The Prius prime is a plug in hybrid which means you can plug it in and charge the traction battery and that way you can drive it just like an EV car for a certain distance before you use up the charge in the traction battery and have to convert to HV mode where you use both gas and electricity. Anyway, I was wondering about the possibility of installing a second traction battery for the main purpose of extending the range you can drive in EV mode. With my new Prius Prime I can drive for about 40 miles in EV mode with a fully charged traction battery. With a second traction battery Im thinking I could get 80 miles in EV mode and not have to use any gas for that range. With gas prices as they are I would really save on gas so Im thinking about the possibilities of installing a second traction battery and if it can be done.
Intriguing. I'm wondering where would you put the second traction battery? My guess is the cost benefit analysis would not come close to working out.
What sort of “second traction battery”, same size, theoretically doubling range? Would the car’s computers recognize it, or? Down the road, assuming this battery addition eats up cabin space, how would this impact value, for trade-in or sale? talk yourself off this ledge? Pricing an extra plug-in battery might help with that. If you can find it for sale.
The part itself is very expensive, and it would take a lot of smart and careful hacking to find a way to install it and use it. Nice-sounding features like automatic switchover may not be possible. If you're already into customizing cars and working with high voltage electricity, you might get somewhere with this. But most people would find it cheaper and easier to keep a second Prius Prime charged up at the halfway point. Or just trade for an EV with more range to begin with.
Since the prime flows 1234y through the pack, how do you plan on doing this? Y splitters? Where would you even mount it? What qualifications do you have to undertake or much less even think of such a project?
What would be really cool would be to take out the ICE and all of its associated systems (fuel tank, ICE radiator, etc). And then put more high voltage traction batteries in the spaces that are freed up. But, wait a minute, then the priusP would become ... an EV !
