The Prius Experiment

[freebeard]

If you swap the two of them side to side, could you still see the right-hand mirror though the side window?

[Blacktree]

Originally Posted by freebeard

If you swap the two of them side to side, could you still see the right-hand mirror though the side window?

I think that would depend on where you mount them, and the shape of the car.

For example, the windshield on the Prius is laid back pretty far. So I had to angle the mirror stalks backward, to clear the A-pillars. And that used up a lot of the mirrors' adjustability.

After the mpg testing is finished, I'll probably replace these mirrors with something else.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by Blacktree

I think that would depend on where you mount them, and the shape of the car.

For example, the windshield on the Prius is laid back pretty far. So I had to angle the mirror stalks backward, to clear the A-pillars. And that used up a lot of the mirrors' adjustability.

After the mpg testing is finished, I'll probably replace these mirrors with something else.

I've always wanted to do cameras with a convex mirror on the inside as a backup. But... I never had the motivation to actually see it through.

[freebeard]

For example, the windshield on the Prius is laid back pretty far. So I had to angle the mirror stalks backward, to clear the A-pillars.

Same holes? Wouldn't a lower sight-line allow moving the mirror down and from the A-pillar.

It's hard to tell from the pictures.

[Blacktree]

I was originally going to use the same holes, but it didn't pan out. So I drilled new ones. And that put the mirrors higher up than I originally planned. That's why they had to be angled for A-pillar clearance.

If someone were to plan out the project better than I did, they could avoid these issues.

If/when I replace these mirrors, I'll use ones with straight stalks (without that 45-degree bend), so they stick out straight from the side of the car. That should take care of the clearance issues.

Here's another closeup shot:



You can see the "stub" where the stock mirror used to attach. I drilled a new hole for the motorcycle mirror, and bolted it on with washers to spread the load.

[freebeard]

Thanks, that's a better angle.

It shows the mirror is well back from the A-pillar. That stub likely has almost as much drag as the mirror itself, based on the gnarly shape.

[Blacktree]

Yeah, I should chop that off. To be honest, I rushed this job a bit, because I wanted to work on the "real" project car this weekend. LOL

[Blacktree]

The video is up! Let me know what you think.

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

[Blacktree]

Since installing the motorcycle mirrors, I've done 2 fillups. So far, the fuel economy is just over 61 mpg. Previously, it was just under 61 mpg. So it would seem the mirrors have gained about 0.5 mpg. But I'm going to wait for a 3rd fillup before drawing any conclusions.

After the next fillup, I think I'll try the pizza pan wheel covers.

[ps2fixer]

Subbed to the thread. Defo will be interesting to see what effect the pizza pan covers have. From my understanding, the stock rims are alright for areo, but there's always design comprises, aka look vs function. I don't think the general public likes moon caps too much even though they give the better areo.

In the past I remember kammbacks give a pretty good mpg boost, it's a compromise between a full boat tail and doing nothing. Sharp edges help dis-attach the air flow.

It's been a while since I've been on here, but if I remember right there's a bit of gains up front, but the real gains are in the rear on most vehicles. I think the mirror swap could be made more areo, but it would take more fab work and such. On my 97 corolla, I reviewed the laws and I wasn't required to have a passenger side mirror, so I deleted it completely. Adding a small camera and a screen might be pretty easy to do with a backup camera kit.

It seems to be pretty common for the prius belly pan to get damaged. It might be a good idea to inspect it some time. My 2006 has a fair bit of damage on the passenger side, but there's physical parts of the bumper missing lol. Mine was a car headed to the scrap yard, paid $1600 for it, $1000 for the cats, $600 for the car and the condition matches the price, dirty, neglect, and some body damage, but it's good enough for me.

Your mpg numbers look really good even back when the car was stock. I suspect your driving environment is more ideal for the Prius design, low speed city style driving. I'd be interested in some details of the driving environment you're in to better understand the context of the mpg you're getting. For me roughly 90% of my driving is 55mph open country roads with a small bit of mainly 45mph roads in the city with stop lights and such.

Good luck with the build and mods. Do you have a goal in mind you'd like to achieve for mpg?