Not too long ago someone brought this to my attention and it seemed really interesting. Just wondering how viable you guys think this is. Might be worth the long term investment if it actually works out, dont you guys think? Could it negatively affect the xtronic cvt transmission engine in any way? I live in New York where theres just so much traffic and having this would probably be really handy during bumper to bumper traffic or driving through locally.

https://www.wired.com/2012/08/hybrid-conversion/

 

Interesting concept. But this would convert the sporty Maxima, which thrives on long open road trips, into an urban commuter car. At 3600 pounds, I'm not sure the Maxima is the ideal vehicle to convert to a hybrid high mileage short range commuter. But I am not into hybrids, and am not informed technically on this subject, so my answer or opinions in this area carry very little weight.

 

Well when installed wouldn't the car operate the same as if without the hybrid plug-in when hitting high speeds? I think they mentioned that int the video somewhere which also intrigued me about it

 

http://www.mtsu.edu/gem/updates.php

"Since making the first prototype of the MTSU Plug-In Hybrid Retrofit Kit we have learned that wheel hub motors with permanent magnets, such as are discussed and shown in the video, are not the best technical solution. A better wheel hub motor design for a hybrid retrofit kit is the switched reluctance motor which does not use permanent magnets."

"For these reasons it was decided that the commercial version of the wheel hub motor for the Plug-In Hybrid Retrofit Kit should be a switched reluctance design. Therefore, a partnership is being sought with another organization to more fully develop a switched reluctance motor design for the retrofit kit application.
To all of our supporters who would like to buy a Plug-In Hybrid Retrofit Kit we must delay a little longer the availability of a commercial version. Automotive applications are very demanding with regard to robustness and reliability. We cannot release a consumer product until all the engineering and testing has been completed. At this time there is not a fixed schedule but we hope to be in a position to have the first commercial version by sometime in 2016."

Q. How much does the plug-in hybrid kit cost?

A. For a car or small truck, $3000 to $5000 depending on range and lithium battery costs.

 

3000 isn't a bad price for a long term investment like this. It'll save loads of gas during my morning and evening bumper to bumper commutes and when I'm driving for leisure and want to go fast it'll just turn itself off.

 

Yeah, economy sucks on my commute-crawl. A hybrid motor for this particular case would work great, but how much weight would the batteries add? And where would they go?

May as well buy the Q50 Hybrid.

 

Well its only $3000 as opposed to paying around 50k for a q50 hybrid which would probably cost thousands to fix if the hybrid engine ever broke down. The size of the system itself is the size of a carry on bag according to the video. So it shouldn't be too much. I would really love to save some $$ on gas lol

 

One thing you can do is run 87 octane instead of 91-93 octane. You'll save significant $$ on gas and then use that extra $3,000 you'll have in the bank as insurance against out of warranty repairs, great new tire upgrades, new phone, etc.

 

lol, In my neck of the woods where the price between regular and premium is only 15 cents per gallon I would have to purchase 20,000 gallons of regular to get that 3 grand. That is one hell of a lot of driving.

 

Richard,

I did not intend to make you think that you could save $3,000 by using 87 octane. Guess I confused you.

 

there isn't that much of a big difference between 87 and 93, sure it adds up as time goes on but i'm pretty sure investing in the hybrid plug in would mean less gas consumption in general. I really hope this thing is commercialized soon. It'll also raise the value of the car if I ever do decide to sell it.

 

Wow, 15 cents per gal difference? In Ohio the diff. can run up to $.86 per gal difference. At 100,000 miles, averaging 25 mpg that diff. could run to $3,440 savings. What state/country do you live in?

 

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find much more written about this since around 2012. One article said they were trying to commercialize it, but I don't see any evidence that they did. Here's another much more recent link that seems to describe something very similar

http://www.nsk.com/company/news/2017/press0119a.html

I imagine such a motor has to have just have enough power to overcome its own weight, the weight of a battery, and a little extra beyond that. Assuming the 0-60 time is hampered only by the weight of the car and its occupants, and not the engine speed itself... it seems adding more forward force to the other wheels should give a bit of a boost... even if it's not enough to propel the car on its own. But then again, I'm not an engineer