Enginer conversion kit.

Erm, you'd probably be better using the money to buy a second hand PIP.

From what I've heard (and there are many enginer threads on here), the enginer kit was something that required plenty of hands on work. It wasn't a fit and forget system, more something that appeared to require lots of tinkering with on a weekend. Great if you're an electrical engineer, not so great if you're just an average bloke wanting to improve your mpg's.

 

47 MPG is good

 

+1
The Engineer kits are Beta (really probably closer to Alpha) status at best. Realistically you plop down $6-$10K and have no warranty.
Like Grumpy said... get a used PIP that has a warranty, is super reliable, and gets 11-14 Ev miles right from the factory.

 

how fast are you driving on the highway, 60? you should be doing better than 47. is it uphill both ways?

 

yes 17" wheels give you a little worse MPG but only by a few MPG.
PiP = Pulg In Prius

 

it probably wouldn't pay for itself, but 15" wheels and low rolling resistance tyres would help a lot. the cheapest thing you can do is go as slow as safely and legally possible. speed and mpg are opposed to each other.

 

you might do better with higher tyre pressure as well.

 

That suggestion might be illegal in Holland as much as it is here. You can manage to get away with 1 or 2 psi over recommended but I wouldn't risk any higher. Run someone over in the wet and the Police find your tyres over inflated and you're in big trouble.

But you wanted to spend the good part of €4,000 or €5,000 on an enginer kit. The best way of getting the best economy out of your car is to ensure the tyres are correctly aligned and at the correct pressure (or slightly above- noting above comment). Also, ensure your car has the expensive but recommended 0w20 oil in it. This makes a significant difference in the gen3 Prius for top end economy.

I know from experience that if the car is filled with the cheaper 5w30 oil that the car sounds quieter, but 'stumbles' a little when the engine comes on and performance isn't quite there. I also found that it was almost impossible to get the car to average over 60 mpg UK (50 mpg US or 4.7l/100km) however hard I tried. When the oil was corrected to 0w20 the car sounds a little noisier, much smoother to drive and the economy could be averaged up into 75+ mpg UK (62 mpg US or 3.7l/100km).

Hope that helps.

 

With PiP, there are a couple things you need to consider. How much premium you'll be paying over a standard Prius? How much are you paying for gas? and How often could you charge per day? However, some people treat PiP as a toy and they just love to drive using electricity. If you're one of those people, then you should just buy it. It's a better car than a Prius.

PS: I would vote against any conversion kits. It will give you more headaches than what it's worth. Plus, I don't believe you'll ever recover your investment money thru fuel savings.

 

g/c, i've never heard of a tyre pressure investigation here, except when all the ford explorer's were rolling over. but then, they were claiming the specs were at fault. you lads really get into the nitty gritty of accident investigation!

 

Only when it needs it. The Police don't bother to attend an accident unless an ambulance is called, the road is blocked or the other person refuses to give their insurer details. I'm sure other Countries may have different rules.

If it's a serious accident - severe injury or death, then your car will be impounded and investigated. If it's got a problem, then you're in big trouble. If someone dies and it was your fault with a dangerous car, then you are going to jail for sure.

 

we like to pretend that nothing is anybodies fault over here.

 

my version 6 enginer system has operated 3 years with zero problems. Am I the only satisfied enginer user out there. COME ON speak up you who like thiers

 

you know what? you might just be. i'm not saying there aren't peeps who like their unit, they would just like it more if they didn't have to keep fixing it, and monitoring it between fixes.

 

You need to let up on the throttle a bit when driving the open roads!!! H

 

Don,
You are one of a very few that still has a system that is working.

I have another customer with an older version that we have kept running at great expense.
His last tank was 2,308 miles and 12.8 gal of gas.
He has a short commute (~8 miles)
He went 5 months between fill ups.

When you get a chance, could you send me photos of your set up?
Since there was no official versioning, I'm curious about the mix of components you have.
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