Prius EV mode top speed?

[RobertSmalls]

Just wondering... what are the top speeds of a 2004 and 2010 Prius in EV mode?

My 8mi commute tops out at 54mph, and I'm curious about whether a Prius with a large LiFePO4 battery in place of the stock one could do the job without firing up the ICE in good weather.

I see that the 2012 Prius PHV will top out around 60mph in EV mode, and the 2004 is rated for 41mph, but I wonder if both could be made to go faster.

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

Just wondering... what are the top speeds of a 2004 and 2010 Prius in EV mode?

After warm-up:

• 41 mph - NHW11 (01-03)
• 41 mph - NHW20 (04-09)
• 46 mph - ZVW30 (10-current)

However, there is a small window during the first 45 seconds in the NHW11 and more than 45 seconds in the ZVW30 where the engine runs but motive power is drawn from the traction battery. Very strange window.

. . .
My 8mi commute tops out at 54mph, and I'm curious about whether a Prius with a large LiFePO4 battery in place of the stock one could do the job without firing up the ICE in good weather.

I see that the 2012 Prius PHV will top out around 60mph in EV mode, and the 2004 is rated for 41mph, but I wonder if both could be made to go faster.

My understanding is one of PHEV kits for the NHW20 gets up to 52 mph in EV mode but I don't know the details.

Bob Wilson

[Daox]

I think calcars modified their prius to allow higher speeds by telling the car it was out of gas. Not sure how exactly they do this.

With the EV mode button, you can only go up to 35 mph.

[roflwaffle]

Kill the fuel pump. That said I've read that above ~40+mph is too fast for MG2 if the engine isn't idling.

[Daox]

I have also heard that. Due to the nature of the planetary setup, 40+ mph spins MG2 up to ~10k rpm I think. Its moving pretty good. I'm not sure how they're getting around this with the PHEV prius which can go up to 62 mph in EV mode. I guess different gearing?

[roflwaffle]

Yeah, the new one has different gearing IIRC. From what I saw on the yourube videos they just let the engine idle for older plug-in kits. It'll kick on periodically to make sure the cat is functional, but if the SOC is high enough it'll use the electric motor for the most part AFAIK.

[RobertSmalls]

Well, that's a little disappointing. I already have an electricity-guzzler that can do EV mode by shutting off the fuel injectors and fruitlessly spinning the engine.

Originally Posted by Ewert Energy

The new Hybrid Energy Manager from Ewert Energy Systems allows for 70MPH electric-only mode and seamless transition back to gasoline powered drive in a converted Prius. This feature is available with the 20 Mile plugin hybrid conversion kit from Plug-In Home.

The Hybrid Energy Manager takes full advantage of both MG1 and MG2 motors and does (at certain speeds) spin the ICE without injecting any fuel to prevent damaging the motors. MG1 and MG2 operate within the technical specifications during full electric drive.

So I could beef up the battery on a Prius, but there isn't a good way to get rid of the constant, ~4kW drain from engine friction above the speeds listed in post two.

Back to the old drawing board... I will resume dreaming about dropping a one cylinder diesel in an EV-converted Insight.