introduction after lurking - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

thedutchtouch · 02-25-2009, 01:48 AM

I suppose i should do a proper intro, the name's Justin, i'm 23, engaged and live in pittsburgh. I've been lurking because i'd love to one day do an EV build project, but for now i'll have to be satisfied with ecomodding the 07 prius i just put a deposit on.

cfg83 · 02-25-2009, 01:58 AM

thedutchtouch -

Welcome to EM! Two of my coworkers are from Pittsburgh, so I (belatedly) congratulate you on your recent Superbowl vanquish.

Lots of cool Prius mods await you!

CarloSW2

Daox · 02-25-2009, 09:44 AM

Welcome to the site!

You know several people have done their own Prius PHEV conversions. Basically adding an additional battery pack and running in EV mode. That would be a lot easier than an entire EV conversion.

SVOboy · 02-25-2009, 10:11 AM

Welcome to EM!

thedutchtouch · 02-25-2009, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Welcome to the site!

You know several people have done their own Prius PHEV conversions. Basically adding an additional battery pack and running in EV mode. That would be a lot easier than an entire EV conversion.

yeah but i'm no stranger to projects, and i could do a really sweet EV conversion for the 10k cost of the prius battery pack.

thanks for the welcomes guys. i don't know if i'll do many mods in the short term, my biggest eco-modding "mod" was to switch out my heavily modified taurus SHO for a prius. the switch should double my gas milage, and also dropped the grade of gas needed from premium to regular.

Daox · 02-25-2009, 12:24 PM

I wasn't suggesting you get a commercial conversion. I've seen DIY conversions done with lead acid batteries. A little bit of googling and I'm sure you'll find what I'm talking about.

thedutchtouch · 02-25-2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

I wasn't suggesting you get a commercial conversion. I've seen DIY conversions done with lead acid batteries. A little bit of googling and I'm sure you'll find what I'm talking about.

ah i wasn't aware of any lead acid prius conversions. i'll have to research that more, thanks

MetroMPG · 02-25-2009, 06:49 PM

Welcome, Justin!

I've seen lead-acid Prius conversions as well. You're obviously not going to get as much capacity in the spare tire well as the lithium packs, but you're also not going to spend 10k :P

Here it is... it's an open source project:

PriusPlus - EAA-PHEV

Quote:

Based on what we just did, we think with some additional pre-made components, it will be realistic for an individual owner of a 2004-200(9) Prius with no technical skills to budget under $3,000 for materials

It's funny: there are a couple of Prius drivers in the EV group in Ottawa, and they joke that "Priuses are 'gateway' cars."

dr. sun · 02-25-2009, 07:40 PM

I am doing a '49 willys woodie, 944 porsche in cedaredge co . using lithium batteries ,with my own built controller, etc. anyone interested can contact me @= retro_electrocoupe@yahoo.com // dr wormhole ev mechanic

thedutchtouch · 02-25-2009, 08:00 PM

aaaaaand it's home! 54.6 MPG over a 48 mile trip. awesome.

new pictures tomorrow when it's light out, for now:

eBay Motors: Toyota : Prius (item 250378739061 end time Feb-24-09 15:13:13 PST)