Another plug-in Prius manufacturer

ROFL!

I'm in

 

Don't you dare tempt me.

 

I don't know about taking this battery module in and out as needed. This sucker weighs 160 lbs and I don't see any lift hook rings. Be sure to wear your Home Depot back support belt. :blink:

 

I just spoke to them too. The only downside is that you will need run flat tires on the car since you are losing your spare tire.

Also, they plan on offering installations to the general public next year.

Also, they are working on better batteries for the near future with greater range - surprising no??

I think this is the best add-on system to date for reasons mentioned above. I like the fact that they DONT mess with the car at all and just in essence add another battery source.

The company is privately held at this point.

Imagine how long a life expectancy this vehicle can have - if you significantly diminish the use of the ICE and run almost entirely on batteries that are replaceable (they are going to guaranty their battery for 5-6 years) what is going to require you to replace this car?? I wonder how many miles you can get out of it.

Truly spectacular.

Does anyone know of any similar competition - or are they the only game in town to date?

 

Droooling... sure run-flats are fine (good idea)... I don't worry (where I drive) to have a flat, I can pull to the side and call for help... but if I spend multo-dinero on this battery I might as well by a set of run-flats as well...

Man! This is cool and as you say, it this is a simpler system and leaves Toyota's parts more untouced... It would be harder for them to argue that warranty should be void this way.. that said...

I can't wait!

 

I'm still trying to figure out how, as they say, you can completely deplete their battery and then switch to the stock battery if they are wired in parallel... :huh: If they are simply adding capacity to the existing battery, how would you get the software to let you discharge it beyond the 40% or so limit?
Am I missing something?

 

I noticed their Prius has aftermarket rims, likely to accomodate runflats, which seem to be available mostly in larger sizes.

Nate

 

Where'd you see that? I can't find any pictures other than the ones on the "Products" page. Am I missing a link?

 

Seems you can do it with a relay? Run it in parallel until voltage drop the witch it off. Could generate some spikes maybe? Not sure how this works for voltage much beyond 5V (nowadays mostly 1.2V).

 

Wouldn't the computer kick you out of EV mode below 3 bars?

 

I agree too, the more Priui out there, the larger the market. That was a compelling reason for buying the Prius over the HCH2. I'm hoping to see several add-on options like this develop as the next generation of lithium ion batteries (and maybe firefly lead acid) mature and take over this market. Judging by the clean looking install of the HyMotion system, this is starting to look promising. Though I agree that the plugin location is wrong. I don't like it on the hatch. Now, how do we form the priuschat fleet?

 

Ah..thats good to know.... where did you find that?

Anyway.. that is an impressive looking battery bank... it kinda irks me that the ford is given one twice as big do puch that heavy old thing around.......

I wonder what the price difference is between the two?..

I would sure rather have the bigger one?... whats up with that?

If they make it that big... is it just a matter of size and where to put it that causes them to put one less than half the size of the ford's?

Do they figure thats all the prius needs?... Can you ever have toooooo much?

 

Sweet.. way to go 360 guy!..... that sounds like they are building a nice system... I alway thought it was a bit dumb to have to toss your perfectly good battery to go with another technology.... they simply marriage thiers with the prius!... that will make the prius batt last even longer!

Do you have any idea why they choose a smaller batt for the prius instead of the 12.5kwh they are putting in the ford?... did you get price for that?. I bet not... prob wouldn't fit anyway... but I bet I could "make" it fit!

 

I bet thats it... wireed in parallel but switched as needed.

 

The only reason I can see replacing the car is if they raise the speed you can run in EV mode... it really will be hard to utilize the batteries in most terrains and applications without inciting road rage.

People won't like prius drivers holding up the whole lane just because they don't want to have to switch to gas!.... As long as we can go the same speed as others drivers, the hybrid will be accepted....

But if we start limping along too slow, the whole "plug in" idea will again bring fear to the general public and they won't want it and it will get a bad name "again".

 

Yeah, I saw that 55 kph (34 mph) limit for EV also.

I guess only practical experience will tell us what kind of petrol comsumption minimums can be gained with smart driving at higher speeds, despite not being in 'pure' Prius EV mode.

I'm guessing 200 mpgP (mpg of Petrol) in my city driving at 35 - 45 mph is quite doable.

 

I think you will still (like in calcars) see a substantial boost to mpg even if/when you run the gas engine. Calcars seem to indicate 100% and so does these guys. So even if it won't be a pure EV car over 35mph it will still be a very FE car.

 

This looks pretty nice, but 34 mph is not practical for most city driving. Next, if it's not fully-integrated into the HSD system, you lose a good deal of the potential benefit: Wayne Brown has demonstrated that the Prius is much more efficient with added battery capacity. It would be better if this version allowed BOTH plug-in AND total integration, so the HSD would see the full battery capacity.

I think the biggest problem, though, is that if Toyota does something like this on the next major model revision, then HyMotion might only have a couple of years to market this before they're undercut by Toyota itself. I'd consider this mod, but not if I could get the same thing by trading my car in for the Next Prius.

And I would not give up my spare tire. I'd rather give up some rear storage space. But it can't go above the tire because then the tire would be inaccessible. So maybe, as much as I'd like a plug-in, this would not be for me. Run-flat tires might eliminate the need for a spare, but how would they handle on ice and snow? I use top-of-the-line tires (HydroEdge) for safety, and I will absolutely NOT compromise safety.

TOYOTA, IF YOU'RE LISTENING: WE WANT MORE BATTERY ON THE NEXT PRIUS!

 

Put the spare in the passenger or storage area ? I can't see this as a deal breaker.

 

Remember, I was saying that 6 years ago about Prius itself. Now look where we are. Patience. It's well worth it.

This developing aftermarket upgrade is really going to take the industry by storm. New models will be competing with enhanced used models. That's an interesting twist.