EV battery Boost
06-25-20 | 08:49 PM
#1
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EV battery Boost
I just got my New 2018 rx450HL. I enjoy that EV idea... but the book says I get 1 mile of just running on electricity alone. Has anyone thought of trying to connect another battery of similar specs IN SERIES to increase Electronic distance. The battery is in the back driveside of the trunk. Ideally I would love to get a hold of Lexus SOLID state battery. But 1 mile ev mode max seems very under-whelming.
06-26-20 | 03:49 AM
#3
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 978
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From: MN
I just got my New 2018 rx450HL. I enjoy that EV idea... but the book says I get 1 mile of just running on electricity alone. Has anyone thought of trying to connect another battery of similar specs IN SERIES to increase Electronic distance. The battery is in the back driveside of the trunk. Ideally I would love to get a hold of Lexus SOLID state battery. But 1 mile ev mode max seems very under-whelming.
this is what the Hybrid pack looks like
http://testdriven.tv/wp-content/gall...-RX450h-25.jpg
06-27-20 | 12:39 PM
#4
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 435
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From: NM
The Hybrid Battery Pack is under the back seat or center seat in the "L". You are cautioned not to place blankets/coats on the floor behind the driver's/passenger seats as that will block the ventilation of the Hybrid Battery Pack which exit vents into the cargo area. There are several videos on YouTube showing the Hybrid Battery Pack.
Some more good info:
Some more good info:
Last edited by RGSW; 06-27-20 at 01:17 PM.
07-30-20 | 01:02 PM
#5
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 857
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From: Oregon
The RX hybrid, any hybrid for the matter, is NOT AN EV. It's an ICE vehicle that is specially designed to maximize mileage by shutting down the ICE when the ICE would normally be operating inefficiently, such as at idle (at a stoplight, for example) or when manifold vacuum would be very high (decelerating with foot off the gas, or at very low power demands). Your ICE engine at idle is essentially a very big vacuum pump, pistons pulling hard against a closed throttle plate (i.e. high manifold vacuum) and as such is using a lot of fuel to just keep running. So Toyota designed the system to be assisted by an electric motor, used whenever the ICE would be under those conditions. And the result is remarkable: although the "traction battery" is small, the overall effect is to have a city mileage of about 30mpg, compared to the conventional 16-18. And the battery pack is not even lithium, it's just NiMh, which I assume was chosen because it's supposed to be a lifetime component, while lithium cells gradually wear out. The engineers had to make the power steering and A/C electrical so that they could continue to operate even with the ICE off.
"Hybrid" doesn't do anything for highway use, but even in that mode the RX hybrid gets a bit better mileage because the engine is Atkinson-cycle, not Otto-cycle, so the increased Expansion Ratio is able to get maybe 5% more out of each piston push.
Great car.
"Hybrid" doesn't do anything for highway use, but even in that mode the RX hybrid gets a bit better mileage because the engine is Atkinson-cycle, not Otto-cycle, so the increased Expansion Ratio is able to get maybe 5% more out of each piston push.
Great car.
07-30-20 | 03:43 PM
#6
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Joined: Jun 2020
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Thanks for the great reply
Thanks for the great informative post!
The RX hybrid, any hybrid for the matter, is NOT AN EV. It's an ICE vehicle that is specially designed to maximize mileage by shutting down the ICE when the ICE would normally be operating inefficiently, such as at idle (at a stoplight, for example) or when manifold vacuum would be very high (decelerating with foot off the gas, or at very low power demands). Your ICE engine at idle is essentially a very big vacuum pump, pistons pulling hard against a closed throttle plate (i.e. high manifold vacuum) and as such is using a lot of fuel to just keep running. So Toyota designed the system to be assisted by an electric motor, used whenever the ICE would be under those conditions. And the result is remarkable: although the "traction battery" is small, the overall effect is to have a city mileage of about 30mpg, compared to the conventional 16-18. And the battery pack is not even lithium, it's just NiMh, which I assume was chosen because it's supposed to be a lifetime component, while lithium cells gradually wear out. The engineers had to make the power steering and A/C electrical so that they could continue to operate even with the ICE off.
"Hybrid" doesn't do anything for highway use, but even in that mode the RX hybrid gets a bit better mileage because the engine is Atkinson-cycle, not Otto-cycle, so the increased Expansion Ratio is able to get maybe 5% more out of each piston push.
Great car.
"Hybrid" doesn't do anything for highway use, but even in that mode the RX hybrid gets a bit better mileage because the engine is Atkinson-cycle, not Otto-cycle, so the increased Expansion Ratio is able to get maybe 5% more out of each piston push.
Great car.
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