100+ mpg Prius modification pictures

not that would ROCK!

 

They need to spend another hour and make the socket door look a little nicer :lol:

 

Nice... looks like those over in the UK have a more important reason to pay the 9K quid... the zero-rated emissions for road-tax (as well as the no-congestion-charge in London, I presume).

If only we had non-brain-dead government, we might be able to legislate the same kind of pressures here.

 

For 9k£ I would buy a new car or a hefty load of gas to run my Prius until I sell it... Very nice initiative, but for that price there's no deal here!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San_Carlos_Jeff @ May 22 2006, 04:54 PM) [snapback]259375[/snapback]</div>

And what's with the additional digital display?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ May 22 2006, 07:35 PM) [snapback]259516[/snapback]</div>

Looks like something our ken1784 might have built.

 

The EnergyCS system has its own additional display too. Not sure
if Hymotion does.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San_Carlos_Jeff @ May 22 2006, 01:54 PM) [snapback]259375[/snapback]</div>

Hah! Excellent point.

 

that's sweet! hmm... i guess they beat the dudes in california developing the same thing to the magic 30miles range. (or is it the same group?)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eak354 @ May 23 2006, 02:29 AM) [snapback]259611[/snapback]</div>

Nope, from the article:
"Amberjac Projects, based in Grantham, Lincs, has replaced the factory electric power unit under the boot floor with the latest lithium ion phosphate technology shared with modern mobile phones. The only visible change is a socket in the rear bumper."

Well, that and your under-trunk storage space is gone. Not sure where the spare tire is at.

Also worth noting: "The model will be available from mid-September, but orders and deposits are being taken from June. Amberjac plans to carry out 50-100 conversions in the first 12 months, while working on a second, cheaper machine."

So I'm not really sure they beat Edrive folks in Calif. since they have a demo model (or more?) sent to AQMD for testing, and will probably sell to general consumers before September. Not sure where the Canadian Hymotion version is at, fleet testing for awhile I'm sure.

 

Problem is the new lithium ion phosphate technology is just that new!!! Toyota went through years of testing the battery technology and found that the longest lasting battery in the Nickel Metal Hydride when not discharged fully. The Prius computer carefully controls the level of discharge and charge as well as the current flow for charging. Otherwise with out this they could not give the 7yr warranty they give now. ED Drive's lithium batteries are guaranteed only 5 yrs and that is still experiemental. There is always hope....I'm watching closely a company called 123 systems, only the battery techonology is keeping us from 100+ miles per gallon and many people are hoping 123 systems has found the right design. Check this out http://webreprints.djreprints.com/1340890151936.html

 

In the standard model, if you stick below 31mph, you run in silent electric mode. But you don't travel much more than a mile or two before the battery power is low, and the engine fires up to recharge it. With Amberjac's modifications, you get 30 miles. It means you could commute 15 miles each way in a city and have no fuel costs at all, bar the overnight charge. At Powergen's current price, that's only 21.9p.

On our varied test route, Amberjac boss Simon Sheldon estimated we were returning 110mpg. He said: "It will do 130mpg in the right conditions, and we've even seen 180mpg." but adds an eye-watering £9,050 to the price!

Whats the conversion from pounds to us dollars? £9,050 note this is not 9k, and what is the electric conversion from 21.9p. to kph us..?

I purchased something from england two years ago for £30.00 it was more like $65.00 or so..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San_Carlos_Jeff @ May 23 2006, 04:54 AM) [snapback]259375[/snapback]</div>

ditto. For 10k, you should get something that doesn't look like the back end of a high school science project. Other than that, I'm impressed. I'd consider doing it if and when it doesn't cost half the MSRP.

 

Well nice as far as the milage goes but why did they move the steering wheel to the wrong side of the car? Do they have a rural mail route? :lol: Nice bit of work! My wife would kill me at that price but maybe I would die happy?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eak354 @ May 23 2006, 02:29 AM) [snapback]259611[/snapback]</div>

Amberjac uses the system developed by Energy CS (from California). The systems are one in the same. They are not in competition with each other, rather two groups working to demonstrate PHEVs in two regions at the same time.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ May 22 2006, 09:35 PM) [snapback]259516[/snapback]</div>

It's called a Control Display Unit (CDU). It shows instanteous mpg (greater than 99.9) and also shows how far you can push the pedal while still maintaining EV mode. When the pack is spent and the car reverts back to a standard HEV, it displays your average mpg while you were in PHEV mode, which is usually over 100 mpg.

 

I'm hoping that there is still room for the spare tire in there. I hope the technology becomes a little more affordable; if Toyota would offer it as an option that would bring down the price considerably. I donated $100 to CalCars to further the cause.

 

A unique drawback of the Li-ion battery is that its life span is dependent upon aging from time of manufacturing (shelf life) regardless of whether it was charged, and not just on the number of charge/discharge cycles. This drawback is not widely publicized. So I'm going to spend $10k on a system that doubles my mileage but makes my mfg warranty void?? I don't think so.....Besides, with the $10k, can you imagine how much gasoline I could buy? I'm all for saving poluton, gas costs etc.....I just don't see the lithium batteries as the solution yet...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusguy04 @ May 24 2006, 08:01 PM) [snapback]260648[/snapback]</div>

9,050.00 GBP United Kingdom Pounds = 16,799.55 USD United States Dollars
1 GBP = 1.85630 USD
1 USD = 0.538705 GBP