Hybrid mod question - GreenHybrid

feautos · #1 (**permalink**) 09-19-2005, 08:48 PM

Hi all...

I heard about some of the different types of mods you can do to a hybrid to allow for better MPG. How difficult have you all found doing these mods to be? Are they hard to do or really easy...have you been able to do them yourself? Just curious...

rigger · #2 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 03:28 AM

Are you talking about mods like extra air in the tires? That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Most of the mods are driver mods. Change the way you drive, that is the quickest way to see a mileage gain.

LarsBoelen · #3 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 04:27 AM

Feautos,

Can you list the different mods?

geologyrox · #4 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 04:29 AM

yeah, most of what i'veheard here are changes in the way you drive. there are EV mode button installs, but I don't know what vehicles need it to begin with.

if you are talking full fledged conversion (Prius to Prius+ for instance) you are talking about an expensive, involved process - but for a handy person with the right commute, a plugin hybrid might be worth the upgrade

Dan · #5 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 06:15 AM

Check out WikipediA articles on hypermilers and fuel efficientcy. Both of these have tips on how to better your fuel economy. From what I've heard about the Prius EV mod, it might not improve fuel efficeintcy since it burns lots of battery that the ICE must come on and replinish.

Tim · #6 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 07:13 AM

Unless you're an electrical engineer, the only "common person" mods I'm aware of are tire pressure, unnecessary weight in the car (you could get lighter wheels than the stock wheels in most cases - I plan to do this in the next 2-3 months on my HCH), use the right kind of oil (0-20W for me). There have been discussions of the effect of various air filters, but I'm not sure if anything has been conclusive. Aside from that - driving style. I can claim an extra 6-7 MPG now above EPA due to tire pressure (45 psi) and driving style. Last four tanks have been above 50.

I've read about the "250 MPG" Prius, but the guy that did it is also an electrical engineer. There's enough volts in there to cause you serious harm or death - not something I'd ever play with unless I was an expert.

xcel · #7 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 07:29 AM

Hi Feautos:

___There are two mods that can help a bit during the colder winter months to attempt restore some of the FE you may have received in the spring/fall. These are simply called Warm Air Mods. You have the Warm Air Intake (WAI) which is an air intake hose drawing its air from near a CAT shield or the exhaust manifold vs. right through the front of the car (possibly after a radiator). This mod usually gives you about 10 - 25 degrees increase in AIT’s vs. drawing through the std. intake depending on how good your WAI mod is. The next is a Radiator block which helps maintain coolant temps higher and blocks off some cold outside air from coming into direct contact with much of block. These 2 mods will not get you anywhere near 100% of you summer time FE but they might help maintain Leanburn at 20 degrees F and below in an Insight or HCH or give you back 1 - 2 mpg in everything else. Cost? About $10.00 for both. A WAI can be fabricated from a specific diameter - pre-heater hose available from your local Napa store. They usually come in 18” lengths and you may need (2) cobbled together depending on where you are grabbing the warmer air and where the intake hose comes into the filter canister. The Prius II for example has its exhaust manifold near the intake so you only need a short piece and your set. Radiator blocks? Just go cut up a piece of cardboard and slide it in front of the radiator. The Insight actually has a runner or shelf on the bottom that the cardboard can rest on. You may want to cut up the cardboard for a more custom fit. I had a few corners angled off, some of the top angled back, and a slot for the hood release to slide thorough which worked like a charm for the time I owned her. Ease of install and removal? A 7 year old could do it after the initial install. You can remove or install both the radiator block and the WAI in about 20 seconds once you have your initial placement of the block and the WAI hoses all setup.

___If you are primarily a city driver, the radiator block is not really recommended. I have seen coolant temps hang in the low 220’s and still climbing slowly in an all city environment vs. low 190’s while out on the highway in the Insight 5-speed. Without the Radiator block, low 170’s was the result … All in 32 degree F temps and without FAS’s or straight AS’s to test out its capabilities. If you are a primarily highway driver, I left my radiator block in all the way until it was 65 + degrees Ambient. The WAI was left on year round.

___Finally, while it’s still warm (70 + degrees F), find a shallow downward slope that levels off near your home. Maybe your driveway possibly? Shut the car off while stopped at the top of the slope and release your brakes. Take note of the exact spot that the car stopped at on the level portion of the road after the downhill coast. Now do the same when its 45 degrees, 32 degrees, and again at 0 degrees F. At 32 and 0 degrees F, you may not even be able to get the car to begin the coast down the hill depending on how steep it is! What you will see is that your coasting distances decrease with each respective decrease in temperature. This cold grease, higher mechanical friction, higher RR of your tires, whatever effect vs. temperature is huge and you cannot overcome this with any mods that I know of unfortunately

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

SSonnentag · #8 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 07:29 AM

On other vehicles the first mod most people make is a free-flowing intake and filter. However, with the hybrids the amount of air flow that is needed, even at full throttle, is so low that this mod seems irrelevant.

Shawn

Dan · #9 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 09:17 AM

A lot of marketing is tagged with "Better Gas Mileage". Some of it is likely snake oil, although some of it may be relevant. Froogle will show all (click link). I see it most commonly marketed in gas additives, synthetic oil blends, platinum tipped spark plugs, and intake/exhaust accelerators. But please don't think I'm endorsing any of these, some my ruin your mileage all together.

All of these are modifications to the ICE to increase it's efficiency. I would like to think that the ICE designed for the Prius is already as close to optimal as it can get.

SSonnentag · #10 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 09:25 AM

I think the HCH ships with iridium-tipped spark plugs, which is even better than platinum. The gas companies already add detergents to the fuel, so those aren't necessary anymore. We can all use synthetic oil. I think we're fairly optimized already.

Shawn