2006 prius ownership and upgrade, drivabeater style

John Welsh said:

The billet wheels would look "good" with these graphics... 

Oh my. I like that!!!

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

would be pretty cool to say you painted your prius with inspiration from a cup

So now you're going to Radwood a Prius?

In reply to TVR Scott :

That's a definite maybe but probably not but possibly could 

John Welsh said:

The billet wheels would look "good" with these graphics... 

If you are trying to make a Prius look good, that's probably the best way to go about it...

Solo Jazz graphics...$400 large, $275 small

John Welsh said:

Solo Jazz graphics...$400 large, $275 small

That's awesome!!!

Solo Jazz Graphics is Theft!

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

LOLzers.  Yeah, that thread ran its course

found my target i believe. 

Lowered with h&r springs. Touring wheels, no hubcaps. 20% tint. 

It looks right. Mine wont have the front plate or foglights. If anything, the wheels need to be slightly more flush with the fenders. But thats about it. Maybe black out the grille. 

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Factory fogs are not that difficult to add.  Sure, it does require front bumper cover removal.  

Ebay sample.  There are many samples on Ebay.  The factory switch is a twist operated switch on the turn signal stalk.  But the kit I inked to adds a dash mounted switch.  

In reply to John Welsh :

That's shockingly cheap. 

Ill wait until i get it and have spent some miles at night before adding lighting upgrades to the list. 

All packed and ready for my plane. 

Kinda excited! 

About a prius. Never thought id see this day.....

In excited for you. Currently living through you for this experience. 

It's always exciting to get a new car, even if that car is generally not exciting.  

Did you pull some money out of saving for the fuel of driving home?  Probably 500 miles for ya.  You might use 11 gallons.  Sadly, a 10 gallon tank so no one tank trip.
Also know that the gas gauge is a bar graph.  When you get to the low fuel warning the last square of the graph will blink and briefly on the center stack will come the warning "low fuel."  At this point of flashing, you still have 2 gallons left, so, it is telling you to buy gas in the next 80 miles or so.   

The Prius does not give a "distance to empty" estimate like many other cars do.   The large center stack takes up a huge amount of room but generally gives very little useful info about fuel economy.  One page gives "instant economy" which I generally find useless and the other page gives average economy (which I do find useful.)

Speaking of gas gauge...some people report that they fill their Prius with fuel and soon the gas gauge is nearing empty.  They buy gas, thinking they're empty and they can only fit 4 gallons into the tank.  I have never had the problem but there is a simple way to recalibrate the fuel gauge following a video like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_es6nB8OEzc&ab_channel=HometownHybrids

Thanks John!

I generally estimate by odometer, so good heads up on the gauge! I rwad something about people having difficulty with the bladders taking strange amounts. However, im finding a lot of non-car people posting great quantities of things on the Prius specific sites. So im trying to take it all with a grain of salt. 

I have a few hundred bucks on the gas card for the run home for gas and grub and oil and other ancillary crap.

I will assume that the gas gauge calibration is routine maintenance for these for now i guess. Unless proven otherwise with my particular car.

I like the proclip you linked as well. Need to look more into their stuff, the seem to have one for the a pillar as well. Granted, don't know if the a pillar trim has an airbag behind it,  or if theres a good spot for a usb port over there, or....

I did, however, win an Ebay auction for a brand new kenwood head unit at half price today. So, audio overhaul is beginning to take shape. It allows dual bluetooth connections with swapping back and forth, and with a mount to put the phone screen in line of sight should be a good solution. 

Sitting in the airport now, waiting for the flight. Tsa here in Concord was quick, simple,and polite. Was expecting way more delays and hassles. 

Yes, airbag in a-pillar.  Don't mount there. I'm sure PriusChat has a thread on cell phone mounts. I use a mount that wedges into the CD slot but I suspect that you'll be eliminating that.

For additional USB, there are some unused switch plates on the dashboard near the turn signal lever that would be ideal for additional usb.

Oh no, getting Pri-curious...lol

Those graphics should frighten all Gen Z types, but we who lived in 1990 remember the Geos...

Question : can this thing be made into a "fun" car? Asking after co-workers speaking in hushed tones to fellow electric car owner's about precipitous drops in "range" after going to normal tread tires (cheaper) vs oem brick hard tires. Is that a thing with these cars? FYI been in a few OHare cabs, mpg display is always 33-34 mpg. If that's what these get, ill get a civic SI...thanks for the info.....

Be safe ...no DRAMA.....ok?

Another thought.  There are two cup holders in the center console for the front people. You'll probably put a phone in one of those holders.   

But I want you to know that the same center console has a flip down tray that provides 2 MORE cup holders for the rear people.  

So my standard operation procedure is my refillable coffee mug rides up front in the morning and when done, I super easily access the rear holder and the mug rides back there the rest of the day. 

In reply to Agent98 :

If your goal is all fun, you might be disappointed.   It's a different game and a different race with these.

I see a consistent 42-44 mpg.  That is without trying and often setting the cruise control to 76 mph.  Trying and I can get to 50 mpg which is done by keeping it at 55 mph max like doing steady rural driving while keeping the hvac to a minimum. 

I run a Falken 201s.  A near generic all season. Not intended for max mpg but rated for 65k miles. Last set I bought were about $75 each and that included the mounting. 

I'll bet Ohare cabs are Prius V, the bigger wagon-ish version. Most easily distinguished because the rear legroom is limo-like. 

Rated for 46, I get 42.  If the V is rated for 41, getting 34 in harsh cab usage could be reasonable though I'd expect a high 30's. 

In reply to Agent98 :

Try the Gen2 Prius Buyers Guide

Landed, prius picked up, bedtime. Been up since 4:30.

Didn't even really look at the car.