My Tanabe R&D Experience (long)

Tanabe, a major after market parts manufacturer, routinely conducts R&D sessions to test fit products for future release. I was fortunate enough to participate in their recent session where I loaned them my Prius v for a few days so their engineers from Japan could test fit suspension, chassis, and exhaust parts. As "compensation" for letting them use my car, if they successfully test fit a product, it remains on the car and I get to keep the new parts and they also return the OEM parts that were replaced. They were testing several vehicles for this session including a Toyota Yaris and Prius c. I am posting this review of my experience and to pass on information for those who are interested in what parts may soon be available for the v. I apologize in advance for the length of the post.

I drove my car from San Diego to Torrance and met with the Tanabe folks. After some initial paper work, "before" pictures were taken so they could be compared to the "after" ones. I then got a chance to talk to the R&D coordinator who explained the whole process. He then let me know to check their website the next day since they would be posting the results. It was a really cool experience to see the progress being made and the transformation of my car with the new parts. The had my car for a total of 2 days to complete the testing and needless to say, I was pretty excited to finally pick up my car and see and drive it with the new modifications.

The experience was awesome and the Tanabe folks were nothing but professional throughout the process. Shout out to James and Dahn at Tanabe for their hospitality and professionalism.

So now for the good stuff...what did they successfully test fit, what stayed on my car, and my initial review of the performance of those parts.

Front Under Brace (TUB153F): First its important to note that thanks to Rude person's, I rolled into Tanabe with the front Under Brace bar already installed. After Rude person's confirmed the fit, I purchased through Amazon. Install was easy. Jack the car up, remove two OEM bolts and use those bolts to install the brace. For what seems like a simple modification, I, along with others who installed this brace, definitely felt the improvement it provided to stabilizing the chassis and reducing body roll. This improvement was felt the most during cornering. Highly recommend this mod since its not expensive ($118) and the install was easy. Tanabe has officially released this part for the Prius v.


Front Stabilizer Bar (TSB153F): This part was successfully installed and like the front under brace, is intended to increase stability and reduce body roll. But unlike the front under brace which was a simple bolt on, the stabilizer bar replaces the OEM stabilizer bar. The Tanabe bar is lighter and stronger than the OEM bar. Unfortunately I cant comment on the performance since I could not test drive it in isolation from the other parts that were added as part of the R&D. Tanabe has officially released this part and sells for $245.


Strut Tower Bar: The Tanabe engineers test fitted this bar as well but unfortunately it did not fit. Due to the location of the strut towers on the Prius v, there is very little clearance to install a tower bar. While clearance issues are a common problem, this is often times mitigated by using additional flat braces that install on the tower struts and extend out to the engine compartment where the tower bar has clearance. The braces did not extend far enough out to provide the proper clearance and Tanabe will have to design new braces to fit the Prius v. When they accomplish this, I will bring my car back in to retest that part. Of note, it was pointed out that even with the proper fitting extensions, the bar will limit access to the fuse box. So no official release of this part but sometime in the future. This is a relatively inexpensive mod costing $139.

Sustec NF210 Lowering Springs: These lowering springs are geared toward maximum comfort with a tasteful drop. These were successfully test fitted on the Prius v but have not been officially released. When released these will probably cost around $325. I cant comment on the performance since fortunately for me, these were not left on the car since the coilovers were successfully fitted and those remained on my car. I suspect these will be very popular for those interested in lowering their car and a reasonable cost.

Sustec Pro S-OC Coilovers: Coilovers provide you the ability to adjust ride settings for different levels of comfort and performance. These were successfully installed but have not been officially released for the v yet. They will probably go for around $990. I have always thought the profile of the v was too high and with after market wheels the gap in the wheel wells made it look like it was somewhat lifted or as some of my friends commented "looks like you're going 4x4 in the desert". With these coilovers installed I just love the lowered stance my car has now and in my opinion, greatly improves the look of the v. Combined with the chasis upgrades, the lowered stance and stiffer suspension have definitely improved the overall stability and make the car feel, dare I say, "sportier". I liked how the v drove before the mods but now I really do enjoy driving it more as a result of the increased performance. Driving straight away I can feel the increased stability and it really is so much more noticeable in turns, especially on freeway on/off ramps. Only disadvantage is that with the lowered stance and stiffer suspension, you do feel the road more, especially on poorly maintained ones. I also have to be more careful of how I park since the front lip is also lower and could scrape or get damaged with curbs or the parking dividers. The picture below is the car set at its lowest setting and probably not comfortable to drive. When I picked up the car they had it set at the recommended settings which is perfect for my tastes.


Finally, the Medalion Touring Exhaust: Yes, I know, an exhaust system for a Prius. The exhaust system was successfully installed and despite the quizzical shaking of heads, I really like it. Exhaust systems are intended to improve exhaust efficiency which can result in increased HP which for the Prius is probably very minimal if anything. I have not seen any test data that shows an increase in HP for the Prius with the addition of an exhaust. It is lighter than the OEM exhaust, has a nice low frequency tone when the ICE is engaged, and it looks better than the plain OEM tail pipe. In terms of looks, it looks great from the side. From straight on from the rear it does look somewhat out of place and not clean since there is no exhaust cut out in the bumper to make the tip look flush. This has not been officially released but should go for around $560.


In summary, my overall experience was awesome and I am very pleased with the results from both a looks and performance perspective. And while I did get these parts gratis, being as mod crazy as I am combined with my experience with the modifications since install, I would have happily paid for them as well. And since it will be asked, my average MPG has actually increased 3-4 MPG over my average MPG prior to modifications and I measured this over 3 tanks. I hope this post provides some useful information for those interested in modifications to their v.

To see more pictures go to:
Tanabe USA R&D Blog | Toyota Prius-V

 

Thanks GloryThief. If you are asking about the exhaust, while not perfect because of the view from the rear, I like it better than the stock look. I guess its a matter of compromise where I can live with it not perfectly fitting the rear bumper for the nice low end exhaust note and the uniqueness of probably being the only v in the US with an exhaust. I am a bit of a mod junkie so I would probably still do it even if I had to pay for it.

 

I'd probably beat you with the increased performance that my Tanabe exhaust gives me.

 

The front under brace is actually an easy install as long as you can lift the car to install. All you do is remove the OEM bolts in the install locations and re-install with the brace. No issues whatsoever and with its relatively low price I would recommend its purchase.

 

Not sure what you mean by undercarriage cover. There was nothing needed to remove to install the brace.

 

I will actually participate again this Spring. In my post I mentioned that they tried the fit of the Strut Tower Bar but the braces didnt extend out far enough to provide a good install. They manufactured a new design and will test fit on my v during this next testing period. I will post the results with pictures if the test fit is successful. Thanks for reading.