Enginer PHEV Test Pilots: Mpg reports and important data

[plugmein2]

This thread is dedicated to MPG reports from already installed Enginer PHEV conversions. (Test Pilots) Please share trip data, observations, and pertinent info about the daily use of your Enginer Pack. Lots of other people considering purchasing the Enginer PHEV kit would like to know.

JOANNA

[plugmein2]

8/17/09

I took a test drive in the city this morning about 8 miles with the Enginer kit running. I was able to stay in EV mode about 90% of the time because at traffic lights I could "recharge" the traction battery. My kit is still in the "break-in" stage, I have been unable to completely charge or discharge the batteries like I would like. However, because the ICE came on only a few times, I got 91 mpg for the overall 8 miles, all of which were below 34 mph. After the 8th mile, one of my balancers began to "beep" so I shut off the system, came home and plugged in.

JOANNA

[dschur]

Joanna, this sounds very promising (for my short commute - 5 miles each way in suburban traffic, which I will be test piloting a 2kWh pack in my 2010 Gen 3).

If I can ask, did Your Prius go through the warmup cycle, or was the engine already warm?

My main hope with the kit is to spend a lot more tome with high SOC on the stock battery and be able to leverage EV a good bit more.

91MPG - wow. I would hope to get only 75 for my driving.

[plugmein2]

Originally Posted by dschur

If I can ask, did Your Prius go through the warmup cycle, or was the engine already warm?

My main hope with the kit is to spend a lot more tome with high SOC on the stock battery and be able to leverage EV a good bit more.

91MPG - wow. I would hope to get only 75 for my driving.

I have learned that it is a good idea to turn the car on, let it warm up with the ICE, and start the Enginer pack about 5 min before your trip. What this does is give you a good charge on the stock battery before you leave the house (at least 75%). Put the car in EV and off you go. I try to stay in EV as much as possible (under 34 mph). If I do get kicked out of EV, I use the regen to charge and then back into EV when coming to a stop light. I have also noticed that if the ICE is running, switching to EV turns off the ICE instantly.

The Enginer pack was described to me this way. "We try to assist the OEM battery with the trickle of a garden hose, not the gush fire hose." This protects the OEM from being "overcharged". With this in mind, it is a good idea to use the regen to "assist" Enginer to help keep the OEM battery charged at a higher SOC.

I believe if you use the techniques I have described, you will be able to achieve 100mpg on your commutes.

JOANNA

[plugmein2]

Test Drive #2

Okay, I drove all city in EV mode for 25 min averaging between 25-33mph. ICE only came on twice for 1 min each to charge. Went 10 miles before the battery balancer "beeped". Shut down system then went home. Average mpg 99.9

No problems to report. BTW my system has not been fully charged yet because of "break-in period".

JOANNA

[SageBrush]

Joanna,

Are you resetting your mpg meter after your warm-up period ?

[plugmein2]

Originally Posted by SageBrush

Joanna,

Are you resetting your mpg meter after your warm-up period ?

I set the mpg meter for the "official test" the moment I put the car in drive and leave the house. For just normal driving, I usually don't mess with it. My next test will be highway.

JOANNA

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by plugmein2

I set the mpg meter for the "official test" the moment I put the car in drive and leave the house. For just normal driving, I usually don't mess with it. My next test will be highway.

JOANNA

But before setting the mpg meter for the "official test", do you warm you the car or does the "official test" start with a cold engine?

[SageBrush]

Joanna,

I suggest starting the mpg meter the moment you start the car. Skipping the warm-up period will lead to gamed results. I'm pretty sure you will find that warm-ups are detrimental to overall fuel economy.

[plugmein2]

Originally Posted by SageBrush

Joanna,

I suggest starting the mpg meter the moment you start the car. Skipping the warm-up period will lead to gamed results. I'm pretty sure you will find that warm-ups are detrimental to overall fuel economy.

I'm not a laboratory testing facility. I don't want to over complicate my personal experience with the kit. I just want to share the results I have had. So far, it has performed as well as I had hoped.

I'm not sure how much of an impact a cold start test would have made. I will do a cold start test tomorrow and give the results if you think that will make a difference, frankly I dont think it will with in city EV mode.

JOANNA