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Hybrid Vehicle Conversion Services?
OverkillTASF asks: "My '94 I6 Jeep Grand Cherokee has once again eaten through a transmission... at 105k miles. For one reason or another, this has led me to the following question: Are there any companies/individuals out there who do hybrid vehicle conversions? I'd like to retrofit my Barbie Jeep with the necessary equipment to eek out 5 more MPG, be a little more environmentally friendly, but still allow me to get where I need to go out here in the sticks? Do such after-market conversion services exist?"
It's noble to want to do something for the environment, but I have to mention (and you probably already have realized this) such a conversion would cost more than you'd be able to make up for with the slightly better mileage in less than (at least) a few years. Look at Civic hybrids: they cost about $4k more than their gasoline counterparts.
IMO, I think your money would be *much* better spent on a healthy down payment on one of those more economic, eco-friendly vehicles thna retro-fitting an older, gas-guzzler SUV.
why run from Vincenzo?
...you'll need to do a lot of the DIY, perhaps just in the configuring. You can always sub out the actual work. You'll be retrofitting the entire drive train, plus adding space for batteries as well if you want any sort of at least minimum range before you are forced to use the fueled engine. What you are contemplating is a self propelled generator basically, with you along for the ride. That is in essence what a hybrid is.
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Here is a generic link to get you going
http://www.evworld.com/
As another poster pointed out, this is a fabulous new industry idea, some places are doing it, but it's still in the mom and pop shop stage most places, sort of like the original mom and pop whitebox shops back in the haydays of making decent money at it.
pure electric conversion kits and links
http://www.electroauto.com/
Now what I think might be a useful idea, one already built at ACPropulsion, is to make the vehicle pure electric, and have the generator part that makes it a hybrid be in a tow behind trailer. Short range, run pure electric, extended range, tow the trailer.
read about that and more info here, these guys know their stuff
http://www.acpropulsion.com/ACP_FAQs/FAQ_products
good luck and do a blog on it, would like to see the project as it unfolds
Why not try biodiesel? If you're thinking about doing a serious conversion project anyway, I suspect that it might be easier to swap in a diesel engine and convert that to biodiesel than to go hybrid.
"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under." - H.L. Mencken
The easy option - remove weight:
* roofrack
* rear + passenger seats - if you're always driving solo.
* the spare tire - got a cell phone? got someone who can give you a ride to get your spare if you get a flat? then don't keep it on your vehicle.
* carpeting - this can add up.
* air conditioner - if summers aren't too hot where you live.
* radio + speakers - again, the weight adds up.
* trash that you've littered the interior of your car with, vacuum the dirt out while you're at it and wipe down the dashboard - removing interior dirt won't help mileage, but it'll make you feel better about driving your car.
* anything else you have in, on or under the car that can be removed but is not essential for your safety or for the vehicle to go, remove it!
Switch to:
* road tires (or less extreme offroad tires) correctly inflated with lightweight wheels (note that cheap & simple stamped steel can be lighter than alloys depending on the alloy's construction)
* synthetic engine oil - it'll keep your engine cleaner and running smoother than regular oil.
* higher-flow (and lower resistance) air and oil filters like those from K&N.
* consider trying one of those "engine cleaner" formulas I've seen in the automotive shop (they're typically a gasoline or oil additive that supposedly helps un-gum the inside of your engine - although you may not see the results for 1 or 2 gas/oil cycles) - although I have no idea if they're snake oil or if they can actually help.
Modify your behaviour:
* drive no faster than 55, try to use the brakes as little as possible by keeping an above-average distance from the vehicle in front and driving smoothly.
* don't use cruise control if you can help it (it keeps constant speed not constant throttle and can't account for, say, wanting to keep excess momentum right before going up a hill).
* don't open the windows - SUV bricks are an aerodynamic nightmare, which is only made worse if you open holes in the side.
* if you've got a manual transmission, make sure you drive in the highest gear suitable for the situation, with the lowest engine RPMs and lightest throttle touch possible. When cruising you should be loping along in high gear and low RPM with almost no throttle! Drive smooth, smooth, smooth!
And that's about all I know on squeezing higher mileage out of a vehicle without being a mechanic!
Give me an older Toyota Landcruiser (1970's) or a Jeep TJ/YJ/CJ instead, thankyouverymuch.
\/\/oobie
http://calcars.org/
Conversion to regular hybrid probably will not be worth it when you consider the cost/benefit ratio. However a conversion to PHEV (plugin hybrid electric vehicle) may be well worth the effort. The above site describes this new type of car that allows you to go 30-40 miles in your daily commute off of electricity charged batteries. If you drive longer than that commute, then it behaves like a regular hybrid burning gasoline.
Their earlier conversions were modifying existing non-hybrid cars for PHEV capability, which would be similar to what you are looking for. Despite the benefit of PHEV, it may turn out to be too expensive to be worth it, but you should still look into it.
First, many diesel cars get considerably better than 35mpg. If most of your driving is on the highway you'll get similar milage out of a hybrid as a diesel but in stop & go traffic the hybrid will win.
Second, diesels tend to be cleaner than gasoline engines in terms of greenhouse gasses but dirtier in terms of particulates.
Cheaper is *the* major factor. Hybrids are way expensive right now.
Cleaner isn't really in there though. Diesels are bad for particulates, and currently there isn't anything forcing people to sort it (although future standards will do).
The ultimate clean engine though would be a diesel-electric hybrid, because the diesel emissions happen at low-efficiency load sites. Run the engine at max efficiency, and you're sorted - this is why trains have been diesel-electric for years, because even with the conversion inefficiencies, the efficiency of diesel at its best point is mindblowing. But the American market won't buy diesel, sadly, due to the disastrous diesels rushed out in the 70s and 80s. Ho hum.
Grab.
.....the means to really cut our dependence on oil.....
Hydrogen is not an energy SOURCE, only an energy carrier. The only practical ways of making hydrogen is to use electricity or extraction from some hydocarbon. The efficiency of doing this conversion must be compared to the effciency of refining and then burning gasoline or diesel in a vehicle. Also, the very expensive new infrastructure needed for handling hydrogen must be amortized by including it in its price. You best bet right now is to buy a hybrid for day to day transportation and use your SUV only when it's heavy duty capability is really needed.
All theory is gray
When I lived in Texas I came across a group of electric vehicle enthusiasts. Check out the website for Austin Area Electric Auto Association. They give some pointers on conversions, give some suppliers of parts, and show off what people in the area have done.
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
LOL, that was funny!
You want performance? Check out the T-Zero, 0-60 in 3.68 seconds. Tops out at 90 due to a 1 gear tranny.
And enjoy your ethanol, see how well it performs over the winter. And guess how much it costs to farm enough acrage of corn to generate a gallon of ethanol. Ethanol can offset fuel consumption, but it can not replace it. If you're going to go bio fuel, soy-diesel is a much better choice. It doesn't require nitrogen fertalizers, and it can run in more efficient, lessor poluting diesel engins also with out a conversion.
Next time you want to point the troll finger, look up some peer reviewed documents. I can search Google for proof that Bush is a freaking space alien, doesn't make it true.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
Correct, just going out and doing a conversion is not economical. But, if you drive an older car, and are looking to trade it in and buy a newer (used) better fuel efficiency vehicle for $10k (~$200/month), it would be cheaper in the long run to sink the $10k into a conversion kit.
Similar to integrated solar roofing. You'll never make your money back if you tear off a perfectly good roof and install solar shingles. But if you are going to replace your roof anyways, using solar shingles will cost less in the long run.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
"I will argue your fertilizer point though. The fertilizer for soybeans isn't any better/worse than that used for corn. Soy is more widely used in the organic market, but in commercial use it isn't that far ahead."
Soy actually creates it's own nitrogen, is more hearty, uses less water, and all round mops the floor up with corn. A lot of corn farmers will alternate crops (for many reason) but soy is a good choice because it adds nitrogen to the ground with out fertalizer. Also, if Brazil had the farming technology the US does, they could provide enough soy in one year to feed the entire world for 6 years.
The T-Zero (google: TZero AC Propulsion) has 5 prototypes, the first 3 used cheaper batteries, had a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds and a range of 50-100 miles depending on the driver. The last 2 prototypes had the more expencive Lith Ion batteries. It hit the 3.67 0-60 and had a range of up to 300 miles. All of them could be charged overnight. The tranny is actually a geo-metro with all of the gears removed. They then put a 9:1 reducer gear in and hook the motor up. The AC motor can spin at 9k rpms no problem. Unfortunaltly the first T-Zero concepts sold for ~$125k and the last two went for a cool $1/4 mill. But you can buy the full AC system (minus batteries and tranny) for $25k. A cheap battery pack (FLA) goes for $800-1200, Li Ion packs go for about $8000-12000 though. But if you want to sink $50k+ into a high end performance machine that will out accelerate anything you see in the US, it's a great option. Especially when you compare gas milage. A full 300mile range charge will cost you pennies on the dollar of 300 miles in a C06 corvette.
-Rick
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs