Has anyone ever done an endurance race with a Prius?

[DeltaTrain]

I was just driving it, and I'm thinking.

If it gets 100 mpg (dunno if its true), it would have a good chance at winning an endurance race.

 

[CraftyLandShark]

In reality it gets excellent gas mileage if you concentrate on operating it at low revs, but its mileage isn't that spectacular if you drive it in the meat of its powerband.

I would assume this holds true in GT4 given what I've seen from using the Prius's in-game MPG meter. That said, its probably still better than most other cars. But the question is whether its fast enough to make use of that difference.

 

[Skippy]

I was just driving it, and I'm thinking.

If it gets 100 mpg (dunno if its true), it would have a good chance at winning an endurance race.

The biggest constraint on endurance races is typically tyres. It is rare for petrol to be the reason to pit. As such, it may make practically no difference.

 

[Mad Matt]

Well, in real life, the Le Mans diesels get an advantage by re-fuelling less often. So, in theory the diesel beamer should do well, but you're right, in the game the tyres seem to be the limiting factor.

 

[CraftyLandShark]

There's still a very small advantage with greater fuel economy even considering tire wear the limiting factor (good point btw). Since the fueling and tire changes take place seperately, the fueling can be skipped more often when pitting. The time gained though, considering the anemic power of something like the Prius, is negligible.

 

[Alfaholic]

The biggest constraint on endurance races is typically tyres. It is rare for petrol to be the reason to pit. As such, it may make practically no difference.

Tyre life will be excellent too, since you'll be averaging about 12mph. Of these two factors, I believe that the average speed of the car will be more influential in its chances of winning anything except a What Car? award.

 

[KiwiBoy]

From my personal experience, the biggest limiting factor of the Prius is actually the battery itself. I've have tried running the Prius around Nurburgring, and the whole battery is drained around some area before the long straight. Then it starts propelling itself by only the gasoline engine, which is very slow.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Also, it seems as if more power simply goes to waste in it; the car when under WOT conditions with a full battery simply doesn't get revved as high with more power.