As long as we're on curiosity, what IS this? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=33597 Do they just slap the name of a car onto their kit, or is there something on every car that can be 'improved' on and the Prius has one too?...
No personal knowledge but it sounds like SNAKE OIL to me. Catch the suckers looking for a free lunch and most of them will be too embarrassed to admit they were taken and won't return it for the "guaranteed satisfaction" refund.
i believe these mod chip things are supposed to somehow mess with the engine computer programming and squeeze out some more torque by changing some stuff that the manufacturer has programmed in based on their desired compromise of economy versus power. i would think that the prius is the last car one would want to 'soup up' for more power. it would have to come at the expense of lowering mileage. and in the case of this thing on ebay, it's apparently a cheap copy besides...
Perhaps a switch. You get 50MPG going to the drag race, turn the car into a racer for a bit, then go back to normal for the drive home. :wink: My Amiga had a dual-operating-system ROM switch for a while. It could be done... :roll:
Ushually when I hear someone boasting about their intake or exhaust and how they installed the parts themselves I say something like, "My car has an intake and exaust too. They came standard with my car." I don't think it would be wise to mess with the Prius exhaust, but putting a K&N filter in would probably do no harm. As far as the Z1Performance Module Kit...It's probably one of those things that enriches the air-fuel mixture via computers, but it probably won't work on the Prius given that most computers I've tried (for diagnostic purposes) cannot communicate with the Prius. PS I'm hoping someday to meet a programer who can teach an OBDII computer how to speak 'Prius.'
Leave well enough alone... don't mess with the Prius. Wrong car to mess with in order to increase performance.
The first mod should be a better exhaust system, but I don't quite feel like messing with my Prius yet. If you want better mileage and better acceleration, start pulling out all the dead weight: rear seats, carpet, sound deadening, spare tire, jack, radio, speakers, rear wiper, air conditioning, ...etc. I got my Prius down to 2780 lbs!
If you want faster acceleration than the Prius, you probably don't want a Prius. This car has plenty of power for anyone but a drag racer. The only thing it lacks in performance is the noise. A couple of times I've floored it to get through a busy intersection, and it presses me right into the seat-back.
MG2 Torque baby! (gives high-five to daniel) But seriously, the Prius is not for racing. However...If I ever loose my mind and put my car on the 1/4 mile I will post a copy of the official results here on PriusChat. Happy Priusing, ~Andrew
I put mine on the 1/4 mile last Saturday, and will let you all know when it finishes. Seriously, it's quick enough for me - and I've had the Grand National! And that eBay gadget is just something like a $0.05 series resistor in the mass airflow sensor circuit to fool the system into thinking the air is colder than it really is, therefore denser, therefore needs more fuel, therefore the car runs richer. Big deal.
