Enginer PHEV Test Pilots: Mpg reports and important data

Thanks for the response -- it sounds like all Toyota has to do is increase the size of the OEM battery by a factor of 2 or 3 ( and the corresponding increase in springs and shocks, etc) and then with the addition of the Enginer pack, we're getting pretty close to a true plug-in all EV for under 10 mile trips at low speed. I'll be keeping an eye on future posts for the great info therein. :wave:

 

So, time for another update.

Remember back during the Summer when I had a defective Enginer kit? Well, lets put it straight, 3 defective DC/DC converters. I was given 4 sets of the 12V LiFePo4 Thundersky batteries as a token of appreciation for helping out with the testing and development of the kit.

Well.. I've just been busy until last Thursday. I decided to throw the 4 sets(16 3.2v 40ah cells) into the spare tire area. These batteries are wired in parallel with the existing 4kwh Mottcell kit(Yes, I know the Mottcells are at 39AH, where as the Thunderskys sit at 40AH.. It doesn't really matter as long as you keep an eye on the voltages of the Mottcell cells).

I don't have any pictures.. but I'm just here to post the results:

Battery Chemistry: LiFePo4
Total WH: 6195.2 Watt/hrs
Charging time: ~6 hours
PHEV Range: ~75 Miles
My MPG Average for my 74 mile commute: 74 MPG

How does this compare with my Plug-in Supply kit(2008 from January to June)?

Battery Chemistry: Sealed Lead Acid
Total WH: 4800 Watt/hrs(2100 W/hr usable)
Charging time: ~4.5 hours
PHEV Range: ~25 Miles
My MPG Average for my 74 mile commute: 71 MPG(For first 3 months), 69 MPG(for the next 3)

Well, I'm finally satisfied with my results. 74 MPG for many years to come? We'll see what the results are in a few weeks...

 

This may have been answered somewhere else, but why would you get the Enginer kit if you already had the Plug-In Supply kit? Did something go wrong with it?

Also, what seems to be very interesting is that even with really just 2kwh of power from the Plug-In Supply kit you were getting almost the same milage as with now 6kwh of power from the Enginer kit. What was the milage with the Enginer kit when it was just the 2kwh kit?

 

It was already answered in a previous thread, but, it's here anyway:

I didn't want to replace my lead acid batteries every so often.. Also, the kit was rediculously heavy(I even had the rear shocks upgraded, but it really impacted my vehicle's performace when accelerating up hills). I wanted to move to a lithium kit, but to do that with the Plug-in Supply kit, it would have cost me about 6k to do. Oh, the support wasn't so great either.. All of this made me switch to a LiFePo4 kit.

I wouldn't say it's 2 kwh of power. It's really 5, but Peukert's law really screws things up. When you charge the batteries, you really pull 5 kwh from the grid.

To put it into perspective, the Enginer kit works EXACTLY THE SAME/OUTPERFORMS as the Plug-in Supply kit on long range trips utilizing a highway.

To me, this is a deal breaker for the Plug-in Supply conversion and a deal maker for the Enginer conversion. I rarely do city driving as my commute to school is all highway at 60+ MPH speeds.

Oh, also, here's an additional MPG result:

My MPG Average for my 78 mile trip: 72.3 MPG

 

Well, I did some EVing today around town as I had no school due to the holiday

I fired up both converters the second I left my driveway and proceeded onto the rest of my trip. Well, half way through the trip, the red triangle of death triggered and I was booted out of "Ready" mode.

The DTC was: P0A90

I pulled over, rebooted the car and cleared the error code. Before I rebooted, my SOC was about 77%.. After I rebooted, the SOC was at 59%.

I cleared the code and went on my way in EV.

Any ideas what just happened? This is the FIRST time that I have ever received the error code while EVing..

Oh, I'm sure someone wants to see the MPG data:

I drove 21 miles in EV.. I had PLENTY of juice left for at least another 5-10 miles.

Max Speed: 44 MPH
Average Speed: 32 MPH

 

After 1 month of having the Enginer kit our average mileage improved from 50 mpg to 67 mpg or an increase of 34%. I think we can do better with more practice. It's too bad we have hills everywhere.

 

What size KV kit do you have?
Thanks

 

4kW like the ones being sold now.

 

Sorry, meant KW -- did you install it yourself or have them do it? And do you think that the size you got is the best bang for the buck vs the 2 , 6 or 8 KW?
Thanks in advance
Jim

 

I should have said 4kWh. Anyway, I think the more cells the better the value, unless you don't drive very far each day of course. But I personally wouldn't go higher than 4kWh if that meant I would loose some trunk space above the carpet deck.

 

I have 6kWh of batteries in my car.. The additional 2 kWh are hiding under the 4 kWh enclosure. I still have 100% of my trunk space

 

Neat. Do you have 2 converters? if so where is the 2nd one?

 

Right on top of the first one, held down using long shoulder bolts.

 

And your metal case still closes eh? 2 converters must add a lot of juice the system.

Do you have a pic of shoulder bolts?

R

 

It closes with room to spare

I don't have a picture with it actually bolted in(Someone stole my pretty Nikon D90 ), but I do have the original fitting pictures..

These pics are PRE 6kWh.

BTW, having 2 DC/DC converters and my additional 2kWh of Thundersky batteries, I'm able to do PURE EV, I don't even have to take it easy! I tested it with an average MPH of 30 to 34 MPH using forced EV mode. I even accelerated up to 44 MPH(45 was the street speed limit)!

 

Sweet indeed. Do you have two extra balancers too? and is that the newer metal case with the fan?

 

Yeah, the 2 balancers are visible if you look straight down on the car (TOP view).

As for the metal case with the fan, it's not the new case revision. My additional fan and mounting influenced the updated revision

 

I might try a second converter some day. I hope I can lay the 2nd on the first like you did. I have the new case. I hope it is the same depth. I also wouldn't mind 2 more kWh.

Even now I sometimes accelerate in EV (I have a coastal ev mod). Sometimes I get away with it without too much drainage of the stock battery. A 2nd converter would make it much more likely.

I've also heard that Jack might provide a better converter next year.

 

Jack has designed an improved DC/DC converter. The updated stock will come soon from the factory soon.

Which DC/DC converter do you have? Does it have an inline fuse on the end of the HV output wires? If so, you most likely have the most up-to-date DC/DC converter. This revision of the DC/DC converter is protected from lots of factors that destroyed/damaged older DC/DC converters.

 

Yes, mine has the in-line fuse so it's the best one right now. He hinted to me that a higher amperage output converter is in the works.

BTW does anyone ever hear their converter make a sizzling sound?