Tanabe R&D Session for Prius v

Its actually my car. You got this post up pretty quick and beat me to the punch. I'll pick it up on Friday and report back with more info on how it went. You should've posted the picture where they have it slammed to the lowest setting on the coil overs.

 

nice, looks like they're supporting the prius v market too.

 

Cool car! How did you smoke out the tail lights? Those big chrome sides bug me so much I have considered buying the black JDM option from Japan but I can only imagine they will charge over $1000 and that is too much considering they sell for $250 in Japan.

 

Thanks for the compliment. This was definitely a case of having the right connections who could make a call and get you on the test vehicle list as well as being relatively close to the Tanabe USA HQ. Would definitely not be driving it in the lowest setting since I agree with you in that it would probably rub. Probably save that setting for only car shows. Thinking that a setting just below the highest would be best for daily driving.

 

Thanks GloryThief. I like your handle. Whats the story behind it? While there will always be haters out there who wonder why anyone would modify hybrids like ours, Tanabe seems to realize the market for hybrids is only going to keep growing and while the Prius may not be the typical car you would think of modifying, they know the market is trending in that direction. Tanabe keeps a pretty open mind since they also had a Toyota Yaris they were fitting and next week they have a Prius c coming in.

 

Thanks for the compliment Andrew. I had a body shop basically apply a tinted clear coat to the tail lights. I wasnt completely happy with the results since depending on the light they can look somewhat copperish and its not matching with the headlights. I have debated on pulling the headlights and painting the inner parts that dont affect their use but havent gotten around to it. The Valenti tail lights were pretty popular with the GenIII crowd but my inquiries to some of the importers indicated they didnt have any for the v yet. Maybe when they do come out with some we can get a group buy together to save on the cost. What do you think?

 

While I like and cant compete with their coil-overs and exhaust components, I improved their "front chassis" bar, which is the same bar as the TUB153F used on the 2010+ Gen III Prius.

Mine weighs about 3 ounce more installed, is composed of a massive "stress free" design, closely fittted, with 1/2 inch less hangdown, more compact, and even stronger, with no weld annealing of the hardened aluminum to 'crack" under stress. And, mine is immediately available.

I have uploaded comparative photos.

Rude person's

 

Tanabe should have probably paid you Mike since I actually rolled into the Tanabe facility with the bar already installed based on your previous test fitting. Picking the car up now and will post a review of the results and my experience with the process.

 

Mac,

Tanabe is tied with their "legacy" materials and the techniques that they developed for thir other underchasis braces. For those with multiple components that needed to be fastened together, welding makes sense. But for "pne sing'e" tie point, the eye bar makes better sense. I just used my experience with "aircraft construction" and applied it to my design.

I only sacraficed only three additional ounces to achieve a bar that has an "infinite stress free" life. Making one bar with an additional 3 ounces makes very little difference. If I were to make 80 of them for a frame for an airplane, then "lightening" holes and "thin wall sections" would be in order. Each design and engineering situation requires "its own particular analysis."

Again, I appreciate your support.

Rude person's

 

I would love to do a group buy on some JDM parts. The Modellista black and blue tail lights are about $300 US but as I mentioned before, the markup is astronomical. Maybe with some connections we could buy them at a fair price.

I saw a leather Toyota key fob holder on eBay for $100.00 for about 3-4 square inches of leather. Not going to happen....

I have the Japanese Prius A alpha accessories catalog but can't read it of course.

Andy

 

I'd actually would like the Priuschat Shop to take over the "commercial" design and marketing these upgrades.

I will gladly provide them with all of my development expierence for "FREE," since they have been so kind to me in letting me do it, here. I would also like to do the same with any new products and enhancememts that "we," the Priuschat users work together to develop.

 

Got my car back on Friday and it looks fantastic. Tanabe is still conducting R&D on some other vehicles, including a Prius c, and they havent yet had a chance to compile all their results. I'll provide a review of my experience and the parts that were fitted and available for future release for the v.

 

Just curious about the extent of this R&D... Is this just evaluation of ease of use, fit and finish, or actual measurement of improvement?

I've been following several chassis brace threads and have yet to read any hard numbers, from measurements of chassis flex to skidpad results. All i have read are "seat of the pants" testimonials, which given the fact that the stock seats are like marshmallows, I can't take any faith in.

I'm very interested in performance and would love to tune my prius, but before i spend anything, I'd like to know I'm getting a good value for my money. I'm getting the impression that I'll have to do the measuring myself...

Does the lack of hard numbers mean there is no real performance to be milked out of the prius with just a few bars and/or plates, or does it mean no one is interested in doing anything more than shelling out cash and turning a wrench? I can't tell at this point...



Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

Good question. I dont know if any performance measurements exist for the Prius once these types of modifications are added. I am pretty sure the R&D was more about the fit but I can ask the Tanabe folks once they complete their session. As you probably know, many performance parts manufacturers typically have tested their parts in actual racing applications, and Tanabe is no exception. I am sure the data you are talking about exists in those cases but not sure if anyone's ever done extensive performance tests once they are on cars like ours.

I can understand wanting to get good "value" for your money, but at the same time, the car is still a Prius and any performance increases that come from modifications will always be somewhat limited due to the nature of the car and some are just for cosmetic reasons. For me, I have always loved modifying my vehicles, and my v is no exception. So my approach has been, if it doesnt affect the primary purpose of me buying the v (great mpg) in a negative way, then I am OK with most of it.

 

Being that every car is different, one can't exactly extrapolate a part's performance from one application and claim it will perform similarly in another. This is why I want to see Prius numbers. Honestly I'm disappointed that the Prius is so flimsy, but I guess this is the price we pay for the fuel economy we get.

One can modify "still a Miata" with some suspension and tire upgrades, and run faster laps around a road course than a Mustang. I'm not saying we'll be seeing spec Prius racing anytime soon, but I'd be careful about discounting a car for only having ~100 HP.

A bar that's tucked under the hood... a plate that's bolted beneath the chassis... I don't see anything cosmetic about this. If it's just cosmetic, then plastic would be cheaper and lighter, with the same appearance. Just sayin'.

And I am OK with you spending your money how you see fit. I'm an overeducated, crabby skeptic and won't even budge until I see the science.