I just drove home with my new-to-me Prius C from vwcorvette. Stellar human, the car was better than I expected, and I'm super happy.
I know we talked about some wheels in the other thread, and I'd love to start shopping, although the wheels on it are pretty nice. I could just powdercoat them charcoal or bronze and call it good. My main goal is to give it a slightly different look without adding weight, or increasing the radius of the inertial moment.
A friend was talking about a bi-directional scan tool... education on this would be lovely.
My FB feed is filling up with ads for tunes for the ECM and making outrageous claims, but it does make me wonder if there is a tune that could improve things.
Normally on a car that I buy, I have a cannon of go-to kit that I start with - usually wheels, cold air intake, and exhaust improvements, but I'm in new territory having never owned a hybrid. Hit me with a Prius C starter kit.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
You do you, but if I were in your position I would ONLY customize the car with wheels. Leave everything else 100% stock.
Other than that, have you downloaded Dr. Prius App and Torque Pro yet?
Dark metallic red wheels with paint. Maybe the rear sway bar. Nothing else. Do not up-size the wheels or tire contact patch.
Indy - Guy said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
You do you, but if I were in your position I would ONLY customize the car with wheels. Leave everything else 100% stock.
Other than that, have you downloaded Dr. Prius App and Torque Pro yet?
I'm going to do the Dr. Prius app and I have Torque but I can't use it. I have tried two different bluetooth OBD adapters, and neither one would connect to my phone because of cheapness. Do you have a recommendation?
I agree on the wheels/tires. I want 155mm rubber, LRR, and keep them inflated properly, but if there is a wheel out there without a weight penalty, I might consider it. I think the 15" wheels that are on it are a good proportion, so I see no need to go 16.
In reply to TurnerX19 :
Is there something like a Yaris sway bar that is an upgrade? Or are you talking aftermarket.
I'm also shopping for hitch receivers so I can mount my bike rack.
Here is the Dr.Prius App's review of adapters. Panlong is good to me w/ Android for both Torque Pro and Dr. P. There is also an Amazon 10% discount code in that link.
Etrailer is where you go to find the depth of knowledge for Prius hitch including instal videos. You might find a hitch, second hand via Marketplace. Etrailer does sell a 2" hitch which is great for mounting accessories but these must be made of gold or more likely really small quantities because they charge a fortune for them...but super handy.
As for Mods, I'll suggest one or both of these as a starting point.
The beauty of these cars is that they just do; and they do it well.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
This one.
I've found my gen 3 to be pretty well optimized for it's intended purpose.
What do you want it to do? Go faster? Haul more? Better mileage? Last longer?
I liked the Miata/Mini/Aftermarket wheel chatter in the previous thread, created before you bought...
Indy - Guy said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
This one.
Done. Ordered, and will be here tuesday. Thank you.
CrustyRedXpress said:
I've found my gen 3 to be pretty well optimized for it's intended purpose.
What do you want it to do? Go faster? Haul more? Better mileage? Last longer?
Hmmm... so my normal thing is take a car and make it fast, but that's the exact opposite of what I want here. I have a 67 LeMans that is getting an LS6/T56 and should put nearly 500hp to the ground, but that's a weekend toy. I often do a tune on my normal ICE cars if it helps. OEMs tune for emissions headroom, steering clear of detonation/NOx, and reliability. Often with many ICE cars, the aftermaket has figured out that adding a couple degrees of spark and slightly leaning out the AFR can add 5 hp and net 0.2 mpg, or something like that. When you're talking about an F150, the go-to first mod is usually pulling the silencing cone out of the air intake because it's free and adds a few hp. If you're talking about an LT1 Caprice, the common free go-to is to remove the "home plate" on the intake and fill the hole with a peanut butter lid. If we were talking a 24v Cummins, the first go-to is adding a lift pump to prevent starving the injector pump. I was mostly looking to see if there were those types of modifications in the Prius world.
I'm looking for things that might fit in that vein, but instead of making it a gas-guzzling hot rod like I normally do, I'm looking at making it do more of what it already does brilliantly... reliable transportation that sips gas. I don't need to haul or tow (I have the van for that), I don't need to carve corners (I have a project Corolla for that). I don't really need it to last longer, because nearly any Toyota will outlast anything else I own.
So.... Maybe better mileage, and if that adds 3 hp, great. Possibly cosmetic changes like wheels, just to differentiate my Prius from the millions of others, but not at the expense of degrading what it does so well. The answer to all of this might be "there isn't anything you can do," but I'm just new to the hybrid world, and I know my standard modifications from before likely don't apply.
I bought this so I didn't have to drive my van on days when I don't need it for van things. I just feel more pride in a vehicle that has some "curtis" touches to it.
In reply to John Welsh :
Agreed. I'm looking at more 4x100 options out there. It's a deep rabbit hole, but I've decided to stick with 15s. No need to go crazy finding ultralight 16s to counter the inertia the'll create when I think the 15s are a good proportion on the car.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
How about tinting the windows?
To my eye tint adds a nice subtle customized look without any negatives.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
I just drove home with my new-to-me Prius C from vwcorvette. Stellar human, the car was better than I expected, and I'm super happy.
I know we talked about some wheels in the other thread, and I'd love to start shopping, although the wheels on it are pretty nice. I could just powdercoat them charcoal or bronze and call it good. My main goal is to give it a slightly different look without adding weight, or increasing the radius of the inertial moment.
A friend was talking about a bi-directional scan tool... education on this would be lovely.
My FB feed is filling up with ads for tunes for the ECM and making outrageous claims, but it does make me wonder if there is a tune that could improve things.
Normally on a car that I buy, I have a cannon of go-to kit that I start with - usually wheels, cold air intake, and exhaust improvements, but I'm in new territory having never owned a hybrid. Hit me with a Prius C starter kit.
Never seen that car so clean. Missing it already. The Maverick has eased the loss. I am glad it went to someone who can appreciate what it's mission is. Try not to stare at the efficiency screen too much!
My wife thanks you for not killing us, too! LOL
If you are sticking with 15s and not increasing width, diameter, or changing offset, just leave those wheels on there?
The only mod I would do is maybe springs + swaybar, but that depends on where this is being driven and your tolerance for a stiffer suspension.
Also the driver's seat, if anything like the older Priuseseses, suffers from not enough rake, so using a spacer up front to give it some rake is helpful.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
CrustyRedXpress said:
I've found my gen 3 to be pretty well optimized for it's intended purpose.
What do you want it to do? Go faster? Haul more? Better mileage? Last longer?
Hmmm... so my normal thing is take a car and make it fast, but that's the exact opposite of what I want here. I have a 67 LeMans that is getting an LS6/T56 and should put nearly 500hp to the ground, but that's a weekend toy. I often do a tune on my normal ICE cars if it helps. OEMs tune for emissions headroom, steering clear of detonation/NOx, and reliability. Often with many ICE cars, the aftermaket has figured out that adding a couple degrees of spark and slightly leaning out the AFR can add 5 hp and net 0.2 mpg, or something like that. When you're talking about an F150, the go-to first mod is usually pulling the silencing cone out of the air intake because it's free and adds a few hp. If you're talking about an LT1 Caprice, the common free go-to is to remove the "home plate" on the intake and fill the hole with a peanut butter lid. If we were talking a 24v Cummins, the first go-to is adding a lift pump to prevent starving the injector pump. I was mostly looking to see if there were those types of modifications in the Prius world.
I'm looking for things that might fit in that vein, but instead of making it a gas-guzzling hot rod like I normally do, I'm looking at making it do more of what it already does brilliantly... reliable transportation that sips gas. I don't need to haul or tow (I have the van for that), I don't need to carve corners (I have a project Corolla for that). I don't really need it to last longer, because nearly any Toyota will outlast anything else I own.
So.... Maybe better mileage, and if that adds 3 hp, great. Possibly cosmetic changes like wheels, just to differentiate my Prius from the millions of others, but not at the expense of degrading what it does so well. The answer to all of this might be "there isn't anything you can do," but I'm just new to the hybrid world, and I know my standard modifications from before likely don't apply.
I bought this so I didn't have to drive my van on days when I don't need it for van things. I just feel more pride in a vehicle that has some "curtis" touches to it.
As a fellow Prius C owner and lover, I would say the only real modifications I'd suggest would be to the driver. If you want to do cosmetics, go for it. I'll get my daughter to get a picture of ours, the tinted windows and MB wheels look great IMO. Outside of that, I let the car do its thing. I learned how to drive it smoothly and maximize economy without being a danger on the road. The dash has helpful information about the flow of energy, state of battery charge, etc... Use that and have fun playing the game.
Nice color! Re: The mods. Do you like the drip guards over the windows? I'd get the headlights back to like new first.
Early MR2 Spyders use 15x6 front wheels (rears are 15x6.5 on early cars). They are 4x100 and shouldn't be tough to find if you like the look.
vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:
Never seen that car so clean. Missing it already. The Maverick has eased the loss. I am glad it went to someone who can appreciate what it's mission is. Try not to stare at the efficiency screen too much!
My wife thanks you for not killing us, too! LOL
I saw a car wash beside the hotel and couldn't resist.
Tell Mrs vwcorvette that it was my pleasure not killing her.
Indy - Guy said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
How about tinting the windows?
To my eye tint adds a nice subtle customized look without any negatives.
I'll look into that. PA has some pretty strict tinting laws. In fact, many car manufacturers use PA's allowable tint sometimes to determine factory tint on windows. I have actually known cops to pull you over and hand you a razor blade. You either remove it on the spot, or you get a ticket.
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:
Nice color! Re: The mods. Do you like the drip guards over the windows? I'd get the headlights back to like new first.
I loved the drip guards on my previous pickup. I got them back in the day when I was a smoker, and it was nice to vent the cancer clouds when it was raining or snowing. I liked them so much that I put them on my next truck even though I quit smoking. These seem to be unobtrusive and if they let me have the window cracked when it's raining, I'll keep them. I've been in some cars with drip guards and they were too big for the size of the window and I didn't like that they obstructed too much of my A-pillar view, but these didn't bother me a bit. I will say that I've done both the stick-on (like these) and the ones that fit up in the window channel, and the window channel ones seem to stay stuck longer.
Headlight buckets are an easy thing. These don't look like they need to start with sandpaper... probably just start with a mild polish and then clearcoat.
My vote is for aero along the lines of ecomodder/hypermiler. Are these smooth/flat underneath? How about some rear wheel pants?
As long as I can keep them light, I was always a fan of less negative space in a wheel design. Those MR2 wheels look super light, but I might see what I can find in a minilite-type design.
DancesWithCurves said:
My vote is for aero along the lines of ecomodder/hypermiler. Are these smooth/flat underneath? How about some rear wheel pants?
I can get behind this idea. I'm fair with aero for downforce, but when it comes to making it slippery, I'm a novice.
