3rd gen Prius aeromod thread

[KrautBurner]

Originally Posted by hayden55

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

Originally Posted by Vman455

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

have you guys seen these?



JK Easy Doorless Vent Side Mirrors Jeep Wrangler Offroad Rock 4x4 Trail Free | eBay

[marky899]

Hey Vman455,

loving the thread.

How did you attatch the side skirts? Im guessing you used the same brackets as on the front but did you have to drill holes in your sills to bolt them on securely?

Also have you took them off now?

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by KrautBurner

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

There is an ecomodder thread that addresses this:

http://ecomodder.com/wiki/index.php/..._by_State_(U.S.)

In SC, the law only states that if the vehicle is constructed or loaded as to obstruct the driver's view to the rear, then a rear view mirror capable of seeing 200 feet behind the vehicle is needed, otherwise you don't need one.

[Vman455]

Well, I'm back, and the car performed admirably. 14 states in 16 days; 5330.3 miles traveled; 93.175 gallons of gasoline used for an average fuel economy of 57.21 MPG. Not bad for mostly freeway driving at 65-70 mph, plus some surface roads in Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Kansas, several mountain passes, and an excursion to Glacier National Park. I was only pulled over once, in Kansas on the last day, by a curious State Patrol officer who noticed there were no external mirrors.

[MetroMPG]

Welcome back and congrats on the MPG performance. 57 MPG is good for those speeds.

And I bet you used the A/C! (When I sold my Prius last week, I had to double-check that the A/C still worked when the buyer inquired!)

Hope you enjoyed your trip.

[Vman455]

Yep, AC pretty much the whole trip. I just turned on Auto Climate Control every morning and let it do its thing. I couldn't bring myself to leave the it on all night as well (I camped in the car), but some do.

[kafer65]

The mirror delete paint looks seamless in the pics. That Prius is even more futuristic looking. Nice work! My mirror deletes were inspired by yours since they are door mounted too. I've noticed about the same improvement on highway without the lower airdams but with rear skirts. Instead of struggling to get 40 I'm getting 42+ with a/c and actually going 65 mph instead of 60 mph but my increased city driving has dropped my average this year quit a bit. May be a good comparison to the hybrid system in the Prius.

[redpoint5]

Not sure why I hadn't read through this thread before, but a few comments:

The inverter is on the driver's side on the Gen III (opposite side for Gen II). For this reason, I have blocked the passenger side upper grill, but left the driver's side open. My lower grill is 100% blocked year-round unless I plan to climb mountain passes in the summer. I've got Torque set to alarm if any temperature parameter gets too warm, which so far has never happened.

Make sure the head rests get installed when doing Uber pickups. They are a crucial safety component in case you are rear ended.

The rear seat is feather light. It might be 3 lbs, but I haven't weighed it.

I'll be replacing my OEM 12v battery with this Prismatic LiFePO4 battery, which is cheaper than the OEM, and weighs only 6.6 lbs. I'm setting up a test environment to compare the lead acid charge / discharge cycle efficiency compared to the LiFePO4 before I mount it in the Prius. Lead acid batteries are very inefficient when charged at near full capacity, which is normally when they are charged.

Since the battery capacity will be roughly half of OEM, and considering the damage done to LiFePO4 when fully discharged, the LED interior lights will reduce the likelihood of draining the battery if a door doesn't get fully closed, or a dome light is left on.

I removed my rear wiper, but couldn't find the right size plastic cap to plug the hole. I just cut cardboard to stuff into the hole, and then put a strip of black duct tape over it. The black tape blends in with the blacked out portion of the window. I'll never need to run that wiper anyhow.

With the sketchy logging roads I go up, I wouldn't want the Prius any lower than it already is unless I had a way to adjust ride height with airbags. The underside is already very used, with some of the mounts holding on the front under tray completely worn away.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

With the sketchy logging roads I go up, I wouldn't want the Prius any lower than it already is unless I had a way to adjust ride height with airbags. The underside is already very used, with some of the mounts holding on the front under tray completely worn away.

When I was driving through Montana on some dirt roads I found myself wondering what it would be like to lift the Prius a little (not that much, maybe 1-2"), stick some knobby tires on it, and then surprise all the Jeep guys.

[D15r]

Wait did I read that correctly...You can run a/c all night while camping? How does that work?.. does the petrol engine start automatically and recharge the batteries during the night?