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Modified 2001 Prius Experiment - RoadTrip Results

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by TexomaEV, Jul 16, 2010.

  1. TexomaEV

    TexomaEV Member

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    Location:
    Bonham, Texas
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Took the modified Toyota Prius out on a roadtrip. Bonham, TX to Houston, TX and back.

    Configuration: Rebuilt 140,000+ mile HV Battery pack, with two replacement modules from another pack with similar miles. Piggybacked onto the HV Battery is a capacitor bank, and a lithium battery bank. Also attached, is a lithium battery bank, piggybacked onto the aux 12volt battery, of which is trickled charged with a solar panel in the back window. The gasoline was 87 octane regular grade with 10% methanol.

    In the photos, you'll see what the overall trip MPG average ended up being. Factors that I believe hurt the results were the start/stop highway parking lots in Dallas and Houston, both there and back, along with the fact, I ran out of gasoline, on one leg of the trip, and had to have BetterWorld Auto Club, deliver 3 gallons to get me on the road. I drove for several miles on battery, to get to a rest area, and it took quite awhile to get the battery recharged once on the road again.

    NOTE: Car is empty when it shows 1/4 tank, learned that the hard way.

    Interestingly though, not a single OBDII code error happened with this experimental hardware, other than the little incident with running out of fuel. The car never had to be taken off the roadway, and reset, as it did, before the battery modules were replaced with good units.

    I averaged 65mph, on the highway, crawling speeds in the 4 lane parking lots, and you'll see from the temperature display, I had the A/C running as well. Keep in mind this is a 2001 Prius, that doesn't have an electric a/c compressor.

    Anyhow, Does the trip MPG Average seem OK?

    See the photo results at:

    Flickr: M.Barkley's Photostream

    Please realize, it's planned to have all this cleaned up with a more professional looking build/install, when all the students are back in school. Just a handful have been available during the summer.
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 TexomaEV, Jul 16, 2010
  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Calibrate your tires and tripmeter.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #2 bwilson4web, Jul 16, 2010
  3. TexomaEV

    TexomaEV Member

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    N/A
    OK, You threw me a curveball. How do I do this? - You're going to make me do this trip all over again, aren't you.......

    Interestingly enough, I wondered why the mpg on the scangauge II, was showing higher. I did at least set it's engine adjustment to 1.5 - Hope there aren't other settings which should have been adjusted.
     
    #3 TexomaEV, Jul 16, 2010
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Sorry, I should have been clearer:
    Uh, no. It is as simple as taking a 10-40 mile trip along a mile-marker road or with a GPS. The trip meter reports to 1/10th of a mile. So a 10 mile trip gives 100 units. So drive down a road with mile markers and reset the tripmeter value passing by the first marker. Continue for 10 miles and record the trip meter at the 10 mile marker. The difference will give 0-2%. Go 20 miles and the accuracy doubles, 0-1%. Go 40 miles and the accuracy doubles again, 0- 0.5%.

    In another thread I'm testing larger diameter tires knowing it changes the calibration. So I'm using a GPS on a relatively straight stretch:

    • indicated MILES / MPG -> gallons burned
    • gallons burned / TRUE_MILES -> true MPG
    Notice the difference between the two runs. I average the two to take out elevation and wind effects. However at 2:00 AM, there is no appreciable wind.

    Uh, I don't want to cause any grief but I also adjust for air density based upon temperature. If you're within +/- 10F of 70F, it is 'close enough.'

    You asked if '47.8 MPG' was about right for 65 mph in 100F with A/C. Yes, it is good. Here is my NHW11 performance over multiple years at different temperatures:
    [​IMG]
    These were indicated MPG on uncalibrated tires that per specs were reading about 2-4% higher than true.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #4 bwilson4web, Jul 16, 2010
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