Tanabe R&D for the 2010 Prius

UPDATE: I filled up the tank and dedicated myself to driving as conservatively as possible this time around....100 miles in, and I'm happy to report better milage so far than I've ever had driving these very common (for me) routes. a fairly consistant50-53 MPG with very minimal efforts. this was about as good as I used to get with very dedicated efforts to get higher MPG.

-of course the disclamers: this could be a product of the break in period we've all read about here on the forum, rather than parts.
-maybe a combination of parts and break in period.
-perhaps the parts really did improve mpg somehow. I'm guessing, the exhaust is the only thing mod'd part that could be responsible, if it's improving mpg at all. The improved suspension might be aiding in power transfer and less energy lost in turns, but who knows. someone on this board will find this entertaining. i do!

 

Tanabe has just posted the rest of the R&D session for anyone interested in doing any "performance" mods to their prius:

Tanabe USA R&D Blog | Toyota Prius (2010)


PS. just ordered my wheel center caps from parts.com. next up, mud flaps....

 

I somewhat agree with you. Whenever I walk out to my car, it does stand out, and insofar as that's concerned, I'd much rather that the retaining arm of the exhaust was shorter, so as to raise the whole thing another 3/4 inch toward the bumper (there's definitely enough clearance between the actual muffler and the muffler cavity on the car). Im assuming with the slight amount of vibration, having the tip that close tto the bumper might create rubbing issues. I figured all it would take is a welder to fix this, but A. the retaining arm is hollow, so it wouldn't be an easy cut n' weld. and B. there might be some piping issues that make it necessary for the exhaust to be where it is.

The reason i say "somewhat" is because it doesn't look nearly as out of place in person as it comes off in pics.

Yes! I do know how lucky I am. I'm a paycheck to paycheck guy now that I've bought my prius outright (no financing, no payments, no stress), and theres no way i could have afforded these very cool parts without getting into debt, which I am also lucky to NOT have. Also, I'd like to say that I'm not posting this stuff with any intent to brag. I was fortunate enough to get "hooked up", the least i can do is share my experience with the priuschat community and hopefully eliminate some of the legwork you guys would have to go through without seeing my car.

 

does that "straight pipe" thing have much to do with it being a performance exhaust?

 

I meant the "straight pipe" comment sincerely, as I don't really know much about exhaust design. I just meant that I would be 100% for bending it to a more natural angle if it didn't mess things up.

and as for being sure that it decreases performance of the car, I'd say at this point, my experience with the thing makes me very hesitant to agree. I'd go as far as to say, you were wrong, but I'm no car guy. I'd like to do a side by side at some point. I definitely don't get worse gas milage (in fact, i noticed an improvement AND its getting colder out) and I feel the car having better throttle response at higher speeds. Again, I dont have any scientific measurements for these claims, but user experience is just about as good as saying "it doesn't work" at this point.

 

yeah, im pretty with you here...this whole thread i've been pretty hesitant about any real conclusions simply because I know perception has everything to do with opinion...which, given my lack of credibility, is all i've got. nonetheless, it'd be worth a side by side, drivers switching between cars a few times, to get a slightly less subjective opinion. my opinoin at this point is "something is going on" post-mods.