I know that this might be something that 'we' Prius owners don't condone, BUT, there are three questions that come to mind for this OLD street racer turned gas miser: 1) Is there a way to significantly increase speed/acceleration performance in a Prius? 2) Has anyone even thought of putting a gas powered V8 in one of these 'sleepers'? 3) IF speed/acceleration modifications are possible, howzzabout a Forum section dedicated to making our Prius' into sleeper/BEASTS? Thanks, J
I will link some ideas folks have tried. Modifying the current drivetrain to produce more power serves to charge the battery more often, not the traditional measure of performance. In hillclimbs, where the battery contributes until drained, it can make a real difference. If you made a fiberglass replica of a Prius, you could set it in a RWD V8 based chassis. Got Hybrid? - Sport - Car and Driver replaced Atkinson cycle engine with Otto cycle engine from Yaris http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=20&ved=0CIsBEBYwCTgK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpriuschat.com%2Fattachments%2F1st_supercharged_then_turboed_nhw10_prius_optimized-pdf.63512%2F&ei=jL4-U5CsLrDKsQSi7oGQCw&usg=AFQjCNFedkd7yL48cE6HGm2gwXvnRoauZA&sig2=Tw1XwO7IonDvF0fE8aKjqw&bvm=bv.64125504,d.cWc Supercharged engine, then trying again with turbocharging None of these are 'kits', all custom fabrication.
1) Is there a way to significantly increase speed/acceleration performance in a Prius? There are incremental improvements possible, posted above 2) Has anyone even thought of putting a gas powered V8 in one of these 'sleepers'? I suspect this means you have never opened the hood. As you read the super/turbo charging articles, notice how space constrained he is. 3) IF speed/acceleration modifications are possible, howzzabout a Forum section dedicated to making our Prius' into sleeper/BEASTS? There are long threads on PriusChat by folks who think magic overrules physics.
The easiest way would be to add additional electric motor and extra battery, that would drive the rear wheels, like in Highlander Hybrid 4x4 . That would require to modify rear suspension, but its probably easier than to put turbo on this engine. - Alex
Is it just me or is he sending V8 power to a spacesaver spare tire? Looks like a fiberglass Prius body over a chassis that worked would have been better.
He has tubed out the rear, widened the factory wheels and installed a ladder bar suspension. If you can get by the Prius hate, it's an interesting build.
The Camry Hybrid puts out about 65-90HP more than the Prius, depending on the generation of each. The latest Camry puts out 200HP, compared to the Gen2 Prius' 110HP. That would make for a pretty healthy power increase while still probably getting the Prius' EPA mileage with a good driver.
I once knew a guy that put a 318 Chrysler engine into a Sunbeam Alpine. He couldn't keep tires on it !! Alas he eventually twisted the frame from all the torque and junked it for parts. If you have a TON of money and time to invest, hell yes GO FOR IT and keep us posted but my personal opinion is that it will be a fools errand.
Depends. What's it worth to you? The simplest thing would be to leave the front of the car alone and put a six cylinder in the back that just powered the rear wheels. You'd leave the tonneau cover over it so it didn't show, maybe put in a couple of kid seats and some stick figure cartoons in the window as camouflage , have triple(?) the stock horsepower, might make a little money with it as a sleeper.
