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Project Lithium installed

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Lumpy05, Dec 21, 2022.

  1. Lumpy05

    Lumpy05 Junior Member

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    Installed Nexgen lithium cells in my 2008 Prius with nearly 230k miles. Took roughly 4 hrs, straightforward installation with no issues. I am extremely pleased! The car just drives better, I did not have a failed pack but clearly worn cells that would discharge overnight. Engine was working hard prior to pack refresh. Now everything is smooth and just better. Just over 200 miles thus far but believe I will see the 10% fuel economy improvement, seeing 48 mpg on the trip computer where I was seeing 44 prior under similar driving scenarios. Happy to answer questions. Also not sure what to do with removed cells, looking for advice/ options on that.
     
    #1 Lumpy05, Dec 21, 2022
    MarkySparky and PriusCamper like this.
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Sell them or keep them for backup use. Just in case the Lithium doesn't work out
     
    #2 JC91006, Dec 21, 2022
  3. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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    Cool. If you live in cold weather let us know how it does. Don't sell it, you'll just pass the buck. See if the dealer will give you cash back for the pack. Or just give it to them free to recycle. Let us know how much they give you cash back if they do.
     
    #3 PriusV17, Dec 21, 2022
  4. Lumpy05

    Lumpy05 Junior Member

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    I’m located in Indiana single digit temps starting tomorrow will see how battery does in the cold for sure.
     
    #4 Lumpy05, Dec 21, 2022
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Not sure you can really compare properly with a degraded 14 year old OEM battery vs a brand new battery. Your results for the new battery should be superior. But I would still keep the old battery just in case some reason the Lithium battery doesn't work well in your climate
     
    #5 JC91006, Dec 21, 2022
  6. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    -38F around here soon

    Would be a good test area
     
    #6 Rmay635703, Dec 21, 2022
  7. nancytheprius

    nancytheprius Active Member

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    my 16 year old pack failed last month. i replaced with a brand new OEM battery, and i noticed almost no changes (besides no more lights on dash or codes) So i think it’s possible to compare them!
     
    #7 nancytheprius, Dec 21, 2022
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Well if you let your car sit idle on battery power, I'll bet the new battery will drain much slower than your degraded pack. Also if you were to climb a hill, the new battery will provide a lot more assistance before draining. You really can't compare them once under load, the degraded one will not perform well.
     
    #8 JC91006, Dec 21, 2022
    nancytheprius likes this.
  9. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Myself & a dude in Denver are working on a pack heater to keep things going in Sub-Zero temps for Nexcell... The car already has a way to protect itself from using OEM battery in super cold temps. Discharging is not as problematic as charging... Hit me up so we can get you in our testing...
     
    #9 PriusCamper, Dec 22, 2022
  10. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Pack heater as in interior car warmer? They still make those? Purpose is to heat interior over night in -30 temps to keep lithium pack from freezing?
     
    #10 alftoy, Dec 22, 2022
  11. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    A $25 space heater will keep the inside of a car pretty toasty.....
     
    #11 TMR-JWAP, Dec 22, 2022
  12. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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    If anyone has a FLIR thermal camera. We can see how the Prius exhaust system heats up the car from the bottom in frigid temps. Heat from exhaust can reach 400 to 500F. There may not be any need to keep the battery warm.

    exhaust2.png exhaust1.png exhaust3.png

     
    #12 PriusV17, Dec 22, 2022
  13. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    True enough. Even cheaper a ceramic 250 watt bulb with clamp fixture for coop, $17.

    Just curious what PriusCamper was developing for a pack heater.

    "Myself & a dude in Denver are working on a pack heater to keep things going in Sub-Zero temps for Nexcell."
     
    #13 alftoy, Dec 22, 2022
  14. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    so... two years later... how are the batteries holding up?
     
    #14 black_jmyntrn, Feb 23, 2024
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