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Enginer PHEV Test Pilots: Mpg reports and important data

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by plugmein2, Aug 17, 2009.

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  1. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    This thread is dedicated to MPG reports from already installed Enginer PHEV conversions. (Test Pilots) Please share trip data, observations, and pertinent info about the daily use of your Enginer Pack. Lots of other people considering purchasing the Enginer PHEV kit would like to know.

    JOANNA
     
    #1 plugmein2, Aug 17, 2009
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  2. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    8/17/09

    I took a test drive in the city this morning about 8 miles with the Enginer kit running. I was able to stay in EV mode about 90% of the time because at traffic lights I could "recharge" the traction battery. My kit is still in the "break-in" stage, I have been unable to completely charge or discharge the batteries like I would like. However, because the ICE came on only a few times, I got 91 mpg for the overall 8 miles, all of which were below 34 mph. After the 8th mile, one of my balancers began to "beep" so I shut off the system, came home and plugged in.:)

    JOANNA
     
    #2 plugmein2, Aug 17, 2009
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  3. dschur

    dschur New Member

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    Joanna, this sounds very promising (for my short commute - 5 miles each way in suburban traffic, which I will be test piloting a 2kWh pack in my 2010 Gen 3).

    If I can ask, did Your Prius go through the warmup cycle, or was the engine already warm?

    My main hope with the kit is to spend a lot more tome with high SOC on the stock battery and be able to leverage EV a good bit more.

    91MPG - wow. I would hope to get only 75 for my driving.
     
    #3 dschur, Aug 17, 2009
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  4. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    I have learned that it is a good idea to turn the car on, let it warm up with the ICE, and start the Enginer pack about 5 min before your trip. What this does is give you a good charge on the stock battery before you leave the house (at least 75%). Put the car in EV and off you go. I try to stay in EV as much as possible (under 34 mph). If I do get kicked out of EV, I use the regen to charge and then back into EV when coming to a stop light. I have also noticed that if the ICE is running, switching to EV turns off the ICE instantly.

    The Enginer pack was described to me this way. "We try to assist the OEM battery with the trickle of a garden hose, not the gush fire hose." This protects the OEM from being "overcharged". With this in mind, it is a good idea to use the regen to "assist" Enginer to help keep the OEM battery charged at a higher SOC.

    I believe if you use the techniques I have described, you will be able to achieve 100mpg on your commutes.

    JOANNA
     
    #4 plugmein2, Aug 17, 2009
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  5. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    Test Drive #2

    Okay, I drove all city in EV mode for 25 min averaging between 25-33mph. ICE only came on twice for 1 min each to charge. Went 10 miles before the battery balancer "beeped". Shut down system then went home. Average mpg 99.9:D

    No problems to report. BTW my system has not been fully charged yet because of "break-in period".:)

    JOANNA
     
    #5 plugmein2, Aug 18, 2009
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  6. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Joanna,

    Are you resetting your mpg meter after your warm-up period ?
     
    #6 SageBrush, Aug 18, 2009
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  7. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    I set the mpg meter for the "official test" the moment I put the car in drive and leave the house. For just normal driving, I usually don't mess with it. My next test will be highway.

    JOANNA
     
    #7 plugmein2, Aug 18, 2009
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  8. krousdb

    krousdb NX-74205

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    But before setting the mpg meter for the "official test", do you warm you the car or does the "official test" start with a cold engine?
     
    #8 krousdb, Aug 18, 2009
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  9. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Joanna,

    I suggest starting the mpg meter the moment you start the car. Skipping the warm-up period will lead to gamed results. I'm pretty sure you will find that warm-ups are detrimental to overall fuel economy.
     
    #9 SageBrush, Aug 18, 2009
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  10. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    I'm not a laboratory testing facility. I don't want to over complicate my personal experience with the kit. I just want to share the results I have had. So far, it has performed as well as I had hoped.:)

    I'm not sure how much of an impact a cold start test would have made. I will do a cold start test tomorrow and give the results if you think that will make a difference, frankly I dont think it will with in city EV mode.

    JOANNA
     
    #10 plugmein2, Aug 18, 2009
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  11. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    Initially, I start the car, the engine comes on for about one minute and then shuts off. I then wait 5-10 min for the Enginer kit to charge the SOC up to at least 75%. Once that is done, I press the reset button and leave the house.

    JOANNA
     
    #11 plugmein2, Aug 18, 2009
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  12. boxer93

    boxer93 Psyched for PHEV

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    I know with the Hymotion Pack starting with a cold ICE and getting it to operating temperature, for me, burns .02-.03 gallons of gasoline more than starting with a EBH warmed ICE. My scanguage MPG will vary from 130-200+MPG (warm) to 90-130MPG (cold). I know you can't do it with the MFD, I'd be curious how much fuel is burned during your test.
    Thanks
    Chris
     
    #12 boxer93, Aug 18, 2009
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  13. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    FWIW, I had a long post which made a few assumptions where I calculated how much fuel warmup burns in a theoretical situation (but didn't post it) and came up with 0.03 gallons to warm up as well. So your 0.02-0.03 looks good to me! :D
     
    #13 drees, Aug 18, 2009
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  14. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    Thank you for that info. (.02-.03 gallons) Yes, there is no way of knowing how much fuel is used for the warm up with the Enginer Kit. I know the Hymotion has a computer to tell you these things, whereas, the Enginer doesn't, hence the price. My ultimate goal was to get to 99.9 on the meter for the duration of the trip. I was able to do that. Maybe I should purchase a scanguage?

    JOANNA
     
    #14 plugmein2, Aug 18, 2009
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  15. krousdb

    krousdb NX-74205

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    Joanna,
    If that is your procedure than your test data is not valid. You can't exclude the fuel that was used to warm up the engine. People are looking for real world mileage data. Please report your data with cold start. Also, please provide more context. For example, had you taken that trip without the PHEV kit, what would you have gotten?
     
    #15 krousdb, Aug 18, 2009
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  16. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    8/18/09

    Test drive #3 Highway:

    Went 20 miles with Enginer 2kw kit engaged, set cruise control and reset button at 64mph on fairly flat Highway. Avg mpg on display 70.3. My previous highway before the kit was between 48-50 mpg. That is an improvement of 70%!

    After the test, I still had more battery power and could have gone farther but decided to stop at 20 miles. I am very happy with the results so far.:)

    My next test will be highway at 60mph using the exact same route.

    JOANNA
     
    #16 plugmein2, Aug 19, 2009
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  17. krousdb

    krousdb NX-74205

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    Joanna,
    My math may be wrong but 70/49 = 143% which is a 43% improvement, not 70%. Did you actually go 20 miles without the kit turned on to use for comparison or did you go from memory? There are many variables that can effect the results. Temperature, wind speed and direction come into play. Also A/C use.

    70.3 is definately an improvement for 64 MPH on the highway but I am concerned about the 48-50 MPG comparison. When I drive 64MPH on a flat highway on a calm day (no wind) I average 54-56 MPG. For me, 70/55 would be only a 27% improvement. Good, but not the 40-100% that was advertized. Can you tell me what the temperature was outside and what you have the A/C set to?
     
    #17 krousdb, Aug 19, 2009
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  18. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    The 48-50 mpg was by memory. I just had bought my Prius about a month ago. Before my Enginer kit, I was under the impression the Prius would get 50-60 mpg. After driving it a while, this was not the case for me. I was a little disappointed that I was hovering around the 50 mpg mark instead of the 60. Yes, I divided the 50 mpg by the 70 to get a %. I've never been good at %'s. Thank's for the correction.:)

    JOANNA
     
    #18 plugmein2, Aug 19, 2009
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  19. plugmein2

    plugmein2 New Member

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    Test #4 - Highway 55mph

    Drove the same route as before. Set cruise at 55mph. Drove 20 miles. Average mpg was 78.2 mpg. This is an 8mpg increase over 64mph. The slower you go the more mileage you get.

    JOANNA
     
    #19 plugmein2, Aug 20, 2009
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  20. krousdb

    krousdb NX-74205

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    When I drive 55, I usually get about 65 MPG. So 78 MPG would be a 20% improvement for me. Do you have the 2kwh or 4kwh kit? Did you run out at 20 miles or did you have some juice left? In addition to the mileage numbers, people want to know how long it lasts. Also, when fuly charged, what is your cell voltage?

    Other questions that come to mind are..
    What was the temperature outside?
    Did you have a head wind, tail wind or cross wind?
    What was the wind speed?
    Did you have A/C on? At what temp setting?

    The answers to all of these questions can make a big difference to your results. For example, if you told me that you had a 10 mph headwind, it was 100 degrees out and you had your AC set to 72, then I would say WOW! 78 MPG would be a 42% improvement, not just a 20% improvement. Yes, wind and AC use can make a huge difference.
     
    #20 krousdb, Aug 20, 2009
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