The Prius learns some new “PHEV” tricks

Prius software upgrades bring 70+ mph_EV and the 100+mpg_PHEV is finally real!

[FIMG=LEFT]http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Hymotion_PHEV.jpg[/FIMG]Sean Welch and Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - June 11, 2009

Few have been more excited by Prius PHEV conversion possibilities than members of CleanMPG. When we had the chance to drive Toyota’s OEM Prius-II PHEV-6/7 in Detroit two years ago, it was all right there. We drove it, experienced it, wanted it, and knew it was the future...

Conversion companies (including A123System’s Hymotion) were going gangbusters supplying large format Li-Ion batteries with some SW control promising 100+ mpg. The promises were all but a guarantee yet when we finally had the chance to drive an example of the Hymotion conversion at a local MiHG meet, we were underwhelmed. The Prius retained its 34mph EV mode limit and the obnoxious warm-up reappeared anytime coolant temps fell below 159F. We could Warp Stealth at highway speeds without consuming a drop while drawing huge currents and shortened range but for an around town jaunt, the frustrating warm-up hits brought FE down to levels a std. Prius could beat.

Since that time, a 52 mph hack has been developed by a CA. Hybrid repair company. It is triggered by disabling the Fuel Pump... allowing the Prius-II to maintain EV speeds up to 52 mph. This is nothing more than an exploitation of the built in "Out of Fuel" behavior.

Our own Jay Groh purchased an A123Systems/Hymotion conversion and with a rheostat hack is able to force the Prius to believe the coolant temp is always “hot.” This tricks the computer system into foregoing the warm up routine and permits uninterrupted warp stealth and EV driving. He has demonstrated repeatable 200+ mpg commutes with this configuration.

Now however, that magic 100+ mpg has arrived for everybody.

Just a few days ago, the performance of Toyota’s own OEM PHEV was duplicated by a private company. Plug-In Conversions Corporation (PICC), founded in 2007, has done 30 conversions so far, but its business is picking up since it added a software upgrade to the package. PICC CEO Kim Adelman says, “We’ve augmented some of the systems; it’s mostly a software modification.” The result? 25mi AER and the very real possibility of not just 100mpg, but 170mpg tanks! This software modification was developed with the aid of Chicago-based Ewert Energy Systems, and it finally transforms the Prius into the type of PHEV anyone can achieve these numbers in with little effort. The kind that doesn't use the engine at all until its AER has been depleted.

PICC takes out Toyota’s standard 1.3-kilowatt-hour nickel-metal-hydride battery pack, replacing it with a much-bigger 6.1 kilowatt-hour NiMH pack from its partner, Gold Peak Batteries Industries, North America. Gold Peak bought an undisclosed equity stake in Plug-In Conversions late last year.

PICC’s conversion kit (adding 225 pounds) sells for $12,500, including one-day installation. The battery pack is warranted for three years. It “allows a Prius to perform much like the Chevy Volt, but for a much lower cost.” Those are fighting words for General Motors, of course.

The company says it has Argonne National Laboratory treadmill data that proves that, under certain specific drive cycles, it can achieve 170.27 mpg... but PICC says real-world achievement will depend on how you drive the car. “If you drive just 40 miles, you’ll double your mileage in our car. If you go, say, 100 miles, you’ll have 75 miles as a standard Prius and the results won’t be as dramatic.”

Many of us here would be able to drive such a Prius to considerably higher than 170mpg tanks, with most of our driving done in pure electric mode and no gasoline used at all. How does that used Prius listing look now?

We can finally say that the future has arrived, and it looks mighty enticing from here!

 

Bring on the revolution! - Dale

 

Me want....

 

Thanks Sean and Wayne, nice writeup.

Certainly a nice new trick to have. Does the software hack incorporate a coolant hack?

Have you seen a link to the treadmill data or have you seen the data?

Is it similar to OEM PHV hack, i.e. leadfoot reporters can still knock the ICE on.

Have you seen Wh/mile numbers? Blended or not?

Good Luck
Andrew
P.S.
There is video on there site:
http://www.ewertenergy.com/
[flash]http://www.youtube.com/v/QfkvygFJZDk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0[/flash]

Did find something here:http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/eaa-phev/message/3623

Enhanced Electric mode allows the vehicle to operate at speeds of up
to 70mph in electric-only and allows for seamless transitions between
electric-only and electric-dominant modes at any speed. Additionally, it provides
a controlled warmup mode to prevent increased emissions.

Enhanced Hybrid mode allows the vehicle to operate in a mode which
heavily favors the electric system over the gasoline engine. While typical conversions
will only provide up to about 7kW of power, this new system can
provide full electric power (around 25kW) before using the gasoline
engine. This creates the ideal parallel plug-in hybrid, providing full
power for acceleration when needed, but optimizing for best fuel
economy when in charge deplete (PHEV) mode.

Where a converted Prius may have previously achieved only 60-80mpg at highway speeds, a
converted Prius with this latest technology may achieve in excess of
150 mpg. An early prototype of the system was tested at Argonne
National Labs earlier this year and achieved 170mpg on the realistic
standardized highway test (a combination of 55mph and 65mph highway
driving.) For many trips, 200mpg is now possible without the use of EV
mode.During Argonne tests, this system was found to comply
with SULEV/PZEV emissions ratings.

 

The mileage claims for plug-ins need to include electrical usage. Otherwise it's meaningless to claim that a plug-in gets "170mpg" when a substantial part of the drive energy comes from a second source (the electrical grid). And when the "mpg" decreases once one gets beyond the AER range. Logically, this practice is equivalent to trailering a car to the top of a mountain, coasting it down, and claiming "under certain drive cycles it gets infinite mpg!!". In this case. the second energy source is the potential energy from elevation, in lieu of the energy supplied by plugging in the larger battery.

Plug-ins are absolutely wonderful, but unless the electrical energy usage is factored in (preferably the energy used to charge the battery, not the energy supplied from the battery), the mileage claims for plug-ins will lose all meaning in a welter of claims and counter-claims for different scenarios. And potential buyers will just be confused.

Personally, I'd like to see ALL hybrids, even the ones without extended-range batteries, be "plug-in". And have built-in block heaters tied into the charging system, especially for hybrids with smaller batteries that will be using their ICE's more right after startup.

Ultimately it may happen that BEV's will be optimized for shorter-range uses, possibly with battery-swap options for longer range needs. Not having ICE's may help make them cheaper and lighter (which will probably translate into longer range). And present PHEV's may morph into vehicles optimized for longer range usage, as least until gas prices rise so high that they become impractical.

 

That's an awesome video find, Andrew! Thank you!

Good point, John -- though most of us would be just psyched to be able to eliminate gas completely from commuting trips.

 

Hi

About maximum power, using the software hack the max speed requirement (approx 58mph) of the UDDS cycle is covered but the cycle requires a max of 35-40kW of wheel power for one section but most of the power stays at or below 25kW. So except for one section emissions should be vastly improved. Previous PHEVs were also underpowered.

Max power of UDDS, page 9
http://avt.inl.gov/pdf/phev/8_Hillebrand_lab_testing.pdf

Good Luck
Andrew

 

Ok, I think I may need a new keyboard; it seems I've been drooling excessively while watching that video. With my commute and traffic patterns for other driving (errands, etc.), I would almost never need to use gas again.:flag:

 

Your post started me thinking. Actually, all the "equivalent" MPG number from differing fuel sources suffer from this oversight. Ethanol as a fuel has long been criticized on this count. It takes considerable fuel, mostly diesel, to produce a gallon of ethanol. Then, the gallon of ethanol has less energy, which also has to be accounted for.

I suppose that if we took the argument to the extreem, and we probably should if we are interested in environmental impact, we would find a better way to account for all the fossil fuel used in the production of the calories that actually gets consumed driving a car. If so, all of our FE numbers would be much lower, but much more realistic in environmental terms.

 

I just sent an email asking them for pricing information. I'll post any replies as I get them.

 

Surely they are in WS at 70mph? I'd be reluctant to take her up past 62mph & 10k RPMs for the MG without either spinning the ICE or someone convincing the "community" why it is unnecessary.

It's super warp stealth (SWS)!

 

By the time he's all done, Jay's Prius will need to be donated to some auto museum much like Einstein's brain.

 

I wonder if they take payments? I was also wondering about the inverter/MG2 longevity issues.

 

Larry, I wouldn't worry much about longevity at the speeds you drive.

 

The software would be nice but because of the way the Hymotion battery works I would not want to use the software to make a continuous 100+ amp draw off the battery. Especially all the way up to 70mph. The reason is that if you draw more than about 30A the stock battery will start to lose SOC. When the SOC gets lower the fake SOC gets lower. This can go all the way down to %40 and I believe even down to %30 since the Hymotion is still faking the SOC. I have not got it down that far to find out and I don't plan to test it either. The software upgrade would be nice so I would not have to worry about it kicking out of EV through the 35mph and 41mph speeds but I'm not going to pay that much for it. I would pay maybe $100 for it and maybe $500 at the most.

 

You're probably right. I doubt I would ever get much above 55 mph if even that fast.

 

I'd settle for simply the amount of energy going into the vehicle, and figure the costs of generation and delivery separately. The problem with electricity is that there are so many modes of generation, each with different costs.

But as Wayne pointed out, plug-ins would operate in EV mode as much as possible, so mpg numbers for their gasoline usage are essentially meaningless. Short EV-only trips would give essentially infinite "mpg"; longer trips that would drain the plugin charge would give a lower figure. Basically a sliding scale. I think the "150mpg" number for the Volt came from 40 miles of EV followed by some number of miles with the onboard generator running.

Plugins will reduce gas usage tremendously, which is great.

 

These two sections almost contradict each other.

One of my main reasons for cutting fuel usage is to keep us from sending money overseas, so the mpg numbers for gas usage still mean a lot to me.