Morning, Afternoon, Evening everyone.

By trade I am a automotive technician and shop owner. I'm not here to solicit business or try to stir the pot. I joined because the forum seems to be a group of educated and interesting bunch of hybrid owners and fans who appreciate their cars. That's what it's about for me, I love cars, everything about them and enjoy using them. I have a interest in hybrids because I know they are a permanent part of the automotive world and will be a increasing segment of the cars driven on the highways and byways of the world. I also have a interest because of the technology involved in them and the knowledge needed to properly service them.

I don't own a hybrid and really have no plans to buy one. In my repair shop we have them come threw the door and I welcome them with open arms. I find it interesting how many customers I have didn't even know they owned a "hybrid", those being customers who have older ethanol capable cars and they didn't even know it. Kind of interesting to explain to someone that yes, your car is a flex fuel vehicle.For many who know me it seems odd I actually like hybrid vehicles since my work fleet consists of two full size Chevy's and display cars we take out once in awhile, a 58 Edsel and a 60 Nash Metropolitan. Then my personal fleet is a Chevy Blazer and a Chevy TrailBlazer and a 60' Chevy Truck and a 69 Camaro. The closest I come to a economical car is a 82 BMW for racing and the Nash, it gets about 40-45mpg.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, hopefully we get a chance to talk cars

 

Welcome Willie. You will find many smart, eager, knowledge thirsty folks on this site. And you won’t find anybody who doesn’t know they own a hybrid J We not only know we own a hybrid(s), but we are continuously trying to find out more about what makes them tick. Using hypermiling and other driving techniques to maximize our MPG is a primary goal, but operating our hybrids at peak efficiency and sharing our experiences and discoveries with like minded folks is another major reason we are here.

We are curious to know how the Electric Motors, generators, Internal Combustion Engine, High Voltage battery pack, electronic continuous variable transmission, and all other aspects of the hybrid work together. You’ll also see many references to the ScanGaugeII (scangauge.com) engine monitor, manufactured by Liner Logic, to monitor many data points on the CAN bus via the OBD-2 port to perfect driving techniques, and monitor critical HV battery state of charge, temperatures, etc. We watch our gauges much like a pilot monitors his flight instruments.

There is a lot of mechanical and electronic knowledge throughout the ranks of Greenhybrid members. We are a bunch of car crazy folks who want to maximize hybrid technology, minimize fuel usage, and treat our equipment with a lot of respect.

 

Thank you for the reply. Browsing the forums this morning and in the past I do see a highly educated group of owners which is nice to see. Much like any all other groups of enthusiasts who are passionate about their style of driving and the cars they own.

I'm also impressed with the technical knowledge of the group, also expanding, learning and teaching. My knowledge is moderate at this time to Hybrid service. In our rural area the market hasn't taken off as it has in more urban and larger populated areas.

I'm sure I'll pick up knowledge here. I guess I could be considered a "outsider" to the Hybrid community so hopefully members don't think I am around to ruffle any feathers but I surely can give the point of view of the outsiders looking at Hybrid owners. Again, I don't dislike Hybrids, there just not for me at this time. I can understand peoples reasons for choosing Hybrids as their car. I've ran into many owners with many reasons and talked cars with them. Some of which couldn't stand that I was parked next to them with a 69 Camaro. I guess one big reason I'm here also is to understand that extreme mindset better so future discussions aren't just a argument waiting to happen

 

Not to worry. Everybody on this forum is not a hybrid owner, but most are. Also, most of us have/drive other non-hybrid vehicles. My daily drive is an 02 Ford Ranger, 3.0L, 5sp Manual. My wife drives the FEH. Also in my driveway is a 34' Bounder MH, with a Triton V10. So I have no right to thumb my nose at anybody. What a contrast it will be this spring when I'm towing my 08 FEH behind the gas guzzling motorhome

I don't find hybrid owners to have the 'better than thou' attitude. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have purchased a hybrid at this time if the big Fed Tax credit didn't exist. But I was shopping for a new vehicle before retirement, my wife always liked the 96 Ford Explorer, so the planets were aligned properly to do this. I certainly can't speak for everybody, but 'Green' & 'save the planet' aren't as important to me as "how does this thing work". I like anything mechanical, and the hybrid certainly qualifies in that regard

There are about a dozen posters that I personally consider to be the 'premier knowledge base' folks. I have learned SO much from them. I use the gas saving tips and driving techniques I've learned on my non-hybrid vehicles, and have greatly improved my MPG on them too. However, my 72 VW SuperBeetle isn't a candidate for hypermiling techniques, being air cooled, and reved up in gear is the only way to keep the air flowing over the heads.

 

Cool, and sounds like some fun vehicles you have!

 

Welcome to our little corner of the internet. One of the things you soon discover is we're a mixed group with one of just about every hybrid ever made.
Yes indeed but in the meanwhile, you might want to wander around to the different forums and some of our FAQs. One of the things most missing are autoshops that understand that when a hybrid owner comes in for service, they don't need to have the air let out of the tires (we run them hard for a reason) and extra oil in engine means we'll burn extra gallons on the road. <hint hint>

But if you decide to go the way of Art's and some of the other independent shops and become hybrid friendly (you don't have to own one, just understand how we like to run them) you'll be able to pickup a lot of loyal customers:

http://www.artsautomotive.com/

Truth be told, even the dealer service shops are often too clueless and some of us use them only when we have to push them to the bay.

One other thing, if you have an interest in the Prius models, one of the best places for Prius things technical is the YahooGroup, "Prius_Technical_Stuff." We're the hardcore folks who do transaxle oil studies, fix the traction battery and rework parts to save a buck. You might do a test post there first since the first post always has to pass moderator approval. Your subsequent posts will show up right away.

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks for the reply, Bob. Our shop, just my dad and I, has been around for going on 25 years and I am the technical guru in the shop and he deals with old school stuff so it's a good mix of talents. He really has no interests in Hybrids but doesn't balk at all with mine.

I actually did some reading in here before my first LOF on a Prius. I wanted to see beyond the repair manual what are the trends and ideas people are doing on them. I did find the technical tip for 1/4 inch below the full mark or 3.4 qts of oil as the best for performance. I also understand the want for more air in the tires. It's something I learned long ago that trandsends even into IC cars.

I plan to have open doors to Hybrids just as I do for other models. We can handle most things but if we can't we find them someone who can. I try to do it different. We allow the customer out in the shop, show them what we are doing, let them see what is done. Hybrid owners, like those I see here, who are passionate about their car are no different then fans of Muscle cars, classics, Import enthusiasts. They all want to be apart of the repair some way. So we try our best to let them. If they have concerns or ideas I'm open to listening to how they prefer things to be done.

I hate sending someone to a waiting room to wait, cause I hate having it happen to me.

I think I've seen Art automotive before, could have been on a tech network I am apart of www.iatn.net. Great bunch of guys who help each out, like here.

 

Excellent!

BTW, over in PriusChat, Galxee is the public name for one of the best Prius technicians in North Carolina. About six months ago, they took an air chisel to a Prius fuel tank so we could see the bladder. Very interesting and great insights.

Also, I'm trying to help out with 'do-it-yourself' folks with some rebuilt parts: (1) NHW11 accelerator pots get 'crap in the gap', (2) refurbished NHW11 battery assemblies for those who are willing to replace just the cells and not the whole, $2,300 pack, and (3) NHW11 throttle assembly pots that get 'crap in the gap.' I'm not looking for business as much as quite willing to share what we've learned (actually Doug started it a year or so ago.)

We've also been doing some transaxle oil analysis for NHW11 and NHW20. If you get a call to change the transaxle oil, I'm interested in high mileage vehicle samples for my study. Anything over 60k miles, I would like about 100 ml or at least a cup sample and we can work out the logistics, just send me a PM.

Here are some of my fun and games:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/

There are more that I plan to get indexed someday ... great way to waster ... the Internet. <grins>

Bob Wilson

 

Holy moly I feel like I tripped into information overload. I'll retract that "moderate" knowledge and replace it with "enough to get me in trouble"

A very impressive amount of information and knowledge assembled there Bob. You've given me some fun reading this morning and I can call it a day early.

"learned something new today, days over"

 

Wait till you see Hobbit's pages. He at least kept things organized. But seriously, you're in for a treat. Many of us have been immersed in the study of these fascinating vehicles for years and I'm still learning.

Bob Wilson