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Originally Posted by RobertSmalls
If the 1KWh battery currently swings from 80% to 45%, that's .35KWh, which I reckon at 1mi without hypermiling. If you swing from 100% to 45%, it's about 1.5mi. :-/ Not great, but it's low-hanging fruit.
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If you charge above 80% the car will spin the engine using the electric motors to burn off the excess energy. You really only have 45% to 80% to work with unless you disable the Prius BMS.
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There's a part of me that sees a Prius C as a cheap platform on which to build a reliable plug-in hybrid NEV. I have a 9mi commute. A 10KWh lithium pack should do 20mi, weighs ~150lbs more than the current pack, and costs maybe $4000.
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Thats a great idea, and thats what I've done with my 2nd gen. The only drawback is the Prius C's limited EV speed. The Prius C's max EV speed is only 25 mph which isn't surprising since its geared higher than the liftback. The 2nd gen Prius has a max EV speed of 34 mph. I'm not sure about the 3rd gen, but I think its quite similar to the 2nd gen.
I think your best bet is going with a 2nd gen. You can get them for under $10k now and besides weighing 400 lbs more than a Prius C they have more benefits IMO (aero, space, used parts).
Installing a 2nd pack in parallel with the original pack has been done and is one of the few techniques (and probably one of the more effective) in making a PHEV Prius.