Should I Upgrade Suspension when going PHEV?

They do exist.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dodgy-brothers/27/873/2b3


Best definition of dodgy I could find:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/dodgy_1


Australian humor must be hard to understand.

 

I'd never heard of Dodgy Brothers before, but I immediately thought Mopar.

 

I have added a picture to show why heavier springs are added to the Prius when a PHEV kit of around 8kwh to 10kwh of batteries is added to a Prius. As far as I know it is mainly done for looks. I guess it should also decrease the chance of the Prius bottoming out on a speed hump. It does not increase the specified tare weight allowed. The photo shows my rear suspension of my Prius with the standard factory rear coil springs with my 8KWH Enginer kit onboard compared to my front suspension.

 

Just received my new springs today. They were ordered from Kingsprings Goldcoast Queensland. Product code KTRR-106SPLD, Kings Toyota prius rear Raised Coil. AU$195 (inc. GST) for both springs. The plugin supply website has step by step photo instructions on how to install them using a jack (no spring compression tool required). www.pluginsupply.com

 

I finally installed my heavy springs on the week end. I found the job a lot harder to do than expected. Even after placing a stand under the correct place I was not able to get the coil spring to expand enough to take away the coil spring tension. So I ended up using a coils spring compression tool (AU$45) after all. See photos. Even with using a coil spring conpression tool and a stand under both wheels. I still needed to put my weight on the wheel to expand the coil so I could to slide the coil spring assembly on. The first photo shows the difference between the old spring and the new one. The new spring is shorter and has a gauge of 13mm compared to 11mm on the old coil spring.
When jacking up the car wheel I used a piece of decking wood to protect the car steel body from deforming under weight as seen in the secong photo.
The third photo shows all the tools I needed to do the job. It is missing a metric allan key - not sure which size I used.

 

I had to remove the rear plastic mud guard flaps using a 10mm socket. See photo. The second photo shows where I positioned the stand, it allows the coil spring to expand. I had to undo the wheel nuts to remove the wheel. This gave me better access to the coil spring. The third photo shows how I used a coil spring compression tool to remove the old coil spring.

 

I spent a lot of time lining up the coil spring compression tool so the spring would go into the correct position.

The only part which was straight forward was undoing and doing up the 17mm nut on top of the coil spring assembly whilst using an allan key. No photos supplied, same as those shown by the PIS website.

Tips:

1. Check that you have a 17mm ring spanner. My spanner set only went up to 15mm. I had to go out and buy a 17mm ring spanner.

2. Try not to scratch the powder coated paint. I found it hard not to scratch them.

This was my first time at replacing a set of coil springs. My arms were really sore the next day. I would only recommend doing this job to people under 40 y.o. unless they are exceptionally fit.

 

I didn't have any spring compression tools when I upgraded my suspension. I jacked one side up, put it on a jack stand and then used the floor jack under the actual shock to compress the spring and move it into place. It worked with very little effort. You just need to make sure the shock top is extended so it comes out the top.

Then repeat on the other side...

 

Maybe if there was a video I could see exactly how it is done without using a spring compression tool. It is not easy working from photos I printed out from the PIS website.

The Toyota Prius workshop manual shows how the springs are replaced using a compression tool. So using the workshop manual does not help.

 

This YouTube video about body kits shows how the suspension springs are replaced.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycSK-oPV09g]Five Axis Edition Toyota Prius - Install Video - YouTube[/ame]

 

I have a conversion that I am selling. I will sell the entire car, or just the conversion. The details of the conversion can be found at Boulder Hybrid Conversions. It is the 10kw conversion. The car is a 2004 prius. I would sell the conversion for $8K. I would also consider a trade for your prius if interested.

Thanks!
Dan

 

That price sounds good since it is 10% less than PIS is currently asking in their DIY kit.
Could you provide a more specific supplier name. "Valley Springs (in California)" doesn't search well??

Thanks (every $30 helps)

Steve

 

I just called Valley Spring Works of Dixon, CA, which supplies the springs for Luscious Garage. They gave me a great deal!!! $285 for a set of double progressive coils. They rate at 400lbs over stock, but you can start from 300lbs and go up by 50lb increments depending on you load requirements. The double progressive means that it doesn't make your car look like a stink-bug when you take the load out (just in case you want to remove your kit).

So nice to work with...just give Bill a call at (707) 678-3944

 

I also want to mention I had used Valley spring works for my suspension upgrade and they are amazing... bill there is very nice and easy to work with....I got the info off this site and gave them a try...thank you Prius chat guys.. give them a try
Valley spring works
Dixon California

 

Thank you for the feedback and recommendations.
Did the springs improve handing in any way or just more for looks and the clearance height for speed bumps?

 

There is a supplier on eBay with stiffer spring for the same application, similar price tho.