Car Enthusiast Club [Now Motorcycle friendly!] - First thread to 150k! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Bitter]

Thanks to @TVwazhere
I had a mini panic attack driving through a busy intersection today.

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, Bitter said:

Thanks to @TVwazhere
I had a mini panic attack driving through a busy intersection today.

Was it because of the Dashcam Video, or did a Giant flat screen TV suddenly fly out in front of you?  

[Bitter]

2 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Was it because of the Dashcam Video, or did a Giant flat screen TV suddenly fly out in front of you?  

The first one lol

[Bitter]

I haven't been able to hear this on anything but phone speaker, I hope it sounds as good in video as in life.

[bcredeur97]

2 hours ago, Bitter said:

I haven't been able to hear this on anything but phone speaker, I hope it sounds as good in video as in life.

unfortunately it never does; but I believe you. 

Always hear cars on video and in real life and it's just never the same

[Bitter]

10 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

unfortunately it never does; but I believe you. 

Always hear cars on video and in real life and it's just never the same

Pretty sure the mic clipped in the first part

[vetali]

 

[Bird Song]

Hey I thought this might be a decent place to query this. 

 

I've a toyota CHR Hybrid (it's a prius power train non-plugin hybrid) and as I WFH I'd really like to utilise a solar panel to keep the hybrid battery charged for scooting around town. There's basically nothing online about this, and this may be for good reason however would it really be that hard? To just jump in every now and then with a full-ish battery would just be more satisfying, using a quick disconnect would be worth it. 

 

The cars don't use alternators, more like a small generator which in my head complicates this as I cant just slap on a trickle charge-like device and call it a day. 

 

Any suggestions on how I don't 

1) fry/explode the battery

2) electrocute myself 

 

Thanks! 

 

Edit: lmao I'm over here trying to go from 70MPG to 80MPG and I just read back to some of you getting 5MPG. How can you afford to eat hahaha

[Bitter]

34 minutes ago, Bird Song said:

Hey I thought this might be a decent place to query this. 

 

I've a toyota CHR Hybrid (it's a prius power train non-plugin hybrid) and as I WFH I'd really like to utilise a solar panel to keep the hybrid battery charged for scooting around town. There's basically nothing online about this, and this may be for good reason however would it really be that hard? To just jump in every now and then with a full-ish battery would just be more satisfying, using a quick disconnect would be worth it. 

 

The cars don't use alternators, more like a small generator which in my head complicates this as I cant just slap on a trickle charge-like device and call it a day. 

 

Any suggestions on how I don't 

1) fry/explode the battery

2) electrocute myself 

 

Thanks! 

 

Edit: lmao I'm over here trying to go from 70MPG to 80MPG and I just read back to some of you getting 5MPG. How can you afford to eat hahaha

How many volts is the traction battery at full charge and what voltage does it charge at? Probably going to need a charge controller and several solar panels, maybe a boost converter too.

[Bird Song]

36 minutes ago, Bitter said:

How many volts is the traction battery at full charge and what voltage does it charge at? Probably going to need a charge controller and several solar panels, maybe a boost converter too.

Hey! 

So I ripped this out of the prius maintenance manual, I'm relatively certain they've not changed too much but it's a pretty good guide rope. Sorry I'll fix the formatting in a bit I'm actually fitting a roof rack atm for a trip 

 

Quote

12 Volt Auxiliary 
Battery Right Side of Cargo Area 
A lead-acid battery that supplies power to the low voltage devices. 

Hybrid Vehicle (HV) Battery Assembly 
Center Console 201.6 Volt Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery 
assembly consisting of 56 low voltage (3.6 Volt) cells connected in series. 

Power Cables Undercarriage and 
Engine Compartment 
Orange colored power cables carry high 
voltage Direct Current (DC) between the HV battery assembly, inverter/converter, and A/C compressor. These cables also carry 3-phase Alternating Current (AC) between the 

inverter/converter, electric motor, and 
generator. 

Inverter/ Converter Engine 
Compartment Boosts and inverts the high voltage electricity 
from the HV battery assembly to 3-phase AC electricity that drives the electric motor. The inverter/converter also converts AC electricity 
from the electric generator and electric motor (regenerative braking) to DC that charges the 
HV battery assembly. 

Gasoline Engine Engine 
Compartment 
Provides two functions: 
1) Powers vehicle. 
2) Powers generator to charge the HV battery 
assembly. 
The engine is started and stopped under control 
of the vehicle computer. 

 

Electrics
Motor 
Engine 
Compartment 
3-phase high voltage AC motor contained in 
the front transaxle. It is used to power the front 
wheels. 

Electric 
Generator 
Engine 
Compartment 
3-phase high voltage AC generator that is 
contained in the transaxle and charges the HV 
battery assembly. 

 

A/C 
Compressor 
(with Inverter) 
u
Engine 
Compartment 
3-phase high voltage AC electrically driven 
motor compressor.

 

erg_Prius_ZVW40.pdf

[Bitter]

8 minutes ago, Bird Song said:

Hey! 

So I ripped this out of the prius maintenance manual, I'm relatively certain they've not changed too much but it's a pretty good guide rope. Sorry I'll fix the formatting in a bit I'm actually fitting a roof rack atm for a trip 

 

 

erg_Prius_ZVW40.pdf 2.12 MB · 0 downloads

So you need to be able to push volts into the pack at over 201.6 volts it seems like, you'll either need solar panels arranged in such a way to generate over 200V or use a charge controller with a boost circuit that can up the voltage that high. For any meaningful charge to happen you'll probably need over 500W of solar panel and realistically closer to 1000W of panel capacity when accounting for inverter inefficiencies. I believe the max charged voltage of those lithium cells (assuming they're 18650's?) is just over 4 volts, 4.2 I think. If you go on the safe side and aim for a max volts of 3.8 on each cell times 56 cells that would be a charging voltage of about 210 volts.

[Bird Song]

1 hour ago, Bitter said:

So you need to be able to push volts into the pack at over 201.6 volts it seems like, you'll either need solar panels arranged in such a way to generate over 200V or use a charge controller with a boost circuit that can up the voltage that high. For any meaningful charge to happen you'll probably need over 500W of solar panel and realistically closer to 1000W of panel capacity when accounting for inverter inefficiencies. I believe the max charged voltage of those lithium cells (assuming they're 18650's?) is just over 4 volts, 4.2 I think. If you go on the safe side and aim for a max volts of 3.8 on each cell times 56 cells that would be a charging voltage of about 210 volts.

This is awesome thanks! A 1000w panel looks pretty hefty, I'm not going to lie I was actually thinking of attaching it hanging under the new roof racks it's where this bad idea came from. But I imagine that's going to negate the benefits through weight and drag

Converting the non-plugin Hybrid to an optional plugin sounds fun still, I'll have a think as if I'm up there putting hole in the roof I may as well overengineer it for the house too. 

 

All the best Bitter! 

[Bitter]

43 minutes ago, Bird Song said:

This is awesome thanks! A 1000w panel looks pretty hefty, I'm not going to lie I was actually thinking of attaching it hanging under the new roof racks it's where this bad idea came from. But I imagine that's going to negate the benefits through weight and drag

Converting the non-plugin Hybrid to an optional plugin sounds fun still, I'll have a think as if I'm up there putting hole in the roof I may as well overengineer it for the house too. 

 

All the best Bitter! 

Panels on the house, charge it off the house. You can use the house panels for the house when you're not charging the car and if you get some batteries you can bank some of that power for use as off grid during peak times or to sell back during peak demand. You might recoup the investment.

[bcredeur97]

Toyota phasing out their 5.7L V8's? 

V8's sure lasted a lot longer than I thought they would, they made it sound like they would just disappear suddenly, like 10 years ago. 

Wonder how much longer the American brands will have them, I think it's just them that will make normal cars with V8's now? I know some German brands have them but usually only in expensive cars that not many ppl can buy (and they are also pretty small now like 4.0L + turbos)

One step closer to electric everything I guess. I just don't understand why we don't make better hybrids. Give me like ~100 miles of range to cover my commuting (which is enough to bring people out of city centers and still be economical, which partly solves the housing crisis) and a decent engine for if I need more power or range. The commute is really the biggest killer + you don't have to make batteries as big or complicated for only that much range. Seems perfect to me? 

[AlwaysFSX]

2 hours ago, bcredeur97 said:

Toyota phasing out their 5.7L V8's? 

V8's sure lasted a lot longer than I thought they would

Theirs lasted far longer than it should have.

[Bitter]

Raybestos ain't playing with these friction ratings!

GH friction on rear pads for a Ford.

[Thirdgen89GTA]

Went to the drag strip yesterday with the club i'm in doing a private rental.  Over 1100 pictures. 

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWmX1TW

[Bitter]

13 minutes ago, Thirdgen89GTA said:

Went to the drag strip yesterday with the club i'm in doing a private rental.  Over 1100 pictures. 

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWmX1TW

Not sure they uploaded correctly, seeing a ton of duplicates.

[AlwaysFSX]

11 hours ago, Bitter said:

Not sure they uploaded correctly, seeing a ton of duplicates.

That's why there's 1,100+

[Thirdgen89GTA]

They aren't duplicates.  They are sequences. That way peeps from the rental can pick the best picture out of the bunch.

 

You've heard it all the time in movies.  When the camera guy takes the shot and you hear multiple exposures.

[Bitter]

4 minutes ago, Thirdgen89GTA said:

They aren't duplicates.  They are sequences. That way peeps from the rental can pick the best picture out of the bunch.

 

You've heard it all the time in movies.  When the camera guy takes the shot and you hear multiple exposures.

You might want to folder the sequences then, it'll make viewing easier.

[Thirdgen89GTA]

47 minutes ago, Bitter said:

You might want to folder the sequences then, it'll make viewing easier.

Definitely don't care.  You can view by thumbnail and that's easy to do.

[arnavvr]

On 8/1/2021 at 6:14 PM, bcredeur97 said:

Toyota phasing out their 5.7L V8's? 

V8's sure lasted a lot longer than I thought they would, they made it sound like they would just disappear suddenly, like 10 years ago. 

Wonder how much longer the American brands will have them, I think it's just them that will make normal cars with V8's now? I know some German brands have them but usually only in expensive cars that not many ppl can buy (and they are also pretty small now like 4.0L + turbos)

One step closer to electric everything I guess. I just don't understand why we don't make better hybrids. Give me like ~100 miles of range to cover my commuting (which is enough to bring people out of city centers and still be economical, which partly solves the housing crisis) and a decent engine for if I need more power or range. The commute is really the biggest killer + you don't have to make batteries as big or complicated for only that much range. Seems perfect to me? 

The problem with this (imo, anyways) is that most people don't road trip that frequently, so they would rather just buy an electric car with 200+ miles of range instead of a hybrid like the Chevy Volt.

 

I would totally rock a Tesla Model 3 and a fun sports car.

[Bitter]

3 hours ago, Thirdgen89GTA said:

Definitely don't care.  You can view by thumbnail and that's easy to do.

I guess you don't see the default view?

[Thirdgen89GTA]

My default view is the regular thumbnail one, not the 'expose' or whatever they call that view.

 

The reason there are so many is that as the tree counts down, I hold the button down for burst mode and catch all of the launch.

 

Mainly so I can catch shots like this without having to time it.  Love the way those slicks wrinkle.