REVIEW: Hymotion Battery Plug-In Prius

[SVPriusFan]

Hey, thanks for a great review - love the detailed write-up and descriptions! I have a couple of questions for you:

1. Is an EV-mode switch helpful in maximizing MPG? Or is it even necessary? I had one in my previous Prius (a 2007) and loved it. But I've been putting off getting one for my new 2008 since I'm on the list for the Hymotion mod in about 7 weeks.

2. Does the L5 installation hack the 42MPH limit on stealth mode? I thought I read somewhere that it ups the limit on turning the engine crank to somewhere in the 50's, but I'm not sure where I saw that...

Please keep the info coming!

[TheForce]

Just for the hell of it I added a graph of the reported SOC from my CAN-view. Just go back to my first post and scroll down to the observations area.

Originally Posted by SVPriusFan

1. Is an EV-mode switch helpful in maximizing MPG? Or is it even necessary? I had one in my previous Prius (a 2007) and loved it. But I've been putting off getting one for my new 2008 since I'm on the list for the Hymotion mod in about 7 weeks.

2. Does the L5 installation hack the 42MPH limit on stealth mode? I thought I read somewhere that it ups the limit on turning the engine crank to somewhere in the 50's, but I'm not sure where I saw that...

If your driving around town with the Hymotion battery then yes the EV button is a must have.

No the car still acts normal. You can however draw up to about 50 amps in warp stealth above 42MPH. The engine still spins at about 950RPM but you don't burn any gas. Normally when your SOC is at %60 your lucky if you can draw 20 amps in warp stealth and if you can do that your SOC drops quickly because of the small stock battery.

[9G-man]

If your driving around town with the Hymotion battery then yes the EV button is a must have.

No the car still acts normal. You can however draw up to about 50 amps in warp stealth above 42MPH. The engine still spins at about 950RPM but you don't burn any gas. Normally when your SOC is at %60 your lucky if you can draw 20 amps in warp stealth and if you can do that your SOC drops quickly because of the small stock battery.

I get it all now. I couldn't fully understand your review on highway/warp stealth use, and how the Hymotion pack enhanced things, until now.
Does it allow a broader amp draw during stealth operation, with or without an EV switch, than stock?.
I want one.

[TheForce]

Originally Posted by 9G-man

Does it allow a broader amp draw during stealth operation, with or without an EV switch, than stock?.

I think it does since you have a full SOC. I seen it go as high as about 60 amps or so without using the EV button but the engine will more likely kick on when ever it wants to.

[Orf]

What a grand thread you have created Force. I like the way you add new info to your original post but I am never sure what is new. Could you post the new text in a different color, say red, and then make it black when more new text is added?

[TheForce]

I've been thinking how I should handle when I should fill up. Since I can go in EV mode just about anywhere on my normal commute should I just go until I run out of gas and EV it to my preferred gas station or should I fill up when my CAN-view shows about %5 or so fuel remaining? It would be nice to experience running out of gas just once just to see what happens and since I have the extra battery I should be safe from damaging the stock battery on an extended out of gas EV run.

I also don't know if I would be able to even try that since I don't know when this might happen. If it happens on my normal commute then I will be able to do it but if it looks like I might be taking a longer trip I might have to gas up before that. I do know from past experience that when my CAN-vies shows about %10 fuel remaining I have about 10-15 miles before it reaches %0 and then I still have fuel left to get another 5 miles or so to the gas station.

Any one have any thoughts or comments on that?

Originally Posted by Orf

Could you post the new text in a different color, say red, and then make it black when more new text is added?

I though about that but it would get all confusing and and it would be a little too much work. What I would like to do is when I finish my tank I want to clean it up a bit and make some of the pictures smaller or something. If you follow this thread I will try to point you to what was updated and in what section.

[Orf]

Originally Posted by TheForce

I've been thinking how I should handle when I should fill up. Since I can go in EV mode just about anywhere on my normal commute should I just go until I run out of gas and EV it to my preferred gas station or should I fill up when my CAN-view shows about %5 or so fuel remaining? It would be nice to experience running out of gas just once just to see what happens and since I have the extra battery I should be safe from damaging the stock battery on an extended out of gas EV run.

It may be an idea to carry a can of gas if you decide to run out.

Originally Posted by TheForce

I though about that but it would get all confusing and and it would be a little too much work.

I do not know which browser you use but in mine (Netscape) all you have to do is select "edit" highlight the text and select a new color, be it black or red. That should not be too much work and it would be easier for all readers to go to the colored text to see if they have read it before.

[lordbah]

If someone with this mod were to go months without adding gas, would that cause a new set of problems? Same as leaving gas in the lawnmower over a long winter?

[David Beale]

It takes about a year, or even longer, to get gasoline to "go bad" in an automobile fuel tank. It happens faster in lawnmowers because they have much smaller fuel tanks, and much dirtier fuel systems.

I had an RX-7, and I used to store it for 6 months every year with a full fuel tank, no "stabilizer". Never had fuel go "bad".

[zcat3]

As the Hymotion battery allows to draw more amps, does that mean you can accelerate faster in EV mode without triggering the ICE - or does it function the same way as the stock setup - meaning very little pressure on the pedal or the ICE comes on.