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ok so people have been modifying their I1s to be PHEVs for several years now.

I just thought I would give a basic overview / run down of some of the different approaches I have seen being used so far... I find them all kind of neat in different ways.

In no special order:

#1> UK Li PHEV I1
40Ah Li battery replacement for the ~10 year old tech 6.5Ah NiMH OEM IMA battery. Permanently added the weight of a passenger to the vehicle ,and eats the spare tire storage area in addition to the OEM battery space... custom BCM interface, MIMA , custom BMS, etc... from a full charge allows for 5kW of IMA boost for about ~45 Minutes ... less if the full 10kW of the IMA system is used.

#2>
Recently a Insight rally racing team replaced the OEM ~10 year old tech 6.5Ah NiMH IMA pack with a modern 15Ah Li Battery pack that fits in the same Battery compartment and weighs ~ the same as the OEM pack... Although pricey and custom stuff... custom BCM interface, BMS , MIMA, etc.... the ~130% increase in capacity and PHEV feature give them much more performance for the race events out of the same weight and not have to use additional gasoline to get the ~10kW boosts... The also use a MIMA system to use the Assist and Regen on demand ... from a full charge the updated battery pack can do ~10kW IMA boost for ~10 minutes.

#3> First PHEV I1
Mike D , as far as I know was running the first PHEV I1 several years ago with PbA batteries... his V-Boost system can get ~45 Minutes of ~2.3 kW of boost from a full charge ... kind of like forced regen without the gasoline and power costs... lots of custom stuff, to make it work with the OEM IMA system and MIMA instead of replacing the OEM system ... this is effectively recharging the OEM NiMH battery pack which is still in the car while driving with a PHEV booster secondary battery... this allows him to restore the OEM NiMH battery SoC slowly while letting the OEM battery take the large current peak kW surges... the down side is the PbA battery system added the weight of about 2 passengers ~300 Lbs... Mike D also added a 5th wheel system to give him low speed EV operation.

#4>
There are several people who are running a 2nd or 3rd OEM pack that has been connected to work with the OEM 1st pack in parallel... MIMA is included for Assist and Regen on Demand ... and a Grid Charger is added to grid charge the combined 2 or 3 times capacity battery pack... This has the benefit of being far less expensive to get up and running and it allows full IMA power from the extended battery capacity with less complexity... Unfortunately this effectively permanently adds the weight of a passenger and most of these systems end up sucking up a chuck of storage space... some just in the under floor cargo area... some also go up on top in the back as well.

#5>
Some people added grid charging to their OEM battery pack and a MIMA system to use that power on demand... although this might be one of the most limited types of PHEV I1 it is also one of the least expensive and it does not add any significant additional weight to the vehicle ... it is also one of the least complex PHEV I1 options as well... These systems allow normal I1 driving but the IMA SoC can start each day at full even if they pulled in to the drive way at the bottom of SoC... MIMA is used to allow asses to the 10kW of Assist at any throttle position ... thus with MIMA the ICE efficiency can be kept up instead of the OEM design which often reduces ICE efficiency before it kicks in the IMA assist.

#6>
Many years ago one of the PbA battery companies replaced the NiMH battery pack with a PbA battery pack... they just wanted to show that PbA could also be used for HEVs and not just the NiMH that dominates those vehicles... of course it was also inadvertently one more example of people successfully modifying the OEM system to take other sizes , types, and chemistry options of batteries as a replacement for the OEM NiMH battery pack.

#7>
I guess the most basic, least complex, and cheapest PHEV I1 of them all is just adding the grid charger by itself to always be able to start each day with a Full OEM NiMH battery pack... this would offset some gasoline that would have otherwise been used to eventually recharge that SoC... but I personally think the #5 version of this with the inclusion of MIMA adds significantly more potential with a very minor increase in vehicle weight from the MIMA system.... but MIMA I guess while desired ... is not necessary for at least some level of limited PHEV I1 benefit.


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Pretty much any of the above systems could be charged from pretty much any outside source of power.

The outside source of power is offsetting some gasoline that would have otherwise been used.

Ideally the outside source of power would be something in the RE area... like the Solar panel Mike D uses... but I guess grid power would work also.

Most of the above PHEV I1s do not use an EV mode. While that can be a useful feature, to be sure... especially is very slow stop and go traffic ... even without an EV mode MPG can be increased and some of the gasoline can be offset to other sources of energy some of which can be far cheaper , or far cleaner than gasoline.

This increase in MPG and gasoline offset is pretty much available at any speed that some amount of motive power is desired... as soon as the driver would use the ICE to accelerate or maintain speed any kW of power that are needed to do this can be reduced by up to the 10kW that the IMA system can provide... thus if 20kW of total power is needed only 10kW still would have to come from gasoline... without PHEV systems like these the 20kW of power all came from gasoline one way or the other.

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Although I have my doubts , due to the low number of I1s on the road ... It would be nice if a PHEV firm offered a package for the more common I1 driver... all the current systems I know of have been custom made for the the people or by the people... all the work has been done by enthusiasts... some of which work as and are very knowledge people... but unfortunately that is still not something the average Joe is ready to do on his own.

Interesting stuff, Ian! I know you are interested in doing a conversion on your own vehicle -- which method are you wanting to use?

I believe Enginer (see the banner at the top of the page) is also working on an add on pack for the first gen Insight which works in a similar manner to your #3 on the list... though you'd have to add MIMA as well to get any real benefit, I expect.

Enginer does have one. EricBecky has the first one installed in his. There is hope!:D

Interesting stuff, Ian! I know you are interested in doing a conversion on your own vehicle -- which method are you wanting to use?

I believe Enginer (see the banner at the top of the page) is also working on an add on pack for the first gen Insight which works in a similar manner to your #3 on the list... though you'd have to add MIMA as well to get any real benefit, I expect.

Yes eventually I want to go in this kind of direction

Right now and for at least another 2~3 years I will probably be living in apartments ... I considered some options that might work with apartments ... but in the end... at least for me ... I would want to have access to a plug to plug in with ... it is pretty restricted in its ability to provide a benefit without that... My current employer does still offer EV charging for employees so that would me my access for the next 2~3 years... not ideal ... but it might work.

I already have MIMA so I'm good as far as that goes.

I also agree that there is definitely significant benefits for the use assist on demand that MIMA offers for a PHEV I1... with MIMA I will not have to suffer from the reduced ICE efficiencies that are common for most OEM applications of assist... full 10kW of assist can be used at the ICE's peak efficiency... And It kind of gives a more tangible feel for the PHEV benefit ... you can on your own feel the amount of the ~10kW assist whenever you use it. .. plug of course the other stuff that MIMA offers but you could get without MIMA , like more control over regen and forced charging etc.

I'm also kind of torn between a coupe different options... I might do the progression bellow A to B to C.

#A> $1,000 to $2,000 expected total costs
I could just slap in the NiMH I already have ... to have a booster type of system similar to #3 above or #4... it would bring my total in car capacity up to ~18Ah... And I already own these batteries so the initial costs are lower than other methods... this would be enough capacity for a MPG benefit for the first 20 to 30 minutes or so of driving each charge ... which would be enough given my current driving needs... after ~30 minutes or so I will be driving around with extra weight so at that point the MPG would be less... eventually if I were to go on a longer road trip... I would probably pass the break even point.

#B> ~$5,000 expected total costs
I could invest in more modern batteries NiMH, Li , etc... to do #3 or #4 above... not a bad option... but if I am going to invest in newer , more modern batteries I think I would be more tempted to go with #1 or #2... #2 is a 15Ah capacity pack without weight or volume increase over the ~10 year old OEM NiMH cells.... thus it has no losses in MPG compared to the OEM system but could still have the MIMA Assist PHEV benefits to MPG for the first part of each drive... but #1 trades to get a longer run time of MPG benefit from the first part while under PHEV power but then has some extra weight for after that period is done... If I went this route ... I think I would stay close to the OEM system weight as a ~10 to ~20 minute PHEV MPG benefit range is significant enough... I haven't given up on the 2nd clutch concept as an add on for this type ... but it is allot of work.

#C> $10,000 to $20,000 expected total costs
If I am going to be investing significantly into improving my I1... I might prefer to go with a EV conversion ... A small high efficiency generator trailer could be used for those few times when I needed more range, but being detachable would have the benefit of not being dead weight when it isn't being used or isn't needed.

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I think the I1 is a great platform... allot of the same things that make it a great MPG gasoline car would still serve it well no matter what kind of fuel it runs on... and of all the fuel options Electrical power would be my ideal to eventually go to... of course ideally I would want to charge the BEV with a RE source like solar.

Enginer does have one. EricBecky has the first one installed in his. There is hope!:D


Yeah I've been following the Beta with EricBecky... good stuff... definitely might be a viable option.

These are good mods, but maybe some clarification would help.

Mike's fifth wheel is the closest thing to a true Insight I PHEV - add batteries and it can perform like most Prius.

Unless I'm missing something, the others probably should be called "mixed mode hybrids" - they are not quite PHEVs.

If you add batteries to a 2000-2006 Insight, it's a great thing as the batteries take a larger share on the acceleration and increase the ICE's cruise time for better FE....even with extra batteries and a MIMA joystick, this is not an optimal EV-mode vehicle - the ICE is teathered to the electric motor. :( I can't imagine wanting to EV in such an Insight more than occasional stop-and-go gridlock.

These are good mods, but maybe some clarification would help.

Mike's fifth wheel is the closest thing to a true Insight I PHEV - add batteries and it can perform like most Prius.

Unless I'm missing something, the others probably should be called "mixed mode hybrids" - they are not quite PHEVs.

If you add batteries to a 2000-2006 Insight, it's a great thing as the batteries take a larger share on the acceleration and increase the ICE's cruise time for better FE....even with extra batteries and a MIMA joystick, this is not an optimal EV-mode vehicle - the ICE is teathered to the electric motor. :( I can't imagine wanting to EV in such an Insight more than occasional stop-and-go gridlock.

Just my 2 bits.

PHEV = Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.
Nothing about being a PHEV requires an EV-Mode.
It just requires that you can get your electrical power for your HEV by plugging it in. That's it.

This is different from a REEV... which has to have the primary drive system as a EV.
A REEV does require a EV mode... and it must be the primary drive motor as well... other motors like ICEs are only to extend the range of the otherwise BEV.

Remember the ultimate goal of a PHEV is to replace / offset gasoline usage with electrical usage... if a PHEV I1 ( even without a 'proper' EV-Mode ) improves the drivers MPG... does it really matter if it improves it by 50% with an EV-Mode, or if it improves it by 50% without an EV-Mode? Or whatever the % ends up being.

Different PHEV strategies offer different kinds of gasoline reduction/ offset ... I would not agree with the concept that one method is better for all situations... the situation specifics will dictate which strategy works best for that specific situation.

For instance a low speed EV mode is great for stop and go driving and grid lock type of driving... and for those applications an EV mode has significant benefits.

If you are traveling at highway speeds... a method of replacing some of the gasoline energy with electrical energy at these higher speeds becomes beneficial... at highway speeds low speed EV modes are useless.

Any I1 with MIMA has an EV-Mode weather they ever use it or not... I will agree the OEM system is not ideal... but it doesn't have to be ideal in all situations to still be beneficial in some situations... so far from what I've seen the MIMA induced EV mode of a I1 for all of its issues and design problems consumes about ~250 Wh / Mile ... this can be done at just about any speed ... of course slower speeds use less... eventually maybe I will collect more data on it ... Although I would still say that although such an EV-Mode has its benefits... EV-Modes are not the exclusive benefit for PHEVs.

For example if you are going to travel say 60 miles ... you could use a PHEV Prius with a short low speed EV-Mode for the first 10 or 20 miles... than for the other 40 miles the extra weight of batteries reduces the MPG you would have normally achieved.

Now look at the same example with a MIMA like system that allows the driver to use the same kWh of electrical energy... but instead of burning it all up in 10 or 20 miles... he instead being the cleaver drive that he is... he uses the Assist to keep the ICE in Lean Burn and to keep it operating in a higher % efficiency over the entire 60 mile trip.

Of course there is still a benefit to the EV-Mode... but once the trip starts to use gasoline ... the guy who is using his electrical energy to maximize the ICE efficiency is making better use of each his kWh ... and he is improving his MPG further with the same amount of kwh than the guy who burned it all up and is now forcing the ICE to vary ( and sometimes reduce ) its efficiency in order to supply all the power needs... there reaches a point where there is a break even... and then past that point in one direction the EV-Mode is the better option .. and past that break even point in the other direction the EV-Mode is not the better option.

It ends up just falling back to a question of what exactly are the specifics? ... in some situations a MIMA assist PHEV is a better system than a EV-Mode PHEV.... but in other situations the EV-Mode PHEV is better... how often each type of situation will happen will change from person to person and daily drive to daily drive.