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It's a Prius with a big 'L' on it!!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Dozer42, Aug 31, 2011.

  1. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    I'm sure y'all already know all about the CT200h.

    Just wanted to share some pictures of what the Prius looks like with a new set of clothes. =]

    (Note: Some photos are distorted in the squashed format until clicked upon!)

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  2. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Looks more like a Mazda with a big sticker on it.

    Sorry, but I calls 'em likes I sees 'em.
     
  3. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    No, no, I agree completely. All the Japanese hatchbacks look somewhat similar.

    With the Prius comment I was more referring to the drive train, which is exactly the same.

    The good part is it gets mileage like a Prius, and not like a Mazda! (I think they get a best of 40mpg on the highway with the manual transmission, I'm getting just south of 50mpg and it's not even broken in).
     
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    BZ!!!
    (on the mileage)

    If yer gonna roll a Lexus, and you're down with the green thing.....THAT'S the one you wanna get!
    Looks good in white.

    Best of luck!
     
  5. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    No, no, no, no, get the hybrid that actually looks like a Lexus--the RX450h.
     
  6. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    I opened this thread expecting to see a pic of GoldPianoGarden's Prius not a CT200h, oh well.

    Addition: Nice car and nice backgrounds in your pics. I am quite fond of ships and that Flying Boat is awesome!
     
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  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    It's like a Prius with worse gas mileage and L on it. :)
     
  8. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    Correct, it is like a Prius with worse gas mileage and a L on it.

    But I've been trying to figure out what the differences are between the Prius and the CT200h.

    They have the exact same drive train, and similar Cd's, weight isn't far off (under 100lbs difference), so why the difference in mileage?

    The first place I looked was un-sprung weight. Specifically the wheels are 17" and 24+lbs each. I don't know the weight of the stock Prius wheels, but I bet they're smaller than 17", and lighter than 24lbs.

    So one of the first mods is to swap out the stock 17x7.5" wheels for 15-16lb 17x7.5" wheels.

    The next mod is to lower the vehicle with Road Magnet springs, a good 1.5"-1.75" drop all around. To me, the Prius looks like it rides lower to the ground and the side skirts look lower too.

    Others have already done the spring swap and report about a 2mpg mileage increase.

    Next, once the engine is broken in (7,500 miles?) I expect mileage to go up a bit.

    And really, very importantly, I need to learn how to drive a hybrid for maximum MPG. I tried to 'baby' it at first, but have learned that you should drive it like you stole it, then gliiiiiiiiiiiddddeeeeeeeee. Use 75% throttle to get up to 'cruising' velocity, then feather the throttle as much as possible.

    I've only had the vehicle a week, but the first half tank I pulled 44.1mpg (calculated), the 2nd I got a bit better. Yesterday I filled it up to the top and so far saw 52mpg (indicated), ended the day yesterday with 49mpg (indicated), and today I'm at 47.5mpg (indicated). So I expect it's getting at least 45mpg (calculated), and I think with the improvements listed above I can get it up to very close to Prius average MPG.

    Either way, if the Prius PHV was already out I would have gotten that instead. But it's not, and I needed something *NOW*.

    So far I'm very happy with the results, and will do everything I can within reason to improve MPG. (Sorry, I'm not dropping 15" wheels on there, just...can't... do... it!!!!)
     
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Putting 15s on it would really increase mpg but looks and handling would suffer. The CT looks so damn good I don't blame you for not wanting to take off the 17s!

    Keep us posted as you mod this beast. I'm sure more than a few of us would like to see such posts.
     
  10. Insight-I Owner

    Insight-I Owner 2006 Insight-I MT + 2011 Prius

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    I wonder if it is a software difference. Maybe the Lexus is programmed for more pep?
    Are you seeing that your HSI numbers are overstated vs the calculated ones by 4-8% as we see with the Prius III? I'm wondering if Toyota fixed that in the Lexus.

    If you want more mpg the simplest way to get it is to reduce mph. There's a very direct (inverse) correlation between mpg and mph. I'm certainly not suggesting driving in circles at 20mph, just suggesting that you find some combination of mph and mpg that works for you. You'll also find it easier to do your glides if you can sync them to traffic, so that you set up your glides so you are doing them in gaps in traffic when you don't have vehicles on your tail. It means watching your mirrors a bit more, but OTOH if you're going a bit slower you don't have to focus forwards quite as much as if you're carving through traffic as I used to do.
     
  11. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Those big things in the background are "targets".

    Tom
     
  12. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    The stock Prius 17s are likewise heavy and suffer only a 1.8 mpg hit, so unsprung weight isn't a big factor here.
     
  13. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    How true, there are only two kinds of ships, submarines and targets.
     
  14. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    1.8mpg? That's exactly what I was hoping to pick up by switching to lighter wheels.

    I wasn't expecting any one modification to change it from 43 to 50mpg, but all of the changes added together should get me towards that goal.
     
  15. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    No, that ~1.8 mpg hit is from the larger wheels and bigger rolling resistance (wider tires). If you stay with 17" and use the same tire width, you will not gain 1.8 mpg from switching to lighter wheels.
     
  16. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    Well, the CT200h has 3 modes. 'Eco', 'Normal', and 'Sport'. The sport mode does increase throttle response, but Eco I would think would match the Prius software mapping.

    Yes, the HSI numbers are overstated by 2-2.5mpg in my experience so far.
     
  17. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    Well, I'll take what I can get without compromising handling and such.

    Yes, 15s with a narrow tire would increase MPG further, but that's not a price I'm willing to pay. =]
     
  18. Mike Dimmick

    Mike Dimmick Active Member

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    The drag coefficient is actually quite different, the Lexus is only 0.29 compared to Prius 0.25 - or 16% worse - and the body of the car is wider; the Prius is quoted as taller but I think the Lexus may have a lower ride height. Drag is related to the cross-section area multiplied by the drag coefficient - the coefficient by itself is meaningless. I believe Lexus have also made the suspension geometry more aggressive - greater camber and/or toe-in, which improves handling but wastes more energy.

    There may be something different in the gearing (e.g. final drive ratio) as well, the Auris Hybrid - similar dimensions, same drivetrain, 0.285 Cd - takes 0.5 seconds longer to get to 100km/h (62mph).
     
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  19. Dozer42

    Dozer42 New Member

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    Wow, guess I was off a good bit on the Cd numbers!

    Yes, the suspension on the CT does seem much more aggressive, the car really handles pretty decently. (Not that a Prius doesn't!) I'm hoping the handing will improve even a bit more with lightweight wheels and with the car being lowered 1.5" or so.