New to Prius

HIya... Do you have a friend fluent in reading Japanese? The Japanese version of Toyota Racing Design (TRD) is where all that stuff hides. But if you're looking for stuff for a 2007 Gen2 it's gonna be difficult because most expensive after-market mods are purchased by people who own the newest models of Prius, not the old ones. Sway bars and other expensive chunks of steel to tighten up the frame are probably still out there, but not longer being manufactured.

But if you're gonna drop bank on that stuff rather than making it in a machine shop I'd suggest spending big on a brand new stack of hybrid battery modules from Toyota because they dropped the price down to as low as $1650 (US) in some cases. With a new set of modules once you put the hybrid back in you won't have to take it back out again for likely 5-10 years or longer.

As for Battery repair? If you go the affordable route, it may turn into a game of "wack-a-mole" where you'll become way to ofamiliar with pulling the battery pack and testing modules again. Have you got your equipment for load testing, discharging, recharging each individual module? Let me know if you have any quesitons, I spent most of my Summer learning all this stuff and can offer assistance and links if you need 'em?

 

congrats and welcome!
try the gen2 mods forum.

all the best!

 

Gotta say, they handle ok. Grassroots Motorsports magazine included a G2 in a comparison test and were surprised at how well it did. But, no matter what you do with suspension, you’ll still have the numb steering to contend with. The least favorite feature of my Prius. It’s had tough competition, I’ve driven a G1 Miata the last ten years. Previous was a 914 Porsche that was street/ Auto cross/ time trials. I’m liking the Prius, but the steering takes some getting used to.

 

There's a discussion somewhere on here where a race car dude disconnected power steering for more responsiveness and wasn't pleased with results. But based on cars you've previously driven, it's expected this is gonna be a handling mess in comparison.

If you want to improve handling on the cheap, boost tire pressure into mid to upper 40 PSI... Beyond that you can reinforce the chassis with sway bars/etc. but the purpose of the car is doubling your MPG and everything else is secondary. After a couple hundred thousand miles with very little maintenance, that's worth it...

For perspective, try a similar size vehicle on a windy road and you'll be please to realize the lightweight of your vehicle in comparison makes the most of very little to work with.

 

Exactly. That’s why I questioned wanting to mod one. I’m a lifetime gearhead and am getting to appreciate the Prius for what it is. No amount of money is going to make it a sports car. If hanging a bunch of funny “aero” stuff makes you feel more acceptable, then do it!

 

At age 16 one of my first jobs in the early 80's was in Palo Alto at Bill Young's automotive... 'ol Bill made experimental airplanes and would fly over us occasionally while we waived at him. His head mechanic's passion at the time was putting a Mazda rotary engine in an old 1950's MG... The 2nd mechanic did time for bank robbery. He told me once that robbing banks is easy, just don't tell anyone or they'll get 'ya.

As in I learned all this because one day we'd meet on Prius chat and we'd convince you that we can get all our Prius chat supporters to fund us putting a Prius drivetrain in a Miata. My whole life has built up to this moment. Don't let me down bro! Let's plan this out and make it real!!!

 

There's a lot that can be done to these cars for handling. The front and rear swaybars are the same as Corollas/Matrix. A common suspension mod is to get a front swaybar from a junkyard on a Corolla and then get an aftermarket rear one. Get 16 or 17" wheels, upgraded sway bars, coilovers, front strut bar, and middle brace, a good alignment, and you'll have one mean handling Prius! There are some other things you can do after this, but the returns get very small.

There are no real power mods for the car, so it's definitely a 'momentum car' when you take it on the twisties.