Transplant the hybrid guts into a non-hybrid

[Optimus]

Has anyone tried (and/or succeeded) in transplanting the Prius drive system into an otherwise non-hybrid? Just curious to see if anyone has been this daring yet. I stare at my non-hybrid and stare back at my hybrid, and strange thoughts like this occur. The width of the motor assemblies is narrow enough to fit into a lot of other cars. Someone with fabrication skills and access to a metal shop could conceivably get this done. But for all I know, it already has been done (or at least attempted).

[miscrms]

I have those sorts of thoughts on a daily basis

Haven't seen one yet though.

Rob

[patsparks]

I'd like to hybridise a MR2.

Even thought about a Toyota hybrid powered trike.

This is only thoughts with no intention to do either.

[V8Cobrakid]

wouldn't most traditional cars... except a bug or datsun... weigh more than the prius?

[narf]

You mean like a Camry?.......


The thing about a Prius is that so many other things have been done to optimize efficiency. It's way more than just the drivetrain.

[hiremichaelreid]

Originally Posted by Optimus

Has anyone tried (and/or succeeded) in transplanting the Prius drive system into an otherwise non-hybrid? Just curious to see if anyone has been this daring yet. I stare at my non-hybrid and stare back at my hybrid, and strange thoughts like this occur. The width of the motor assemblies is narrow enough to fit into a lot of other cars. Someone with fabrication skills and access to a metal shop could conceivably get this done. But for all I know, it already has been done (or at least attempted).

I don't think there are many good reasons why someone would do this. Why ? To get the hybrid efficiency with the looks of another car ?

Most people do engine or drive-train swaps to put more power into a car they otherwise like. Not applicable here. Most other cars will have worse aero and thus get lower MPG.

Maybe, perhaps a body wrecked Prius could be turned into a hybrid dune-buggy or something by shedding body parts to reduce weight. But dune-buggying is more about having fun and power for a weekend or so, not fuel efficiency all week long commuting to work.

Or maybe some crazed hypermiler will go the next step and build a more aero body with lighter weight. Could be cool to see.

[Optimus]

I am simply asking if anyone has attempted or succeeded in doing a swap yet. Motor swaps aren't all about more horse power. It can be about more reliability, better parts availability with newer motors, better towing, better fuel economy with said towing, and perhaps now... just plain better fuel economy.

I am not one to speculate at this point as to what may or may not happen if a Prius system is transplanted into another car. I am interested in finding out if anyone has done it, and what the actual results were. They could be good. They could be bad.

My Celica gets 32mpg now, is light, sporty looking, hatch back, and doesn't have much power either. But if I had to speculate a little, I'd say it might do pretty well with a hybrid transplant. Why would I want to do it? I don't know.... to have something different, to have something more efficient, to be one of the first to dive into uncharted territory to see what can be done, to have a greener other car, and just plain to see if it can be done.

[ChapmanF]

Originally Posted by Optimus

Has anyone tried (and/or succeeded) in transplanting the Prius drive system into an otherwise non-hybrid?

That would be a whole lotta transplanting. First the engine and transaxle, of course, and the inverter and battery and power cables, and the battery cooling fan. And the inverter radiator and pump. The engine ECU and the Hybrid ECU, which wants to talk to the engine and battery ECUs. And to the brake ECU. Which only wants to talk to the whole Prius brake system. The ABS wheel speed sensors (which the HV ECU uses as speed inputs for other purposes too). The steering rack and pinion (electric) and its ECU. You'd need to like the appearance of the Prius combination meter and find a nice place for it on the dash, because it's responsible for some of the signal processing on speed data going between the other ECUs. And the HV ECU won't be interested in going anywhere unless you bring the immobilizer key transponder along for the ride.

I'm probably leaving a bunch of dependencies out....

-Chap

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by hiremichaelreid

I don't think there are many good reasons why someone would do this. Why ? To get the hybrid efficiency with the looks of another car ?

My interests would be on several fronts:

One, put the Prius drive line in a smaller/lighter car to see what its capable of. The Prius weights about 2900 lbs, and while its Cd is very good its frontal area is pretty large. A Honda Insight for example has a smaller frontal area, a slightly lower Cd, and only weighs 1850 lbs. A personal favorite would be an early 70s Saab Sonett, with a 0.32 Cd, very small cross section, fiberglass body, and 1750 lb weight despite a cast iron industrial ford V4. It was a blast to drive even with only ~70hp. How about a late 80s Honda CRX HF?

Two, convertible. Sorry, the current Prius convertible option is pretty ugly. How about an HSD Miata? Cd is 0.38 (not too bad for a convertible), small area, only ~2000 lbs. Drag would hurt at high speed, but around town it might best the Prius at that kind of weight.

Three, Minivan: Seems to me (and lots of others apparently) to be the great gaping hole in the current hybrid offerings. An HSD Mazda 5 could be pretty cool. 0.29 Cd, small frontal area (for a van), and only weighs 3333 lbs. Thats ~300 lbs less than a Hybrid Camry, which would probably make a better power plant choice than a prius in this case. The 5 is about the same weight and hp as a standard 4 cyl Camry, and close in mileage (23mpg vs. 25mpg comb), so it seems quite plausible you could do over 30mpg comb with a Camry HSD in a 5. To look at it another way, the 5 is lighter and probably more aerodynamic than the Escape Hybrid, so over 30 should be very feasible. That would be pretty cool considering that other than the 5 there are no minivans currently available over 20mpg comb.

Not that doing any of these things would really be practical. They're just fun to think about for those that like to tinker with such things. Maybe even fun enough that someone with the spare dough may just try it here at some point. After all, people build impractical vehicles all the time. Most of the folks that do that sort of stuff just haven't gotten on the fuel economy bandwagon, yet.

Rob

[GatorJZ]

Originally Posted by Optimus

Has anyone tried (and/or succeeded) in transplanting the Prius drive system into an otherwise non-hybrid? Just curious to see if anyone has been this daring yet. I stare at my non-hybrid and stare back at my hybrid, and strange thoughts like this occur. The width of the motor assemblies is narrow enough to fit into a lot of other cars. Someone with fabrication skills and access to a metal shop could conceivably get this done. But for all I know, it already has been done (or at least attempted).

You can't be even remotely serious.