Luscious Garage PHEV system REPLACES Prius Pack

Has anyone else seen this PHEV system?
Luscious Garage in San Francisco is installing this system
I got to ride in this vehicle from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Very cool!

Here's what I remember about it.

- Replaces the original Prius battery.

- NiMh batteries.

- About 6 times more powerful than the original battery.

- Able to capture regen.

- Top Electric speed 70 mph.

- At reasonable speed can go 25 miles all electric.

System is made by Plug in Conversions Corp of San Diego.
Batteries mfg by GoldPeak.
Cost $13,500
2-day installation.

Here's a video interview about Luscious Garage and this system that was done at Long Beach, CA.

She had a fact sheet that I'll post up once I get a copy of it.

The price tag on this system is outrageous for what you get. This has all the bangs and whistles but at what COST!! It's kinda like going to a Monster Truck show. It is cool to see the trucks but you would never spend that kind of money on your own truck just to drive it down the road.

As a prius owner, getting to basically "plug-in" shouldn't be this complicated. Having to use a laptop to see what the car is doing is a bit overkill as well. I like the idea of 70 mph in electric mode, but thats about it.

JOANNA

This system is pretty incredible and definitely does things that no other system can do so far. (Capture regen, go highway speed in EV, etc)

The laptop is not needed for the interface. It is just for show for now; in actual systems it will be an interface on the MFD.

The system is a lot more complex and includes upgraded rear springs. If you happen to have the $$$ it would be a great system to own.

I've attached a more detailed Fact Sheet that I got from Carolyn of Luscious Garage.

Enjoy!

I would love to test drive one of these setups for a week to see what I can get on my commute. I might be able to do all electric.

Jay,
I immediately thought of you when I drove this set up. Your commute would be perfect for this, especially if you could plug in at work.

The pack is plenty powerful and does what I think people expect from a PHEV.

If manufacturers would make a car like this from the factory it would amaze a lot of people.

Until then... people willl have to spend $13,500 and wait two days for the install.

yes i already seen the comment on there blog with the picture´s

AND i also have seen these battery cells nothing new only first time in a prius

funny i wanted to do the same with used one´s

this pack and the BMS plus i can do kinda all what you say about this kit.

also the 70mph also means that the ICE is turning ( not injecting any fuel ) and losing some energy by doing that so losing some range in doing that to.

but anyways.. i like the system and love the Nimh setup that we all now already works for years now.

For anyone interested in this PICC conversion, Steve Woodruff at autobeyours is installing one withiin the next few weeks. Give him a call for more details.

here are the same battery cells that are used in the PICC system

these are already a few years old and used in a Dutch hybrid bublic transport bus.

well you get a Volt for $40,000 which when you get right down to it, is about the same price.

i agree its spendy, but its still better than anything else i have seen. the ability to program your drive distance so the computer can determine the best options is pretty friking cool i think and definitely worth the additional cost.

what we really need is a game changer on the storage issues. batteries should not be that expensive.

Computer options are friking cool, yes, I agree. I love new tech stuff. However, I have never paid more than $15,000 for a car period, let alone a plug-in conversion kit for almost as much as the car itself. The Volt is frikin cool, but I cant afford it. The new Plug-in prius from Toyota will be in the $45,000 range, and I cant afford that one either. So how can the average "Jo" (heehee) get to plug in for cheap? hmmm?

JOANNA

Given the price of a replacement OEM battery and the distance one can drive in electric only on it, $13K for 25 miles EV doesn't seem so outrageous. Not that *I* could afford it but hey, Toyota isn't exactly throwing a PHEV Prius at us yet are they . I wonder how much of the price is parts and how much is installation & development cost recovery.

i dont think the development cost will be in the battery cells because those are on the market already for some years.

but maybe just the price of the cells make's this system so pricy.

looking at the price for thundersky's i dont think this asking price is a competitive one.

only the fact that these are well used for years now and we nown these are rilaibable will be a selling point but i dont think that is going to cut it.
the price needs to come down.

It looks to me like this system is done "right" so the development cost had to be pretty substantial. I wouldn't be surprised if parts were less than half the cost.

The costs to go through CARB certification must be figured in there somewhere.
Also the costs to develop the software interface.

If Enginer.us has taught me anything, it is that the batteries are not *that* expensive. The remainder will be subject to volume pricing.

Cost is an issue yes, but keep in mind that there is a great deal of things to take into account here.

First, there is all the costs of the batteries, charger, box, circuit boards, etc. Then there is the added cost of conversion certification (CARB compliance, warranty compliance--did you know it's a law in California that you have to provide a warranty for your conversion? I know the PICC kit comes with a 3 year warranty which is better than most that I've seen--engineering time and lets not forget, safety crash testing). There are also a bunch of costs associated with ongoing testing and initial factory roll-out.

This conversion is much more comprehensive than most because it entirely replaces the OEM battery. No nonsense with DC/DC converters or contactors which means a much smoother (and quieter!) drive. It also has the latest Ewert Energy Hybrid Energy Management modification bundled in that cost.

As for the laptop, the PICC conversion will not require a laptop in the future--eventually it will be integrated directly into the MFD. They are working on a temporary solution using an external 7 inch LCD screen until the MFD integration is complete.

Sure there are cheaper alternatives out there, but you get what you pay for...personally I enjoy being able to get over 200 MPG with real-world driving on my way to-and-from work using the Hybrid Energy Manager =).

Andrew

We had the opportunity to talk to Kim, the main owner of PICC, yesterday at our Houston meetup. He actually told us the rough numbers on their fixed costs for each kit, which I won't repeat here.

They remove the factory 1.3kWh NiMH battery pack and replace it with their 6.1kWh NiMH battery pack (in a custom made case). They add their control system, an on-board charger, a bumper plug receptacle, and a touch-screen monitoring system. The bottom line is that the bulk of the cost is in the batteries and the charger. They do not have a large markup on their kit, and I seriously wonder how soon they'll hit break-even on their R&D. They are spending $$ to customize the software that was already out there, and get it to run on the MFD (which by the way is coming very soon). They spent a huge amount of money just to develop their custom molded cases, and they are even spending the money to crash test a car with the mod.

He's hoping to get the parts cost down even further, and to start work soon on a kit for the 2010. Kim was very nice, very knowledgeable, and very low key, but definitely a man on a mission to try to do the right thing. I came away very impressed, and will seriously consider having this done to my car. Of course, I might want to finish paying for the actual car first!

Steve's install of the PICC conversion has been installed since August 28th and operating in daily commutes of Houston traffic, a mix of city and highway traffic, since September 2nd.

The latest version of the Hybrid Energy Management (HEM) module was installed this weekend on my system. The results in full EV mode speak for themselves. The first photo is a simulation of my morning commute which is half city streets and half freeway at 60 to 65mph. The second is the total round trip, with the second leg on city streets and shorter because there is no detour to drop kids at school. EV dropped out due to pack discharge part way through the return trip. The transition was totally seamless, three beeps told me that EV had disengaged and that the car had entered standard hybrid mode and the ICE had started. The other nice thing is that while in PICC/Ewert EV mode, if one has to get out of the way of some overly aggressive SUV, you just put the petal on the floor to get full power from the ICE and MG1 & 2, seamlessly. It's nice!

The mileage value on the first leg was influenced by the 51 second ICE and CC warm up, it would have been higher were it not for that. The 227 mpg on a 21 mile round trip commute, with no mid-day charge is quite respectable I'd say; lets see a Volt do that.

As for the display on the MDF, I was told we will see roll out on this enhancement within the next few weeks. Since the revisions to the HEM so it would properly work with my '06 took three weeks, I fully expect to see the MFD display sometime in October.

A final thought on the high cost of this PHEV system, I bought a Prius because it was an elegantly simple and well thought out design solution to a transportation problem that impacts myself and my children. I saw the same elegance which is found in Toyota's design, in the design of this pack and the way it interacts with the control systems of the Prius. It is unlike anything on the market today. From a purely economic sense does it make sense? No, not really, I figured if it allowed me to double my mileage from a standard Prius it would take ten years to break even with the gas costs I spent in the previous ten years putting 187K miles on a minivan. I could of spent less and solved the basic transport issue at the expense of a greater detrimental impact to my children's lives. I choose to do otherwise, I choose to recognize and reward true innovation. My thanks to Steve, Kim and Chris for a job well done.

A proud owner of a PICC conversion.

Nice picture's
good mpg

i wonder how the crash test will do
because the battery pack is way in the pack agains the backbumper.
a hit from the back would push the battery pack to the inside of the car and damage the structure and the metal car parts agains the battery terminals with well over 200vdc and 78ah on them maybe touch and there is no fuse for that....
wy nog place the back more where the OEM pack was and place the charger in the back of the trunk.

Yeah, we'll see. It seems like a much better built case than most on the market though--it's a pretty solid feeling box.

Andrew