Mn EAA Meeting - Air Conditioning

I went to a Minnesota Electric Automobile Association monthly meeting last night. I got to see a Tesla Roadster, and a couple "brute Force" electric upgrade projects.

The speaker was discussing air conditioning basics, and how to adapt them for electric cars. I'm surprised to say, I was interested.

ReGo Visit

I stopped by the open house of ReGo, the local Prius upgrade company. I thought it was funny that they didn't want to disclose who's kit they were modifying, so outside they were not opening the cover on the enclosures, but the Enginer logo was visible on the dashboard switch, AND inside the shop area, they had units open, and the Enginer logo was everywhere! I was a little surprised Jack Chen wasn't invited.

I got a glimpse of their insulation methods (simple pink styro sheets), and got to meet the principals at the Company. I also ran into the President of the Mn. Electric Car Association, Jukka Kukkonen. Really sharp guy!

I hope ReGo is very successful as an enterprise!

BUMMER!

Jack Chen just advised me that "Due to shortage of battery, the shipment is postponed to end of September. Let me know if you have any questions. Sorry for the delay."

I am sad.

ReGo Open House

A local company is taking the Enginer 4K kit, adding some insulation and a few other accessories, and selling it installed for $5,000 with a 2 year warranty. They have an open house on the 19th, and I'm planning on stopping by.

Of course, I'll still install my own kit, and save half the cost!

A like- minded group

I attended a get together for the MN. Electric Auto Association Conversion Interest group. I had a chance to chat with guys and a gal who've been there, and done it!

Two cars that were "hoods up" were at the extreme end of the cost spectrum; a no holds barred $40k conversion of a classic Corvette, which exhibits the same drag racing performance characteristics as the original vehicle, and a SUV conversion where the owner took out the engine, etc. of a brand new vehicle!

There was a very practical conversion of a moderately costed VW, too!

I will have a lot of support and camaraderie from this group!

Plug In Kit Plan

I had two plans for building an electric car. The first was to buy some interesting and simple old car, such as a VW Thing, for as little as possible, and convert it to all electric. The second plan was to get a plug in kit for my Prius. My approach was to allow my "Toy Account" grow in value, and whichever I could afford first, I would do.

I looked at a Thing, and decided I didn't want one. I was watching VW Cabriolets, and the costs for EV conversions. Still, higher than my savings.

Plug in kits for Priuses started around $12K, then $8K, then 6K.

Finally, I came across a company called Enginer. They had a kit for about $2,500, which I had in savings. By the way, they had a 2K kit for less than $2,000 as well.

I drove to Milwaukee to see a Enginer upgraded Prius, and meet with the founder of Enginer, Jack Chen. After talking though all my questions and concerns, I gave Jack a deposit for a kit for my car.

To see what I bought, check out the Enginer.us website:

http://www.enginer.us/products/conversion_kit.php

Now, I need to wait for the kit to arrive, expected some time towards the end of August.

In the meantime, I joined the Minnesota Electric Auto Association, and look forward to attending their August meeting, conveniently held in Bloomington!

http://www.mneaa.com/

Prior Hacks

The first hack, absolutely necessary, was to disable the annoying "truck back up beep" played loudly when the car is moving backwards. It can't be heard outside the car, where it might do some good. Nope, it just frightens the passengers. Instructions I followed can be found here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/12677-list-hacks-easter-eggs.html

Second, I installed a Coastal E Tech EV Mode kit. The EV Mode is a Toyota factory capability around the world. It allows you to drive your Prius at low speeds for relatively short distances without using the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine. I really haven't used it much, but it gave me practice working in the dashboard area of my car. Info on that kit can be found at:

http://www.coastaletech.com/electric_only_mode.htm

Introduction

I proudly own a 2008 Toyota Prius, fulfilling my green desires. I have made a couple minor tweaks, but I'm about to make it a Plug In Hybrid Vehicle, using a 4 KV kit from Enginer.us (no typo).

I will post pictures, and descriptions as I go.