Making a Prius Fast?

[rrolff]

Originally Posted by eight08customs

I have no clue to how this car works but from what my freind told me that wrenches at toyota, there is no drive shaft that lead to the wheels of the car the eng is connected to the generator that charges the batt and also the eng doesnt also power the AC nor the Power steering so it has no belts .. so adding more HP to the Eng.. doesnt make any sence you can put a header exh intake turbo and youll make the eng breath and perform better but there is no acutal transmission and a drive shaft to transport that extra HP directly to the wheels..

This is totaly new to me but from what i know I think aftermarket parts comapnies are just in this for the money if ther going to be selling things like Intakes and Exh and headers and even turbos..

Does someone have dyno sheets to prove the normal mods to eng will actaully give more more HP to the Wheels.. and it just doesnt add HP to the Eng.

To date there is no "mod" for increased performance. The AC is a new far more efficient design - and has no pulley (electric). There must be a drive shaft of some sort as we have an engine - even an electric car has a drive shaft to its wheels.

[eight08customs]

i think to make this car faster you have to look beyond moding that eng.. think of it as how you would make a electric golf cart faster..

[eight08customs]

when you put the car in drive.. all your doing is going fwrd or Rev there is no 1st 2 nd 3rd gear to go through... so basicly your telling a speed control to go fwrd or Rev how fast to go the more you push the pedal.. if you ever played with a RC car.. prob the same principle.

the only logical way to really make it go faster is adding more batterys and a better motor.. from what im told the two electic motors are a direct drive to the wheels..

Are there any prius Mechs on this forum that can explain how this system works... before as soon as get my car i am just going to have to tear it down my self and figure it out..

man this is going to bother me all night now.. i need to know how this works..

[eight08customs]

here is what i found

HowStuffWorks "The Power Split Device"

to accelerate the prius uses the electric motor.. up to a certain speed and RPM..

and it does have a special transmisson that connect to the wheels..

I think its really more that moding the eng to make it go faster.. it will help but you wont get the full effect and usage like a noarmal gas car..

im sure as people tinker with these cars. the true secrets will be unlocked in makeing these car faster yet keep the good gas milage..

Im pretty sure those guys in Japan are already trying to figure it out..

But unless someone actaully experiments and adds a turbo NOS or any normal eng mod and puts the car on a dyno no one will really know the real truth..

[F8L]

Originally Posted by eight08customs

here is what i found

HowStuffWorks "The Power Split Device"

to accelerate the prius uses the electric motor.. up to a certain speed and RPM..

The ICE is also being used at this point unless you are babying the system or have activated electric only mode.

I think its really more that moding the eng to make it go faster.. it will help but you wont get the full effect and usage like a noarmal gas car..

Why not?

im sure as people tinker with these cars. the true secrets will be unlocked in makeing these car faster yet keep the good gas milage..

Im pretty sure those guys in Japan are already trying to figure it out..

Toyota already did this. Look at the HP/TQ rating for the 2010 vs. the 2004-2009

But unless someone actaully experiments and adds a turbo NOS or any normal eng mod and puts the car on a dyno no one will really know the real truth..

The turbo has been done already and with dismal results. Tuning and the Atkinson style engine are the real headaches here. On the otherhand, why mess with it. If you want speed buy a different car. Not everyone in here is a racing noob but many of us just enjoy the car the way it is and see the cost and difficulty in making the car faster are not worth the gains. I wish I could have told that to many of my little import racer friends. If you truely want to go fast ditch the Civic and buy a Camaro/Mustang........

[JimboPalmer]

The Prius is front wheel drive, so there is no Drive shaft to the BACK wheels, but there are half shafts to the front wheels. The output of the Engine does not become electricity to get to the wheels, that is all mechanical. (The Engine can also generate electricity, and pretty much does so all the time, but it IS tied to the front wheels by gears and shafts. About 75% of the engine's power is getting to the wheels mechanically)

http://homepage.mac.com/inachan/prius/planet_e.html

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by eight08customs

Ok from a mech veiw on this.. if there is no drive shaft on this car conecting the Eng to Wheels.. how is moding the eng going to make this car more fast.. when it runs on an electic motor at the wheels..

wouldnt putting a stronger Battery like the one out of the Highlander make more sence and putting a stronger electric motor make more sence..

You need to do a little research on how a Prius works.

[PriusLewis]

Originally Posted by rrolff

There must be a drive shaft of some sort as we have an engine - even an electric car has a drive shaft to its wheels.

Not on all electric cars. Some designs have motors built directly into the wheels, so have no drive shafts. This is not the case with the Prius, however.