how to improve the handling of a prius c? need some advice!

I think you bought the wrong car. Seems like you like to drive in ways that put your license at risk ha ha. If I wanna go fast I'll hop on two wheels. Either way my license is too valuable. But seriously, virtually zero fwd cars will drive the way you're expecting. Especially to expect that type of driving behavior but not willing to compromise much at all. Unfortunately ALL cars are a compromise and mods will continue to be a compromise but can def fill gaps from where stock is lacking.

I'd start shopping for gs hybrid drivetrain and pop it into an ae86. 35ish mpg, rwd tail slideable lightweight ride.

 

Smart choice! Hachi roku is a legend. Too bad they had to butcher tokyo drift and replace it with mustang.

Yes I am thinking alone the same lines: used Mirage and crashed Evo, Ralliart or AWC lancer donor. Or do ZX-14/Hayabasa transplant.
Gen6 Mirage is surprisingly neutral, and with a cheap set of coilovers and camber kit it can be oversteered. Really great little car shell.

Hasn't been on the bike for 4 years due to health reasons, and it is not about going fast. License is safe as long as there are still enough roads with hairpins and 55mph limit posted.

 

That hybrid ae86 idea is growing on me, ha ha.

 

So I put 5mm spacer on front, and too my big surprise it gave a considerable improvement. No harsh jolts running over potholes, more front roll to help with initial turn-in, and actually some usable torque steer available to negate understeer. Still not enough front grip, but a bit closer to neutral.

Not sure what is going on, I am guessing front was designed with large negative scrub. (Standard "safety" practice). If my calculations correct btw camber and spacers the effective wheel offset was reduced by ~14mm.

5mm spacer is all (literally) it took, anything more and you need longer studs and roll fenders.

 

Non bolt in spacers are an absolutely terrible way to do it. Guessing cheapo autozone ones vs hub bore matched? 5mm is too much reduction in stud imo. That wider track will hurt mpg as well...

 

no they are hub-centric Toyota 54.1mm size. MPG is fine just got home 53mi 64.3 MPG. Was 57.6 in the morning. Not really happy about stud stress just put it to try. As far as I can tell by feel scrub should be really close to 0. Taking a 110deg turn off the highway to secondary road draw a very beautiful and controllable arch with outside wheel, no any jerking sensation from steering wheel, and very accelerator controllable. Now need better/wider tires for grip and to reduce roll rate. If they fit then rims with 40mm offset.

 

Longer studs are cheap. I'd do it. I've always liked the look of long wheel studs myself. Extra racey

 

actually with 5mm studs are almost flush. I am more concerned there isn't enough hub to center rim.

 

The nice hubcentric then again also thinking 10mm or larger have their own lip to center wheel to.

 

I found 15mm with lip for <$30, but you'll need to roll fenders, and IMHO 15mm is too much.





Merged.

Plus with 5mm there is absolutely no bump steer, so it is probably as good as you can get on stock geometry.

 

Dangit, still kicking this idea around regarding the rear TRD sway anf the front camber kit. I just fear that I'll like it too much, and then want to buy another set of rims/tires with some sticky/gummy tires and end up spending a small fortune on rubber. Already done that with my Nissan Leaf running on Enkei RPF-1 17x9's and Bridgestone RE71R's. But it does handle very well.

Anyway, money not the issue...just trying to decide if I want to take the focus away from MPG which is right at 54mpg lifetime and drop that by 10mpg or so by putting wider, heavier tires on and driving more aggressively. I really am pretty content to just cruise in the thing. Although even with my 195/55/15's on there (currently on the shelf in the garage on Konig Heliums), I can tell the rear is too soft and it just has a very odd feeling when cornering even moderately aggressively. This is, there are no corners around here other than freeway clover leafs in urban San Diego.

 

Fuggit, just bought the bar and camber bolts. Lol. It was overdue! Looking forward to it.

 

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YESSSS!!! My TRD rear sway bar and camber bolts have both arrived and are in my living room. If the wife gets home soon enough, I will at least attempt to install the rear bar tonight. I had bought a new jack as my old one is on the way out, but I had it shipped and it hasn't arrived yet. Hesitant to even try jacking up the car with it, but we'll see. Regardless, if this doesn't happen tonight, I'm off thursday and it could happen then. I'm also looking at a li-ion battery to help offset the addition on the sway that would be 17lbs lighter than the oem battery. Sway bar is approx 8.5lbs...not bad. The 13 lbs quoted is the shippng weight with the box.

Stay tuned for a review of the sway, camber bolts, and 195/55/15's on light weight Konig Helium wheels.

 

Ok, they're both on. I screwed up the alignment cause I accidentally turned one toe adjuster the wrong way. Then it started getting dark and I spent a bunch of times getting it dialed back closer, and getting the steering wheel straight. I got close enough for tonight, but have a few more adjustments tomorrow to get it fully dialed in. But for now, it is close enough.

All I did was drive down my street and back, but the car feels a lot different. Rear wheel coming way off the ground when slowly pulling into my driveway. Will need more seat time to really get a feeling for what is going on, but can tell already that the all season 195/55/15 Hankook V2 Concepts are just not going to be as grippy as I'd like.

Rear sway install really was a cinch, and didn't take lone once all the tools were out and car was jacked up. Camber bolts also really easy to put in, but like I said, I just screwed up on the alignment.

Ok, that's it for now. Wil report back later regarding the handling. Initial impressions are that the car feels more balanced, but I don't like how soft the front feels, but it does feel more balanced. I also prob need to experiment with tire pressures to find a good balance.

 

Where did you buy the rear sway bar? Have the part number? and did it come with all the nuts and bolts?

 

^^^Purchased from Amazon for $134.99, but alas, the price went up after I bought it last week. Use google to find your best price. =)

PTR11-52071 is the part #, comes with everything u need (Bar, 2 bolts, 2 washers), easy 30 min job start to finish.

Ok, got some more seat time, and fixed the alignment myself the next day in my driveway with a few more adjustments. It feels pretty good (camber kit & sway) but maybe not quite as good as I had hoped. Effect of the rear sway is definitely there, but the front now feels a bit soft. I am definitely cornering flatter, steering inputs are sharper as the rear doesn't have to compress/sag before the front really starts to turn. There is definitely increased grip over stock, but I have 195/55/15 all season Hankooks on there on 15x6.5" Konig Helium wheels. At this point, better tires are what is needed to see what the car is truly capable of. I'm interested to see what some more grippy rubber could do as the tires break loose a little too easy still (although grip is notably improved and the car better balanced). I have the spare tire/cargo cover and all the foam blocks/carpet out of the trunk, so the car is 40 lbs lighter in the back and with an empty gas tank, it felt a little skittish in the rear, like the sensation that in the wrong situation (uneven pavement and aggressive cornering) that I could potentially lose traction at the rear first. Once I filled the tank (50lbs), that sensation went away. If you've still got the spare tire in the back, prob not an issue for you.

Anyway, off throttle going into a corner, the front feels a bit soft, but under even modest acceleration, the effect is minimalized and the car feels pretty good turning in (either way, better than stock). Like I said though, at this point, the car's lack of grip is probably even more apparent given the lively nature of the car with the added rear sway. The camber kit helps to improve grip at the front, which is a welcome addition really.

I'd like to see what some more sticky rubber could do, but I'm disappointed in the lack of tire options in the proper size (diameter). OEM is 24" and the popular 205/50/15 size is right around 23" which would cause some notable speedo/odometer error and ground clearance issues with parking curbs and steep driveways. My current setup is 23.5". I've also looked at 185/60/15 (23.7") for a mix of improved grip and economy with the Kuhmo Sense tire (lightest avail tire in that size @ 15.7lbs). OEM 175/65/15 Bridgestone Turanza is 16.3 lbs btw.

I've also thought about getting a 16x7" rim. Found one that is 14.2lbs for a reasonable price, but 205/50/16" rubber (24.1") is 21lbs a tire. Mounted on a rim with weights/valve stem and center cap and that is 9 lbs heavier per corner than my ideal cheap lightweight setup of 26.1lbs...would be a 6-8 mpg hit in fuel economy over the lightweight setup...not sure my drab freeway commute deserves such a sacrafice. Hmmm, think I just talked myself out of a high grip setup! Although I would like to try it...could change my mind.

Ok, any questions, feel free to ask!

 

I recently installed two sets of TRD Door Stabilizers and I definitely feel a difference.