Alright folks, been tweaking the absolute hell out of that Prius in GT7 lately. You know, the regular ol’ hybrid grocery getter? Yeah, that one. I was determined to make this eco garbage car actually win races, not just finish ’em.
The Struggle Was Real
First off, slapped the Prius onto Suzuka Circuit Experience, bone stock. Man, it was like driving a wet sponge. Understeered like crazy entering corners, then felt like the rear was about to take a vacation midway through. Brakes? Might as well be pressing marshmallows. Lap times were… embarrassing. Let’s not talk about it.
Clearly, needed something. Bought every possible upgrade from the GT Auto shop. Fully sent it on the weight reduction, engine tuning bits, the works. Dropped in those racing brakes and the adjustable suspension too. Figured I’d throw the kitchen sink at it first.
The Tuning Fiesta
Got it back to my garage. Stared at the settings page. Overwhelmed? Yeah, kinda. Started simple.
Fiddled with the Transmission: Lowered the top speed slider a bunch. Prius ain’t winning any drag races, so shorter gearing it is. Makes it feel a bit more peppy pulling out of corners.
Dug into the Suspension: This was key. The car was rolling like a boat.
- Bumped the Anti-Roll Bars way up – Front to 7, Rear to 7.
- Lowered ride height to the absolute minimum. Like, scraping-the-tarmac low.
- Played with Dampers. Lots of trial and error. Ended up stiffer, especially the Compression on both ends (around 55).
- Cranked up Negative Camber. Think… -3.0 degrees front, -1.5 rear. Helps it dig into corners.
Took it back out. Still plowed a bit, but way less body roll. Progress!
Downforce Time: Added the big rear wing. Went wild. Max downforce setting – 400. Yeah, it kills the top speed even more, but man, that rear end finally decided to stick to the planet. Huge difference through the Esses. Front downforce? Left it off because… Prius.
The LSD (Limited Slip Diff): Tuned it for stability out of corners. Increased the Initial Torque (like 20), kept Acceleration sensitivity around 25, and bumped Braking Sensitivity way up to 45. Stops the inside wheel spinning up when you stomp on the power.
Brake Balance: Pushed it rearwards a notch. Like +1. Helped stop that nose-dive feeling when braking hard, felt more balanced.
Ballast: Moved it back, way back. Like -50%. Kept the weight itself pretty high for the PP class. Seemed to help rotation.
The Final Test
Took my Franken-Prius to the big test: Le Mans 30-minute race. Fuel Map 1 the whole way? Yep. Pit strategy? Aiming for one stop, maybe none if lucky.
Holy crap, it worked!
The thing glued itself to the track. Corners I used to crawl through, I could carry serious speed now. Braking was sharp and predictable. That massive rear wing kept the back planted under acceleration. Even the hybrid power felt snappier with the shorter gearing.
Passed Gr.4 cars. Passed some Gr.3 cars on fuel stops. Finished the race easily within the time, fuel to spare after one slick pit stop. Podium? Got close. This Prius shouldn’t be this much fun.
Here’s the TL;DR Settings that clicked for me:
- Suspension: Max Low Height. Anti-Roll Bars ~7/7. Dampers Stiffer (e.g., Comp 55-60ish). Camber -3.0 / -1.5.
- Aero: Max Rear Downforce (400). No Front.
- Transmission: Lower Top Speed slider significantly (depends on track, aim for around 180mph-ish max, adjust gears with manual slider).
- Brakes: Racing Brakes + Pads. Balance +1 Rear.
- Ballast: ~50-100kg placed fully rearward (-50%).
LSD: Initial 20, Accel 25, Braking 45.
Took it to other tracks (Deep Forest, Nürburgring GP), still felt great. Not meta by any stretch, but damn satisfying to beat cars it absolutely shouldn’t.
Proof you can polish a Prius! Go break some hybrid stereotypes.
