Toyota Prius 100 MPG Hack

[Aaron]

Rick,

I was at the bookstore and looked at some mags and in the Nuts & Volts current issue, there is some hardware/software hack it seems that will get you 100 MPG in a Toyota Prius.

I didn't look at it in detail but if you're at the newsstand and they have that mag, might be worth a glance.

NUTS AND VOLTS MAGAZINE - Issue Preview


Hacking The Prius
by Jim Fell
I first converted a car to purely electric operation in 1999 and after several improvements — particularly to the battery pack — the car was moderately successful. I was generally able to travel about 50 miles on a charge and considerably more if care was taken. The car completed the London to Brighton Electric Vehicle (EV) Run in 2005 and 2006.

Unfortunately, the achilles heel of the EV is still the battery pack. With low cost, traditionally lead-acid batteries the range is severely limited and a long, cross-country run must be planned like a military campaign. There must be charging points every 50 miles or so, and you need to stop for a couple of hours at each to restore some charge.



Full article in Mag

[rickoff]

Thanks, Aaron, I'll be sure to check that out.

Rick

[wpage]

Lead Acid Batts?

Supprised to read that they are using lead acid batteries in that prius.

Is that true with the late model prius as well?

W

[theremart]

100 mile Kit add on.

Add on battery back

YouTube - 100 MPG Prius Mod


EV compared to the Prius...

YouTube - Prius-II what's wrong with the Prius


Google is modifying Prius...

YouTube - Google.org RechargeIT: Plug-in Hybrids


MPGomatic.com catches up with Plug-In Supply's 100 mile per gallon (MPG) Prius hybrid at the Green California conference.

[rickoff]

Re: batteries

My 2007 Prius uses a 168 cell Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack with a 1310 watt hour capacity.

European Prius models have an "EV" button that can be used to disable the gas engine until the battery is drained, and that gives about a 7 mile range for electric motor stealth operation at speeds up to about 60 mph. US models do not have that button, although the onboard computer does support it. The PRIUS+ Project offers conversion instructions for do-it-yourselfers who wish to enable the button.

I haven't yet read the magazine article that Aaron pointed to, but all the "100 mpg" conversions that I know of at this time require adding additional battery packs which fit in the space normally used for the spare tire. The type of the additional battery pack determines the cost of the conversion, which normally costs between $10,000 and $40,000. That's way more than I would want to spend. Conversion also voids Toyota's 10 year warranty on the battery pack and electric motors. So, after spending all the money, and voiding your warranty, what you end up with is a car able to go about 40 miles on battery power. After that, the vehicle operates the same as any other Prius, except that you would be carrying some extra weight that would decrease efficiency. So, on a 220 mile trip to my cottage, I wouldn't realize much of a savings in fuel costs.

What does look promising to me is the Bi-Toroid method for Regenerative Accelleration http://www.energeticforum.com/renewa...html#post25652
When I have a little time on my hands I will build and test a bi-toroid transformer, and determine how I might adapt it for use in the Prius.

Best regards, Rick

[energyrikard]

Hi,

The best possible batteries you can buy for the Toyota Prius conversion are the batteries from A123Systems :: Home

Hymotion who are specialised in off the counter plug-in systems base their packs on this battery technology... Now owned by A123Systems, if I'm not misinformed.

Also, it's no chance Tesla Motors use these batteries in their cars...

Too bad they don't match well with the SSG...

Happy drivin' !

[rickoff]

Reply to energyrikard

Yes, the Lithium-ion batteries used by Hymotion are definitely the cat's meow, but would you pay $10,000 for the conversion, which Hymotion only states will give you 30 miles of driving range in pure EV mode? And while they do tout a figure of 100 mpg, that would only be the case if using the capacity of both the standard battery and the LI battery in combination with the gas engine, and would only be applicable until the LI battery is depleted, at which time performance drops to the normal 54 mpg figure that you get without the $10,000 conversion. Also, Hymotion's claim of 30 miles range in pure EV mode may not be possible, because their 4.3 to 5 KWh battery capacity, when added to the standard battery's 1.3 KWh capacity calculates out to about 15 miles. Check the math - I can drive 3 miles in pure EV mode, with my standard battery pack up to full charge, after intentionally running out of gas. The addition of the LI battery pack does give a 5 times increase, which is nice. That might assure that you could probably reach a gas station before the car stops dead in its tracks, but is that assurance worth the $10,000 conversion price? I would have to say no, definitely not to me.

Do you drive a Prius, or have you been thinking about getting one? Even at the 54mpg highway, and 60+mpg city that I currently get, it is still a blessing in these times of high fuel costs.

Best regards,

Rick