Well, I finally found out why I can put in 22.5 gallons of gas into my vehicle.

Recently heard that car manufacturers qoute gas tank size based on 90% capacity.

If I do the rough calculation 22.5 * .9 = 20.25, so it matches what I am able to do.

 

This was really helpful when since I've filled up my nah a few times. I've only had around a month or so and was interested in this same system. Do you have any updates as now you've had it for a while? Still working well? I've read some seemingly mixed reviews but most interested in yours as I too have a NAH that I'd love to convert- thanks.

 

Great work on the conversion! I recently bought a 2007 Nissan Altima hybrid (love the car) and I'd like to do something similar. I first would like to add an EV-mode switch (just for driveway maneuvering without firing up the gas motor) do you know if any of the Toyota Prius EV-mode switch kits (or instructions) are somewhat compatible with the Altima Hybrid??

 

As far as I know, there are no EV-mode switches that are compatible. The simplest/best option to do that would be the "fuel pump kill" by removing the fuel pump fuse. I've not done it, but it's supposed to simulate an out of gas condition. Some people have gotten quite creative with that mod on Priuses.

When in the out-of-gas mode, there's extremely reduced power because the engine isn't capable of running. I've been in that mode for short distances because of running out of gas. Can go upto about 45 or even maintain on level ground much higher speeds (maybe 60).

I would not really suggest running it that way for other than your driveway maneuvering as it could create a safety hazard in that the car's not able to accellerate well if needed.

I've had trouble in hilly places like San Francisco or Yosemite when the gas engine doesn't want to come on without a lot of pressure on the accellerator, such as when parking or exiting a parking space with limited room for maneuvering.

 

Thanks for the feedback its greatly appreciated. I've only had the car 3-4 weeks (2 trips to the pump so far averaged ~36 mpg). I'll consider putting a NC relay in series with the fuel pump fuse so I can disable it with a small rocker switch on the dash. I was hoping the HV ECU which I believe is a Toyota unit would have a similar H14 #27 pin to ground to establish EV mode. Do you know if the Altima HV ECU is equivalent to the older 2003 and earlier Prius unit or the 2004-2009 one?
Thanks again for the info.

 

I've got complete Nissan factory schematics and have never found such a pin. I believe the NAH is based on the 04-09 Prius. The pinning layout/configuration is unique to the NAH. I don't plan on trying to test to find such a pin... I like my car to run and it would be fairly difficult to fix if one breaks the main control unit.

By the way... 36mpg was my average until I converted it. Now I regularly get 41+ mpg.

 

I know what you mean when it comes to messing with control units, an inadvertent grounding can toast something very expensive. This is by far the most electronically and mechanically sophisticated car I've ever owned, and I don't feel comfortable about ripping it open yet. My previous daily driver (still running well went to the scrap yard with 224,000 on it, it got 'highly uglified' after a tree fell on it) but it only delivered 21.5 mpg average for the same commute, so the 1.7 fold improvement (coupled with better pickup) is very welcome. I've always liked cars and I've wanted an EV for sometime and I figured this would probably be the closest thing to an EV for me at least for the near future. Since, this new to me NAH has only 36K miles on it and looks nearly new I'm reluctant to do anything really major to it just yet.

 

how has the car been holding up since you did the conversion ?

 

Car has been holding up fine and has passed 150K miles without any problems. Had troubles with the Enginer kit. About a month ago, the converter decided to stop seeing the ready signal from the car, so it's back running with out the better mileage.

I may change the batteries and converter to get even more distance out of the system. I believe that the CALB 180 Ah SE Series Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery from EVWest may work as a good replacement?

 

Have you made a switch? And if so, what did you decide to go with and what was the cost. I live in the bay area and would be interested in having 3 Prong Power in Berkeley do the work if you still keep in contact with them.