Using EV mode for long periods then using the ICE (from a cold start) would produce a lot more pollution because of cold engine components including the cat converter.

Maybe during highway cruise speeds the ICE could be run at a constant 1500 rpm and power a small generator that powers the electric drive motor. Less pollution, less fuel, more efficiency. Sort of like a diesel-electric locomotive???? Then just run on EV mode in the city from a LIon battery pack.

 

i wrote the guys at CalCars, who do the Prius plug in conversions and they said the Civic was not really an option. he listed most of the reason given here actually. Prius can just put out more power from their electric motor.

 

On plug-in EV, why we have to spin the crank shaft?
My bet is we need at least 2 or 3 kW of battery power just to spin the crank shaft.
What a wastefull system!

I agree Ralph's concept, a plug-in series hybrid.

Ken@Japan

 

I and many agree that the Civic's IMA will never be an optimal system for plug-in operation. By today's standards, a series arrangement like Toyota's is the most optimal.

But calling it wastefull is a bit over the top - if not fanning the flames between Honda and Toyota owners.

Many will agree that the Civic's IMA is more than meeting its objective of lowering oil consumption and polution. At this point, Toyota's system has not proven to be significantly better despite being significantly more complex.

Couldn't we just agree that both systems are excellent demonstrations of real progress in automotive technology, and that having more of both is only better for us all?

Cheers;

MS

 

Of course, I agree both Honda IMA system and Toyota HSD system are affordable and well-accepted hybrid vehicles in world-wide.

My comment about "wastefull" is for the converted plug-in vehicle which runs most in electric only mode. I just would like to tell the Honda IMA system is not a good candidate of plug-in.

Ken@Japan

 

My apologies for mis-understanding you Ken. I agree that a conversion of IMA to plug-in may be an excersise in futility.

Cheers;

MS

 

using the current motor on the hch, i could see a plug-in modification as useful. i think it would provide a significant boost to city mpg. my experience shows that it is pretty easy to drain the battery (at least down to 4 bars when forced regen kicks in) in normal city driving. i believe a fellow hch driver did some tests that show that for each bar of forced regen there is a 10% drop in mpg (don't quote me on that but it sounds reasonable). the hch does phenomonally well at highway mpg and pretty darned good at city (can usually get at least 40mpg in city driving without really trying). a battery pack that gave enough reserve juice that eliminated all forced regen and boosted electric assist on acceleration from stationary could theoretically bump the hch's city mpg up by more than a modest amount. those two factors alone account for the hch's big hits in city mpg.


hmmm, any good electric engineers out there who are willing to mod an hch and try it??

 

I had one, a Toyota RAV4EV. Sold it five months ago. Its top speed is 85 MPH and the range in mixed city/highway driving is about 100 miles. Toyota stopped making them in 2003 as soon as California's ZEV mandate was cancelled. There are about 300 RAV4-EVs in private (non fleet) hands, and there's been one offered per month on eBay, on average, lately. The latest one was sold for $55,000 this week, much more than the original price.

Go see the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car", at select theaters now. You'll understand better why no mass production EVs are currently being offered by any auto manufacturer. It's a crying shame.

 

"Maybe during highway cruise speeds the ICE could be run at a constant 1500 rpm and power a small generator that powers the electric drive motor. Less pollution, less fuel, more efficiency."

Hey, that's already how HSD works!

 

That means you would only get battery assist for one battery cycle per charge. What good is that unless you're going to recharge it every few miles? In my car the assist batteries only last for a few stoplights or one big uphill - and that's in assist mode. If it were the only power it wouldn't last half that long. So if i turned off forced regen and charged it at home, that would only help me with the first few miles of any trip. If that's all you do is trips to the store, then you could recharge it every time you got back, but anyone who does trips longer than a few miles would not get much out of the hybrid system because it would be turned off or depleted most of the time. Sure a 1.3l engine on its own would still do pretty well, but why bother with the hybrid system in that case?