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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?"
no.
Make it lighter. There is all sorts of stuff built into the frame for "safety" and "roll-over protection" that you'll probably never need. Remove a few hundred pounds of this dead-weight (also go on a diet yourself), and watch your gas mileage go up, up, up.
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?
This is moving slightly off on a tangent from the question, but it seems worth saying: United Nuclear are currently working on a hydrogen conversion kit for various cars, and have apparently clocked 50,000 successful miles on their prototypes. Probably the kind of thing to take with a pinch of salt, and the estimated cost is $7-10k, but it will come with a solar powered hydrogen generator, so might be worthwhile.
...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
Let's say you work over your truck to get 28mpg. You drive 40miles round trip every day to work. You driver to work 250 times a year. And for the moment, we'll put gas at $3.00.
.4kWh per mile (AC can get as low as .18kWh)
.4kWh/mile) and put electric at $0.10 (my last bill was $0.85/kWh). That means you're spending $400 a year on fuel. Now, with the 'el-cheapo' 6c deep cycle lead acid battery packs, you're only going to get 3-5 years out of them. So if we figure in blowing $1200 every 3 years, you're looking at $800/year in fuel. Even if electric jumps to $0.13 (a 33% jump like the gas jump $3 to $4) You're still only looking at $920/year
.4kWh Electric @ $0.10/kWh = $800
.4kWh Electric @ $0.13/kWh = $920
That means every year you spend $1072 on gas. $1429 per year when gas hit's $4
Compared to a full electric. A (relatively) cheap conversion to a 9" DC motor and lead acid battery pack can easily pull a 40 mile range. And at about $8-12k it's about the same cost as a few year old decent used car. A DC system like this should run at about
If we use the same standards (250 40mile round trips @
28mpg Gas @ $3/gal = $1072
28mpg Gas @ $4/gal = $1429
-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
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!
Buy a used small turbodiesel engine for it.
1.9L diesel will have more than enough oomph (unless you're suffering from penis envy) and will move you around with insane mpg.
Cheaper than hybrid. Cleaner than hybrid.
Give me an older Toyota Landcruiser (1970's) or a Jeep TJ/YJ/CJ instead, thankyouverymuch.
\/\/oobie
Or you could look at the Ford Escape Hybrid and enjoy upwards of 50% fuel savings in a brand-new 4x2 or 4x4 small SUV.
To put things into perspective; the Escape Hybrid has $0 fuel tax, whereas the Highlander carries a $75 tax. Why? The Highlander uses a large 6 cylinder engine and, as you said, only experiences marginal fuel economy improvements.
The Lexus is a nice SUV - but it comes at a Lexus price. A person driving a 12 year old Jeep Cherokee isn't likely to run to a dealer and drop $62,200 CDN (base MSRP) on a new SUV. Even the Highlander comes in at $44,205 while the Escape Hybrid starts at a reasonable $33,495.
The Escape Hybrid uses an Atkinson Cycle variant of their popular 2.3L Duratec engine which, in and of itself is a highly efficient, near zero emission engine. Combined with a 70KW electric motor it produces the same power as the V6 Escape.
The One Tank Challenge demonstrated that on a 62L gas tank it's possible to drive Toronto city traffic for 972 KMs getting better than 5.9L/100KM (or roughly 50MPG).
BD Phone Home!
Shameless plug. Like you weren't expecting it.
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.
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.