I'm looking to make the prius more fun to drive (I have a 2012)... What would be my first moves here? I've read up on lowering the car and installing some braces/supports- but I don't have any feedback on JUST doing the bracing/support. I know lowering the car would definitely improve handling and the FUN of the drive, especially when coupled with braces...but my driveway doesn't really "support" a lowered car. Is just doing the supports by itself worth it? or should I just hold off and hope my fiancee falls out of love with our house
Hey, Zigzampow. I think the first thing you could do that would give you the most bang for the buck, is to have the TRD Anti-Swaybar installed. A previous post stated that a Toyota Prius Engineer said that it was a great addition for the price. I had that installed at my dealer for under $230 including the bar and it made a world of difference in the handling. Back end is more planted to the ground and the car is much more steady. I would highly recommend it. As far as lowering the car, it sounds much more dramatic then in reality. I also have the TRD Springs and it does improve the handling. It also gives the car more of a European feel. The ride is stiffer... I absolutely love the car with them on. It only lowers it about an inch, but if you like a sportier ride, it's the way to go... There are other stiffening bars you can add. One member here makes a center brace to stiffen body of the vehicle and make it less twitchy. Members who installed it say that they are happy with it. There are also upper and lower anti-sway bars for the front. I personally am happy with just the TRD Springs and Rear Bar. Lastly, would be the rims and tires. The 17's definately help with handling, road feel and they just look good! But, you will take about a 4MPG hit when switching from 15's...
I've only seem to have found people doing 2" drops - and I already have to be careful of scrapping on this driveway-- did you install the springs or have them installed?
I had the sway bar and the springs installed at the dealership... Parts and labor for both was about $650. They only charged me two hours of labor for installing both. The tech came out to complain about only having 1.5 hours to do the springs because the wiper assembly needed to be removed, etc. But, the Service Manager told him, if Toyota states it's a 1.5 hour job, that is what the customer is paying. I watched him do the install and it didn't take longer than that. I would definately recommend having Toyota do the install, unless you have all the tools you would need to do that...
the rear wiper has to be removed to install the TRD springs? im doing mine soon and this is the first im hearing of this.
i guess i need to search again because i havent seen or heard of that. ive seen the wiper assembly removal for a STB, but not for the springs. i guess the job just got a little harder.
It is true that the front wiper assembly needs to be removed in order to get access to the front strut bolts. DIY: Spring Install | PriusChat
I'm contemplating lowering my Prius. I bought Mike5000 mid and front chassis braces. Installed them and instantly noticed a dramatic improvement in handling and feel. I highly recommend them. The DIY install link is very informative and makes it easy to tackle the job if you're a hands on guy.
