i guess i should have been clearer. one would need to augment the current battery pack with a larger, more efficient battery pack. theoretically, that pack could be hooked into the current ipu however custom circuitry might be required to fool the ipu into accepting the extra batteries. however, a large enough secondary battery pack, in conjunction with the original battery pack which is still hooked into the regen system probably would hold out nicely for 30 miles on its own which is about what most people drive on average per day. this would mean that the extra battery pack would not need to be recharged but once a day - even if it is not connected into the regen system.

 

This is a design benefit in the Prius, the elecrtic motor's total capacity far exceeds the capacity of the battery pack, as under normal operation it runs both battery power, and power converted to elecrticity directly from the engine.

This, and several other problems -- such as the cold start problem, and the fixed crankshaft -- rule out the "EV Mode" plug-in idea, where the car rolls with the engine off most of the time, but I still hold that the Civic is a good candidate for a "strong elecrtic boost" plug-in pack, where the pack provides supplementary power, along with the engine, and runs solo when creeping.

A series-hybrid system will work best on a vehicle which requires large bursts of power followed by long periods of idle, where a tiny engine can run during the idel time to replenish the power used earlier, this is great for an urban bus or taxi. For steady cruising though, converting 100% of the engine power to elecrticity will have greater loss than a transmission fixed in overdrive. Also, another disadvantage of the series-hybrid design is that you can no longer "add up" The power output of the batteries and the engine, so if you need a surge of power to climb a hill or accelerate, you need a motor which can supply all of that power -- which will add weight and complexity.

However, if an engine were to be used designed to run at a fixed RPM could have potential. One Idea that might be interesting would be a small, efficient engine with waste-heat recovery that would run at its most efficient RPM continually (If more power were absolutely needed, it could run at a faster, but less efficient RPM). The engine would be unclutched, working as a series-hybrid at low speed. At high speed, there would then be a lock-up clutch to connect to the wheels for steady cruising. If the engine output say 25hp efficiently, and 20 were needed at the time to cruise, 5hp could be "subtracted" through charging the battery.

The Toyota HSD system, and other like it, such as the new GM/Chrysler/BMW design, have the advantage of working as a series-hybrid in the city, parallel on the highway. Improving these platforms is probably the best bet.

 

Yeah, that would be nice, but it sounds more like wishing for a different car than hoping for a mod. :-)

 

Interesting discussion.
Since you are talking about batteries, I was wondering why there is a battery under the hood. Also, I see what looks like a starter motor next to the battery. It's my understanding that the flywheel is the electric component for this engine and this flywheel/motor is what starts the engine. What's up with that?

 

Its a back-up! H

 

I endorse nbalthaser's comments...I don't think it would be cost-effective to add batteries, etc., but I live halfway up a steep hill. The engine struggles uphill if the batteries are running low. Most of our trips are only a few miles.
Being able to simply clip an inverter to the IMA battery and top it up when the car's parked at home would make a significant impact on gas mileage.
Incidentally...my 2008 HCH is running about 30 mpg in town in the winter, 50 on highway. I think I could improve the former if I could top up the charge.

 

Check out 99mpg.com. There is a guy there selling kits. I wouldn't mess with it if your car is still under any sort of warranty, though.

 

It's perfectly feasible to add a lithium battery system and manual IMA control to the HCH1 and you would see enormous improvements in mpg as the ima motor would allow the IC to run in lean burn a lot more and take a substantial load off the engine. I've been riding around in a 150mpg lithium insight g1 for 3 years. I expect a lithium HCH1 would see at least 100mpg with a 40ah phev battery pack.

It's not going to be cheap or for the faint hearted though.

I have posted on insightcentral about lithium insights and imac&c for the HCH1 etc so it's all there.

Peter