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My official Prius Plus mods thread.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Cheap!, Nov 29, 2006.

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  1. mhollis

    mhollis New Member

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    OK, I just looked at the KQED story on the Cal-Cars Plug-in Hybrids. What totally blew my mind here is political in nature. The Clinton Administration made an agreement with the American car manufacturers to offer a vehicle that would get 80 miles to the gallon using hybrid technology in the 1990s. The end result of this was the Toyota Prius because Toyota looked at this agreement and decided to invest in the technology.

    The American car manufacturers initially agreed to the deal and then walked away from it. Their explanation is typically weak: "It will cost too much money and the consumer won't want to pay for it." (They used precisely this same argument to fight airbags.) Now, the American manufacturers are being outsold by the foreign car makers who, incidentally, have moved a lot of production to America, where they can outperform Ford, GM and Chrysler and not have to wait for delivery across an ocean.

    Had "The Big Three" actually invested time and resources into producing an 80 MPG automobile as they had initially agreed to do back in the 1990s, they'd have hybrid vehicles (and probably at least a second generation of them by now) today. And they'd have a much greater US (and world) market share today. And they'd not be laying off thousands of American workers. And Daimler-Benz would not have had to pay to "sell" off Chrysler.

    I don't mean to offend anyone here by bringing up the political implications of this, but America's future and the world's future is in the direction of less consumption of non-renewable resources, not more. The Prius is a step in the right direction. Further modification of the Prius towards more EV is another step. It would seem that one political party in the US seems to "get it," that these steps are necessary for the future of this country. The other political party, along with the American automakers and the oil companies not only denies the necessity but is active in generating excuses, like: "Global warming is not proven science," (Yeah? Just ask any scientist not working for a Republican think tank or Big Oil or Bit Coal.) "Consumers aren't ready for hybrid vehicles," (Really? Why is Toyota increasing production on the Prius?) "Consumers aren't interested in plug-in hybrid vehicles," (Are you sure? How many kits has Cal-Cars sold and how many modders are out there?).

    My thanks to Cheap! for detailing the conversion process he's doing here, as well as pointing to the excellent KQED story.
     
    #121 mhollis, May 22, 2007
  2. sub3marathonman

    sub3marathonman Active Member

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    Congratulations!!!! It looks spectacular and very professional.

    I had a couple of questions. What is the "Maker Fair?" Was the group installing these components a company and being paid, or volunteers helping you?

    And are you going to challenge mrbigh to a race now?
     
    #122 sub3marathonman, May 22, 2007
  3. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mhollis @ May 22 2007, 09:37 AM) [snapback]447298[/snapback]</div>
    I love this part.... :D
    I am a Republican!
    I'm not offended. Like most republicans I believe my taxes are too high and that I have too little control over how my tax dollars are spent. However, I have to live here too.
    Do I believe Global Warming is real? Yes.
    Do I think Mankind is the main cause of it? Not to sure on that one.
    Do I want to live in smog? No!
    If we can do it cleaner for the about the same price, why not? Clean air and water is not a political issue, it is a necessity for all of us.
    What about lack of tax revenue when we all drive EV’s and no one is buying gas? Do you think for one moment our government will let us get away without paying tax? Don’t worry about that, I’m sure they can figure something out. Like a sunshine, rain, or wind tax. :rolleyes:

    Calcars has not sold any “kits.†They are a not-for-profit that believes, PHEV’s can help stop Global Warming, and help our National Security by reducing the amount of foreign oil we need to buy. I want our country to be free from buying foreign oil too.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sub3marathonman @ May 22 2007, 09:43 AM) [snapback]447302[/snapback]</div>
    Maker Faire is from a Make Magazine. It is for people who “Make†stuff. If you make stuff you are a “Maker,†and this is a “Faire†for you. To be honest it was a lot of fun. You should go see the videos already on Google, there are a few pages of them.
    http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22M...o=1&start=0

    A race with mrbigh? We should have an annual Prius Race. Four people in the car, and how far can you go on 10 gallons of gas. You have to use the car to sleep in too. We could start on Long Island and work our way towards California. I can see it now 50 cars all traveling Pulse and Gliding across the country in order to get 1200 to 1500 miles per tank.
    I know, winner gets a free tank of gas.

    The plug that I installed into my bumper was found by Chris and he was nice enough to bring it to San Francisco with him. I still owe him for that, I’ll take care of paying him. However, the package it came in is with my car so I will have that information for you next week.

    The build team was made up of volunteers along with help from Calcars. Even though I have not even gotten my car back from California yet, I have already been thinking about what I can do to help this movement of “We are going to use our money to keep putting plugs on, and using less oil, until the first company that actually starts selling cars with plugs on them will get our money.â€

    So…There is another Maker Faire in Austin later this year. If I can find someone who wants and has the money to do this conversion, I’ll put together a build team from Calcars here in Texas and we can convert your car as a demonstration. Who knows maybe two cars during that weekend? Calcars can’t provide the money but they can provide knowledge and manpower through others who want to learn how to do this like I did last November. I would prefer someone who already has a Can-View but that is not necessary since you would have to foot the bill anyway. If you are interested let me know and I will do my best to talk you out of doing it. Then if you still want to move forward you could have a PHEV by the end of the year. B)

    More on my conversion later.
     
    #123 Cheap!, May 22, 2007
  4. sub3marathonman

    sub3marathonman Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ May 22 2007, 01:09 PM) [snapback]447359[/snapback]</div>
    Hey, I'd be interested. I don't know if you could talk me out of doing it though Cheap!, you're the one who has just about talked me into doing it. :D
     
    #124 sub3marathonman, May 22, 2007
  5. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sub3marathonman @ May 22 2007, 12:07 PM) [snapback]447386[/snapback]</div>
    I was going to say you would lose money by doing this conversion because you have to buy another set of batteries in two years. However, I just did some more calculations at using the price of gas I paid this morning...$3.00 per gallon. It now looks as though if gas prices stay at $3.00 you would save enough in two years over the regular stock Prius to pay for your replacement batteries and then some to help pay for your investment in the conversion.

    Do you have a Can-View now? Where do you live? If you don't want to post that, just PM me if you want to look into having your car done at the Austin Maker Faire Oct. 20 & 21, 2007 Travis county Fairgrounds. Just in time to bring your Turkey or Tofo-urkey home from the store on solar or wind energy alone. :D I'm thinking you will want $4000.00 just to be sure, but we will try and work on brining that down using recycled parts if you like.

    By the time November comes around you should have several months of MPG data from my car to help you make this decision. The way I approached it, it was a hobby and I had a great time doing this conversion. Anything I purchased I could sell again on EBay if I did not go through with the conversion. On that note, the vents under the spare tire are not needed anymore as we now hook through the car’s vent system, so you still get to keep your tow hitch... :eek:
     
    #125 Cheap!, May 22, 2007
  6. ilusnforc

    ilusnforc Member

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    I would love to jump in and have my Prius converted to a PHEV, I just don't know that I'm ready to start hacking away into my new (year old now) Prius though. It sounds like it would make sense to do it, I'll have to work out the math and see if it does add up like you say. I drive about 18-20 miles to work 5 days a week so thats probably at least 250 miles/week and would you say fuel consumption is reduced by about 25%? If the lifespan of the batteries would be about two years and it would be able to pay for itself in that time, I just might be interested enough to do the conversion and Austin is just a few miles up the road. I'll definately put some thought into it.

    Thanks for keeping us up to date with a step-by-step on your conversion, it's a big learning curve. Oh yeah, I just got my OEM EV-button, I put it in the dash already but haven't torn into the car enough to get the wiring done. I'm still checking to see if anyone is selling the correct pin to use in the HV-ECU rather than scavenging one from the turn signals or using the one supplied by sigma.
     
    #126 ilusnforc, May 22, 2007
  7. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    You can just grab a free pin in your turn signal. Just three screws to remove to get at it and it is not hard. The instructions to do a free/almost free EV mod are here.

    http://www.calcars.org/prius-evbutton-install.pdf

    I started with this mod and then purchased a pushbutton for $1.50 at Radio Shack. Now I have a real one on the way from Sigma.

    It is very easy to get that unused pin out just use a paper clip or needle.

    As with any mod take your time.
     
    #127 Cheap!, May 22, 2007
  8. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    Calm before the storm!

    Here are just a few pictures of setting up for the faire.

    [attachmentid=8265]

    [attachmentid=8266]

    [attachmentid=8267]
     

    Attached Files:

    #128 Cheap!, May 23, 2007
  9. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    The Storm

    [attachmentid=8301]

    [attachmentid=8302]

    [attachmentid=8303]

    [attachmentid=8305]

    I'll add some more later.
     

    Attached Files:

    #129 Cheap!, May 24, 2007
  10. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    Thanks for the pics, looking forward to more.

    What was being done to the Saab next to your car?

    Jeff
     
    #130 San_Carlos_Jeff, May 24, 2007
  11. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    No, I think it was just bringing things for Radio Shack's display. The Maker Faire was an amazing event. I wish I could have gone and seen it all.
     
    #131 Cheap!, May 24, 2007
  12. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    #132 Cheap!, May 24, 2007
  13. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    It's a pack!

    There were lots of interested people all day, both days. :D
    [attachmentid=8317]

    Everything is going back together and the batteries are waiting. :)
    [attachmentid=8318]

    One final check. :eek:
    [attachmentid=8319]

    The box is in and I can keep my spare. The box has gas shocks that help lift it and keep it up. :blink:
    [attachmentid=8320]

    Last of the Batteries are going in. B)
    [attachmentid=8321]
     

    Attached Files:

    #133 Cheap!, May 25, 2007
  14. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Looks a very organized event at the CalCars booth but I have a comment, will those 2 little shock hold upright 260 Lbs of batteries, batt cage/enclosure and skeleton? Mmmmm.... I think that you will have to brace that structure by other mechanical brace if you don't want to loose a hand or an arm.

    Look forward to next sequence of events photographs.
     
    #134 mrbigh, May 25, 2007
  15. Stepclimb

    Stepclimb Junior Member

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    I also live in San Antonio and would be interested in doing the mod in Austin in Oct. I've just ordered the Lilliput monitor and was wondering what version of the Canview V4 you ordered. From the hybridinterfaces site, the prices were $299 for V4 and $449 for V4 plug-in. Which one did you order?

    Thanks for all the details of your mod!
     
    #135 Stepclimb, May 26, 2007
  16. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stepclimb @ May 26 2007, 10:24 PM) [snapback]450618[/snapback]</div>
    Its obvious that if you want to have your vehicle modified to PHEV in the near future, the CANview should be V4 plug-in version fully compatible with the standard operation until then. You do not want to open the box to insert an add on module with relays and reflash the CPU to make it compatible. Take the easy and secure way.
     
    #136 mrbigh, May 26, 2007
  17. dmckinstry

    dmckinstry New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mrbigh @ May 26 2007, 08:48 PM) [snapback]450649[/snapback]</div>
    Definitely. I opted for the relay version of the V3. I have an '05. After getting it, I did order the USB programming cable and have reflashed it to have the mpg (each mile) graph. I can change back to the relay version when I get around to installing batteries. Hopefully that will be some time in '08.

    Dave M.
     
    #137 dmckinstry, May 27, 2007
  18. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    On The Road Home

    Silent in the Woods
    [attachmentid=8419]

    I can Breath
    [attachmentid=8420]

    INYO Forest
    [attachmentid=8421]

    Another Dam Picture (Hoover Dam)
    [attachmentid=8422]

    Get your Kicks!
    [attachmentid=8423]

    Welcome Home (Only another 700 miles down I-10 that is.)
    [attachmentid=8424]

    More sleep. More Work. Then more details about the system.
     

    Attached Files:

    #138 Cheap!, May 29, 2007
  19. Winston

    Winston Member

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    Have you calculated how much electricity it takes to charge the batteries? I was wondering the what the cost is for those first 20-30 miles. What do you pay per Kw in Texas?
     
    #139 Winston, May 30, 2007
  20. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Winston @ May 30 2007, 06:14 PM) [snapback]452371[/snapback]</div>
    Right now I pay 15 cents per KW. I plan to use solar panel on the roof of my home by the end of summer. It takes about 4 to 5 KW to refill so that is 60 to 75 cents. However I would be using gas at the same time too.

    If I stay under 34mph during the weekends, and I will, I can travel 10 to 15 miles on pure EV mode and use no gas at all. So that is about 4 cents to 7.5 cents per mile. However since I already own some panels that are paid for, once I hook them up the power will be free.

    The whole point for me is to be off of foreign oil even if I have to pay more. For me it is about national security.

    Payback time frame:

    Pay back happens every time I plug in to the wall. I’ll remember 9/11 every time I do.
     
    #140 Cheap!, May 30, 2007
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