I wanted to know if anyone has added intake, headers, muffler, or any other bolt on performance mod. what have been your experiences? I was looking at tom's and i saw that they had some things for the Prius, and i wanted to know what kind of positive and negative things happen as a result of modification. thanks
project ti, Welcome to PriusChat. In the land of the Prius, "performance" is generally understood to mean beter fuel economy (FE). The intricate interplay of the engine and HV battery is mostly controlled by CPUs. The whole system, and even the individual parts, are maximized for high FE and very low pollution. As a result, there is really very little opportunity to "soup up" the engine-drive train. That said, in addition to Tom's, Sigma Automotive probably has the widest selection of custom parts: Sigma Automotive – Toyota Hybrid Prius 2004 - 2009 OEM & JDM auto accessories Have fun, and we'd enjoy hearing what upgrades you choose. And oh, by the way, do you own/drive a Prius? What model and options package do you have? And where are you from?
The Prius engine already has headers. It also has a high flow air intake system. You can do suspension mods. to improve the handling. These include a plate to stiffen the body, and other body stiffening parts including a shock tower brace. You can also get much lighter wheels, which improve the mileage, and probably lower the 0-60 time as well. Not sure you could reliably measure that. There is a "chip" sold for more power, but it's snake oil. Probably the easiest way to improve the Prius power is to buy the Lexus 250 when it comes out this fall.
Well I've been thinking about this posting and thought you might enjoy this "bolt on performance mod:" The key technical features: safe drafting - the Prius remains at a fixed distance +/- 3" at all times. Not shown, there is an auto-braking receiver that applies the brakes. +100 MPG - the limit of the display, I've seen better than 100 MPG on the Prius over several short, 5-6 miles tests. I'm hoping to get some long distance measurements later this summer. improved RV site mileage - though not really Prius related, there is substantial fuel savings at the distant, RV site. I hope that clears things up. Bob Wilson