Prius C Performance Uprgade

there's lots you can do, but my question is why a prius if you're gonna blow up mpg's? i mean, these are horrible little eco boxes, with no other redeeming value

search the red bullet, seems to be very popular

 

For informative purposes only:
If you want more "performance", buy a different car.
That applies to ANY make and model car that is less than 30 years old that you will be driving on the street.

 

You will find no 'reputable' performance upgrades for this engine.
If you have an unlimited supply of free engines, you could try nitrous oxide.
If you have unlimited welding skills you could fabricate a turbocharger plumbing system, but it won't be road legal.
You need unlimited packaging skills to fit a supercharger under the hood.

If you want about 20% more HP and have unlimited electronics skills, you could substitute an Echo engine.

The wisest plan is to remove the badges and put them on the car you wish you bought, Presto, high performance Prius C.

 

You could possibly seal off the front seats/cabin from the back and put in a jet engine in the cargo area with back seats folded down.

 

maybe if this had been posted in the accessories and modifications forum, there wouldn't be so much snark

 

The only true extra power mod I've heard of for this car is the use of an Otto-cycle camshaft instead of the stock Atkinson. Jimbo referenced this in his suggestion for using an Echo engine instead.

The red bullet oil valve doesn't add any power; you still have the same 77hp... but it does improve responsiveness so you can get from 0hp to 77hp more quickly.

 

Chassis braces could certainly improve the steering response, but they wouldn't do any good until you had wider and stickier tires. The tires are probably the first limit you'll hit on this car, so might as well improve them first. Take a look at what people put on the Yaris for handling upgrades- chances are the same tricks will fit a Prius c.

Given the relative high weight of a c, I'd expect coilovers to give a bone-jarring hard ride. I would not take that step for a street car.

 

Modifications are not necessarily "upgrades".
The C was designed to be a small economy car.
Live with that or sell it.

 

Some good tires with low drag and good fuel economy is a plus on this vehicle. Best fuel economy of 26-30km/l is hard to find anywhere. If you are driving alone mostly this car is perfect even up to a family of 3. Car can have a bit of road noise, insulating seals can be added to reduce wind and road noise.
Center console upgrade with intergraded navigation, dash cam and reverse cam is nice to have, with a small trunk space you can add a top box for extra room and look pretty cool if you can get it low and fit in the roof groove.
I have heard suspension mods to increase handling by lowering and stiffening the ride.
Take out the spare wheel and use tire repair kit can save some weight off the rear end.
All LED bulbs on the car can reduce some energy consumption and reduce glare on the lens due to the halogen bulb can really heat up and damage the plastic.

 

Handling mods might be the way to go if you REALLY feel the need to do something. However, since the hybrid battery AND 12V battery are under the rear seat, the handling already feels pretty good....at least compared to the Gen3 liftback and Prius v wagon.

Engine mods? Forget about it...there is zero room left for performance on this engine.

 

Agree, I have the Prius V now. Handles like a cow. I am getting 18km/l average on the stock setup which is disappointing coming from a Prius C.

 

Absolutely...driving our v wagon feels like driving a truck comared to the C or even the Gen3 liftback.

And I certainly did think I would do better on the MPGs in the v wagon. Should have looked closer at the weight of the thing...The 2012 Prius v wagon is 3,274 lbs....the 2012 Prius C is only 2,500 lbs! And our 2010 liftback was 3,042 lbs.

That's a 774 lbs difference betwenn the C and the v wagon! Physics don't lie...I guess.

 

What are you getting on the 2010 liftback? with 230lb i would thing to be similar.
I noticed the V regen and ICE charging is completely different on the Dr Prius APP. I remember Prius C ICE charge is around 30amps while on the go. The Prius V is about 10-15amps ICE charge on the go. I dont know if you see that also between your C and V. I have a V/Alpha which has the lithium under the armrest. I dont know if that could be the difference between my old Prius C using ni-mh.

 

I am getting less on the v wagon. The issue vs. the liftback is that you can really feel the extra 230 lbs of weight while trying to 'glide' with the engine off.

BTW - the EPA numbers and fuelly numbers bear that out as well.

2012 Toyota Prius V MPG - Actual MPG from 465 2012 Toyota Prius V owners

2010 Toyota Prius MPG - Actual MPG from 1,463 2010 Toyota Prius owners

The Prius C is so light that it wins...even though it has a smaller battery.

 

So true about the Prius C. For the fuel economy and the cost of running the car its a "go to" for commuter and a daily driver.
We just tanked up our Prius Alpha today, 10l more than a Prius C tank up would take and got 100km less over all.
Really missing the Prius C hyper economy.

 

After installing a head unit in our Prius C, I really understand why the Aqua/Prius C is the 'world car' version of the Prius. Not only does it get awesome MPG, but it is perhaps the easiest car I have ever worked on. And as far as Prius vehicles go...the EGR unit is actually easily accessible.

If Americans could get over their collective 'small car bad' philosophy, it would be a great thing.

Maybe Tesla's upcoming 'small car' will help make smaller vehicles 'cool' again in the USA.

 

Don't hold your breath.
"Americans" seem to have an increasing need to be "bad asses" in public.
That precludes them from driving a small car.

 

I agree...the 'truck culture' BS doesn't help either.