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Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Simon the Frenchie, Dec 11, 2012.

  1. Simon the Frenchie

    Simon the Frenchie New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi everyone,
    First of all; presentation! Who am I? And why do I speak so weird?
    As my name says it I'm French and I take it as a big enough excuse for the way I speak.:)
    I'm seriously interested by EV for the last 2-3 years, and have been searching a lot on internet about how to convert a gas car to electric power. Study quite a bit by internet searching, forum, video... 21st century study I mean. So my project become to have a electric car as a first car, did I forgot to say I'm 21? yeah maybe I did, but in France having a electric car means "buy a brand new electric car with renting battery and bad range". No way in France to convert your car, you'll be illegal, couldn't register and insure it.
    But, because there is always a "but", extend battery pack from a prius isn't illegal, enough for me to change my plan to prius battery extension.
    Ok presentation more or less done, I already see some of you getting bored, don't worry here comes the challenge;
    I haven't bought my prius yet, should be done on January and be a 2006 model (European model so Ev mode button present).
    I want to put a good amount of kw in my trunk, during my research for ev converting I found the best price/Kw at Balqon.com. Those are LiFePo4 cells from Winston. Trustable website improved by several users of diyelectriccar.com where I'm also active as the same name I'm here.
    Because I can get 10Kw from them way cheaper as from a already made kit I wanted to make a homemade kit.
    For hacking the prius ev speed limit I can get Hybrid Energy Manager from Ewert Energy for 70mph electric mode and about 400-500$.
    Here are missing some parts; converter, controller, charger and all the techniques that I'm more or less ignorant about!
    Did anyone made is own kit? Is it worth doing it?
    Hum... I think I got it all... Oooh I forgot, I would like to do it first on my own futur-prius and then depending how it works making it my permanent job!
    Thanks for all the ones that read it all, hear from you!
    Simon
     
    #1 Simon the Frenchie, Dec 11, 2012
  2. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2012
    1,880
    710
    75
    Location:
    Carrollton, Texas
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Hi Simon and Welcome to PC! Curious about the range (distance) you might have with the higher EV speed?
     
    #2 Justdidit, Dec 11, 2012
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,129
    50,046
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    bienvenue simon, there are plenty of threads here discussing ev conversions. all the best with your project!
     
    #3 bisco, Dec 11, 2012
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
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    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Salutations!
    Bienvenue sur Priuschat.
    Pas besoin de vous excuser pour votre anglais, car il est beaucoup mieux que mon français! En fait ... j'ai dû utiliser Google Translate pour en arriver là, depuis mon lycée français est seulement bon pour localiser les toilettes.

    Bonne chance!
     
    #4 ETC(SS), Dec 11, 2012
  5. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2010
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    Location:
    Gettysburg, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Welcome to Prius Chat!
     
    #5 Daves09prius, Dec 20, 2012
  6. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2011
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    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Converting the Prius as you depict is not a good idea. The Prius is not a good candidate for EV conversion for many reasons.
    1) It is designed as a gasoline (primary) car with electric assist. It is for this reason that the electric motors do not have enough power to safely propel the car. With electric mode only, the car is really underpowered and not safe to drive on the streets
    2) The Prius has advanced, high-tech monitoring systems (called ECU's) that all work together to make this engineering marvel work. Adding more battery capacity requires modifying what one ECU sees which causes multiple problems with other ECU's.

    There are other numerous reasons why the Prius shouldn't be converted unless you're going to gut the HSD and add an electric drive system that can handle the requirements. The stock Prius electrical system cannot handle the requirements on its own. It needs the gas engine and the gas engine needs the electrical system. They have a symbiotic relationship.
     
    #6 usnavystgc, Dec 28, 2012
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