Racing Prius

118 MPH, downhill run between Vegas and LA.
That is what the read-out said, no radar confirmation.
(Confirmed reading +3 MPH at 80 MPH)
Felt the engine regulator kick in at 118, so actually still accelerating.
Of course that was on a 10 mile straight-away with a slight down-hill grade.

 

109 - just couldn't get it up to 110....

-Ken

 

I am suprised the governor doesn't kick in at lower speeds and I "assumed" the tires were only "S" rated which is a max of 112 (if I recall) and high heat can degrade that rating as well as load limits.

When I was a teenager in the 1970s I had my Dad's 1972 Pontiac cataline with a 400 big block and had the pedal to the metal for a couple of miles, side by side with a pickup truck on a long straight and pretty empty piece of highway. I do not know how fast we were going but when the brand new rear tire blew out and shredded I was very fortunate nit to have been hurt or killed, or something worse like swerving into the pickup that was racing me...

The Prius is a vehicle with handling characteristics that I would consider sluggish at any speed (not a bash, just based on years of professional (legal)racing), and is front end heavy with stock tires that many people complain about.

I understand the desire, especially amongs us males, to "see what it will do" because many of us are just like that. However I hope that anyone wanting to do this will go to the track instead.

Cars that run over 100 in the quarter mile at a sanctioned drag strip are usually quicker than 14 seconds. When a car runs quiler thhan 14 seconds a helmet is required and most of us that do this for a living also have a five point harness although that is generally not required until 11.99 or quicker.

Now in my car I can run 11's at only 109-110...

A good friend of mine was racing his Belair "bubble top" a couple of seasons ago and it was a mid 12 second car with a top speed of between 104-107. He lost a front wheel at top speed and rolled the car. He had his seatbelt on and spent the next several months in a back brace and that was with trained medical personnel and ambulance ready for him as soon as he flipped.

Accidents can happen anytime and anywhere and for a variety of reasons... A flat tire, a seagull, a rodent or tire debris from a truck... Driver error or vehicle malfunction...

As much as I understand the rush and the thrill the Prius under no circumstance on a public road should be remotely thought of as a performance vehicle.

I knwo some folks here believe it is "sporty" or has enough pickup to be considered "fun" but I have some news... I have over 4500 passed at sanctioned drag strips across the country, 45 event wins, 22 second place finishes, and two season championships at my local tracks (both 1/8 and 1/4 mile), and the Prius, although a reasonable and competent daily driver is in no way appropriate for speeds approaching tiple digits, period... The car was designed for efficiency, clean air, and outstanding gas mileage. It is designed for comfort and practicality at normal speeds. A strut brace, aftermarket rims, and a chrome exhaust tip do not begin to constitute what would be considered "performance modifications".

The Prius weighs roughly 3000 pounds and the ice produces about 70hp. The 2007 Corvette base model weighs roughly 3200 pounds and has about 400 horsepower. No vehicle is safe at 100mph but if I had to take my life in my hands and drive a public road at the risk of other people lives the Prius would be on the same list as a 1965 mack dump truck of vehicles I would not under any circumstances consider.

This is not a bash on the Prius. I just hope that if even one less person tries to take their Prius over 100 mph on a public way then the world will be a little bit safer for the rest of us.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(silver-machine @ May 14 2007, 05:50 PM) [snapback]441949[/snapback]</div>

Don't get mislead by the engine sound. The car is accelerating as soon as you press the pedal. There is no lag in the power delivery, just the noise.

 

What I like is at 160km/h there is just a roar like you hear as a passenger in a jet, with no audible engine noise. Just the sound of the air smoothly moving over the panels. Of course I only drove that fast on a closed circuit.

 

Prius are not fast and thats that. They handle badly because of the stupid "efficient" tires toyota puts on them.

To the original poster, your friend had the right idea, prius are slow.

BlackOne- I couldn't agree more. Prius people seem to just think so highly of themselves and their ugly fat cars.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius are UGLY @ Sep 5 2007, 09:41 PM) [snapback]507687[/snapback]</div>

Hey! He forgot to include an avator!




[attachmentid=11185]





Now, back under the bridge

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BlackOne @ Sep 5 2007, 07:37 PM) [snapback]507637[/snapback]</div>

Come to think of it, I never saw it that way before! Maybe you're right, BlackOne. I took a look to see just how awfully slow the Prius is, and I found that it is only barely faster than a Hummer H2 in the 0-60. And here I thought the Hummer was just ugly. I hadn't realized it was ugly AND slow.

This has to be the first time I've ever considered that my little Prius had so much in common with a Hummer.

It appears that my ugly little Prius also has a lot in common in this "slowness" with a few other ugly cars like the old 318i and 735i Beemers, that ugly little '66 Mustang (289 V-8), the Caddy Sevilles, the old Dodge Charger Shelby cars, the Infiniti M30 Coupe . . . well, you get the idea. To see a few more, follow this link to see other ugly cars and their 0-60 times.

 

prius are UGLY, sorry but what your looking at there is the REAR VIEW MIRROR!!!!

Hahahahhahahahahahahahahaha

 

Never taken it up to top speed... don't feel like landing in jail...or a hospital, but keeping up with Hwy 15 traffic, to Las Vegas from LA, it's possible to be traveling along with other vehicles and end up 85+ mph. I'm pretty sure at one point I hit 90mph, but the car was running smoothly and handled well, i.e. I didn't realize I was going so fast.

The Prius can be fast, but manuverability, rapid acceleration, road feel, engine tone and stuff like that are things we get from our Audi. Love both cars. What we can't get from the Audi is great Prius gas mileage.


-Nda3rdcar

P.S. (Begin disclaimer) Nda3rdcar in no way wishes to promote speeding. Highways demand your attention and understanding of traffic flow situations. Always try to obey posted speed limits. (End disclaimer)

 

I pushed a 2007 prius to 93....but again that wasn't my brand new one it was the one i test drive before i bought the car....

 

I agree that what Prius ownership does to us is more mental than physical. I no longer think of speed as km/hr but rather what it will do to my mileage. As in, "Do I really want to drop my mileage down to 45 MPG to save 20 min over a 2 hr drive?".

That being said, two days ago I was late, was worried a ferry I had to catch was time limited, and had a long way to go. So I "flogged" poor Pearl over a mountain road (narrow, very windy, steep hills up and down). Darn, I wreaked my mileage on that tank (5.2 l/100 km, 45 MPG US, 54 MPG imperial). I was amazed at the way she handled on the curves. Not nearly as bad as other posters will have you believe. Pearl is a standard model with stock Goodyear Integrities, BTW. The Prius is no race car, but still very capable. No tire squealing (well, maybe once or twice ) but cornering faster than any passenger would like! Caught and passed a new type Hemi Charger (among others).

Next day I was worried I had damaged poor Pearl, as my initial mileage in the morning was rather poor, running in the low 5 l/100 km. Turned out it was just the fact I was climbing a mountain pass for an hour. Never noticed the climb lasted that long in the anti-Prius (2001 Nissan Pathfinder). Didn't notice in the anti-Prius because the poor mileage it got never ended!

The Prius can handle its' own at higher "speeds". It's more the driver than the car. Bonus, a Prius will still deliver excellent mileage when flogged. As far as top speed in a straight line is concerned, I outgrew that about 20 years ago.

 

What's interesting is that my Prius is about as fast to 60 MPH as my 92 Miata. The Miata is just under 10 seconds to 60, the Prius is just over 10 seconds. Yet nobody questions whether a Miata can keep up with traffic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ May 13 2007, 08:19 PM) [snapback]441335[/snapback]</div>

I guess I missed something here. I clicked on your link shown above 3 times and it switched me to alternative fuels. I could not find any topics that looked to be related. :mellow:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(narf @ Sep 6 2007, 10:31 AM) [snapback]507939[/snapback]</div>

I'll admit I was a bit surprised to read that a Prius had pretty much the same times in 0-60 and the 1/4 mile as your '92 Miata. I took a look at the "performance" numbers posted by Motor Trend when it named the '04 Prius its Car of the Year, and I compared them to the numbers posted by owners who timed their Miatas. The Super Coupe Club of Iowa has posted such times for purposes of comparison (see Here).

Interesting! While the '91 and '94 Miatas had respectible times (the '92 wasn't listed) at 9.1 (0-60) and 16.7 (1/4 mile) and 9.7/17.0, respectively, they weren't much different from what Motor Trend measured for the '04 Prius: 9.8/17.0 -- almost identical to the 1994 Mazda Miata.

Hmm. I always thought of the Miata as rather sporty. Now I guess there is reason to believe it really is!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(a priori @ Sep 6 2007, 09:53 AM) [snapback]507969[/snapback]</div>

I just sold my Super Coupe about two weeks ago...
She handled well at 145+ MPH.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ilusnforc @ Sep 6 2007, 12:02 PM) [snapback]507973[/snapback]</div>

Was that blue demon originally from Iowa?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(a priori @ Sep 6 2007, 11:21 AM) [snapback]507977[/snapback]</div>

Actually, it was manufactured in Lorain, Ohio.
It is one of only 574 produced that year in a 5-speed model.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ilusnforc @ Sep 6 2007, 01:28 PM) [snapback]508019[/snapback]</div>

Maybe not one of of kind, but pretty close.

I know it wasn't the greenest of blue demons, but is there any particular reason you had to part with your Super Coupe. (Don't mean to get too personal, but I just wonder what causes people to part with their cars. I still would like to have that '68 Camaro Rally Sport back, but . . .)