Prius out to race track, 15mpg

So you disable the traction control for your track runs?

 

I am 100% sure you can.

Keep in mind Prius traction control is not to help or provide traction but to ease the load step on the MG's with sudden wheel spin. Therefore it is more dangerous than in a normal car for different reasons.

I did it thismorning to get out of my street (8-10 inches of fresh powder ontop of a nice layer of thick ice up a steep grade to the access road). Wheel spin in necessary!

As for how:
1) Car off
2) If not on flat surface, apply parking brake
3) Turn on, (Not READY) -- Press Power button twice, with no foot on brake
4) Pump gas pedal, pedal to the metal, 3 times
5) Shift to neutral (note: this requires you to press down the brake pedal then hold the shifter over for a second or two. Release brake pedal after in neutral)
6) Pump the gas pedal, pedal to the metal, 3 times
7) Face towards Japan and sacrifice a small woodland creature to the Toyoda empire
8) Put back in park
9) Pump gas pedal 3 times again, same deal
10) Car will beep, MFD will display "Problem!" and have a car with an '!' in it.
11) Step on the brake, press the power button.

Car will now be READY with the "Problem!" error. The engine will always run and not shut off regardless of stage. Traction control and stability control is disabled.

If your wheel spins and then suddenly gets traction, all that excess energy is funneled through MG2 (I think MG2). That means lots of current, so overheating of the motor windings, perhaps other bads. Toyota explicitly states to never ever ever ever drive in this mode.

And step 7 is merely a suggestion, it could be skipped if you are in a rush.

 

Keep us posted on the result of further testing. At poor mileage of 14mpg, the smile per mile is through the roof. Tires screams and hanging on for dear life make me lol

 

Does that also turn off the stability control? On my other car I can turn off the traction control but the stability control remains on unless I turn that off too.

 

Awesome, thanks for the video!
Looks like a fun track, would love to see how high you could get the Kwh/mile in a Tesla Sport Roadster.
Would need to adjust the suspension a bit to help with the understeer but with all the turns the 100% torque from zero should help immensly

 

It disables everything. Don't be using this unless you know what you are doing.

 

Thanks for the info. I wouldn't disable it unless I was doing a track day. I'm already slow enough in my Corvette that I don't need to drive a slower car

It would be a good excuse though:thumb:

 

I bet it is A LOT faster than mine was... Stock run flat tires and fast shifting after ECU programing made for a rather frustrating day at the track lol. Not to mention your car is just way faster period.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOpQeq9r-E"]YouTube - F8L C5 Spin.wmv[/ame]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YU67Y1bYH8

 

Don't underestimate my slowness

 

Very cool--thanks for sharing.

I agree--the handling and braking of my Prius V is surprisingly good as well (though I've never taken it to a track).

 

WOW! Not a bad lap time at all!

 

I think this probably is the best way to get people to realize that the driver element is more important than the car. When the average Joe sees a Prius whipping around a track they might get a cognitive "does not compute" error forcing them to reevaluate what they thought about anybody in a fast car can go fast.

 

Dang. I need to move to LA and take some of these classes. I really wanna learn on a track, but it's kind of embarrassing going to a class with a Prius

 

Thanks for posting that. But why did you let the Vette pass you?

I always thought it would be interesting to try and run a Daytona 500 with a Prius fleet, with no stops for fuel.

 

glad I am not the only one that's been on the race track. I do have these things sitting at home, but I think the Prius is retired from competition as the traction control is no fun


Shot at 2010-10-16