Turn your Prius into a EREV (or close)

When you go and advert negative about other brands out there i think its arrogant and not a positive thing
So i would not advise buying

The trouble these guys have got into with other people there are always 2 side of a story
-Htc Tapatalk ( sorry for auto spell correct )

 

hopefully they can backup their claims..............but at $6000 and up, they've priced themselves out of the game.

 

Good thread on the product Gen III Plug-In Supply Experiences | PriusChat

I've had lots of conversations with friends about this as in CO there is a 75% tax credit making a upgrade of say a 2009 or 2010.. its a great deal for them.

Don't know anyone that did this yet (know folks with the older 10kw pack, limited to 52mph) and the only real reviews are testimional's on their site.

I have to wonder what the 72mph is doing to the motors, as they were not really designed for that speed and with the HSD, to get that speed without the ICE really meas pushing MG1 way past its normal range. MG1 rotates at more than 2.5x Mg2.. There are multiple threads here about the Plug-in-supply and I've stil not see that resolved, the conseensus seems to be you can do 72.. but its not really recommended to do it all the time. Its not a "new" 2012 OEM.. but it may be a good choice for someone that has an existing prius, in good shape -- especially in CO.

 

Oversizing the battery pack would price itself out, like the Volt. At least this conversion would still provide ~46 MPG on regular gas which is much better than Volt's 37 MPG on premium.

This conversion probably limit the battery power to 21 kW, unlike the 2012 Prius PHV 38 kW. I doubt it can match the official PHV's 10 years / 150k miles warranty as well.

EREV has too many compromises. Blending the battery and gas engine in synergy eliminates them. We need to move forward, not backward.

 

For some people, blending has too many compromises. The Engine should be for backup, not regular use. We've had PHEVs (via conversion kits) for 7 years.. This one is a bit more capable.

The pricing does not make as much sense for those buying a 2012.. but if you have a 2010 or 2011, the price difference from tradein to 2012 PiP is going to be more than the upgrade kit. If you have a 2008 even more of a savings/option -- since the Totyota ICE will be good for 200K miles, if you are only at 100K, adding the kit will be like adding 8-10 years of life.

 

I talked to pEEf about his gen 2 Prius plugin conversion last year at an Electric Auto Association meeting in San Francisco. I think he told me that there was an ECU message he was able to send that would keep the engine off but apply enough back torque to mg1 to keep it from exceeding its maximum rpm. That results in the engine free spinning but without any gas or spark and with the valves configured for minimum pumping losses. I suspect this is what happens normally when you drive downhill faster than 62.

This allowed him to drive on the freeway entirely on battery although he was limited by other power constraints that kept him from going much more than mid-60's mph on a flat road. I don't remember what those other constraints were (battery, inverter, etc.).

 

I remember reading that honda closed all the valves to reduce pumping losses while free spinning the ice, I wonder why toyota leaves them open instead of closed, that seems like it would still use more energy to pump air. Maybe the valves can't stay closed all the time. I would expect that the torque characteristics of mg2 along with limitations on the inverter would set that max electric speed.

 

Interesting did he say anything about the impact on fuel efficency.
While I can see open-engine cycling to keep MG1 in rev spec, but what does that do for the engine reliabiity. Doing every nwo and then on a hill is not a problem. Are they pumping/circulating oil?
What does moist (and maybe salty some areas) air circulating though a non-running engine do to its reliability?

 

Ignore my comment about the valves. I don't really know how that part works. The idea was that the valves can be controlled in such a way that they just allow the engine to free spin with minimum losses.

 

I would advise reading this in its entirety before doing anything.

Plug-In Supply DIY | PriusChat

 

He didn't seem concerned about this causing engine reliability problems. I assume the engine would be pumping oil and maintaining its lubrication properly. I don't know what impact this had on overall fuel economy. He said acceleration was weak at highway speeds but it was fine for maintaining a steady speed for extended driving.

 

Yea, Scott put out a cheap shot, maybe reaching for a new low. But thats' his choice. Starting @ 6k on up, and offering a measly 3 yr warranty - whose kidding who here? I would buy a new 2012 PIP ang get the 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty.

DBCassidy

 

If this Plug in Supply is so certain of their product reliability, they need to meet or exceed Toyotas' 10 year/ 150000 mile warranty.

Blending, not EREV, is the way to go.

DBCassidy

 

Having the choice is great to blend is great... which is what the plug-in Prius offers. I've been taking advantage of that lately too. Cruising at 65 mph to & from work results in great MPG when depleting from the pack in EV-boost mode (default for high speeds) rather than switching to HV.

Think about what happens once efficiency has climbed to about 150 MPG. Any gain beyond that suffers from diminishing returns (not much more gas saved and much higher cost). Then think about times when the Heater or A/C is needed. Do you really want to sacrifice EV range for that?

 

My bad, I didn't realize that the oil and spark plugs were very expensive on the volt.

DBCassidy

 

I totally agree, if their claims are backed up AND the overall price is lowered, then Plug in Supply has a chance.

DBCassidy

 

Blending does too. Unless you drop the pedal to the floor in PHV, even acceleration onto the highway only results in a RPM of 1500. That's pretty darn easy on the engine.