107 mpg. 1,100 mile tank. Enginer system back on track.

That is awesome.

When my battery bites the dust I'll likely move into a plug-in system. It's cheaper and more efficient than buying a new car.

My only problem is I commute approximately 50miles one-way, at high speeds (65-70mph), and no ability to charge at work. So unless these systems will allow me to use the pack in mixed mode at those speeds I don't think I would benefit a whole lot.

 

This could only be written on a a Prius forum lol

 

So true. lol

 

I find that the Enginer offers little mpg increase at high speed, and zippo on hills.

 

That is what I gathered. The only one that seems like it would help is the PlugIn Supply unit but at $10k+$1,000 (for CA purchase) I'd rather just buy the Prius c when it comes out. lol

 

Theoretically it shouldn't matter what rate electricity is supplied, all EV miles are equal. So if you go the 16 miles at 10 mph, deplete the 4kw, and then drive at 70 mph for the remaining 34 miles, or drive at 70 mph for all 50 miles depleting the 4kw in mixed mode, there should be no difference.

I have started to wonder if it isn't better to drive mixed if going far beyond whatever pack capacity you have, in order to attempt to keep the Prius in the maximum mpg mode that it can get to when there is enough battery energy being supplied.

 

The drawback for me is that I live within 2 miles of the freeway onramp then it's speed limit of 70mph for some of the trip then it drops to 65mph. The offramp for my work is less than 2 miles away from my job. As you can see there is very little use of the extra battery unless it allows for mixed mode use at high speeds.

 

You still see 10-35mpg improvements at 65mph. I rarely drive on the freeway but when I do, I average about 80-100mpg for the 5 mile stretch.

 

Just wondering...

I live in Europe and we have the "EV mode" button as standard in any Prius (max 34mph or 54km/h speeds) which you can use for 2-3km (what the Prius battery can handle - but can't recharge from the plug). The EV mode works great in sub 35mph speeds and can even climb some hills without revving up the engine. Can you drive with the EV mode the whole battery pack? If you can, then I could travel to work using 50km/h speed limited roads pretty much with infinite mpg, as no gallons/litres of gasoline burned on the way. The whole trip is 20km one way and I can recharge on both ends. Sounds like the perfect system for me, if it works as promised.

 

Another concern is how much cold can the Enginer pack take. I'm afraid we need to add thermal insulation for the batteries to keep them in proper operating temperatures during our winters. And we need to add some gasoline heater to keep the car warm, as no heat from the gasoline engine is produced. Adding and electric heater would be great, but it would diminish the driving distance quite a lot.

These are the typical ways to keep electric cars running here during the cold finnish winters.

 

Floyd2 is getting a FE of 1.7 liters/100km in the Netherlands using a 4kwh RFE Enginer kit. Pretty good. The roads are flat and it is a cold climate country. He is still using the original kit he bought 7 months ago from the original supplier - Fountain Head Electronics. No warranty claims.

He claims to be Enginer's most satisfied customer. Possibly the only one.

I hope he does not mind me boasting on his behalf. I had always envied the success of his kit.

 

Netherlands cold? Heh, never been to Finland during winters, I guess? Last couple winters it's been -10 to -30 degrees Celsius. So there's some special requirements for tech to work here. Lithium batteries especially are quite sensitive to really cold freezing temperatures and some insulation is required. If insulated correctly, recharging them is enough to keep them warm.

I think me and couple others interested are ordering the better and more expensive Plug-In Supply 4kWh kit. At least with that we can drive all our daily travels in pure electric mode and zero gas consumption. We'll add some insulation and an electric heater to supply the heat when the gas engine is not operating.

 

Have you thought of using a simple and cheap electric blanket?

 

Could work. But it's not really required if the pack is insulate good enough.

 

Does anyone know of a Plug-In Supply 4kWh kit that has been running over a reasonable length of time. I know the Plug-In Supply 10kWh system is good. But that design does not necessarily scale down to 4kwhr.

I spoke to one expert in the field that installs the Plug-In Supply 10kWh system and he said he has never seen Plug-In Supply 4kWh system working properly.

Thanks,
Dan

 

That I did not know. There's been very little information about the 4kWh pack available. But that could change things. There's one shop here in Finland doing their first conversion at the moment, with the 10kWh pack and Thundersky batteries. Interesting to see how it works when the temperatures start to drop. Once they get it tweaked out, they start doing these Plug In Supply's conversions for everyone. But the 10kWh system is so heavy that we need to remove the middle section of the rear seats, so it will be registered only for four people.

 

Hi Eric,
I believe it. I am pegging at 99.9 all the time in my 2010.

To get over 100mpg I do find that I need to have the converter turned up to the point that the ICE sometimes spins to waist electrons. I got 130mpg that way but the range goes lower and when my wife drives the Prius computers go crazy because she "overcharges" the Prius HV Pack. So I turned it down the where I just peg at 99.9mpg all the time but seldom get over 105 on the ScanGauge. That seems to work best for me and for my wife.

Thanks,
Dan