Toyota Prius Idea

13 February, 2006

What a car. I would really like to get a Toyota Prius for my next car.

I’ve always messed with 12 volt electrical systems, and a car that has batteries has appeal for me. What is interesting are the modifications people do. By default, you do not plug your prius in. It can charge the batteries a few different ways, but the most efficient is “Regeneration Charge” – engine breaking.

I was thinking about this, and a lot of energy is wasted in heat from a petrol motor. Why not use the heat from the exahust to generate some electricity and put that directly into the batteries.

This car sure has hacker appeal. Take CalCars – they decided to add much bigger batteries and modified the Prius it so it could be plugged into the electricity supply and charged overnight.

Also available are various other hacks such as activating stealth ( battery only ) mode on the Purus.

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