What mods can you do to a prius?

No, think Prius with some electric range. The Prius exists and it isn't made by GM but Toyota so it is reliable.

 

I think this is one of my favorite mods - a backup power supply! A year ago we had a nasty ice storm in the northeast and some homes were without power for several weeks. I heard on the news that one guy used his Prius for power, sweet! The link below explains how to do it.

http://priuschat.com/forums/generation-1-prius-discussion/71762-power-outage-1-5-hours.html

 

Nice mod in a pinch...but I got a Coleman Powerstation (hmmm...guess I can say I own two Hondas since both it and my portable gas generator are both Hondas) and an automatic transfer switch- so when the grid goes down I have an almost instantaneous switch over to a whole house generator system. Need to have reliable power for my fish tank...

Before installing it, though, I did run a converter from my GMC truck to the fish tank to keep the pumps going during a blackout a few years ago.

 

F8l's post on tuning is mostly accurate. You can tune any vehicle from a laptop provided you have the knowledge and software. Infact you should be able to do the same with the Prius.

SCT custom tuning dealers and Spartan which are the tuners of choice for the ford 6.0 and 6.4 crowd do not require to send your downloader to anyone. The files are all transferred via Email. There are a few companies doing it for the 7.3 fords as well.

If you want to learn about gas/diesel vehicle tuning do some reading here. Bill and Corey actually teach tuning classes
Power Hungry Performance Forums - Powered by vBulletin

 

CAUTION: Gross generalizations follow!

With regard to power, there really isn't much that can be done under
the hood. The Prius has something like 7 computers and 16 ECUs
(Electronic control units). Even though the Prius has been around for
eight years or so, no one has been able to crack the proprietary
control programming. One very limited exception would be some
Toyota supported software changes for the Bonneville world record
speed holder:

Got Hybrid? - Modifying the Prius - Car and Driver

Toyota.com : Hybrid Synergy View : Prius Sets Speed Record

The one open market, generally available exception would be adding
after market additional HV battery capacity. (~$2-$10K depending on
capacity and maker)

So, I guess by you guy's standards, our modding is pretty superficial:
* Electronics: Audio, GPS, etc.
* Window tints
* Various add-on body bits; side moulding, shark fin, mud guards
* Allegedly "aero" ABS/fiber glass body kits -- but the car is very
"clean" as it comes OEM; 0.025/0.026 Cd
* Wheels and tires -- typically with FE/MPG hits up to 5-10%
* Tow hitch -- although Toyota says no-No-NO to towing, folks do it
with no apparent negative effects.
* Under-body aero panels -- usually roll-your-own stuff
* Suspension upgrades.

On this last, you guys seem most likely to mod for greater height.
(I take it that "low riders" aren't likely to be heavy duty diesels. )

Other than variable rate springs and shocks, in the FE/MPG arena
lowering the chassis say 1-1/2 inches can achieve some modest MPG
gains, maybe 1-2%, by lowering the volume of high pressure air
moving across the "dirty" underside of the car. The car is still, though
barely drivable in the "real world" of speed bumps/humps, road
debris, etc.

FWIW, a pretty much complete source for Prius mods is:

World's Largest Prius-dedicated Accessory Shop :: Sigma Automotive

 

Yah - I put a chip in my CFC Xterra, and added 146hp, and got 10MPG increase - amazing what those chips do... That took its base HP of 143 to a respectable 263, and mileage went from 15MPG to 25MPG overnight.

 

Keep in mind - there's this chip on Ebay PERFORMANCE CHIP TOYOTA PRIUS 2001-2010 2006 2005 2004:eBay Motors (item 250537767603 end time Dec-03-09 04:35:50 PST) - specifically designed for the 2010 Prius - increases HP by 50, and adds 15MPG !!!

 

Hmmm....any priuschat users ever mod their cars with this chip???

 

Why don't car makers incorporate these chips into their products?

 

I dont have a power pup, I have a ts chip tuned by tony wildman
power pup is junk.
I havent dynoed my truck but others have, with the same engine and mods I have.

 

Here's a dyno graph from a bone stock 6.0 powerstroke. nothing more than a tuner added
http://gearheadautomotiveperformance.com/images/6 liter.jpg

 

with the tune I have if you run it to hard you will get the exhaust temp to high and destroy the turbo
not safe for the avg. idiot driver or fleet truck
also ford cant have brand new trucks blowing black smoke.
plus auto manufacturers have to deal with noise and emmisions regulations plus they have to draw the line somwhere.

 

thanks higuys.

 

car manufacturers build to appeal to the masses.

Certain tunes are for certain types of driving. For example the 140+ tunes arent meant for towing heavy. With the amount of fuel the high hp tunes push and a heavy load behind them the Exhaust temps get so high it could cause catastrophic turbo issues.

The average vehicle owner doesnt know these things. Thats why mfr's dont tune like that

 

Ah, thanks.

 

The chips modify the emission control system, therefore they are technically illegal except for off-road only. There is a federal law that states that you are not allowed to modify or defeat the emission control system. The reason that the automakers do not incorporate these chips (or any ability to modify the tune) is because they have to certify to the EPA that the vehicle meets all applicable emission standards. They could not certify if they gave the owners the ability to tweak the settings.

Be aware that it is possible, for example, to lean out the mixture and gain FE, but this approach will also increase NOx and that is why the automakers have gone away from this approach. [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_burn]Lean burn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

Because they aren't legal on the road, they increase the exhaust emissions beyond statute limits.

 

trust me we dont lean out anything on diesels more fuel the better!

 

Yes, that was just an example. When you enrich the mixture, you may increase unburnt HC emissions, however, the automakers must meet and certify that they do not exceed a certain standard.