Update and technical details on my PHEV project

No problem, I completely understand. Please continue with your quest to prove me wrong. If your successful, we all benefit.

 

Hi Navy,

Do you have anything positive to say about PHEV kits?

 

STOP! (well that's my suggestion anyway)

Any sort of subjective comparison about acceleration is, in my direct experience, completely meaningless. One person's sluggish is another person's acceptable. Believe me. I have had experienced riders say "10 second acceleration from 0 to 60 is slow! My ride is much faster than that." and then come back and say "wow, I timed it - I'm at 11 seconds". Seat of the pants is not terribly useful for side-by-side comparisons between people. It's fine for an individual comparing different vehicles.

The only meaningful way of addressing the "is X conversion suitable for real world driving conditions" is to get some DATA. I plan on gathering before and after acceleration data for my conversion. That should help answer the question. Personally I'd classify a stock Prius as pretty damn sluggish anyway (but that speaks to other vehicles I've owned and driven and my history of way too many speeding tickets).

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

That's the plan!

 

Gosh, that's practically challenging me to try!

It wouldn't be any more work (and probably slightly less work) than any other type of gas to electric conversion. Check out EVAlbum.com for lots and lots and LOTS of folks who have converted gas to electric. I didn't find any converted EV only Prii though (only plug-ins)

Remember that the course that flaninacupboard is suggesting (and I think sounds interesting) is replacing the ICE with another (i.e. a third) electric motor. This motor would have it's own controller and power source. I think it's an interesting idea (but not one I really intend to pursue).

pEEf I presume you were thinking we were suggesting trying to run with the existing power electronics - but that's not the intent (well it wasn't my intent but I'm making assumptions about flaninacupboard's intent)

 

I think the Prius has plusses for EV conversion with the most significant being a low Cd. Converting any vehicle to pure EV is a challenge and has to be a labor of love. There are always ways to save money in the short run that usually result in more money spent in the long run.

To me, this discussion illustrates the complexities of making an EV, that people want to drive, at an affordable price.

It is a tall order.

 

Right, none of this is about saving money. If I wanted to save money I'd sell my car.

Converting a Prius to a BEV is something I'm not particularly interested in - but as a thought experiment I still think it has merit as a more interesting platform for a conversion.

Converting a Prius to a PHEV is what I'm doing and I still think that this approach is viable from both a technical and a financial point of view.

 

In Australia the Nissan Leaf just started selling this July for about $50k. For me it is not an option. So converting a 2nd Gen Prius to EV route is still a way cheaper option at the moment in Australia. I cannot comment for USA but how much are they asking for those silly deals on a 2012 Leaf in the USA.

Everybody needs a hobby.

 

I would like to have more tech-specs on this range extender. It seems like a fantastic idea.
regards.
Walter

 

yes, wouldn't we all. unfortunately, peer has moved on many moons ago.

 

You can find info about it on the mynissanleaf forums.

Basically the Leaf can only charge when the car is parked and off using the normal built in charger. If you want to charge on the go, you need to tap directly into the battery, and even then you can pretty much only do 30KW (regeneration maximum). But 30KW is a great boost. Good enough for long hauls.

I find it more and more of a moot point since the EV charging infrastructure is popping up. I just did a day drive with the Leaf of about 150miles. Drove from home base to a quick charger upon entry of the next city. Charged for about 10 minutes and was up in the 90% charge. Drove around the town going to plays, restaurants, shops, parks, that sort of thing. Stopped by the same charger on the way out for 5minutes to top up back to 92%. Then I drove home and plugged in at home like normal.

 

Too bad if we cannot findout more about this solution. There are simular projects going on in Europe, but are not commercialized.

 

no, nothing commercial here either, but i could see it coming in the future.

 

Hi! Brand new member here. I was wondering if you could provide a "simple" step-by-step instruction guide for how do replicate this? I am looking to perform this mod on my 2011 Prius if possible, but I want to make sure I do everything properly and safely.

Thanks! Awesome work pEEf!

 

It's a "if you have to ask, don't do it" scenario.

Also your 2011 is a GenIII and the HV Battery ECU is combined with the Hyrbid ECU making this not possible without reverse engineering the combined module which is even more difficult.

And then the question becomes why? The Prius was a great toy for EV conversion when nobody made a consumer level EV. That's not close to true anymore, and you can buy a used Leaf with more power and range for less than what you'd pay for just the batteries to convert a Prius. It is just not worth it anymore.

 

welcome! you can contact peef at 'mynissanleaf.com' he is out of the prius business, but i'm sure will be happy to guide your project. all the best!

 

perhaps read the above.

 

how's this working out for you?