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Took the Prius Drag Racing!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by F8L, Aug 27, 2006.

  1. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    My local track had some kind of Import event with a car show today and such so I decided to take the Prius out racing after being dissapointed in my trucks performance the night before.

    I removed the spare tire/jack and my subwoofer box BUT had a full tank of gas :(

    Temps between 75deg and 88deg. Havn't calculated the DA yet as I just got home.

    Best Run:

    Reaction Time: .071
    60': 2.678
    1/4 ET: 17.645
    1/4 MPH: 78.91


    Best MPH

    79.2

    Worst Run:

    Reation Time: -.015 (red light)
    60': 2.766
    1/4 ET: 18.457
    1/4 MPH: ??? (didnt print right)


    So in all I found that hot lapping and rising temps really killed my ET and my MPH. Its not common that an N/A car loses that much MPH with only a 10deg ambient temperature change but maybe pushing the car with high compression on 87 octane was the problem. Next time I'll try a cool night with 91 octane.
     
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Were you force-charging the battery before your runs? That can help. Were you sure the Engine temp was all the way into it's optimal range as well?

    What tires were you running on?

    Not that any of those things will make dramatic differences, but the forced charged battery and decreasing the weight in the car as much as possible certainly could.

    Sounds like fun, I'd still like to play at a SOLO2 race someday...just for the fun of it!
     
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I dont know how to force charge the battery but I would assume it could only help to have as much charge as possible so I was drivign down the turn road using the ICE with arrows to the battery and even using the ICE braking when I needed to slow down.

    I was running on my 17" Kumhos so I was about 3lbs heavier at each corner than stock. Racing the Prius wasnt important enough for me to bother with switching back to the stock tires :)
     
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Indeed, getting the battery into the green can help quite a lot. I believe the technique is to put the car into drive, press the brake and push the accelerator to the floor. It'll run fairly hard for a while, then it'll back off and sound like it wants to shut off as you start getting to the top of the SOC range...then eventually it will shut off and you won't be able to add any more charge...but you can, usually, get into the green range.

    And yea, those big wheels are gonna hurt in a short drag like that.
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 27 2006, 02:52 PM) [snapback]310288[/snapback]</div>
    Thats nearly what i was doing once I got close to the stanging lanes. Just gas and brake at the same time. I'll try to do it longer next time. Thanks for the tip!

    The tire/rim combo is the exact same diameter as the stock ones so its doubtful it would have had much of an effect if the weight was the same. Thats been my experience when racing my T/A or C5. Sidewall flex is negligible because we have no TQ lol. :)
     
  6. Anubis

    Anubis New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Aug 27 2006, 03:55 PM) [snapback]310290[/snapback]</div>
    Yes, efusco is correct. I also discovered this trick when my brother and I raced our Prii. (see thread and racing slip results here) I'd be interested in seeing your results on a cooler day (our races were on a REALLY hot day, full tanks, high altitude and everything stock -- including the spare tire and jack in our cars [mine also had my office work, a laptop and a cooler; approximately 40 extra lbs above and beyond the stock stuff in the back]).
     
  7. Lola&#39;05

    Lola&#39;05 New Member

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    This drag racing has got to be a male thing.
     
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Anubis, I am definately going to try that next time out. I was launching with about half bars and by the end of a run I was down to about 2 bars. If I can get it to full bars I might have a better 60' which would drop my ET nicely ;) (1.75-2 10ths of a second in ET for every 10/th in 60') I'll wait until I can get somewhat cooler temps and a lot less gas although Im not sure where the pump is in our tanks so I dont wanna go too low and starve the pump with my savage G forces upon launch LMAO!

    Lola, could be although a lot of girls go out there and race their cars ;)
     
  9. BobZ

    BobZ New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lola'05 @ Aug 27 2006, 08:47 PM) [snapback]310334[/snapback]</div>
    YOU BETCHA...!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
     

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  10. Anubis

    Anubis New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lola'05 @ Aug 27 2006, 06:47 PM) [snapback]310334[/snapback]</div>
    Hi Lola!

    To tell you the truth, I'm a 40-yr-old divorced mother of three little boys (ages 9, 8 & 7)! I'm as female as there is (I'm tall yet have a very tiny bone structure), but I sure enjoy "guy" things! I think it was my four big brothers who got me into all this stuff (auto mechanics, fancy home theatre systems, fun car stereo sound, etc. -- I was even the first one in the family to have a motorcycle license [my brothers drove them all the time when we were growing up, but never got their licenses until they hit their late-20s to early-30s]).

    Just don't make me go out hunting, but I'll go fishing as long as I don't have to live-bait my own hook or gut my own fish (I don't like seafood anyway) -- EEEEEWWWWW! :p
     
  11. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    I remember a long time ago in College when my roommate took his SAAB 850 to the drags, on a bet. He did quite well because his handy cap with a 850cc 2 cycle engine against 289, 357 , 487 cubic in engines. They would see him close to the finish line a jump the clock. The promoters gave him back his entry fee and invited us all back! We had a great few weeks until winter set in! BTW my roommate drives a cobra in the SCCA race circuit. I will post a picture when I can find it!
     
  12. Anubis

    Anubis New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Aug 27 2006, 06:56 PM) [snapback]310340[/snapback]</div>
    Yes, those G-forces really got my cheeks back around my ears -- oh wait, I think that was just my cheesy grin when the announcer at the track saw my brother and me lined up at the tree. He started saying things like, "this is going to be like a ride at Disneyland!" and "we've never had hybrid cars race here before -- sit back and take a nap until they get through..." and other funny stuff like that! :D

    My brother mentioned that by running up the bars like that, that our (*something ... solenoid? servo? maybe an entirely different word? I couldn't picture what he was talking about, so it didn't stay with me*) was probably getting overheated which was probably why our times were getting slower on our later runs. As soon as I can get a hold of him, I'll ask him if he remembers what he was talking about back then...

    However, I'm not sure how having full bars versus having half-full bars would increase your 60' time. Doesn't the motor put out the same amount of assistance to the engine so long as there is some battery to power it? I'm sure the car's computer would adjust it a bit (just like it adjusts how much regen it puts to the battery based on the current charge level of the battery pack), but only if you were down to 2 bars already...or am I way off base here? My brother is the electric car guru, but I can't get a hold of him right now to ask him, and anyway he's still learning about the Prius' hybrid technology (he has an electric truck he built, but the dual power of the Prius has lots of fun things to explore for him still).

    Also, what about the Octane issue? I thought that the Prius worked better on the lower Octane gasolines, and that the lower the altitude, the higher the Octane could be. Oh wait, you're in Sacramento, so you're already at a lower altitude than I am here in Northern Utah. Don't you guys have 95+ Octane levels? I seem to remember higher Octane numbers in Los Angeles years ago. Here in Utah, pretty much the highest Octane we have is 91 (that's at all the Chevrons I frequent) unless you go to airplane fuel -- which I think would melt our little ICEs.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Aug 27 2006, 06:56 PM) [snapback]310340[/snapback]</div>
    That would be me! Vrooom Vrooom, Baby!! :lol:
     
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    California has some of the most oxygenated gas around lol. 91 octane is the highest you can buy normally with a few stations selling race gas (100 octane) at the pump. Anything higher has to be bought at race shops.

    The Prius normally does work best on 87 octane but if the engine is getting heat soaked and the ambient temps get high enough you could start to have knock retard issues (the computer sense knock and pulls timing). At least thats how most modern performance cars work. It just seemed odd that the car woould lose nearly 3mph and 5 10ths with only a 10deg temp change. :huh: So buy using higher octane I can see if it is fuel related or if there is something with our hyvrid system that creates this problem since you guys had similar issues. My DA couldnt have changed so drastically as to cause this problem.

    Let us know what your brother has to say about launching on a full battery as opposed to the low battery :)
     
  14. daronspicher

    daronspicher Active Member

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    I guess this is going to sound weird, but I had my Impalla 454 super charged drag racing car out this weekend and I was working the pulse and glide to hypermile my way to and from work. My stats:


    Best mpg: 3.8 mpg
    speed: 42.11 avg
    Light tailwind.


    Worst mpg: 1.9 mpg
    speed: 181.9 avg
    Light headwind.

    I just thought it was wacky how you were drag racing with your Prius and I was hypermiling with my race car.

    :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
     
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Aug 28 2006, 02:49 AM) [snapback]310467[/snapback]</div>

    LMAO!!

    181mph? Thats about a 7.80-8.10 ET isnt it?
     
  16. Ray Moore

    Ray Moore Active Member

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    When we ran ours we turned 17.8 seconds at 87 mph. We force charged to 8 bars as we were getting ready to make our run. This was at night at the Houston Raceway. Each time got slower. We think the inverter and battery were getting hotter and that was increasing the internal resistance and reducing the amount of electrical power we could utilize. We thought about letting it rest so the electrical components could cool but the engine would have cooled too. I guess a can-view would help figure all this out.
     
  17. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    So, just for reference, what would a 'normal' car get on a run like this...say a Camry V6 or an Accord? How about something slightly sportier...a mustang, a Crossfire or Audi TT? And finally something fast like a Viper or 'Vette?
     
  18. Anubis

    Anubis New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ray Moore @ Aug 28 2006, 06:57 AM) [snapback]310486[/snapback]</div>
    I finally got a hold of my brother and he mentioned he thought the stator motor was getting a little warm. He described exactly what you said, that wires will see an increase in DC resistance as their temperature increases, which is what may have been affecting the current to the motor (and thereby the motor's assisting torque applied to our wheels).

    Another thought he had was that his VSC/Traction Control was backing his car off as we left the line in later races as the "water" (the wet stuff on the track before the starting line to assist in traction -- I don't remember what he called it) was no longer as effective and therefore our tires were beginning to slip. As I think about it, I seem to recall feeling a little of that (almost like a "miss" or hesitation in the engine) and there wasn't quite as much pull when I punched it, but when I glanced down to my idiot lights, nothing was lit up. I had assumed that since it was spreading out over the track it was acting like plain water and we were being adversely affected because our tires weren't "hot" (since we didn't/couldn't spin our tires in the stuff before each race). That, or because I was playing with my parking brake so much in the last three races (and having to keep the engine a little backed off so it wouldn't drive through the parking brake and therefore was not getting the full throttle as quickly off the line) that I might not have noticed the initial weight shift as the car started moving.

    On those CAN-VIEWs, is there a way to record the data flow from them for a race? Can you hook up a laptop to get all the information from all the screens for a short period of time like that? That would be cool. My brother who races his Monte Carlo has an ignition system in his car which is monitored and adjusted with the use of a laptop and some custom software. I'm thinking that if you can hook up a laptop to record all that data, that would be another great reason to get a CAN-VIEW. Yeah, that would be cool.
     
  19. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Can-View won't really act as a recorder that can display second by second data, but you can reset it so that it will display minimum and maximums for almost all information (kW, Amps, HP, voltages, etc).

    I have a program called Dynoscan that will, indeed, graph the speed, HP, rpm, and other similar data that is found on standard/non-hybrids. But, it doesn't read any of the hybrid specific info such as the battery info, inverter temps, etc.
     
  20. Anubis

    Anubis New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Aug 28 2006, 03:49 AM) [snapback]310467[/snapback]</div>
    Now that IS funny! :lol:

    Sounds a little similar to my situation: my previous vehicle was a 1994 Dodge Caravan (the short one) with 218,000 miles on it. I had people tell me I drove it "like a sports car." They were right, I drove it like a zippy little car, going quickly around corners (but always staying in my lane, never swinging it wide like 99% of the drivers here in Utah do -- I like the "precision" of driving), and fearlessly changing into lanes I require for an exit and accelerating rapidly out of the way when huge SUVs were romping on their pedals in an effort to cut me off the moment I turned on my blinker... (I didn't hold any resentment -- most minivan drivers here in Utah are distracted by the kids [or buddies] in the back and have no power either in their engines or their right feet, and therefore are many times slow and unpredictable, and I certainly didn't like being stuck behind one of them, either).

    And now, I am rarely found in the fast lane, I am still zipping around corners, but I no longer accelerate through them, and I no longer jockey for position and jump from light to light in town. Now I drive like someone would normally drive in a taller, heavier car.

    Not quite as extreme (and hilarious :D ) as you're driving experience, but weird nonetheless! :rolleyes: