Will adding an amp/sub kill my mileage, is it safe to do in a hybrid?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lockjaw @ May 28 2007, 07:17 PM) [snapback]451251[/snapback]</div>

#1 I am under the impression that heavy use of an aux amplifier for a sub system can cause a loss of ,milage because the ICE could stay on longer than normal trying to recharge the AUX battery. I tried to test this out any thought I had figured out that it did indeed effect my milage but then I reverted back to my lower milage after a couple days. So now I am not real sure.

#2 I have not noticed any detrimental effects other than possible milage.

#3 Refer to #2 AND simply ansure you have the proper sized wiring for the job.

#4 As I was told, the car does not have an alternator so no worries there.

I have a Diamond Audio D1500.1 (1500w rms@1ohm) and two JL Audio 12W3v3 subs. The only issues I have had was the possible milage decrease and nasty hatch rattles due to the bass.

Rather than using your fader I would recommend just buying the bass knob for your amp. It is much easier and you would be best served by not reducing the rear speaker volume. It has a hard enough time keeping up with the bass as it is. You could add passive x-overs on your stock speakers to reduce the amount of bass they see and that could clean things up a little more. I have not done this yet but I do reduce the bass level on the factory stereo by about 2-3 bars.

 

Actually the car has two alternators. The motor generators are basically the same thing, without the diodes and regulator. That function is taken care of in the electronics in the box under the hood. The 12V battery is charged from the high voltage using a special charger. There is about three times as much energy in the traction battery as you find in a "normal" 50 A-Hr car battery. I don't think you're going to force the engine to run full time to keep it charged.

Once the car is in "Ready mode" you will not stress the 12V battery or the system. As long as you're reasonable. I doubt a 250W amp would stress the system. Now if you were planning on entering contests with 10 kW amps, then I'd advise caution.

Just make sure the sub amp is only on when the car is on. You don't want to kill the 12V battery with unnecessary parasitic drain.

As for mileage, -if- you could stand to have the sub running at full blast, probably around 50 W avg, that is 1/15 HP. I doubt you could measure the fuel economy hit. It would be buried in the normal variables.

The weight of the amp plus speaker plus box would have a bigger effect.

 

I've done LOTS of mods to my Prius, see signature for all. Really the only thing that really has affected my MPG is weather. Windy plus cold equals 35 MPG. Warm plus calm equals 55 MPG. Adding the "dead weight" of a hitch, 2 amps, 3 subs and boxes (small...not 15 inchers!)...heck even snow tires, has not affected MPG as much as weather. Carrying 4 adults and 4 bikes in good weather is about the same as me alone driving in bad weather, about 40 MPG. YMMV.

I say add the stuff you want within reason and enjoy. I really like my car better now than when I 1st pressed the power button...because of the personalizing. The better sounding stereo helps alot.

 

Don't worry about the high voltage side, it's got mind-boggling power capacity.

The 12 volt system that runs the accessories (and potentially your amp) is driven by a 100 amp converter that converts the high voltage DC system current to 12 volts DC. You could consider this the same as running an audio system on a car with a 100 amp alternator. But a standard alternator only puts out its rated power when it's really spinning- output falls off at idle. The Prius DC-DC converter is 100 amps, period. So think of it like a car with a pretty decent alternator.

When it comes to bass in a fancy audio system, the power demand is very spiky. Each thump of bass takes a huge spike of power but between thumps it doesn't take that much. In a regular car you probably "outrun" the alternator during each thump but it gets ahead between thumps. The battery smooths out the highs and lows.

The downside is that the Prius has a VERY small 12 volt battery. It may not be enough to smooth out those power spikes for a really bass-heavy system. If that's the case, though, you'll just need to add one of those boost capacitors that are fairly often added to the cars that go "thump, thump, thump".

Also keep in mind that that DC-DC converter is only active with the Prius in Ready state. If you run the audio system with the car in some other mode, you will run down the 12 volt battery much faster than you would if you were in a regular car (with a regular size 12 volt battery) with the engine off.

 

I do not know, you may find the car rattles a lot more with your new subwoofer. The Prius interior is mostly plastic, and not high quality plastic at that, and your low frequency boost will cause lots of annoying vibrations in your car's interior... you have been warned!

 

I've been looking around, but I can't seem to find much info regarding the sound system, you know the specific stuff like where its easy to access the wiring harnesses at, what the color codes on the wires represent, stuff like that...

The stickies in the audio section were a little less than helpful...

Anyone got that info bookmarked by chance? Seemed like all of my searches turned up folks who had happily installed their equipment, but none who said how they wired it...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GaS @ Jun 11 2007, 11:56 PM) [snapback]459962[/snapback]</div>

I am with gaS.....still looking for specifics on hooking up amp to non-jbl factory Head Unit. Looking for specifics on which single amp would be a good fit for all speakers and moderate sub woofer. Maybe one that is easy on the small 12 volt battery. I don't want to pioneer such a move if I don't have to. I have moderate electronic skill and hope to do myself. But I have learned how nice it is to follow someone else's success!! anyone have suggestions or existing links, that I can't seem to find?

 

My testing indicates you're likely to see only 1 kW of usable power. Drawing more than 75 A leads to a voltage drop on the 12 VDC system. Some of the 12VDC system wiring uses a fusible link rated at 100 A and blowing one, from one past posting, is an expensive, time consuming repair. BTW, the 12 VDC system also powers the control computers, lights and ordinary electric parts. If you vamp too much power with your amp, the results could be less than amusing.

If your amp has a remote power on-off switch, you might consider wiring it into the cigarette lighter circuit. When the car is off, that system loses voltage and you won't have to worry about sitting in a quiet, dead car waiting for a risky jump. Reverse jumping a Prius can fry the electronics and turn the expensive control computers into useless junk.

Bob Wilson

 

I have a few questions about running a 750 watt RMS Alpine amp with two type R 12 inch subwoofers in a 2008 Toyota Prius does anyone have any videos on how they wired their system? I will post more details about my set up in the morning.

 

https://priuschat.com/media/screenshot_20210328-235759.19971/full

 

Lolol I'm running a Kicker Solobaric L7 12" in the trunk, a Kicker 10 under the Passenger Seat and a Kicker 8" self powered enclosure under the driver seat. About 3k watts in amps, a 32" light bar and 4 USB 3.1 Fast Charging ports. All hooked into a 10in head unit. It can take the beating. As far as the mileage goes, I cracked the head gasket on on of the oil duct sides so my MPG has been wrecked for as long as I can remember. Replace your wheel hubs after 120k for best mileage.

 

I see this was back in may, have you added the 2 12" subwoofers in? I have read several places that hybrids and battery operated cars can't support over 300 watts. Typically 2 sub's would be over that? Which is what I'm looking to do to my car, just don't know how