i only know toyota use parellel+series hybrid... donno honda use wat wat parellel hybrid which cannot run on pure battery mode.... lol... and after all still cannot match the much bigger car fc...

There are many many hybrid on the road worldwide already, it is not the like majority spoilt after 5 years, 8 years later.
Stop worry about this.

Getting a hybrid car is about getting and own the new tech and use to it.
It is same like want to use handphone, and worry about the radiation. Pointless worry.

The moment of one wish to own a hybrid, you don't worry the battery will die, car cannot start if battery died etc. already.
Battery died time? Tow away and get it fix.
Same with ordinary car, timing belt broken, tow away and get it fix.
No money to get a new set of NimH if battery died after 10 years? then one should buy cheaper ordinary car.
I find unacceptable that one can afford to buy a 100k hybrid car, and yet claim cannot afford potential around 10K cost battery replacement after 10 years later on.

I sum up, disregard it is part or parallel hybrid.

The moment one worry about battery spoil, battery cost, it means hybrid is not suitable for one. End of story.
No $ to change NiMH after 5 years, 8 years or 10 years, means one is not afford to own the car. End of story.

Insight can run on pure EV more laaa just not aggressive as Prius but that does not matter since the battery will eventually went out of juice and need petrol to charge it back... power is not free and Hybrid main source of power is still petrol...

For Insight, when the car goes full EV mode at speed under 50km/h, the vtec mechanism will shut of all valves (0 cam lobe). Each cylinder will produce their own pressure every time piston goes up. However these pressure will equalize one another as all pistons take turn to moves up and down. Injector will be shut of, plugs (2 per cylinder) will also cease fire.
Only electric motor moves the car (coasting). Since the motor bolted onto the crankshaft and act as the flywheel, engine will still register rpm reading.

Prius C, on full EV, the drivetrain will disengage combustion engine.

However, both full EV mode is restricted to the amount of charge left in the batteries.





This post has been edited by watonk: Feb 21 2012, 04:38 PM

Driving insight after 5 years switch to Clarity by Honda Hydrogen case close!!!

Honda IMA is closer to a regular car's drivetrain, while the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive is closer to that of an electric car.

The Honda IMA takes a regular car's drivetrain and substitutes the transmission's flywheel with an electrical motor, which is connected to a battery pack and control electronics. The motor is only good for assisting the gasoline engine, not powerful enough to move the car on its own except under very rare circumstances (such as maintaining speed under 50kmph on a stretch of flat road). The moment you let your foot off the brake, the gasoline engine has to start running.

The rest of the Honda IMA drivetrain is the same as a regular car-- Engine crankshaft connected to either a multispeed geared transmission and torque converter (such as on the Accord Hybrid), a friction-belt-driven CVT transmission and torque converter (current Civic Hybrid), or a manual transmission with clutch (an option on the first-gen Insights).

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive on the other hand does not have a conventional transmission like the Honda IMA. Instead, it uses a Power Split Device, which is a simple planetary gearset that combines the power from two electrical motor/generators (MG1 and MG2) and the gasoline engine. The entire PSD assembly is directly geared to the wheels, without a torque converter or clutch. This is similar to an electric car, which can have direct gearing to the wheels without a clutch or torque converter, because electrical motors can exert maximum torque at 0 RPM.

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive, like an electric car, can move the car under electric power alone. How the Power Split Device transmission in the Hybrid Synergy Drive works: http://www.eahart.com/prius/psd

Personally, I like the Toyota system better. It's MUCH simpler than the Honda IMA system, with just 22 moving parts in the Prius PSD vs. about 100 in the Accord Hybrid's normal 5-speed automatic transmission gearbox and torque converter.

The PSD eliminates the need for multiple gear ratios (which means no gear-shifting wear-and-tear), does not have a hot-running torque converter (which means the tranny fluid lasts A LOT longer), and no clutch or CVT belts. That means the Toyota system has far fewer potential failure points and would be more durable.

P/S So a Prius will have less wear and tear issues. So to those who have always maintain that a prius is expensive to own because of battery failure, that's BULLSHIT!!! like someone who had mentioned above there are HELL lots of Prius running around the world that is easily more than 10 years of age. Like I have always said don't bash for the sake of bashing. If you wanna bash, please read or else you will be making a fool out of yourself.

This post has been edited by cody1508: Feb 21 2012, 05:10 PM

PriusC uses CVT also (thats on the brochure)

PSD connect to CVT then to wheel...

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Added on February 21, 2012, 4:51 pmOOps correction Prius uses ECVT.... ok....

This post has been edited by calvin_ng: Feb 21 2012, 04:51 PM

The PSD itself acts as a CVT.

This post has been edited by cody1508: Feb 21 2012, 04:59 PM

yeah corrected it is called ECVT or PSD hehehehe....

u joking or wat? the engine will charge the battery once it is flat and it has its own 12V battery to start the engine.

This post has been edited by ckk125: Feb 21 2012, 05:29 PM

Read nicely yes can start provided the NIMH pack still can charge (lifespan) but if exhausted all electrical system will eventually fail... like Water pump that rely on 200v battery...

those jap engineers should be shot.

even fanboi forummer can think better than they do!!!

there are 2 batteries, the nimh and the regular 12v.

the 12v can start the engine in the event of nimh kaput. engine powers the electric motor, which in turn will charge the battery. there are 2 electric motors on the prius.

the hybrid system will never allow the battery to reach 0, most of the time will have 2 bars left before engine will kick in to charge it up again.

toyota aint stupid

This post has been edited by ckk125: Feb 21 2012, 05:53 PM

So what the fuss about if the NiMH pack fail totally time?
The car cannot start, cannot move, then just tow away, and change a new pack.

Even ordinary car, time belt can be broken after 80-100k KM, and car cannot even start also.
Radiator leaking, water pump leaking, car also cannot start.
Just tow away and get it fix.

Every ordinary car after 8-10 years, parts also got spoil here, spoil there.
Choose a car just because can start even if NiMH pack fail time that may only happen once after 8 years or even longer period?
NiMH fails, just change one.
What is the worry?
I don't find this is a good reason to say this is a good car or not.

A video is worth thousand words

Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive

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Added on February 21, 2012, 6:02 pmIf the Prius battery died, the engine won't be able to start at all, so how can the engine get over heat???

Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive is combining parallel hybrid and series hybrid, that is why it call "Synergy", it means it lets the two hybrid systems work together.

This post has been edited by Kiding: Feb 21 2012, 06:02 PM

if you not engineer no need to explain and conjure up new concepts..

you cannot start and drive the car in the parking lot purely on electric motor. that's why it's a mild hybrid.

This post has been edited by ar188: Feb 21 2012, 06:41 PM

fanboy always the most clevr 1....

amazing explanation, suddenly toyota become part hybrid and honda IMA is acterly full hybrid. but due to toyota salesman, the term is switched around..

he is legendary man...

suddenly i malu to know although i got 2011 honda city E spec and 2.4 akod, but represented by fanboys like this..
but luckily i also toyopet JDM mpv and yaris la.. so not hardcore fanbois on either of the brand..