Spotted:

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 10/31/2016 at 18:05 • Filed to: None

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A Prius with an “I am the Stig” sticker.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/31/2016 at 18:07

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It’s the Stig’s slower passing-lane-hogging cousin.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/31/2016 at 18:09

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There’s one near me with the same sticker and several other amusing similar stickers. I’ll have to get a picture of it some time.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/31/2016 at 18:10

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It’s not the Stig, It’s the Stig’s tree hugging cousin!

EL_ULY > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/31/2016 at 18:13

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first thing i’d do if I get a Prius. Then out hoon stuck up mofo’s at autoX

bob and john > EL_ULY 10/31/2016 at 18:22

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you know, would a prius actually be 1/2 decent with a good set of tires? all the weight is low, torque from the electric motor....

EL_ULY > bob and john 10/31/2016 at 18:41

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I remember seeing a video a while back of a team putting some of those Pirelli Corsas or the Yokohama Advan whatever tires they stick on Lotus Exige S (basically race tires) on a Nissan Leaf and it was able to pull 1.1G on the skid pad

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/31/2016 at 19:08

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I recently spotted a BMW i3.

bhtooefr > bob and john 10/31/2016 at 19:20

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I don’t think it’ll be competitive in any class, unfortunately. Might well have fun, though. I’m tempted to actually show up to an autocross in my (bone stock) 2016 Prius Three, and see what happens.

Looking through the rules, your best bet is to run H Street, but you get to run against the CRXes and Integras (non-Type Rs) and naturally aspirated Minis of the world. Problem with modifying is you’ll get pushed up to STF or FSP (although it’s not actually classified in those...) pretty quickly. (It gets really ugly if you get pushed up to SMF, because being a hybrid means you get class maximum weight (3100 lbs) no matter what you do on the engine.)

I’d say the best cars to use would be either a 2016 Prius Two Eco, or either 2016 or 2017 Prius Three Touring (although, the Prius c might do OK here, it’s a lot lighter, but it’s also less powerful...) - you get independent rear suspension, you get the fastest Prius steering available. Two Eco gets you less weight, but you’re stuck with 16x6 as the best wheel you can run (15x6 being stock). Three Touring gets you more weight, but 16x7, 17x7, and 18x7 as allowable wheel sizes.

Also, while Toyota quotes Three Touring and Four Touring as the same weight... you get to remove your spare tire, Three Touring has one, Four Touring does not, meaning Three Touring can be made lighter within the rules.

Three Touring gets you stiffer shocks, but those can be replaced no matter what. Sway bars and springs are the same, so you don’t get anything from that, it’s literally, pick the trim based on what tire you want to run.

Now, the suspension actually feels like it’s pretty competent (on my Three), so it’s just a matter of stiffer shocks, figuring out whether you want a stiffer rear bar or not (you only get one bar in HS), and then adding moar tire, really.

As far as technique... force charge the battery before the run (put car in drive, and floor it with the brakes held on until the battery’s full), because you won’t get to do much regen. The brake feel is terrible, and the first thing ABS does when it activates... is killing all regen and switching to friction brakes.