Turbo for 2004 Prius

hmm.. we've mentioned this... well.. i did about a year ago and was critisized..

i wonder what the numbers are for the turbocharger. hp? mpg? all the good questions like that. cool to hear that someone has done it.

 

Steve, if you are serious about this, I'll make you this generous offer: Free Installation. I live in Longmont, and am currently a computer network engineer, but worked as a Master Toyota Tech at a dealership in Michigan for 7 years. I have a pretty good shop in my garage and still have my skills. About the only thing I don't have is a welder, so any custom mounting brackets would have to be built at a friend's house in hygiene ahead of time.

If you can get more information about what parts were used, how it was mounted, etc, that would be awesome.

We'd be doing two at a time; I'm dying for a turbo or supercharger. The main problem is how little room there is under the hood!

Nate

 

So Nate, does that mean you have a scan tool?

 

Dan, yes I have a scan tool, but it doesn't do CAN, so I'm SOL there. Thinking of buying the upgrade, but the company was a total jerk to me when I asked about a trade in or an upgrade, so I might change brands (I have the Dyno-Scan for Palm OS product). I think I will get one that hooks to a laptop next time, I want to record and see more at a time.

Steve, as far as getting into the ECU, typically turbo charging and supercharging don't require ECU modification. Occasionally you will need an increase in fuel delivery but that is typically only necessary with high levels of boost (above 5 psi) and can be accomplished by increasing the fuel pressure by replacing the fuel pressure regulator with one of slightly higher pressure. If you really want a lot of boost, then you may need to replace the injectors with ones that have a higher flow rate, or may need to have your existing ones have their flow increased.

I'm very curious what was done (and how it was done) to the Japanese ECU. My guess is they enrichened the map a little, but that's no easy task on the Prius.

My plan would be to keep the boost low, say no more than 3 or 4 psi. This should be easily tolerated.

There is one SLIGHT problem with turbocharging a Prius; typically engine oil is used to cool the turbocharger; it is unwise to shut down the engine immediately after running hard. (Bad for the turbo). The Prius engine shuts down frequently; this would be okay if the oil is pumped electrically, but I don't reallly know. (I'll read through the service manual to find out).

In a nutshell, a supercharger is a much better idea. If it would be possible to adapt the TRD 1.8 kit that would be spectacular. This roots style supercharger provides good low end boost, is low profile under the hood, suffers none of the cooling problems of turbochargers, and might even bolt directly to the Prius engine.

My wife would kill me if it didn't work out, but buying the kit and seeing if it would bolt up to the Prius engine head would be the biggest challenge. Steve, if you want to risk some money on the parts, I'll commit to the expertise and the shop time. Basically what you have at risk is whatever you pay for the TRD kit minus whatever you can get for it on Ebay if it doesn't fit.

An even better candidate might be this kit from Blitz:

http://www.superchargersonline.com/product...157&tabactive=3

It's designed to fit a Scion; the Scion uses a 1NZ-FE engine, the Prius uses a 1NZ-FXE engine, so the odds are better that it may work.

Either way, though, it's a lot of money for a maybe. Like I said, Steve, if you have money for experimenting with this kind of thing (did I mention some downtime for your Prius as well?) I'm in for the labor and fitment end of things.

I want to give you a realistic view of what it takes to pull off a project like this: lots of cash, downtime for the vehicle, technical expertise (that's where I come in) and a high likelyhood of failure over stupid things like where to put the air filter. Literally, it may be a complete success but we won't be able to close the hood. Even kit manufacturers must deal with this, Stillen decided to make a fiberglass hood for the 350Z after they couldn't close the hood with their supercharger kit installed:

http://www.stillen.com/Sportscars_detail.a...id=27527&page=1

By the way, Steve, do you have emissions tests up in Aspen? The Boulder County Test Station is right up the road from my house. There is no reason it shouldn't pass with flying colors with a turbo/ supercharger if done properly.

If the turbo kit is a bolt-on, proven solution, that would be the way to go, but you still deal with the heat issue. (Maybe just rebuild the turbocharger every 30000 miles or so, who knows).

Nate

 

Wait a second, I just cross referenced the phone number you posted and discovered it was for Blitz! (The folks who build the Scion xB supercharger).

This just got interesting...

Nate

 

Of course, calling the phone number just now yielded a guy with a "Dude, stop bothering me" attitude. He confirmed turbocharging the 2004, but said it wasn't for sale.

Quite rude; I doubt this will go much further.

Nate

 

just incase people are reading this and wanting to add performance... well.. for those people, you would be better off trying to find someone to hack the ICE programming to correct the valve timing... but that's a whole different topic that few seemed to understand.

 

Guys, so once again, we are back on to the Blitz turbocharger which Blitz says that it will remain as a prototype (probably forever). I posted the specs. too but the last PriusChat meltdown deleted everything.

 

wow that looks awesome! i'll settle for the bumper and skirts!

 

Wow, that's a tight fit. I can't figure out the air flow, starts at the air filter, goes back to the turbo charger, but then how does it back to the intake? Does it run underneath somewhere?

Anyway, Steve, the difference between a turbocharger and a supercharger is they are both fans that push air into the engine's intake, but the turbo fan is turned by another fan in the exhaust, and a supercharger's fan is turned by a belt. Superchargers are just better, but they cost more in production. Theoretically, the fan could be turned by an electric motor, but no one has pulled this off yet in the real world.

Also, FYI, turbo and supercharging is a better choice than a larger engine when you live at altitude. (Compress the thin air).

On a side note, the new turbo Subaru legacy and outback are truly awesome machines. Not just a nice boost, but a contender. When I see a subaru hood with that oh-so-subtle hood scoop in my rear view mirror I know they are about to blow by.

Nate

 

Hey Nate, the oil pump is mechanical. There isn't a reason to pump electrically, as the engine is turned 1000 RPM before fuel/spark is added, so the oil pressure is already up when fired.

 

Dan, thanks for the FYI. Saved me a repair manual lookup.

Steve, yes, the benefits of the turbo vs the H6 will be quite evident at elevation in and around Aspen.

Flatirons Subaru has a module that they sell that will allow programmable maps to be loaded into the engine ECU. If you do spring for the new Subaru Turbo, the module with a map tuned for altitude, regular gas (instead of premium) and fuel economy over power would be spectacular. You'd enjoy increased power, increased fuel economy, lower emmissions, and the ability to run it on 85 octane. (Or download a map for 300 HP! Your choice!) You can even download different maps with a laptop in your own garage.

I really, really am enamored with the Subaru Legacy/ Outback Turbo Wagon. It's so fast, and has plenty of cargo room, yet gets twice the MPG of an SUV.

If you do end up getting a new Subaru, consider Flatirons in Boulder. I had a great test drive with "Christian" and they had every possible option combination on the lot (or the overflow lot). He made me take him for a ride in the Prius as well, he was quite impressed.

Anyway, keep in touch. Maybe the turbo in your future will say Subaru on the back, but that's okay.

Nate

 

Hello guys.. I though I would chime in here since I program and tune approximately 10 C5 corvettes a week on a Dynojet 248 with a wide band 02. I work on N/A as well as S/C and turbo motors that make in excess of 950 RWHP on the dyno and am responsible for the ECU tuning to make sure that they are most efficient and don't blow up on the track!!

In my experience, anytime you are going to pressurize an engine, you MUST program the ECU to prevent detonation and other drivability problems. Another issue is that the Prii runs at an extremely high 13:1 C/R and without connecting a wide band 02, we would have no idea what A/F ratio the factory is running at during cruise, part throttle or WOT.

Since Toyota's mission with this car was low emissions and high fuel economy, I would not be surprised if they were running a leaner A/F ratio than the stoichiometric ratio (14.7:1.) While this is okay if the engine was designed for it and being a N/A design it can be catastophic for a pressurized engine.

Personally if I was going to do this, I would have to be able to re-program the ECU to retard ignition timing which is mapped to the amount of boost given. For example, let's say that the timing is pre-set to 28 degrees. When the boost starts to come on, I would have the timing automatically retard based upon the IAT (Intake Air Temp) as well as the amount of boost the intake is seeing. You would also want to significantly richen up the A/F mixture to aprox 12.5-12.7:1 to hold off any detonation issues.

The fact that this engine has a 13:1 C/R, it does not give me the "warm and fuzzy" feeling as an engine I would want to pressurize even with everything being perfectly tuned.


Brian

 

I would think that an electrical supercharger would make more sence than a turbo in the Prius... anyone ever seen such a beast?

 

Do you mean something like this?

>> Electrocharger to 'hybridize' any vehicle 12-cyl & smaller