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Plug-In Suppy OR Enginer

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by PriusJedi77, Nov 19, 2011.

  1. PriusJedi77

    PriusJedi77 Junior Member

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    Hey Guys - I haven't been on this forum since I drove my Prius (which I've since handed to my sister).

    Anyways, I now drive a Lexus CT200h which I love. Unfortunately it doesn't get very good MPG's (41) which is something I'd like to change. I've always bragged about being the Hybrid driver in my family..But now my Mom's pre-ordered the Plug-In Prius, my Dad's buying a Volt, my brother is waiting for the Prius C next year... Needless to say, I will soon drive the least fuel efficient car in my family. :mad:

    I would really like to boost the efficiency of my CT. The Plug-In route looks like the best way to go. I've been reading through hundreds upon hundreds of posts here to determine what system is the best but still I'm not 100% on it.

    (Hymotion is too expensive - I don't feel like going $10k+)

    Right now I'm comparingg the Enginer 8KWH ($5500 + PacificEV BMS $400) & the Plug-In Supply 4KWH ($5500).

    I've read a lot of rough things about the Enginer products, but I've also read a few posts from a few satisfied customers.. Plug-In Supply I haven't yet read anything negative on, and it looks like a great way to go as well.. I would love to hear what other users here have to say about the two systems. After installing I don't want to spend hours upon hours tinkering and troubleshooting.. Jack from Enginer has insured me that they're products have really been ironed out lately. I have yet to hear anything from Plug-In Supply.

    Thanks in advance for any replies!
     
  2. cproaudio

    cproaudio Speedlock Overrider

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    There's nothing out there for CT200h except Enginer. If you have your old Gen II then you can compare fairly amongst Enginer, Plugin Supply, Hymotion, Plugin Conversion Corp. For gen III Prius you'll have to remove the Hymotion kit. PICC is not available for Gen III yet but will be sometime next year. This leaves Enginer and PIS. I'd personally would go with PIS if I had to do it all over again. There's more user support for Enginer than PIS because there's a dedicated forum for Enginer. There's no forum for PIS or any other kit. All you get is a few threads of questions about Plugin Supply.
     
  3. PriusJedi77

    PriusJedi77 Junior Member

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    Correct there is nothing 'out' for the CT200h but I am trying to get a hold of Plug-In Supply to see if they'd be interested in creating something with my car.. They haven't replied to my email (sent last night) yet.

    What attracts me to PIS is definitely the 20 miles EV only range..I commute 40+ miles each way 3 days a week, but the other 4 days I rarely drive over 20 miles total..I would love to run EV only..

    On the other hand if there was a mod to extend the EV operation past 40mph on the CT/GenIII Prius then I'd likely just go with the Enginer.
     
  4. cproaudio

    cproaudio Speedlock Overrider

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    Enginer relys on stealth mode. It can't accelerate to 40+mph on EV alone. It needs ICE. Once it gets up to 40+mph, you can release the accelerator pedal and reply. This puts the car into stealth mode and you can drive at 43mph on EV for a few miles until the HV battery depletes.
     
  5. PriusJedi77

    PriusJedi77 Junior Member

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    Indeed, which is how I constantly drive the car now when possible..It's just not good enough though. 40-45mph isn't near fast enough to not get honked at here in CA. When I'm in LA it's a different story since I rarely get up to that speed. (Hurray for good infrastructure)
     
  6. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    with an 80 mile commute (i'll assume no recharging at work) you would get better mpg with the 8kwh enginer kit. Reason being it will assist for the whole journey, and you'll get about 80 mpg (30 miles supplied by electricity,50 miles supplied by gas,in 80 miles total). With the PIS 4kwh kit you'll get about 60mpg, since you'll get 15 miles in real EV mode, then 65 miles in gas mode.

    Of course,if you can recharge at work, or if your short trips make up a lot of the miles,the real EV mode fromthe PIS kit may make that more efficient.

    The Enginer system is definitely better now, with better cooling, and a more reliable BMS. It's still not perfect, and there's a good chance you'd have at least one component failure (the batteries, BMS, DC converter or charger.). However, once it's all working you do get good results. mine has been stable since upgrading to BMS v3.3 in August, and i now have over 12,000 miles on it.
     
  7. lopezjm2001

    lopezjm2001 Senior Member

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    When you compare 8kwh of battery to 4kwh for about the same price it is a no brainer. Can you compare PIS reliability to that of Enginer? It is the reliability factor that is holding you back from deciding.
    My 8kwh Enginer kit is working fine with BMS16D V4.0.
     
  8. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    If you put 8kwh of enginer batteries in a CT200H you'll have very little cargo space. Plug in Supply systems generally perform better (direct voltage connection supporting up to 100A with optimized software rather than "dumb" 48VDC/240VDC max 15A converter connection), however, I have not heard of anything for CT200H being developed by PIS. I think Robb (owner of PIS) is on vacation right now so hard to get any kind of answers.
     
  9. kiettyyyy

    kiettyyyy Plug-In Supply Engineer

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    We haven't started development on the Lexus hybrids, but, with our latest generation of software, it's relatively easy to get the conversion working in other brand hybrids(Ford for example).
     
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  10. PriusJedi77

    PriusJedi77 Junior Member

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    How would you like to :D?
     
  11. kiettyyyy

    kiettyyyy Plug-In Supply Engineer

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    Well.. Unfortunately, I'm the only software engineer working for Plug-In Supply... I'm currently in the process of moving from beautiful California to West Lafayette, Indiana to resume my schooling....

    If I some how come along a person willing to give up their Lexus for a couple of days, I could crank out the software.. The Plug-In Supply Gen 3(not gen 3 prius) integration framework makes it VERY easy to integrate into new vehicles...
     
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  12. imwoody36

    imwoody36 the prius parts guy

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    and the crowd goes wild
     
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  13. bonmul

    bonmul New Member

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    Hi Kiettyyyy, I have 2006 Lexus RX400h and I am open for experimentation. Are you game? :)
     
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  14. SynEco@eVehicle.co.nz

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    Did you progress with the RX400h to PHEV ?
     
  15. NortTexSalv04Prius

    NortTexSalv04Prius Active Member

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    FYI
    PICC has done about 70 conversion. Bad news is one of the conversion using a brusa charger out in Cali must of had a overcharge /thermal runaway/etc issue the fire department was called. PICC goes with nimh replacement pack and cost more than pis or enginer.
     
  16. SynEco@eVehicle.co.nz

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    Kiettyyy,

    Q1. Is the LEXUS RX400h Hybrid PHEV upgrade supported by the ECM module.?

    Q2. What are the EV mode options and top EV only speed for the RX400h conversion ?