2023 Toyota Prius - WOW!

[Phase]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Prius or Sienna? Not so sure how much is left to aeromod without being too much of a ricer.

Prius. All wheel drive. I’d do flat wheel covers, fender skirts, mirror removal, and some type of short box cavity at the rear like my ioniq. For longer road trips I’d do a boat tail that’s removable with cargo hitch mount that actually has extra storage in it. The expensive but dream mod would be air suspension to raise and lower it but those cost a lot and probably won’t ever make money back on that. Maybe some wheel deflectors that stay on better too

Also cat shield and under body smoother or a rear diffuser.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Even if the air suspension may not seem to payback fuel savings at all, which it might do as it keeps the suspension level despite the heavier load on the cargo hitch. But anyway, this already sounds like a reasonable motivation to get the air suspension if you resort to the cargo hitch too.

[Phase]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Even if the air suspension may not seem to payback fuel savings at all, which it might do as it keeps the suspension level despite the heavier load on the cargo hitch. But anyway, this already sounds like a reasonable motivation to get the air suspension if you resort to the cargo hitch too.

Besides lowering the car at highway speeds for better aero and handling, the main reason I’d need air suspension is for raising it when going on deep snowboard trips. Even with snow tires, I’ve bottomed out and gotten stuck in a few unplowed roads because of ground clearance. Also go on unpacked dirt roads a lot for gold prospecting and the pot holes and rocks have made me scrape a lot too

[Isaac Zachary]

Adjustable suspension would be so cool even if it didn't ever pay for itself!

[redpoint5]

Airbags only help clearance until the body or differential is above the centerline of the wheels, at which point no amount of lift will help much in snow.

[freebeard]

Lower for aero to offroad is a big ask. It would necessitate longer suspension arms.

Four inches from laying frame to clearing bump strips would be my range.

[Phase]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Airbags only help clearance until the body or differential is above the centerline of the wheels, at which point no amount of lift will help much in snow.

Well the base height is about 6 inches of ground clearance. It would be nice to drop to 4 inches on the highway or raise up to 8 inches in snow or dirt road or steep driveways

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Phase

Well the base height is about 6 inches of ground clearance. It would be nice to drop to 4 inches on the highway or raise up to 8 inches in snow or dirt road or steep driveways

Seems reasonable to me.

I find the limiting factor usually comes down to a road that gets plowed, or one that doesn't. The times when a couple inches more clearance are useful in snow are rare, because snow rarely falls precisely within that narrow tolerance.

[Phase]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Seems reasonable to me.

I find the limiting factor usually comes down to a road that gets plowed, or one that doesn't. The times when a couple inches more clearance are useful in snow are rare, because snow rarely falls precisely within that narrow tolerance.

During a snow storm at timberline on mount hood, they can plow the parking lot and then you park and go ride for a few hours and then 6-8 new inches of snow has fallen and sometimes you gotta use a snow shovel to create a path or have people help push you thru the deep snow to get to the plowed road. It’s happened multiple times in my ioniq. Or when I was in flagstaff Arizona in February during a snow storm, it was actively snowing nonstop for 2 days and only the main highways were being plowed but some of the back roads weren’t being plowed as frequently so there were a few sections following my gps where I had a little bit of float but snow tires and momentum helped me

The biggest ground clearance concern has been dirt roads. Every other tall suv will flatten rocks and vegetation where the tire marks are are no issue, but the middle line will sometimes have taller rocks or tall grass and vegetation that just scraped my whole middle exhaust section

[JSH]

I dented the oil pan on both my 2005 Prius and 2003 Jetta Wagon driving on unpaved forest service roads.

Personally I doubt the thousand or more one would pay for adjustable air suspension will pay off in fuel savings vs just driving a vehicle with 7-8 inches of ground clearance.