Definitely, not a performance car

ill tell you what the prius acceleration reminds me of. i had an 02 4 cylinder 5speed ranger. the acceleration just could not be hurried up but once it was rolling it was ok. the prius gets off the line like that but i think it has like a midband of acceleration when everything is on like electric and gas that is as ive said before is very surprising for the traditional vehicles around it.

 

Well this turned into an interesting experiment. Like you said, the ICE remained idling in "B", although more roughly than it's normal idle. Then I did a torque stand (brake on, gradual throttle application) until ICE revs began increasing after about half-throttle. More throttle gave more revs until about three-quarters throttle when it hit stall speed of an estimated-by-ear of ~2K rpm. Full throttle produced no more revs but the engine sound changed to slightly more throaty. Brake release produced more spirited acceleration than I've ever felt before, even producing a little frisky Prius tire scratch. I was so impressed that I repeated the drill at least a half-dozen times with the same result.

I also tried repeated torque stand cycles over a period of about two minutes but not releasing the brake. It wound up the drivetrain and suspension the same way each time. There might be a time limit to doing this, but I didn't reach it and cycled around a dozen times over the two minutes.

Then I tried the same thing in "D". It worked! Maybe on my other attempts I didn't use enough throttle, or the CVT has a "learning" ECU that changed something. Probably cockpit trouble, though. It takes at least half-throttle to start the ICE, more throttle produced the same result as above. Launch was as exciting as it gets in a Prius, anyway.

I wouldn't make a habit of the technique because who knows what damage the extra heat is doing, if any, but it never threw a CEL. The power distribution screen showed all ICE output going to the drive wheels at half-throttle. Around three-quarters throttle it showed that plus output to battery. I think I'll skip measuring fuel economy on this tank, although strangely my average increased a tenth on the trip. Maybe because it's approaching 80°F today.

Anyway, great fun if you need a sudden burst of acceleration off the line. Next, I'll put a stopwatch on it to measure the difference between normal and torque stand launch. Seat-of-pants impressions are substantially better 60' and improving from there because the ICE spools up so quickly compared to normal launch.

 

lol! very funny did the torque snap the steering wheel to the right or left?
wondering if drag slicks may be available for prius(slender variety)

 

No torque steer reaction at all on dry pavement. That could change on a low grip surface until TRAC cuts in.

Oh, I tried the torque stand technique in "R", too. Nothing happened at all. I thought it might be useful for getting a backward run out of, say, deep snow like where I got stuck last Winter. No go, it only works in "D".

 

i have to hand it to you , you sure believe in the scientific method of experimntation! :wink:

 

arghhhhhhhh!!!! hep me! hep me!

 

TRAC didn't kick in on any launch. I don't think the slight wheelspin on dry asphalt lasted long enough for it to react.

As for the rest, whew, I'm behind the curve on HSD theory and application. It's starting to bug me, too. I like understanding widgets. Time to hit the books, er, CD's, DVD's and Google. :wink:

 

check this url for a Prius PSD
http://homepage.mac.com/inachan/prius/planet_e.html