sfprankster's (mis)adventures modding a 2014 Prius Model Three

Nah...
Would you believe a 15k service appointment and a glove box LED change on the schedule tomorrow...

Wednesday I have other plans...


A body kit would be tough to keep from destroying it on the road I drive daily. Losing a few millimeters of clearance could be disasterous. The road is rough and VERY narrow for several miles. Even lowered on the TRD springs, I have to be extremely careful in places. Lot of falling rocks and trees after every storm to dodge. The width between the trees, in the second image, is barely wide enough for a full sized pickup to pass through.

 

15k service at Piercey Toyota in Milpitas today...

...and a minor bit of warranty work to confirm a loose passenger side visor...

...more warranty work to come on Wednesday...

Picked up a white LED replacement(Toyota part # 81080-22040) for the glove box...no time to replace it today...I had to take the gf shopping...

The hit to the mpg is a minimal price to pay to live here.

I live far enough away from the city/suburbia to have nothing but the local denizens(deer, wild boar, bobcats, mountain lions, rabbits, raccoon, skunk, fox, frogs, squirrels, etc) to bother me...

...and close enough to get whatever I need(25 miles from San Jose, 20 miles from Santa Cruz)...



Rained here last night and about 300-500 frogs think its sexy/party time in our pond, below our deck tonight...

 

Another "no tools required" (mis)adventure begins...

Needing a little more useful light to finds anything in the glove box at night. I swapped the stock amber LED for an LED of the white variety...

Glove box LED:

You can find the glove box LED hiding above the lower glove box in the dash. To access the glove box LED, you will need to remove the lower glove box from the dash. Begin by emptying the lower glove box of its contents. There is a black ball joint, connected to a strut, attached to the right side of the glove box. This needs to be removed. A small amount of pressure will pop the strut from the glove box. Then apply pressure(squeezing) to the sides of the glove box to release the large pins from the dash. It takes a fair amount of pressure to release the first side. Once out, the other side will slip out of the dash with a slight angle. Remove the glove box and set aside.

For images of the above steps, see post #171 of this thread.

Once the lower glove box is removed, you will find the glove box LED is mounted to the front edge of the dash. There are a pair of small clips on the sides of the LED housing that will need to be released to remove the LED. This is easily done with your fingers. A single wire harness connection also needs to be unclipped to remove the LED housing. Once removed, reverse the above steps to mount the new LED and glove box cover.
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YEAH!!!

Just received an auto-notify text from my mail service...
...a package from Japan delivered today...
...and another package is in customs in LA, so it should deliver Thursday or Friday...


Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for the Faux Five Prius...

An appointment with All Pro Audio for a JL Audio subwoofer and amp in the morning...


An appointment with Piercey Toyota for a window visor replacement, under warranty, in the afternoon...


...and maybe, just possibly, enough time to install my latest arrival...

 

I changed it out for a white LED from the stock amber colored LED. Now I can actually find something in the glove box without using a flashlight at night.


Without naming anyone...
...someone's still stuck on the "300-500 frogs think its sexy/party time in our pond" post...

Technically I work from home most of the time and only go that direction 2-3 days a week. Once or twice a week I head in the other direction towards Santa Cruz.

 

The audio upgrade (mis)adventure continues...

Through the magic of time lapse photography... ...errrr. I mean, professional installation by the crew at All Pro Audio of Santa Clara.

JL Audio JX500/1D amp:


JL Audio CP108LG-W3v3 subwoofer:

The subwoofer fits nicely, laid down flat behind the driver's seat...
I had a quick disconnect for the subwoofer installed so I can move it to the rear cargo area, if I need the floor space for passengers...

Remote bass roll off knob:



This combination of a 300w amp/8" ported subwoofer, adds a nice amount of depth and presence to the lower frequencies that has been lacking with the four 6.5" speakers I installed into the doors previously. Trying to achieve the bass response I prefer, in the 6.5" speakers, has resulted in a slightly muddied and distorted mid-bass that has been adequate, but not entirely accurate. With the addition of the amp/subwoofer combination, and now having the ability to adjust the high/low pass filters to specific frequencies, this allows each speaker to be more effective in its reproductive range. Taking away the lower frequencies(<100 Hz) from the 6.5" speakers, has also had a beneficial effect on the four channel amp, giving it more headroom, for a more dynamic, precise soundstage. Since I consider the Prius interior to be "acoustically challenged", I am still playing around with the low/high pass filter settings to find a nice balance.

Current settings:
High pass filters @ 100 Hz for the front and rear 6.5's
Low pass filter @ 80 Hz for the subwoofer


The addition of the bass roll off knob, in a switch blank below the start button, allows for quick and easy bass adjustments on the fly. Since all recordings have a different amounts of bass, mids and treble, this bass roll off allows quick adjustments without entering into the settings on the HU each time. If you are someone that uses the random playback function, this is a invaluable option to any audio system.




Ruh roh...

...first comment from my gf after the install..."Is the music louder?"

 

That's correct.

I have yet to have a third person in my car. 99.9% of the time, the rear seats are folded forward to carry cargo(canopy, tables, etc) for events.


If I do need to make room for another person, there's a pair of quick connects to move the sub into the rear cargo area.

 

I received a few packages from Japan over the last few days...

Of the packages I received, the TRD gas cap cover is the easiest to install, so this is where I began...



Another "no tools required" (mis)adventure...



TRD gas cap cover:
After removing enough bubble wrap to cover a small piece of furniture...
I found a TRD gas cap cover hidden inside...



Front:


Rear:


Installation is straightforward and very simple...
Clean the gas cap with a microfiber tower and a little rubbing alcohol. Remove the pair of backing strips on the double sided tape and press firmly onto the gas cap. All finished!




Subwoofer/amp update:
Current settings:
Front and rear speakers high pass filter @ 110 Hz(up 10 Hz)
Subwoofer low pass filter @ 80 Hz

Still playing around with the crossover settings with the addition of the second amp and subwoofer. Tried a few settings with the subwoofer's low pass filter @ 63 Hz, but it seemed to lose some of the musicality of the subwoofer. One if the nice features of this particular subwoofer is it produces a very musical output, rather than being just a loud "crump, crump" noisemaker.

The subwoofer comes with a metal, mesh grill installed. It should be able to handle some abuse.

 

A "not your soccer mom mobile" (mis)adventure...



JDM headlight eyebrow garnish:


Begin the installation by checking the fit of the pieces onto each headlight. I found I needed to slightly modify the upper, inside edges of the garnish with a rotary tool/sanding drum, to fit the headlight contours cleaner, and to allow the double sided tape to have a larger contact area.



Before applying the garnish, make sure to clean the area with a microfiber towel and alcohol. Allow to completely dry. As with everything involving double sided tape, I pull the backing far enough off to allow a small strip to lay beyond the edge of the garnish. This allows me to move the piece around and align it to where I want it located. Once in place, pull the backing strips and apply pressure on all edges. This mod is best, when the temperature is 70+. If it is colder, you can always warm up the area with a hair dryer.




I applied a quick polish and wax, after I installed the eyebrow garnish, using Meguiars 205 Mirror Glaze and Gold Class carnauba wax.







Somewhat of a contradiction to the common perception of a Prius being a soccer mom mobile(in my opinion), with the new aggressive style .




Like taking a trip to the salon to have permanent eyebrows tattooed on...

...and so much classier than a basic tramp stamp...