It's Official: My FRS limits are now way above my driving level
 

Just finished installed the Hotchkis TVS1 (Total Vehicle System), along with Hotchkis front strut tower brace and their front end links. The difference is amazing. The car now feels like a go-cart around corners-- corners very flat, super sharp turn in, very neutral, can feel the car pivot. Zero lean, zero roll that I can detect. I took her out for a short spirited drive around some back roads with a few decent twists/turns, and although I couldn't push as hard as I wanted since it had recently rained, the handling was amazing.

Over uneven pavement and various potholes,etc, I noticed the new springs and stock shocks did very well, in fact then these road imperfections seemed to upset the much less than the stock suspension.

For those interested in this system, I should mention that I had previously upgraded to 17"x 8" RPF1s and 225 Goodyear F1s. While you will see an improvement with this kit and stock tires, you will not get the full performance for this system with stock shoes. The limits of the stock Prius tires will really be apparent with this kit. Upgraded tires at the least is a must. (I chose the 17" x 8" RPF1 & Goodyear tire combo for lower weight over 18s... They drop about 5lb per corner).

FWIW, after installing the upgraded wheel/tire combo, the handling seemed to both improve and degrade at the same time... What I mean is, the cornering grip did markedly improve with the new tires, but during hard cornering I could feel discernibly more lean and body roll than stock. It's interesting how balanced the original design is. Upgrading tires definitely pushes the suspension to its limits.

For those interested the TVS1 includes:

• Higher rate springs with 1" drop all around
• Front sway bar & bushings
• Rear sway bar and bushings
• Rear end links
• All necessary hardware
• Excellent instructions

I further upgraded by adding:

• Front End Links
• Front Strut Tower Brace

Can't wait for track day!

For those that are interested, Hotchkis posted up a cool video of their hot lap with this setup:
[ame]http://youtu.be/a7ByVC_Y_8k[/ame]

What sold me on the Hotchkis system over the others was the fact that their engineer who designed the system was also the driver testing the system (and beating other modified cars) at autocross events. Plus I had excellent results with one of their sway bar kits on a previous vehicle.

nice! i have just the hotchkis springs right now and love them, but plan to eventually upgrade everything to those parts too

Sorry. It's a slow night for me.

Actually, it should be "easy pass feature standard"!

The driver (in vid) admits that the FRS with stock power is at quite a disadvantage on that tracks with it's fairly long straights and sweepers. The car that passed it is a race prepped turbo.

Might not be the fastest, but I love the car, and on small back roads it's easy to get going dangerously (and very illegally) fast in very little time. I don't get all the folks who buy a 6mt 200hp four cylinder and then are shocked when a 300hp 6cylinder auto minivan beats the car in a drag race. Go buy a mustang or camaro if you want stop light race power. I stepped out of a 425hp SRT and I'm perfectly happy with this.

OTOH, where are all the videos with the same minivan or whatever attempting to keep up with the FRS on twisty back roads? (Right, those videos don't exist because they would all end with the mini van wrapped around a tree and exploding in a ball of fire).

FWIW, if they decide to stick the WRX turbo engine with 368hp/250lb-ft in the FRS... I'm buying one!

I absolutely love mine. Love it, love it, love it. Best wishes on the track. My HDPE class is in a couple weeks.