Real Hybrid Modifications

[Toysrme]

So Julian Edgar (of Autospeed) was the first person to supercharge a Prius, then swapped that for a turbo. Who here's going to be first???

Supercharged Prius Part I, Part II, Part III

Turbocharge Conversion Part I, Part II

Anyway, Someone modify regen braking, as he wrote A World First: Modifying Regen Braking:

Smoother and more powerful braking that also improves fuel economy!. As can be seen, you can change the amount of regeneative braking force (and consequently output) from insane, to very little change.

His preliminary test indicated that it was hard to measure consistently in a urban environment, but his extra 15% of force achived some 5min periods where fuel consumption was improved by 30%.

The Prius runs in closed-loop (o2 sensor) all the time. Altering the o2 signal to change the fuel mixture will gain power & throttle response. Article URL=http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_2388/article.html]here. Tho they are hocking their piggyback, there are a lot of fairly cheap piggybacks that can alter o2 sensors. SMT's can. I use mine on my 3vz-fe, I love it.

Why talk about the Prius? Well... Obviously that's what's available. It should also be obvious that most of the controls use the same parts with the same control strategies.

Personally, I would like to see a few people try modding the braking system at the least.

[wwest]

I cannot imagine that a conventional turbocharger would be beneficial given that the Prius uses the atkinson cycle, leaving very little heat/energy in the exhaust system for a turbocharger.

Personally given the level of battery energy readily available I would use a supercharger driven by a small motor with a PM rotor and a variable frequency high voltage A/C drive source.

The turbine section of a turbocharger might be beneficial if used as both an alternator and an exhaust muffler. Use the exhaust gases to turn a turbine that in turn drives an alternator which charges the battery pack at variable rates in anti-phase with the exhaust pulses.

Smoothes the flow of the exhaust gasses, quieting the exhaust significantly, while simultaneously recovering energy that would otherwise be completely lost.

[wwest]

Brake regeneration modifications.

There may be a limit, a rather serious one, to the rate the batteries can be charged.

Has anyone given consideration to the use of a small genset, say a Honda EU2000, to continously charge the Prius' hybrid batteries?

Firing up the 1.5L I4 to simply recharge the hybrid batteries seems a waste, a horrible overkill.

[wwest]

Did you know that back in the fifties Studebaker used a variable speed supercharger that automatically adjusted the "charge" rate as a function of engine RPM/Load? No "pop-off" or bypass valve required and no supercharger noise at all unless high torque was in order.

Used an adjustable "V" pulley and belt much like some modern day CVT's.

[Toysrme]

You've got to be joking me.

[wwest]

You've got to be joking me.

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About the SC Studebaker..??

No, I think it was called the Super Hawk or Golden Hawk.

Just googled it, it was 1957-58 Golden Hawk.