This post is for soon-to-be or wannabe Prius newbies... for those DIYers that change their own oil. This video demonstrates how easy for a Prius to drive up a ramp. The torque and power precision control of the electric motor shows the superiority without loud noise (gas engine) and chemical odor (exhaust). This precision control also make the bumper-to-bumper traffic a breeze to drive. If you have been behind a Prius in the traffic congestion and notice how rare you see the brake lights, this is why! [ame=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3175183213517953777&hl=en]Prius: Precise control while driving up a ramp (using electric motor)[/ame] Video Description Text: This video demonstrate how easy a Prius can drive up a ramp to do an oil change. It highlights the torque response / control of the electric motor. You will notice that the gas engine is not running. In the video, you would hear two different sounds. The first rattling sound is from the brake hydraulic pump. The pump kicked in as I step on the brake to put the Prius in D gear. The second high pitch sound is actually from the inverter, not the electric motor. The inverter converts the direct current from the HV battery pack into alternate current for the electric motor to operate. The electric motor makes 295 lbs-ft torque @ 0 RPM. However, the computer controls this massive torque and makes it a very smooth acceleration.
I'm not going to lie. that was the most exciting video I've ever seen. Just kidding. I have the same ramps and will be pulling them out this weekend as I now have 250 miles until my next oil change.
I've done a hundred oil changes on my cars and motos, but on this new car, I'ma let Toyota handle it. Kudos to you DIYers.
i bet he cheated by using either an ev switch or just starting the car and getting it on the ramp and turning it off within 7 seconds to engine start or maybe re reversed the footage!
Nah, if the car is already warm, driving up the ramps without the ICE is not a problem. I just did the same last week when changing the oil. You can actually stop partway up the ramp if you want.
I used the EV button because I didn't want to waste gas to warm up the engine (and the oil) just to drive up the ramp and drain the oil. That in itself is a cool way to use the EV mode. Dogfriend is right, I could've driven up the ramp without activating the EV mode.
You are supposed to warm the oil before draining, it flows better and will have more muck in suspension to run out rather than settled on internal horizontal surfaces.
What climb angle does this translate to? I just found the electric motor is not powerful enough to climb up my home made ramp: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...wer-limit-climbing-ramp-angle.html#post969219 Back to square one...
