Hybrid/Electric Vehicles
In this series of articles, we take a look at how by Theo Calitz, a self-made businessman and a self-confessed hybrid/electric nut, gave his Prius a
significantly extended range. Fifty years ago, Theo would have been installing a V8 in his Ford Anglia, but today that is rather passé, so Theo takes us
through his hybrid conversion.
Converting my
Toyota Prius Part Three
Converting my Toyota Prius into something even more fuel efficient was
a first for me (in general I like cars to remain standard), but turned out to
be a hugely interesting experience.
I
am very lucky to know a person like
Antony English that has the knowhow and expertise to make this Prius
project work. He also has the benefit
of dealing with people at Evert Energy
Systems in the USA that have built and
provided the control unit for the battery
pack.
So, what is it like driving the first plug-in
hybrid in the country? Well, first off,
you notice that it is heavier. Adding
about 160 kg behind the rear axle is not
insignificant, and required some beefing
up of the suspension by adding airbags
- an operation which in itself turned
out to be hassle-free and effective. It
is possible to adjust the suspension
by using compressed air at any filling
station.
Secondly, the car makes use of the
petrol engine less, which is the whole
idea. The principle of this conversion
is to keep the car’s own (0.5 kWh)
NiMH battery at almost full charge by
“topping it up” when it reaches about
75 – 80 percent full, with the new
(10 kWh) Lithium Iron Phosphate
battery. Suddenly I am cruising on the
highways at 115 km/h on battery power
alone, which was not possible before.
The fuel consumption I get depends
very much on the average speeds and
driving style. Driving at lower speeds
(due to heavy traffic for example) means
that I only use battery power, but when
I need to push on, the petrol engine
comes more into play.
Best case scenario was a trip to a
customer at 0.8 l/100 km (or 125 km/l)
which is significant. My trip home last
week (which included some steep hills)
and which is about 29.5 km, used only
340 ml of petrol – there is a real risk
that the fuel will evaporate before being
used!
➲ The car was charged at home - and at work
I now charge the battery at home and
at work, which makes a big difference.
My last fill-up required 36.6 litres.
The range on a tank is 1 518.4 km’s
and cost R524.37. This is my best case
scenario so far, but I have no doubt that
I can improve on this by being more
patient and not running out of battery
power (which happens a few times on
every tank).
Driving mostly on electric power gives
me a range of about 80 km’s, but
luckily, there is no range anxiety being
a hybrid. The increase in cost of my
electricity bill at home and at work is
almost negligible - I suspect that I will
be able to offset it with a solar heater.
➲ The airbag that was fitted in the coil spring of
the rear suspension
➲ The display shows the distance achieved on
different tanks (which takes 40 litres or less).
The longest distance achieved was 1 518 km on
a single tank
| Wheels in Action
102
may 2014
Has this conversion been worth it?
From a pure interest point-of-view,
absolutely! It has achieved exactly
what I was hoping. Is it cost effective?
Probably not. The conversion cost
me R115 000 and if I reduce my fills
from two t