[Mike D EV]

I have added an EV mode to my Honda Insight.
http://www.99mpg.com/projectcars/mikesinsight/
But want to take it to the next level and make a full electric Insight, I have been playing with the electric drive part of a Toyota Prius as the motor.
The synergy drive minus the gas engine weighs ~220 lbs.
This assembly has the 40HP MG2 that drives the prius in electric mode, and the 15HP MG1 which normally runs as a generator. Lots of torque is available.
A simple hack of the planetary assembly will allow the two motor/generators to run in parallel. I am presently working on a hack to the cars stock inverter that would allow full control of both motors. The cool part of the system is that the 4:11 drive reduction and differential are included. This means that with some CV axle modifications/ adaption, the system could drop into most front wheel drive cars in place of their motor/transmission.
A description of the synergy drive hack is at:
http://www.99mpg.com/Projectcars/evinsight/
Mike

 

[Mike D EV]

That project is on hold until I build the next batch of the MIMA modifications for the Honda Insight.
I have the Inverter, and two of the synergy drive trannys, one has been modified with the welding of the planetary gear so the two motors work together.
The actual Hp of MG2 is closer to 67 than the 40 I originally posted.

 

[Mike D EV]

The drives I have are the second generation system,This page compares the two versions.
http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/prius2004.html
The 10KW MG1 is usually not considered in the HP ratings but in my welded planetary configuration the two together with the second gen HV inverter, we should see more like 60KW.
The interesting number is the torque, which combined should be in the 350 FT lb range. On a light weight Insight, that should burn tires.

 

[Mike D EV]

I don't have a running prius to play with, but from some test that a friend has done with a scope, it looks like the rotational position encoder information is sent to the engine controller, which generates the three phase drive signals that are fed to the power electronics.
Once the relationship of the encoder to the drive signals are determined, programming a microcontroller to generate equivlant signals under external control should be quite easy. Just need to tell the inverter what you want it to do.
Once I get the next batch of MIMA systems built and out the door, I hope to tackle the job, but I put the ideas out there so any other like minded people could contribute. Any Prius owners with a service manual and some test equipment that would take the time to work out the signals required, could help get this started.

 

[Mike D EV]

The EV insight project is not dead, just waiting to come to the top of the project list which seems to constantly get longer,
The project will move up a notch this friday when we pull the insight motor/transmission out of the green Insight and get the synergy drive and inverter on a test stand.
The hot project right now is to build a data acquisition interface to an Insight from CA. that will be going for the automotive X-Prize.
I am also developing a complete battery test and rebuilding system for Honda HV battery packs.
http://99mpg.com/blog/whatactuallygoeswr/
http://99mpg.com/Projectcars/mimapackwhack/
http://99mpg.com/blog/batterypacksexpose/

I was thinking recently that at least for initial testing, the inverter may be able to be driven open loop, which could be as easy as using a small 3 phase motor controller from the radio control world to drive the Prius inverter.
Too many projects,not enough time or money.

 

[Mike D EV]

The encoder is actually a resolver that generates a 10khz phase shifted sine wave, which is digitized into a rotation angle in the ECM.
Not as simple or standard as the hall sensors that are normally found on BLDC motors.It may be easer to just add some hall position sensors?

Once we get into it, we will explore all options.

The welded planetary is the only way to use both motors,without an input on the ICE shaft, and to spin the internal oil pump.

Cannot see any advantages in leaving the planetary stock, as there is no mechanical advantage gained and the second motor which splits power between the ICE and MG2 in the stock system would not be able to contribute any torque.

 

[Mike D EV]

If you split the synergy drive you loose the tranny,the differential, final drive reduction, parking pawl, environmental seals, and forced oil lubrication.

Synergy EV drive conversion:
Remove old engine and tranny
Mount synergy drive in the car
Make adapter drive axles to go from the Prius to whatever was in the car
plug in the drive axles
Connect inverter
Install inverter controller
Install 208V battery pack
you are good to go.
Of course the devils in the details.

With only MG2, you will have to put weight back in with a transmission/differential, adapter plate and custom splined shaft with no side load capabilities.

I have the MG2 half of the synergy drive we used for our synergy drive demo.
http://99mpg.com/workshops/understandingdiagn/
I was thinking of using it for a Big e-wheel for my Van
http://99mpg.com/Projectcars/ewheelforanyvehicl/