The Prius Experiment

[Blacktree]

Originally Posted by Xist

Some weirdo on YouTube decided he was rather upset about it.

How do you like the upgrades?

Stuff like that is par for the course, if you're a content creator. I shrug it off.

I'm very happy with the fog lights. They look cool (in my opinion), and they're functional.



The backup camera was more work than anticipated. Retrofitting the stock unit was probably more work than installing an aftermarket one. Because I had to extricate the wiring from a Prius in the junkyard, then graft it into my car's wiring harness.

The Android radio is basically a tablet computer, in your dash. It has wifi, bluetooth, USB, etc. So for example, you can pair it up with your phone and play music from Spotify, have it do navigation, send & receive phone calls, etc. It also has an AM/FM tuner, and can play music files from a USB device. There's probably more stuff it can do, but I've only scratched the surface.



Unfortunately, the radio doesn't have front panel USB ports. But it does have 2 USB connections in back. So I bought a USB outlet, and installed it in place of the cigar lighter socket. I'm a fan of the "OEM Plus" look, so I tried to make it look like a factory option.



BTW, the Android radio was provided by a sponsor. I didn't get it for free, but did get a nice discount. In return, I agreed to make a video about it. So this week's video will be about the installation.

[Xist]

Nice! Does the USB outlet charge?

[Blacktree]

Yes, they can be used for data or charging.

[Blacktree]

The video is up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMnlh1MKZpM

BTW I did a poll on my youtube channel, and the results were pretty definitive. The viewers seem to be suffering "Prius fatigue." So we're going to take a break from it. That's OK, because I got some polycarbonate (aka Lexan) windows for the BMW.

Just to be clear, this is not the end of the Prius Experiment, just a short break. The pizza pan wheel covers need to be replaced with something better. And I also want to make a belly pan. So stay tuned!

[Blacktree]

Not much going on with the Prius lately. Although it did reach a milestone (200k miles). And I think the other front wheel bearing is going bad.



On a side note, I think the next eco-mod will be a belly pan. My local Home Depot sells coroplast in 4x8 foot sheets. Last time I was under the car, I saw lots of existing screw holes that can be used to mount it. That'll make the job easier.

That said, I got some polycarbonate windows (aka Lexan) for the BMW. So we're going to install those first.

Another side note: The weather here in Florida has been unusually mild. Normally, daytime temperatures would be in the mid 90s by now. And I'd be running the a/c all the time. But we've only had a few days where the temperature reached 90 degrees. So I've been using the a/c intermittently. As a result, the fuel economy has been outstanding. Actually, last week was the best fillup to date, with almost 68 mpg!

[Blacktree]

Wow, it's been awhile since my last post. Thankfully, summer is winding down. This year, the heat was pretty brutal. Plus work was very busy. That didn't leave much time or energy for other things.

That said, I still got a few things done. For example, those pizza pan wheel covers were becoming problematic. Bolting the pizza pan to the stock trim ring was pretty easy, and didn't make any permanent modifications to the car. The downside was that they would fly off when I hit potholes. Yeah, there are actually a few potholes in Florida.

Also, the pizza pans stick out from the wheel, which makes them prone to hitting curbs and stuff.



Every time one of the pizza pan wheel covers got damaged, I'd have to buy a Prius trim ring from ebay, plus another pizza pan from WalMart. And I'd have to install the pizza pan onto the trim ring. After doing that three times, I decided it was enough.

I decided to go ahead with the original plan, which was to bolt some pizza pans directly to the wheels. Of course, that would require drilling and tapping holes in the wheels. I also took this opportunity to buy some aluminum pizza pans. They're very lightweight, and won't rust.



I took some measurements, and drew up a template. The template will help me drill the mounting holes in the pans, and the wheels. Plus I'm going to drill some bigger holes, for ventilation and access to the valve stems. That will make it easier to monitor the tire pressure. Below is a photo of the template. Those 3 notches are to help locate it on the wheels. (the notches line up with 3 of the spokes)



In the photo below, the template is taped onto one of the pizza pans. And I'm using a punch to mark the holes. I also did the same thing with the wheels.



Speaking of the wheels, it's time to drill some holes in them. Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about this. After I drilled the holes, I tapped some threads in them. In case anyone is wondering, the bolts I'm using are SAE #10 x 32TPI. This is practically identical to metric M5 x 0.8mm. You can actually mix-n-match them.





I had to use 1/4" spacers between the pizza pans and the wheels. I also used washers on the screws, to spread the load. Here's a photo of the new pizza pan bolted to the wheel.



This is just a quick overview. But if you guys want more details, or a parts list, let me know.

[Blacktree]

I forgot to mention, a vendor sent me some LED lights to try out. They sent me a pair of headlights, and a pack of interior lights. I've installed the headlights already, and am pretty impressed. I agreed to make a video about the headlights, so no spoilers yet.



Also, I changed jobs. The new job has a different driving pattern, which has affected fuel economy. I'm still going to keep tracking fuel economy, but I don't think I'll be using that to judge ecomods anymore. Too many variables. Instead, I'd like to do a coast-down test. Maybe after the weather cools off, so I can have the A/C turned off.

We can see if the first round of ecomods have made a noticeable difference. Then we can move on to round 2, which would be the belly pan and maybe rear wheel spats?

[freebeard]

This is just a quick overview.

What are the two black spots?

[Blacktree]

Those are the vent holes. They also provide access to the valve stems.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by Blacktree

Not much going on with the Prius lately. Although it did reach a milestone (200k miles). And I think the other front wheel bearing is going bad.



On a side note, I think the next eco-mod will be a belly pan. My local Home Depot sells coroplast in 4x8 foot sheets. Last time I was under the car, I saw lots of existing screw holes that can be used to mount it. That'll make the job easier.

That said, I got some polycarbonate windows (aka Lexan) for the BMW. So we're going to install those first.

Another side note: The weather here in Florida has been unusually mild. Normally, daytime temperatures would be in the mid 90s by now. And I'd be running the a/c all the time. But we've only had a few days where the temperature reached 90 degrees. So I've been using the a/c intermittently. As a result, the fuel economy has been outstanding. Actually, last week was the best fillup to date, with almost 68 mpg!

You ever get to using your coroplast? I put a 4x8 sheet whole on my 2001 Toyota Sequoia 4wd this weekend. I think I have got to be close to a record tank. Sadly it got cold the day after i did it so it isn't comparable to warm tanks anymore lol. But it looks like $35 is good for a 10% bump in FE.