Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > EcoModding Central
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 05-19-2020, 01:05 PM   #1 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 235

F Truck - '77 Ford F100 2x4, single cab, lwb
90 day: 8.75 mpg (US)

Bombodore - '98 Holden Commodore Exec Wagon
90 day: 21.35 mpg (US)

Civic - '93 Honda Civic GL
90 day: 36.62 mpg (US)

Jim The Prius - '09 Toyota Prius
90 day: 36.66 mpg (US)
Thanks: 154
Thanked 62 Times in 35 Posts
Eco off-road on a budget? Or destroying a Prius, you decide.

Hey guys and gal's and those in between,

I recently purchased a 2009 Prius ex-taxi with 415,000km on the clock and now I'm doing my best to piss off the entire Prius owning community by turning it into a Jeep.


Fortunately it uses a lot less fuel than a Jeep, and also a lot less than the Subaru Liberty that it's replacing, about half as much to be precise. Unfortunately the Subaru has a much better reputation for off-roading than the Prius so I have my work cut out for me.

Heres the Subaru in all its glory half way across the Oodnadatta track in the Australian desert for a bit of an idea of what I want the Prius to do.
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_20190817_114935_192.jpg
Views:	296
Size:	56.3 KB
ID:	28223
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_20190831_121258_356.jpg
Views:	197
Size:	83.3 KB
ID:	28224

I need to get on a computer to continue, this website doesn't play well with my phone... Stay tuned!

__________________


(Posted in 2020) 2009 Prius Off Road project: https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...ide-38366.html

(Posted in 2012) 1977 F100 Project: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post310326
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to bobo333 For This Useful Post:
MetroMPG (06-11-2020)
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 05-19-2020, 01:56 PM   #2 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 235

F Truck - '77 Ford F100 2x4, single cab, lwb
90 day: 8.75 mpg (US)

Bombodore - '98 Holden Commodore Exec Wagon
90 day: 21.35 mpg (US)

Civic - '93 Honda Civic GL
90 day: 36.62 mpg (US)

Jim The Prius - '09 Toyota Prius
90 day: 36.66 mpg (US)
Thanks: 154
Thanked 62 Times in 35 Posts
Ok so after what seemed like an eternity searching for the right car i found this horrible yellow and green beast interstate, and promptly drove the Subaru there to buy it.

Unfortunately the week before someone had t-boned the Subaru and on the day I arrived interstate the registration expired so it was doomed for the scrap yard, but first I pulled off every piece of useful goodness I could unscrew, including the front light bar and lights:


I also fitted the DRLs, dashcam, various switches and wiring harnesses, and a bunch of other bits to the Prius before driving it back home.




The first tank netted me 5.52L/100km (42.6mpg) which was a massive improvement over the lifetime average of 11.5L/100km in the Subaru!

After arriving home i went through the process of getting the car inspected and new registration applied in my home state, which required the removal of my lights as they sat up past the arbitrary "front edge of the bonnet" measurement required and the bar which had edges that were deemed too sharp (and yet landrovers can run tyres, shovels and axes on top of their bonnet no worries?)

The next step was getting rid of that horrible colour scheme, i chose the Taubmans range of exterior house paint in low sheen "Sealord Grey"




2 days and around $100 later it was looking much less garish


Stay tuned for more adventures soon <3
__________________


(Posted in 2020) 2009 Prius Off Road project: https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...ide-38366.html

(Posted in 2012) 1977 F100 Project: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post310326
  Reply With Quote
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to bobo333 For This Useful Post:
Ecky (05-20-2020), elhigh (05-19-2020), freebeard (05-19-2020), Joggernot (05-20-2020), MetroMPG (06-11-2020), wdb (05-21-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 03:11 PM   #3 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
freebeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: northwest of normal
Posts: 27,561
Thanks: 7,736
Thanked 8,554 Times in 7,041 Posts
Good improvement so far. Consider this:

jalopnik.com: This Lifted Prius Trolls Jeeps

Quote:
“I knew that the original Prius was Corolla-based but the dealership refused to confirm a cross reference for suspension parts,” Kempton said. “Finally, I discovered the Euro-market Toyota Auris was cross-referenced as having the same struts as a Prius. I found a Russian 4x4 supply company on eBay selling a [lift] kit for the Auris. They asked for the VIN and actually sent me a different kit that did the trick.”
__________________
.
.
Without freedom of speech we wouldn't know who all the idiots are. -- anonymous poster

____________________
  Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to freebeard For This Useful Post:
bobo333 (05-19-2020), elhigh (05-19-2020), MetroMPG (06-11-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 03:34 PM   #4 (permalink)
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 11,203

CM400E - '81 Honda CM400E
90 day: 51.49 mpg (US)

Daox's Grey Prius - '04 Toyota Prius
Team Toyota
90 day: 49.53 mpg (US)

Daox's Insight - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 64.33 mpg (US)

Swarthy - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage DE
Mitsubishi
90 day: 56.69 mpg (US)

Daox's Volt - '13 Chevrolet Volt
Thanks: 2,501
Thanked 2,585 Times in 1,553 Posts
Looks like a fun project. I'd much rather own a Prius made into a Jeep than a Jeep (sorry Jeep owners). Looking forward to updates!
__________________
Current project: A better alternator delete
  Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Daox For This Useful Post:
bobo333 (05-19-2020), Ecky (05-20-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 04:25 PM   #5 (permalink)
Cyborg ECU
 
California98Civic's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Coastal Southern California
Posts: 6,299

Black and Green - '98 Honda Civic DX Coupe
Team Honda
90 day: 66.42 mpg (US)

Black and Red - '00 Nashbar Custom built eBike
90 day: 3671.43 mpg (US)
Thanks: 2,373
Thanked 2,172 Times in 1,469 Posts
Just two days ago I ordered a clear coat heat rejecting paint. Gonna clear paint my car roof. Maybe also paint the pillars and window sills and rear decklid.

43 MPG is some nice fuel economy for an Ultralight Offroader. A Suby Forester from 2009 gets 20/27 and '09 Jeep Liberty was 16/22 and an '09 Jeep Wrangler 15/20. You just about halved the fuel cost and the carbon footprint of your trips.
__________________
See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.



  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to California98Civic For This Useful Post:
bobo333 (05-19-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 07:37 PM   #6 (permalink)
Corporate imperialist
 
oil pan 4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NewMexico (USA)
Posts: 11,175

Sub - '84 Chevy Diesel Suburban C10
SUV
90 day: 19.5 mpg (US)

camaro - '85 Chevy Camaro Z28

Riot - '03 Kia Rio POS
Team Hyundai
90 day: 30.21 mpg (US)

Bug - '01 VW Beetle GLSturbo
90 day: 26.43 mpg (US)

Sub2500 - '86 GMC Suburban C2500
90 day: 11.95 mpg (US)

Snow flake - '11 Nissan Leaf SL
SUV
90 day: 141.63 mpg (US)
Thanks: 269
Thanked 3,522 Times in 2,796 Posts
If making an off road prius pisses off the Prius purists then by all means do your worst.
__________________
1984 chevy suburban, custom made 6.5L diesel turbocharged with a Garrett T76 and Holset HE351VE, 22:1 compression 13psi of intercooled boost.
1989 firebird mostly stock. Aside from the 6-speed manual trans, corvette gen 5 front brakes, 1LE drive shaft, 4th Gen disc brake fbody rear end.
2011 leaf SL, white, portable 240v CHAdeMO, trailer hitch, new batt as of 2014.
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to oil pan 4 For This Useful Post:
bobo333 (05-19-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 10:13 PM   #7 (permalink)
Rat Racer
 
Fat Charlie's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Route 16
Posts: 4,150

Al the Third, year four - '13 Honda Fit Base
Team Honda
90 day: 42.9 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,784
Thanked 1,922 Times in 1,246 Posts
It's even more fun to piss off the offroad purists.

I've gone offroading in a 77 Cadillac and an 84 K Car. The Caddy, oddly enough, wasn't all that nimble and took some damage.
__________________

Quote:
Originally Posted by sheepdog44 View Post
Transmission type Efficiency
Manual neutral engine off.100% @MPG <----- Fun Fact.
Manual 1:1 gear ratio .......98%
CVT belt ............................88%
Automatic .........................86%

  Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Fat Charlie For This Useful Post:
bobo333 (05-19-2020), Cordonutts (10-01-2022), MetroMPG (06-11-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 11:15 PM   #8 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 235

F Truck - '77 Ford F100 2x4, single cab, lwb
90 day: 8.75 mpg (US)

Bombodore - '98 Holden Commodore Exec Wagon
90 day: 21.35 mpg (US)

Civic - '93 Honda Civic GL
90 day: 36.62 mpg (US)

Jim The Prius - '09 Toyota Prius
90 day: 36.66 mpg (US)
Thanks: 154
Thanked 62 Times in 35 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard View Post
Good improvement so far. Consider this:

jalopnik.com: This Lifted Prius Trolls Jeeps
That car was a big inspiration for this build, there are surprisingly few people in the wild doing this despite the popularity of Prii around the world.

The Russian lift kit has been in the mail for a month or so now but is taking forever thanks to the virus.

~~~

By this point another interstate trip was looming, and i had bought a new set of lights i was excited to fit, a night and day quality difference from the old ones (excuse the pun)


This time i scrapped the old bar from the Subaru and trimmed the grille before bolting the new lights directly to the factory aluminium bumper support, this brings the lights down a couple of inches and gets rid of most sharp edges, bringing it more inline with local laws, and probably markedly improving aerodynamics.


The stock headlights have definitely seen better days but they will be replaced in due time, the following photos are with my camera set to manual, with the exposure as close as possible to what my eyes actually see and locked for all shots

Stock low beam:


Stock high beam:


Livid Hyperdrive Mk2:


Theyve already saved me from multiple animals strikes on the first trip.

Stay tuned for more!
__________________


(Posted in 2020) 2009 Prius Off Road project: https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...ide-38366.html

(Posted in 2012) 1977 F100 Project: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post310326
  Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to bobo333 For This Useful Post:
freebeard (05-20-2020), MetroMPG (06-11-2020), wdb (05-21-2020)
Old 05-19-2020, 11:24 PM   #9 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 235

F Truck - '77 Ford F100 2x4, single cab, lwb
90 day: 8.75 mpg (US)

Bombodore - '98 Holden Commodore Exec Wagon
90 day: 21.35 mpg (US)

Civic - '93 Honda Civic GL
90 day: 36.62 mpg (US)

Jim The Prius - '09 Toyota Prius
90 day: 36.66 mpg (US)
Thanks: 154
Thanked 62 Times in 35 Posts
Oh yeah I forgot to add, after getting home (in between the car registration and the paint job) I worked for a week, 10 minutes away from home in city traffic, while at work I left the car running all day every day to keep the radio on and returned a mind boggling 6.87L/100km, the idle efficiency of the Prius platform is amazing!

On the next road trip (after fitting the lights) I'd had a bit of time to get used to the car and improve my driving so beat the first road trip with a 5.04L/100km tank, I was extremely surprised at the difference drafting a truck or driving by myself made, i could quite easily get down to the low 4s at this point if i stuck to a truck the whole way (at 100kmh)
__________________


(Posted in 2020) 2009 Prius Off Road project: https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...ide-38366.html

(Posted in 2012) 1977 F100 Project: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post310326
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2020, 11:55 PM   #10 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Missoula, MT
Posts: 2,652

Dark Egg - '12 VW Touraeg
Thanks: 300
Thanked 1,176 Times in 806 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard View Post
Good improvement so far. Consider this:

jalopnik.com: This Lifted Prius Trolls Jeeps
Maybe a fwd Jeep Patriot. Still I bet the stock 2wd Patriot beats tiny lift Prius. The Renegade is currently the least Jeep Jeep and it would certainly be better than that Prius.

Now combining the Prius with a Subaru drivetrain, you might get something. Now I have seen a Dodge Neon go places that would troll a Jeep, of course that was a rental and alcohol and momentum was involved. Getting it in yes, getting it back out, not so much.

  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Hersbird For This Useful Post:
oil pan 4 (05-20-2020)
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com