[todayican]

Ok, I am far from electrically competent, and it IS a brand new 23k car...
But I have an uncontrollable urge to change thing around and tweak the damn thing till its getting triple digits at the pump :-)

I have a lot of aero goodies I want to build, wheel enclosures, grill block, boat tail etc, but my question for the folks here is this:

What exactly would one need to conquer in order to add a "second string" of batteries, I am thinking ts-60s and a charger that would charge either the second string, or the whole pack from the wall?

[Ziggythewiz]

Isn't the goal to not spend triple digits at the pump?

It's rediculously easy with electric.

What's your goal exactly? Save money? The environment? Neither of those call for buying a new car. At least get an old Prius to modify...

[todayican]

Ive been interested in hybrids for a while now as well as building 2 super high mpg trikes from scratch, they just take so damn long to complete :-(

I live about 40 miles from "civilization" in either direction so any practical ev is going to need a 100 mile range to work for me, also, I put a LOT of miles on my cars.

The Prius c is only 6 weeks old and has almost 5k miles on it already for example...

I personally am interested in saving money mainly while still driving a new car, and also, the various parts will likely become a "mpg kit" for the prius c. I am an entrepreneur and it hasn't escaped me or my partner that the Prius c is currently selling like hotcakes, dealers cant keep them on lots and some (not mine) are commanding 8k premiums over list.

And this is for a car, take it from me, people are clearly not buying for its roominess or acceleration, so me thinks an "aero kit" and a "battery kit" might be a good part time venture :-)

[Ziggythewiz]

The more miles you put on em the more you can save with electric. That 100 mile range you need can be had for half the price of the C.

About the aero kit, have you looked at ecomodder much? I don't know what the market is for those mods, but from what I've seen it seems like most people who are willing to go that overboard are fairly few in numbers and probably enjoy the build at least as much as the results.

As for a phev conversion kit, have you looked to see what's out there? I know there are several kit vendors, even Toyota has done factory plugin conversions for years.

[Wild]

You are asking to double the rated fuel economy rating of the Prius C. The only way that will happen is to add battery capacity, modify the computer and rely on electric power as much as possible. The hardest part will be installing the extra batteries and charger.

[todayican]

I agree on that one. Although there are guys out there doubling the epa ratings with aero mods alone..

My questions are mainly how to build an extra battery and charger right to make the car a PHEV.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by todayican

I agree on that one. Although there are guys out there doubling the epa ratings with aero mods alone..

That isn't true but does not diminish the need for aero.

Aero allows a driver who knows how to drive to exceed EPA by much more than double but.. you don't double unless you also know how to drive efficiently.

[Wild]

Originally Posted by todayican

I agree on that one. Although there are guys out there doubling the epa ratings with aero mods alone..

My questions are mainly how to build an extra battery and charger right to make the car a PHEV.

It's more complicated than that, the tiny NiMH battery pack hidden under the rear seat would need to be supplemented with the same compatible batteries of sufficient capacity to meet your goal plus you would need a custom charger built. That extra weight will place a big dent in any aero mods you may make.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Wild

That extra weight will place a big dent in any aero mods you may make.

I don't agree with that statement, aero trumps weight every day. Especially on a hybrid.

His battery business would need to be the same type/qty/voltage OR he would need a custom battery charger to stream in electricity from a large LIPO or LIFE pack.

[todayican]

That's what I am thinking too.

I've done some research and apparently the "regular" Prius up-converts a 168v pack to 650v and the Prius C up-converts 144v to 550v going to the electric drive.

So one would think the mission at hand is to add a string of 48 calb 60s say to make 144v for another 8.6 KWH

I (Potentially Nievely) think that since the car is limited to 34mph in ev only mode, that there shouldn't be any problem with c rating on the calbs.

Which would be "upstream" of the up-converter..

So would it be as simple as finding an appropriate 144v charger and adding the calbs to the main pack and (with luck) the main pack would simply think it was at a higher charge state then it really is (Thanks to the Calbs?