Gen 2 Prius ecomod thread
 

Been working on making slick, well uh, slick, thought i'd show my progress and see if I could get some info from others :thumbup:.
Attachment 16493
Here she is!
Attachment 16494
My LGB, 2pc aluminum with zipties,
Attachment 16495
Upper grille block, this made a big difference in warm up!
Attachment 16496
my wheel covers I had, one fell off, so I took the rest off until another one is made.

If there are any suggestions, or you have some amazing 2nd gen mods, please post, (And if anybody could tell me how to shrink pics, the full size ones are too large, these are thumbnails.)

Did you try the lower grill block with and without the upper? My lower doesn't seem to help too much and I've been meaning to try an upper.

Here's my lower grill block. Similar to yours except I used plastic cut from the back casing of a cracked LCD I found in a dumpster. I've painted it black, but here's the original pink, which is easier to see.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...d80bda7818.jpg

Yes, I did drive for a while with just the lower, didn't test it though, noticed dramatic difference in how it handed cold weather after adding the upper.

Before the upper grille block, the engine stayed on a LOT more, now the car does mostly what I tell it.

It looks like you got the easy aeromods done. Extending the rear kamm would be on my list to do if you're on the highway that much.

currently working on rear wheel skirts, it's 14" flashing- hopefully not too flimsy- and I have made the first one so it overlaps rather than fits in the wheel well, will this cause any problems?

any ideas on how to do this without screws? I do NOT want to drill into the sheetmetal :eek: thought about 3m tape?

Would love it to look like this! :cool:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...BQU7qf30T10bdN

I plan on a belly pan soon, and I have read that it is not a good to put an air dam on prii; so I will ask this, what would give the best mpg boost:

1 belly pan
2 belly pan plus air dam

Or would a belly pan make little difference when combined with an air dam?

Belly pan is generally considered to be the best option, but air dams are easier (especially for trucks). I would go with the belly pan. The Prius' belly is already pretty good, but there are a few areas that could use improvement and shouldn't be too difficult.

There are two camps here, that air dams provide most of the benefit of a belly pan, for a fraction of the effort, and those that say that air dams are bandages that do not solve the problem. Not many people have done A-B-A testing on it, or at least have not updated Car MPG Efficiency Modifications Main - EcoModder. The very small amount of data listed indicates that air dams are better, but we need more data!

Who said that air dams are bad for Prii?

One point is that you should be able to tell if your air dam works, the usual issue is whether it maintains rigidity at higher speeds. My Civic is naturally low and I can still jack up my car without a problem. I do not know what other drawbacks there might be. However, with a belly pan, you would need to remove it from time to time, and if it gets damaged, it can make your car less aerodynamic than stock until you fix or remove it.

I have read that since the bottom of prii are already reasonably smooth, that an air dam helps very little for aero, and adds frontal area.

Air dams and belly pans both lower drag under the car but in an opposing way.

Air dams raise the pressure ahead of the car (enlarge the more or less stationary bubble of air).
That's good because it makes the air flow over the car rather than under.
But the air dam cannot block all the air from flowing under the car if you want a practical ground clearance.

Belly pans allow the air to keep flowing under the car so they would lower the pressure ahead of the car, diminishing the size of the bubble. It directly reduces drag under the car so it can't be bad.
But if the air would move less fast (rather, more with the car) then the drag would be even lower.

I'd think the combination of a moderate air dam and improved belly pan would work best.
That would cause the air flow to follow the original (designed) pattern more or less, but with even less drag under the car than with either measure alone.

If the belly pan connects to the bottom of the air dam, then the drag area from the air dam will be removed.

Belly pan proponents state that the only good an air dam truly does is when it serves as an attachment point for a belly pan.

And what do real tests say?

here is what I came up with, best to worst:

1 lower stagnation point nose cone with belly pan
2 belly pan with front connected to air dam
3 belly pan and air dam
4 belly pan
5 air dam

Attachment 16515

Working on rear wheel covers, having trouble with the mounting setup.

sorry about the picture! Just click it!

I want some opinions:

Shark fin antenna, does it help any, or just looks?
Has anybody removed the rear wiper and wished they hadn't?
Does the upper grille block need removed in the summer?
Should I put boattailing behind the front wheels, or inner and outer side skirts? (I live on a dirt road.)
What should I NOT cover with a belly pan? (going to use metal, no melting hazard)
What are the advantages of a scangauge over the factory prii system?
Current tires are Goodyear Integrity 185/65/15's are these Lrr, and what is better?

PLEASE POST MODS!!!!

I remove my UGB in summer (time to reinstall, except I have no time...) but keep my LGB all year round.
Watch engine temps on my UG like a hawk though.

Don't cover the exhaust trajectory nor the fuel tank!! You don't want to trap heat as it will spread to area's that cannot have it, even if the belly pan itself can. And if you ever lose fuel you don't want to trap that either.

A scan gauge or ultragauge allows you to set your preferred readings and warnings.
There are lots of data that the MID does not show.
I track intake temp, engine temp, load%, 12V battery voltage, instant FE and (i fear i forgot :o)

Shark fins; nah. LW radio reception sucks. That is, unless you go...
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5873432064/h973E61E1/

You should read more of this site. The owner removed his right turn signal, mirror and rear wiper and got a 10% boost in mpg. :thumbup:

The former owner of this site changed the way he drove his prius among other vehicles and got triple digit fuel economy. :thumbup:

New trim rings ordered today, (yes I know, extra $$$, but I want it to look right) so I can get the smooth wheel covers back on, also finished the gap sealing (foam strips).

Things to come:
Mooncraft (kinda) kamm,
Rear wheel skirts,
Rear wiper delete (rusted on, or something),
Underbody panels,

Please say If you think I should add something.

Hows the weight?

Do you have the spare tire, jack and wrench or did you replace all that with a can of fix a flat?

Do you have passengers or junk? Can you remove the rear or front passenger seat?

What about HVAC? COuld you set it to a lower blower speed or temp and wear a heavier jacket?

Is your starter battery in good health? A "good" one can cause lowered mpg performance and random idiot lights on the newer insight.

What about your tire psi? Have you had the alignment checked? Is ground clearance an issue? Have you considered lowering your car?

Replaced lights with leds and hids?

Have you serviced the fluids and checked everything under the hood? Many gen 2 insight owners notice a bump in mpg after an oil change. The cvt works better after a cvt oil change. Once you turn 100k miles the car seems to run better with new spark plugs.

Still have spare, need to keep seats, junk is probably less than a lb, on the heater: I'm 19 and live at home so heater is adjusted according to moms wishes when she is with me, batteries not checked, tires 35psi (high pressure causes punctures on dirt roads), alignment not checked, ground clearance? Hmm, probably not happening, would leds pay back what it costs? Oil 0-20 synthetic , can u change trans oil on a prius? new plugs, I could clean the injectors though.

You can change the trans oil, but you don't want to use anything but the Toyota oil in it. Its designed for use in the HSD CVT system, and apparently is a great oil.

Have you considered an ECT spoofer? I have one and I like it. I'm not sure if you ever struggle to maintain engine temps with your car, but I do in winter with mine.

Yes, I have considered it, but I'm not a member of pc, but would consider it if I could get if it from someone here (note, no way of paying for it electronically).

Regarding the shark fin antenna, you can just unscrew the whip part of the stock antenna and pretty much have a shark fin. Reception takes a hit, but isn't noticeable if its already really good or you don't listen to AM/FM.

I recommend joining PriusChat. Very helpful for maintenance related questions and certain mods.

Filled up today, terrible :( but above epa :) added a fuel system cleaner, hope it works!

Looked at metal 2'X4' for Kamm today, $30 each, will need 2 (yikes!) Any cheaper options?
(NO cloroplast)

Do the skirts and you only need two of the wheel disks.

Too late, already ordered, plus the skirts I'm making don't come down that far.

Anybody know how many more miles prii can go once they start blinking low fuel?

The rear Wiper is now off!

What about the passenger side mirror?

I wouldn't mind, my parents are a different story.

Maybe an interior mirror, or motorcycle mirrors.

Anyone's guess with a North American Gen2. The rubber bladder in the gas tank makes the gas gauge a "guess gauge". For around town driving, I start thinking about gas at 2 bars and make it a priority at 1. On road trips I start planning my next fuel stop at about 4 or 5 bars, mainly because I'm driving through rural areas and don't want to pay $0.50 more a gallon when I could fill up 50 miles before or after a pricey town. Driving it to the last drop is only worth doing if you're trying for a record tank.

I have went about 40mi on low fuel (blinking), just wondered how much farther others had went, may need a SG just for the gallons remaining :)

drove my grandparents 3rd gen again last friday, 48.3mpg with appx. 175mi. on the trip when we left, 50.6mpg with appx. 225mi. on the trip when we got back, 50.1mpg at first half. There is a difference between the 2nd and 3rd gen prii for sure! What I came up with was a slightly more efficient engine, plus more electric only power allowed, the 2nd gen prii seem to spend all of their time conserving battery :( any idea how to "spoof" the system to allow more ev only power?

Take out the gas engine and fuel system, add more battery packs and use an open source controller like the Open Revolt or GEVCU.

When are you trying to use more battery power? The best way to drive the Prius is P&G using no battery on the glide. Battery is best reserved for crawling around parking lots/traffic, maybe for extending glides.

I try to use the PGC (pulse glide coast) technique as stated here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGFSZbpI9kw
the goal is to use the electric to keep the speed up rather than letting it fall from coasting, equals longer engine off.