REVIEW: Hymotion Battery Plug-In Prius

[TheForce]

Well my friend and I took my car to go bowling today. The trip is about 30 to and 30 miles from the bowling center. Last year on the trip to and from the bowling center I averaged about 55MPG with us and six 16lbs balls. This time with a full pack I averaged about 75MPG to and from the bowling center. I set cruise control to 55MPH and had the AC set on 72 and low speed. Its kind of disappointing because it dropped my CAN-View average to about 137MPG and I'm down another pip but I guess 75MPG is better than no improvement at all. I really need to see if the bowling center will let me charge up while I'm there. If I can do that I might be able to pull 100+MPG the whole trip.

Originally Posted by 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.

With the stock car it will let you draw a little more amps in EV mode when you have a full charge but it still may kick out of EV mode. You can press the pedal a little harder but not much harder. If you have the EV mode switch you can easily draw 100 amps all day long until you run out of juice.

[TheForce]

I added another SOC graph to my first post of a 60 mile round trip. Look for it in the observations area.

[zcat3]

Originally Posted by TheForce

Well my friend and I took my car to go bowling today. The trip is about 30 to and 30 miles from the bowling center. Last year on the trip to and from the bowling center I averaged about 55MPG with us and six 16lbs balls. This time with a full pack I averaged about 75MPG to and from the bowling center. I set cruise control to 55MPH and had the AC set on 72 and low speed. Its kind of disappointing because it dropped my CAN-View average to about 137MPG and I'm down another pip but I guess 75MPG is better than no improvement at all. I really need to see if the bowling center will let me charge up while I'm there. If I can do that I might be able to pull 100+MPG the whole trip.




With the stock car it will let you draw a little more amps in EV mode when you have a full charge but it still may kick out of EV mode. You can press the pedal a little harder but not much harder. If you have the EV mode switch you can easily draw 100 amps all day long until you run out of juice.

Thanks for the reply. I have the OE EV switch, but was waiting to install it until I got the Hymotion pack in place. I think I am an October install.

As for your 60 mile freeway numbers, that is much more consistent with what the Google.org site is showing. It really comes down to distance and speed of commute. My commute to work is 27 miles each way with a few good hills (several hundred feet). I average about 49 MPG, but am slowly climbing. I do drive 65 - 70 MPH on the freeway. Per the Hymotion website, they estimate I would get something like 95 MPG if I can't plug in at work, and 110 if I could. This seems optimistic.

[TheForce]

I added two new charging graphs for watts and amps to my first post.

[TheForce]

This is what I've been wanting to see. I let S1 complete and I was able to EV it all the way home. I wish I could do this all the time. I had to take this picture quick because every 20 seconds or so the MPG would drop about 30MPGs because of the GPH bug. Because of the bug I know this number is a lot higher. How high I don't know. I wish SG would fix this bug. I would gladly send in my SG to have it reprogrammed. Heck I would even buy a new one and give this one to my parents since they do not have a hybrid and the bug should not be a problem for them.

[sparkyAZ]

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. Any one have any thoughts or comments on that?

I don't think I'd be in any hurry to try this. If you run out of gas, then run your Hymotion and OEM pack down, you may be getting towed to the dealer so they can hook up their special Prius Charger for People Who Ignore the Flashing Low Fuel Warning Pip and Don't Refill IMMEDIATELY, all while the dealership owner makes another yacht payment and the techs have a good laugh at your expense. But hey, if you like living life on the edge, go for it! Maybe the Hymotion charger would get you off the hook and save the day. Who knows?

Originally Posted by TheForce

I really need to see if the bowling center will let me charge up while I'm there. If I can do that I might be able to pull 100+MPG the whole trip.

You could always do like George at Hybrid Fest - look for the friendly neighborhood light pole that just happens to have an outlet at the base. You're in country where block heaters are not especially uncommon so there should be some public electric outlets scattered about if you poke around for them.

[kaif]

Anyone know about how much electricity it takes to charge over night? What's it comparable to? a TV? a 100w light? ??
I need to know for an argument I am having with someone saying the power grid cant handle plug-ins
Sorry for the de-rail.

[TheForce]

It draws about 1000 watts for about 5 hours from a depleted pack without getting technical.

[max9952001]

Originally Posted by kaif

Anyone know about how much electricity it takes to charge over night? What's it comparable to? a TV? a 100w light? ??
I need to know for an argument I am having with someone saying the power grid cant handle plug-ins
Sorry for the de-rail.

5 KwH - it's about 43 cents on my power bill in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Originally Posted by kaif

Anyone know about how much electricity it takes to charge over night? What's it comparable to? a TV? a 100w light? ??
I need to know for an argument I am having with someone saying the power grid cant handle plug-ins
Sorry for the de-rail.

some places struggle to meet peak demand from extreme weather conditions so coupled with several thousand plug ins charging at once, it can be an issue, but so would anyone's home A/C since the A/C would be drawing more current.

to put it in perspective, it all really depends how much you drive, but even if running 30 miles a day on EV, you are still spending in the range of 12-20 DOLLARS A MONTH for electricity

so take that figure and compare it to your current electric bill and tell us, how much of an impact would it be?

i have an EV, driven it 4500 miles over nearly 9 months and it will still be a few more weeks before i hit $100 in total electricity costs for the LT of my EV. sooo, how much is that really?