Does anyone have any idea how to go about implementing some sort of improved emissions control equipment onto their prius, or any car for that matter. I think it would be really neat to reduce my exhaust emissions if possible. My initial thoughts would be something along the lines of larger/more catalytic converter or something similar to a urea injection system used in diesels, but it's pretty tough to find any good info on this subject. Most people are looking for ways to remove the emissions systems on their cars, I want to improve it. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I'd suggest leaving it alone - it's been certified the way it is, and it's got far better emissions control than most cars on the market. If you've got a spare $million (or $50million), you could go through the testing etc that TOYOTA does to create the PRIUS as a relatively groundbreaking vehicle. My understanding is that urea injection is specific to diesel - so they can use a lean burn. I guess you could install a Diesel engine - but that could be defeating the purpose altogether, particularly if you wanted to stick with hybrid. Diesels and hybrids like a PRIUS don't work together (there have been some developed, but I don't think any have got to market) - as a diesel doesn't work well in a stop-start situation like the PRIUS engine does.
Even if I didn't actually make any changes though, I'm still curious as to what could be done to reduce emissions even further. I assume there are limits to how many cats can be used or how large they can be before there is no benefit, also exhaust temperature is also probably another limiting factor. I know urea injection is helpful for catalyzing NOx, but NOx is less of an issue in a prius. If anyone has anything to add I would love to hear. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
You Prius is a PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) which means that there are virtually no harmful emissions from your car. The exhaust is water vapor and some carbon dioxide. Since your Prius gats about 50 MPG, it puts out about half the CO2 than most cars on the road. If there were reasonable ways to improve emissions further, Toyota engineers would have done them. JeffD
Install the block heater? It’ll get you out of cold-start behaviour faster. Consolidate trips, reduce use, walk or bike to avoid extreme short trips.
Thanks for the comments so far. I am absolutely looking into getting a block heater, and am well aware that changing personal habits are very effective techniques as well. However, I am still interested from a technical standpoint what could be done, while the car absolutely emits a heck of a lot less than most vehicles, its not like it doesn't emit anything. For example, I would never want to be stuck in an enclosed space while the thing ran, I think it would be awesome if there was a way for us to come up with a way to reduce/capture the emissions such that running it in an enclosed space isn't a health risk(who knows if that could ever happen though). I am well aware that anything that could be done is not going to be economically or practically worth it for an individual to do other than for fun, but its kind of like trying to get in the minds of the engineers that do this for a living. Its obvious that we can't leave things as they are for the rest of time, and other people have done better, for example the honda clarity meets sulev20, where the prius only sulev30. I hope that makes sense, I am just a curious engineer that is interested in a problem that is out of his domain of expertise.
The Toyota blockheater is pretty much the only way to go. ; it’s about $90 for the part, likely $300 installed. Install is awkward/difficult, due to so many conduits right where it needs to be to go into place. Quite a fight. More info here: Block heater failed | PriusChat
We don't use block heaters here - but wasn't there talk about the installation on Gen4 being more straight-forward than the old models? I might be thinking of something else though.
Ah good point, lost track of what forum, more’n likely part is the same, location too, but could well be diff in install access. Also, forgot to mention: purchasing the part in the States seems to be difficult, compared to Canada.
In order to make the Prius much cleaner you would have to find a way to capture and sequester the CO2 that the car emits as part of the combustion process. It's only putting out 78 grams of co2 per mile. Dan
I think the "leave well-enough alone" sentiment applies here, it is admirable to wish to reduce emissions even further, but having seen enough peer reviewed literature regarding Climate, we've already sealed ourselves into a tunnel with the light at the end being a Train. Anything done now will be way too little, way to late... Been quite the party for the the last couple of centuries though .
The power to run that heater is produced somewhere probably by still burning fossil fuels. THAT process might not be as efficient as the engine in your car. Want to help the environment........join a group who supports those efforts......and one who will fight against loosening the rules so that the rich can get a bit richer.
When COVID first hit, and lockdowns were imposed, smog cleared up surprisingly fast. I think getting away from the car-centric lifestyle is best bet now. And get those diesel pickups off the roads.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind. Here in the UK the Prius is exempt from the emissions testing part of the yearly MOT (roadworthiness) test anyway.
But - what would the situation be if they realised that the TOYOTA system had been modified (apart from void the emissions warranty on as much of the car as they felt like)? Wouldn't it need to be re-certified, and then MOT tested?
If it was not visibly obvious that it had been modified and the sensors had been hacked to make it so no warning lights were showing, then the MOT tester would not know because he does not perform emissions testing as part of the test. If it was obvious that it had been modified, e.g. the CAT replaced by a straight through pipe etc, then it would fail the test anyway.
