3rd gen Prius aeromod thread

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Vman455

I've decided on two winter projects, as well. First, rear wheel skirts.

Do you know of any other gen 3's with wheel skirts? Attachment method?

Coincidentally, just today I traced out a wheel skirt in cardboard for my 2nd gen. Ultimately they'll be coroplast. I may just duct tape them on, since (1) the car is black, so it's not obvious, and, (2) nothing on this car is a long-term mod. Oh, and (3) it's easiest.

For some reason, I never cancelled my e-mail alerts for used Prius ads. I saw a 2010 (gen 3) for $3500 this week -- a long-distance commuter with almost 500k km / 300k miles on the clock. Tempting! I know someone who has bought (currently owns) 2 high km, but properly maintained Priuses with no problems or regrets.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by igo

Have to say I am impressed so far! Things are looking good and you are pulling some good numbers! Keep it up

Thanks!

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Do you know of any other gen 3's with wheel skirts? Attachment method?

The only 3rd gens I've seen with wheel skirts are this one, from Mooncraft:



Their kit was offered for sale, but never in the US, and getting it from Japan was (is?) prohibitively expensive--nearly $600 for the wheel skirts alone, unpainted, before shipping.

The other was the Toyota G-Sports concept:

[Vman455]

His Excellency, Pope Pious, now with 57% more side skirt!





The car now has 3 1/2" clearance in the front, and 3" on the sides. I cut some access holes for the valve stems in the wheel covers and then re-Plasti-dipped everything, blue this time (I wanted to do green, but the hardware store was out), with a clearcoat. And, I even remembered to do the emblems.



We're supposed to have another cold snap. I wanted to get all this done while it's warm out, since I can do things like figure out the attachment method for the wheel skirts and calculate base plate size indoors.

[MetroMPG]

I really liked the orange pizza pans!

I'm really curious about the effctiveness of your air dam + side skirts.

---

Thanks for posting the aftermarket stuff. I had seen one of them before. I guess what I was asking was if you knew of any other owner-aeromodified gen 3's like yours.

[Vman455]

Update:

I ordered some rubber hole plugs for the wheel covers. After trimming the backside a little, they fit very tightly and seal up the access holes nicely.



After MetroMPG's airdam results, I decided to remove mine and rework the belly pan to cover more of the open areas under the car, including the exhaust:







And, this week I decided "to hell with it" and removed my driver side mirror again. If I get pulled over in Wyoming or Washington this summer, so be it. My passenger side mesh/bondo patch was starting to crack, so I punched it out with a screwdriver and picked up some Tiger Hair to make a permanent fiberglass repair on both sides:





Rather than mount the inside mirror to the A-pillar, where there's potential interference if that airbag ever goes off, I put them on the doors. I get a better view with a smaller mirror this way as a bonus, since it's closer to the glass:

[Vman455]

And, done painting. It almost looks like the car is supposed to be mirrorless.

[hayden55]

Hey Vman where did you pick those mirrors up again? (sorry if i am asking a repetitive question).

[KrautBurner]

Originally Posted by Vman455

And, this week I decided "to hell with it" and removed my driver side mirror again. If I get pulled over in Wyoming or Washington this summer, so be it. My passenger side mesh/bondo patch was starting to crack, so I punched it out with a screwdriver and picked up some Tiger Hair to make a permanent fiberglass repair on both sides:

why do you call out Washington and Wyoming?

are external mirrors not required in 48 other states?



I've seen guys running similar mirrors on Jeeps (with the doors off) quite a few times here in Washington (still internal to the car)
not sure if it truly meets the intent of the law

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by KrautBurner

why do you call out Washington and Wyoming?

are external mirrors not required in 48 other states?

Only because I'm driving to my parents' in Sumner in July, and those are the two states I'll be passing through that specifically require an outside mirror.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by hayden55

Hey Vman where did you pick those mirrors up again? (sorry if i am asking a repetitive question).

Sorry, didn't see this until now--I got the mirrors at Autozone, a couple bucks each is all.