Okay, so here's my 65M$ question: What would it take to turn a standard Prius into a 100% EV vehicle, with a decent range (say ~40mi minimum) and a decent top-end speed (say 75MPH)?
More than that. The Prius isn't designed to do those sort of speeds for any distance on electric only. You are really talking about a different vehicle, or a major redesign of the HSD system. Anything less is a hack that will probably fail under extended use in those conditions. Tom
Why 75mph Americans are in such a hurry. Electric car I would think 60mph would be closer to achieving.
Tom you are right...didnt notice the 75 mph part... forgot to factor in the cost of speeding tickets.
With an ACP-150, for a REAL EV experience, you're looking at $70k for the conversion with batteries and installation. The problem? The Prius sucks as a conversion car for a few reasons. Although with your limited range requirements, it would still be possible, I'd think. Just not practical in a financial sense. WAY better to buy a full EV that was designed properly from the beginning. Tesla S-class, anybody?
The 75MPH wasn't intended as a 'cruise' speed, but as a maximum speed. You have to be able to go at least that fast in order to be safe on the highway -- for passing and for emergency evasion. My intent was not to suggest that you drive that fast for extended periods -- although on Southern California freeways, 75MPH really isn't that fast -- but rather to set a reasonable upper limit. The nice thing about the Prius, and the reason I started this thread, is that many of the 'nuisance' details you have to deal with in an EV conversion, such as an electirc Air Conditioner, for example, are all taken care of. My thought was, buy an old Prius with a pretty much dead NiMH battery, rip out the engine/motor and battery, drop in a new, and you're pretty much done. By comparison, any ICE-based vehicle, you still have a myriad of other headaches to deal with that you don't have with a Prius.
Hi All, If you could set up two Inverters, and two MG2 power level motors, I think it would be close to OK for 100 % EV operation. To feed the second motor into the PSD, it will have to be a high speed motor. So, that means it will have to be about the diameter of MG1. Maybe something like a 3 or 4 stack of MG1 coils and rotors. Then, one just needs a speed controller that can read the CAN network, to make the motor mimic the engine. And a big battery to run that high speed motor.
You can try copying the GMC sierra hybrid design. They have clutches so that the planetary set can be disconnected from the engine and MG1 connects parallel to MG2. That way in pure electric mode, both MG1 and MG2 add power.
There are many interstate routes where the posted speed limit is 75mph. As this is also the speed limit for Semi's with 3 trailers, I'm not going to poke along at 60mph and have the riding my tail end.
This could be done with $20,000 and the ECU reflash that is in the factory PHEV-8 (the folks at clean mpg got to drive it, review is there, 2 nimh batteries) seen at auto shows this past winter, well full EV up to 62 mph. So if you got 2 hymotion kits and the reprogramming there you go. Good luck getting the programming.
