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Highest Prius-II Fuel Economy obtainable thanks to a PHEV conversion. (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/in-the-news/t-ride-of-the-week-sept-24-2007-6497.html#post47059)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/546/David_Moore_-_Prius_PHEV.jpgDavid Moore - CleanMPG.com (www.cleanmpg.com) - Sept. 26, 2007

David stands next to his pride and joy. A 2007 Prius-II PHEV conversion from Hybrids-Plus.

My name is David Moore. I am a research and technology director at a Seattle-based company and have been engaged in technology and software development for almost 30 years. I have been a Prius owner for five years and amongst my family, we own four Prius’ (my own, the wife’s, my son’s and daughter’s).

Six years ago I started learning more about climate change and decided to trim my carbon footprint. That is when I purchased my first Prius-I. After a year or so, I traded it in for a Prius-II. Not being satisfied with the 57 mpg I was receiving with my Prius-II, I started learning about other more fuel-efficient forms of transportation. I first learned about the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) a couple of years ago and began to research them in detail. Earlier this year I gave my old Prius-II to my Son and had a new 2007 Prius-II converted into a PHEV by Hybrids-Plus.

The great thing about a PHEV in the Northwest is that most of our electrical energy comes from hydroelectric power.

The PHEV has been working great for me. Since I brought the car home from Boulder, I use it for my daily 30 mile commute. On my first tank, I received 123 mpg. On the second, I received 136 mpg. Just recently I filled up for my third tank (4000 miles in four months). I was able to drive over 1620 miles on that tank and averaged 171.2 mpg not including the electricity. The continuous improvements come about from learning better ways to get the most fuel economy from a PHEV. The tricks are similar to driving a standard Prius but some work a lot better then others ;)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/546/David_Moore_-_Prius_PHEV_-_171_mpg_after_1618_miles.jpg
171.2 mpg after 1,618 miles.

The main problem I see for fast adoption of the Plug-in conversion is the cost of the batteries. The latest advanced battery technology right now is expensive. The light weight fire-resistant 9 kWh Li-Ion battery pack costs over $10,000 just for the batteries alone (A123 systems LiFePO4’s). A smaller pack could be installed but the total cost would still be higher than most would be willing to pay. I am confident that the price for these large packs will come down as more insane people like me buy and install these systems :D

You can find a video log about my PHEV experiences at the Hybrids Plus (http://hybrids-plus.com/pmwiki/index.php?n=Ext.Conversion3) website.

Dave, thank you for blazzing a trail many of us hope to follow soon. :)

I will follow that trail once it is 90% cheaper. :D

Grats on a high-tech and fun setup, though!

What is the top speed of a Prius on electric only? Do you think they will eventually replace motors with ones capable of highway 55/60 travel at electric speeds?

shiba3420 they already have check out the offical toyota press for their release of the plug in prius, the ev mode is extended to 60 mph

What is the top speed of a Prius on electric only? Do you think they will eventually replace motors with ones capable of highway 55/60 travel at electric speeds?

If the catalytic converter is warm the top speed on electric is 41mph. With the EV button on, and if the catalytic converter is below operating temp, the top speed on electric is 34.6mph.

Dave

Dave,

Well done!

I've been waiting to hear from a PHEV driver and this is a taste of what's to come.

An interesting world of much lower maintainence, and possibly having to worry about stale gasoline.

shiba3420 they already have check out the offical toyota press for their release of the plug in prius, the ev mode is extended to 60 mph

That is good news, and thank you I hadn't seen this yet.

What about existing cars being upgraded with PHEV capability (by 3rd parties). Will these companies be able to upgrade motors & software to allow higher cruise speeds.

Man, I can't wait until the day I have my own PHEV sitting in the drive! Just because I don't like the way the numbers are usually presented doesn't mean I don't want one. ;)

There are some valid points made on accounting for the equivalent amount of gas consumed to charge the batteries overnight, but Dave's run is an accomplishment and I congratulate him! :)

Just four weeks after using MIMA, I've had a 100mpg+ run to work in the morning, but with a depleated battery pack - so my legit best is still 96mpg.

highwater was being playful - not vicious.

I look forward to hearing from highwater on adding batteries and hearing his FE improvement...I wonder if for practical purposes, his Insight will be running in an enhanced mixed-mode? That's clearly an upgrade over the stock Insight.

Back to PHEV's...the ICE runs a lot more efficently with a larger battery pack...it gets to idle at it's "sweet spot" more.

It is far too late, but the collective plug-in vehicle community may have been better off, keeping it's collective mouth shut. Think about it.


How about "171 miles per Persian Gulf energy source"? ;).

Incomplete if talking with someone interested in efficiency and accuracy, but darn effective if advocating PHEVs to a group motivated by a topic which has dominated political discourse this decade.

Dave, as has been mentioned earlier, thanks for blazing the trail. Also, very nice looking car and a nice choice of colors.;)

Hi Dave:

___Like everyone else here, thank you for blazing the trail. I don’t care if you received 100, 175 or infinite mpg, traveling that distance from a mostly GHG-less and non-foreign supplied energy source is an amazing and welcome accomplishment in my eyes!

___Thanks for joining and bringing your Hybrids-Plus PHEV to our attention after the PHEV news story a few months back.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi All,

Well, just what is the MPGGE (Miles Per Gallon, Gas Equivalent) then?

This may have errors, and Dave can correct them.

He drove 1618 miles at 171 mpg therefore 9.5 gallons gas used.

He is drivng 60 miles a day, and charging once a day, presumably. So, that is 1618/60 or 27 days.

And 27 days is 27 times 9 kwh max or 243 kwh (assumes he used the battery up each day, he may not). Gasoline is 35 kwh energy content, but takes 12.4 kwh to make. So each gallon of gas is equivalent to 47.4 kwh of energy used. 243/ (47.4) = 5.1 gallons of gas equivalent.

So, Dave's total gasoline equivalent energy used is 14.6 gallons, for 1618 miles, or 110.8 mpgge.

XCEL, were you able to achieve that mileage in your recent Prius Gen II trial?

Hi Donee:

___Only after warm up could she touch upon 110 + so no, not a chance in hell a LS P&G’er can keep up w/ a PHEV’er that knows what he or she is doing.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Out of curiosity, do you know how many kWh of electricity you have used when plugged in?