v6 Swapping my 2007 prius?

If you're going to build a sleeper, and you have the time/money/resources to do it, why not drop something better than a V6 (presumably a 2GR) in? At most you'll probably get 450-ish hp out of it with a turbo/SC bolted on like in the (wonderful) Lotus Evora 400/410/430.

I mean you'll lose the hybrid system and you'll probably be retrofitting a normal auto transmission and external ECU in anyway.

You might as well use like a boosted Honda K-series for the much more significant aftermarket support and slightly better power/weight ratio. Alternatively, stick an LS in there - it's probably compact enough to fit in the engine bay, cheap (so many in junkyards), and it's not going to be super hard to get to like 700hp (you're probably looking at a RWD conversion with this too).

 

This idea is like putting 10 football players inside a single elevator.

 

Big engine in a small car isn't exactly a new or unknown formula. The legendary Shelby 427 Cobra was basically just that, as is the more modern Hennessy Venom (I've seen one of these up close - it's pretty remarkable). Thing is that the added complication of the HSD makes it a really challenging swap (not sure a Highlander or RX swap would fit on the Prius body, but at least you wouldn't have to work about engine/drivetrain management).

 

ohhhhh yeahhhhhh!!!!!

 

there is not room for an LS motor, much less a transaxle that would handle it. besides this flimsy little car would tear apart if you could make it fit. if you wanted to make a RWD conversion, it could be done with any V8 you wanted, but of course at that point its got a race frame under a prius skin. damn that would be cool!!! you wouldn't be allowed to drive it on the street though...
I would look into a camry V6, transaxle, and probably at that point you'd need to fabricate mounting for the camry sub-frame. $$$$

 

Normally I'm all in on performance mods but doing this would require much, much more than a drivetrain swap because the Prius is a rolling computer network with 11 separate ECU's.

From a philosophical point, this idea is the opposite of a performance mod. What? Surely trying to make a Prius faster is a performance mod, right? Well IMNSHO, no because the Prius is all about efficiency so dropping in a heavier and less fuel efficient drivetrain is the opposite. Might as well think about mods to make a 'vette slower....

If you really wanna' impress folks, come up with something that makes it even more fuel efficient and cleaner running than what the factory engineers did. Hint: a few have done this but it wasn't cheap.

Just my 2cent.

 

pedals?

 

Oh, but I think you are wrong, sir.

LS1 V8 Powered Toyota Prius Build | GM Authority



‫LSX Prius - الصفحة الرئيسية | فيسبوك‬

Theoretically, if he did a full drivetrain swap, he could reuse the ECUs (which is what I was kind of getting at with the RX/Highlander comment) from the donor car (this is what happens with some RSX K-series swaps). As far as the ECUs are concerned, the swapped Prius would just be a faster not-SUV.

 

The person who asks "is this possible?" is the wrong person for the job. The right person for the job is the one who knows it will be very difficult and tries it anyhow.

 

RWD conversion. I guarantee there is major frame fabrication going on here if they've even finished it, and I bet they have to cut out most of the firewall and do some sort of a rear radiator setup to get it to fit under the hood. it really won't fit in a stock engine compartment.
" Autofab Race Cars. The now deleted fake Craigslist ad had photos of an actual V8 Prius build in the process of being finished. It turns out Autofab Race Cars, based out of Elkridge, MA., is currently doing an LS1 swap on a white Prius for a customer. The first photos of the car were uploaded on December 9 2013, with more recent photos showing the engine and transmission in the car popping up on January 20.
According to Autofab, the Prius has an LS1 engine paired to a 4L60E automatic transmission and yes, it has been converted to rear-wheel drive. It seems a little far off from being complete..."

 

No question that a ton of fab work is necessary, but it's not like a 2GR is going to just bolt right up. It would certainly achieve OP's objective of "blow people's minds" (and maybe make him a few hundred bucks street racing it, not that I condone street racing).

 

The hellcat Prius did it and it works. It's not really a Prius other than shape.

 

Now all I need to see is a Hellephant engine swap.

 

damn that's sick!!! if any of the original firewall even remains, the 2 rear cylinders are definitely beyond it. I don't know, but I suspect the OP was thinking about making something streetable. maybe if enough of the hellcat is in there-- including all the emissions crap-- it could still be registered and pass emissions...

 

Lots of places don't have any emissions testings. If you're going through the trouble to swap it all, you can go through the trouble of registering it elsewhere.

Ever notice most of the exotics you see are registered in Montana?

 

Actually, I haven't seen an exotic registered in Montana in quite a while. Authorities in a lot of states got wise to the Montana LLC -registered cars and applied pressure to owners.

The Pitfalls Of The Montana License Plate Scam

Check out this FChat thread too: Montana registration | FerrariChat - The world's largest Ferrari community

 

I still see lots around here. And because there are so many military there are out of state plates on almost any car. They get a free pass to not register in the state they live in so of course they choose a state with the lowest taxes to claim they live in.

And to be fair, one of the more vain reasons I agree with is that Colorado is annoyingly strict about requiring a front plate which ruins so many cars.

Just saw these two last week.



But I think you could figure out registration, even if you make it a gray market if you can figure out how to wrestle that engine in there!

 

My guess would be that the car would simply be registered as a custom car even in states with strict inspection standards. I assume it would be most difficult in CA where enthusiasts are wrestling with a new law that has led to a number of stock-exhaust cars getting tagged as needing repair (and immediate fines).

California Bill 1824; Exhaust Law, Explained

I'd assume that Montana-registered cars are more common in Rocky Mountain states rather than California, New York, Texas, or Illinois so the environment is more lax. I don't know anything about what your local state laws are though.

 

in VA, you aren't allowed to have your car registered in another state (I assume military gets a pass). we used to have to have a county sticker on the windshield too.