Hey xcel you are hitting on what I'm asking. It's funny you mention backyard mechanic. The underlying goal of my thread is to find out what what would be possible to do on my own. I currently have two cars a 95 Dodge Intrepid and a 00 Pontiac Firehawk(Firebird). I really like these cars as the internet backing is excellent.
The Intrepid boards are great for getting a bunch of backyard mechanics together to come up with ways to keep these cars running cheap. At 130K miles I was able to swap out a dying tranny for $600. I had to do the work myself, but thanks to forums and the solid internet backing I was able to get a newer stronger transmission into the car. I love stuff like that.
The Firebird(aka F-Body) boards are far more prevalent. They tend to lean towards maximizing performance(MPG is almost never mentioned on those boards), but they also get into a lot of repairs and work arounds.
These internet resources have saved me thousands of dollars in repairs and taught me a tremendous amount about the interworkings of today's automobile. Not to mention I tend to hang onto a vehicle for 7+ years on average. Maintaining a car out of warranty can be very expensive. So researching and finding a car that meets all my needs, not to mention one that will be fun to drive and play with, and one that will be reliable and easy to maintain/repair is why I tend to start looking so early.
So I guess along with the other cars on my list I'm trying to gauge what kind of resources will be avilable to me once the warranty runs out. Each of my top three(which the FEH is one of) have their pluses and minuses. I guess the FEH is sort of a big question mark on being able to repair and maintain it myself and what kind of things fellow owners will be doing with there. Wioth a few obvious exceptions(probably all the people who've posted in this thread) most of the FEH drivers posting don't seem like "car people." More like environmentalists. Nothing against environmentalists, I just don't think too many are gonna help me swap a big dirty tranny at 130K miles.
Performance gains are just for fun. I don't really care too much about performance in my daily driver. i have the firehawk when I need my torque fix. I will be replacing the Intrepid which is my current DD. So it's really a commuter car and a car to tote my big GSD around in. Hiking and trails and such.
So hearing what others are doing to get more out of their hybrids is of interest to me. Those are the types of people who think outside the box and aren't afraid to try stuff on their own. That's where I'm coming from. Hopefully this board is home to a few people like that. Or perhaps there is another board more suited for that sort of thing.
Thanks for the helpful advice so far guys.
Mike
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Originally Posted by xcel
Hi All:
___Let me first say that their was a team of scientists (I mean PhD’s in Electrical, Mechanical, and Computer Engineering disciplines) that got the Escape HEV up and running from initial prototype to test mule. I am sure there was the same at Toyota, Honda, and the rest. Not to say there are not mods that can and cannot be performed but like all of them, some may be ill-advised unless said owner is completely aware of what the ramifications are for a given mod. The WAI and radiator block in the Insight is pretty simple but not without the unknowing owners ability to cause some harm. I have seen and performed the same on the Prius II and FEH. MIMA in the Insight is probably violating some Honda internal pack constraints but some swear by it. A FAS switch in the Insight is for sure changing both the Insight’s FE and emissions profile. Hacking the ECU and various modules is where you had better know what you are doing. The Ford Engineers had drop dead limits on SoC range, rate of charge and/or assist as well as ICE emissions profiles that absolutely could not be violated. I can tell you that if those same engineers were allowed to break all those constraints, the Escape HEV could and would be an absolute stunner in the FTP75. I mean absolute as in 50 + mpg type numbers from that large a vehicle in the city test. I can also tell you why the simple EV switch in the Prius II was not allowed in the states. It changes the same cars FE and emissions profile in the FTP75 and the EPA will not currently allow user intervention to change either the Emissions or FE ratings.
___I do not know if this is what the OP was looking for or not? A quick look at the Bonneville or E-Drive’s Prius II’s shows what is possible but again, their was some intervention that may or may not have broken some of the absolute constraints the original manufacturers were forced by law or automobile design longevity to adhere too. Lighter weight wheels and lower LRR tires are a start but modding the ICE’s profile via ECU flash is where a very good OEM system integrator/designer/engineer should be heavily involved and that usually is not the back yard mechanic type anymore 
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes |