Useful and Tasteful Things to do to a 3rd Gen Prius?

I'm getting my mittens on a 3rd gen Prius to replace my now sold 2003 Dodge Intrepid. I'd like to keep this car mostly stock, but my time with GRM has taught me that a little bit of cash and some wrenching goes a long way to making a car suck less.

So far, I will be buying a TRD rear sway bar (PTR11-47010) but won't upgrade the handling with any other purchase (except maybe snow tires next winter). I'd like your ideas for inspiration.

What are the small things y'all have done to your Priuses (Pri-ii?)? I'm interested in everything you liked or regretted: floor mats, vacuum reroutes, tunes, headlight upgrades, figuring out how to rotate the heated seat switch so the buttons are arranged horizontally instead of vertically, etc.

I'd just do the sway bar and call it a day. Maybe some sticky summer tires?

apparently changing to better tires help handling tremendously.

TRD drop springs, 17's, and the sway bar.

Convert to RWD and install a turboed Supra 2JZ drivetrain. Oh, wait...

WildScotsRacing wrote: Convert to RWD and install a turboed Supra 2JZ drivetrain. Oh, wait...

No,no, keep going...

Good tires, nice wheels, sway bar, springs, high quality shocks, and a tasteful body kit, like this 3DCarbon kit.

I havent done a damn thing to my Prius (including any form of fixing anything) but i did get another stock rear swaybar so i could DOUBLE THEM UP. I'll let you know how that goes. Some day. If I survive.

Trailer hitch + roof racks!

I autocross a Honda CR-Z hybrid.

Switching tires made a huge difference.

Dropping the low rolling resistance tires for some Bridgestone RE760s improved ride quality, improved road noise, and traction. The car dances around a lot less now, and I feel a lot less like I'm tiptoeing around with it.

And at the autocross, keeping in mind that I'm just starting out with this, I went from something like 2nd from last overall to comfortably third quartile, and I went from being 9 seconds off the HS class winner to being within a second.

As far as mileage, it doesn't appear to have changed much, if any.

Well, there is one exception - on course. For the hell of it, since I have the only hybrid at the autocross, I've reset the MPG counter to capture my fuel economy during my runs.

Factory tires:

RE760:

Easy! Push to nearest cliff, then push a bit further. Problem solved!

Factory "Performance Plus" Package:

That is the TRD lowering springs, rear sway bar, 17x7 wheels with summer tires, and an add-on bodykit.

Rear:

HIDs in the projector housings make a huge difference. We put some in the wife's prius and it was night and day. The cutoff of the prius housings is fantastic.

Drop a turbo Honda K24 in the back seat. I'm sorry, what was the question?

I have a deal with my SO. If I come home with a Prius, she will know it is time for my assisted living arrangements. But to answer the question, unless you can invert the wiring to get pavement wrinkling acceleration out of the batteries and electric motors, what is the point of polishing the turd???

I think there is a brace for sub frame that is supposed to help some.

+1 to 17s, tires, drop, rear sway

Enyar wrote: Trailer hitch + roof racks!

What are you suggesting?

Mighty tasteful.

In reply to LuxInterior:

You might as well stick half a Subaru Baja on the back of that and call it a day.

Anything y'all have done to your interiors?

P.S.: I only get to keep it for a few years. It has brand new tires already (hopefully not LRRs). I'll definitely do the sway bar (cheap, low effort, huge improvement) but probably won't do the springs (not cheap, high effort, will probably hurt in snow and not help as much as just the sway). A GRM sticker is in the works.

In reply to Kylini:

The stock carpet is one step below indoor/outdoor, so a set of all-season floormats. BIG honkin' dash, so lots of 303 Aerospace Protectant...

MrChaos wrote: apparently changing to better tires help handling tremendously.

It also kills fuel economy tremendously.

Knurled wrote:

MrChaos wrote: apparently changing to better tires help handling tremendously.

It also kills fuel economy tremendously.

54 MPG to 48 MPG as measured over 5,000 miles each by the owner of my local tire shop going from factory LRR tires to identical size and brand, but a Performance Summer model.