Room for a few more ponies under the hood?

Lexus is introducing a hybrid that will do zero to sixty in 5.2 seconds. That should be enough power for you. I know you know this, but I'm going to restate the obvious: power plant design is all about compromises. In the case of the Prius, the focus is on low emissions and high efficiency. If you make the engine more powerful, other components need to be beefed up to handle the extra torque, which works against light weight and efficiency. If the other components can already handle more torque, then they are over designed and should be slimmed down.

On the other hand, you can make a good case for hybrid technology in a performance car, which is being done even as we speak with several other models. Your vision for the Prius may not be the same as Toyota's and other Prius drivers. That said, maybe the touring model will be refined into a higher performance version.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 20 2006, 02:19 PM) [snapback]335665[/snapback]</div>

I used to have a link to a 2 or 3 part article on turbocharging a 1st gen Prius, perhaps googlig would turn it up still... It was an insane amount of work, but it didn't seem to hurt mileage that much. It did seem to help a bit with acceleration, and avoiding "turtle mode" or whatever that is. I suppose NOx might be a possibility, too.

 

The turbo'd Prius article I was thinking of is here.
http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_2664/article.html

looks like the previous parts of the story require you pay,
that's a shame, since it was interesting reading what all they
went through to make this work.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 20 2006, 02:19 PM) [snapback]335665[/snapback]</div>

Part of the appeal of the Prius is that it's not a Porsche. You knew that, but still, I understand the desire for horses under the hood instead of samurai mice. Turbos and superchargers have been discussed here before, with the general consensus that the cost/benefit ratio isn't worth it. (If ya wanted a sports car, ya should have bought one, yada, yada) As cool as it would be to see a mid-engined hemi-under-glass Prius with an air scoop on the roof (C'mon, Tamiya. What is taking so long with those plastic model kits?), it would kinda defeat the purpose. On the other hand, I've heard rumours of 130hp dragracing Echos...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Oct 20 2006, 03:04 PM) [snapback]335789[/snapback]</div>

So how to we get these samurai to serve us outside the car? it seems like a waste of their abilities to just have them dragging me from point A to point B... i'd rather use them to smite mine enemies! :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 20 2006, 03:44 PM) [snapback]335761[/snapback]</div>

I used to drive a Honda CRX; the little two-seat pocket-rocket. They were pretty zippy, but still only had a little 4 cylinder engine. I remember seeing an article in an auto magazine where they took the engine and transaxle from another CRX and mounted it in the back of a CRX, so you had two engines and two transaxles. :blink: This was one of those lunatic projects that you had to admire. They said it was worth it just to see the look on people's faces when they climbed in, started the engine, then started the second engine!

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 20 2006, 11:19 AM) [snapback]335665[/snapback]</div>

NO. This is the typical non-hybrid logic and really does not apply to the Prius. You seem to have the handling where you like it, now you have to learn how to utilize the torque you have to the best advantage. Unless you are planning on running Pikes Peak there is little chance of exhausting the traction battery. Just learn how to drive it and have fun.

 

THere is nothing wrong with wanting more power. All that "well, it's a Prius, if you wanted a sports car you should have bought one," is just irrelevant. To some that might make sense, but to others, like me, that is NONsense.

Anyway, I beleive it was HKS that built a turbo Prius. There was a thread a while back about NO2 as a possibility.

Anything is possible if yo spend enough money. There are drag racing Honda Civics with tiny 1.5L and 2L engines that are putting out 500hp, 600hp, and some even more. Of course these are specially designed and built, and are way to impractical to use in anything but a drag only car. But my point is, you wouldn't need to build a motor like that. Heck, imagine getting 50 more hp out of a Prius! That would make a phenomenal difference. And chances are that it would be able to be done without affecting mileage too much.

I plan on getting the Tom's exhaust at some point, and if there isn't one available, to make my own cold air intake. Since I spend most of my driving time on the interstate, the ICE is on all the time anyway.

 

One and a half tons of scrap metal
Four undernourished hamsters
Do the math
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Oct 20 2006, 09:29 PM) [snapback]335945[/snapback]</div>

More horsepower is usually beneficial. The folks who turbocharged the 1st gen Prius seemed to obtain better performance and hill climbing ability without crushing their economy, see link posted earlier. I'm feeling there's room for improvement in performance, nitrous oxide would seem like the most bang for the buck.

 

Toyota Prius GT

It was just a question of time before Toyota's efficiency-focused engineers choose to squeeze more power from the Prius hybrid. The Prius GT debuted at Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, and now reaches out to a more mainstream audience. While using the same engine, electric motor, generator, and battery as the standard Prius, the GT boasts a 37-horsepower gain, enough to push 0-60-mph acceleration times down to 8.7 seconds. Part of the improved acceleration comes from severe weight reduction, which sees the interior stripped down and built back up in race trim, with two bucket seats and full roll cage. The suspension has upgraded shocks, springs, and anti-roll bars to improve handling, though the greatest gain may be simply in the fitting of grippier Celica tires. Yet another harbinger of hybrids to come, the technology is proving green politics and fun can coexist. -MotorTrend

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pious @ Oct 24 2006, 01:06 PM) [snapback]337391[/snapback]</div>

Any idea what they did to boost the power by 37 HP?

 

Weight reduction won't happen in my Prius. Any weight reduction would be offset by all the equipment I have in the car. I think the most I can take out at this point are the rear speakers since they haven't seen any action in more than a year.

I'm contemplating running the car with less fuel, like around 5 - 10 litres, and visiting the pump more often. The Prius is a lot more fun when the tank isn't full . With my new job, there are gas stations readily available along my route so I won't have too much trouble finding one. It shouldn't hurt my economy too much. In fact, it may actually improve my fuel economy since the Prius doesn't have to haul around as much weight.