilstein should help w/ MPG among other things. I am reluctant to lower the car at this time as I will most likely use larger tires/wheels down the road and I don't want the new wheels to rub against the body panel...