Alternator delete with regen braking modification for better MPG

[MetroMPG]

Shamed into action by righteous comments! Splitting the thread...

Thread: Bought a Kia Niro hybrid as 2nd car - blows my Mirage away

[Fummins]

Shamed into action by righteous comments! Splitting the thread...

Thread: Bought a Kia Niro hybrid as 2nd car - blows my Mirage away

I'm a little surprised nobody's called me a hypocrite yet

PS I drove a Kia on Sunday

[Eggman]

I'm a little surprised nobody's called me a hypocrite yet

PS I drove a Kia on Sunday

Fummins please stay on topic.



Maybe one day you'll get a Mirage of your own.

[MetroMPG]

^ Haha

[Tyrelirwin]

woo, sorry about that Niro extravaganza- I hit "enter" a bit early.

Meant to discuss how it's nice to have a car with regen braking and not feel 'bad' about wasting energy using the brakes.

Also, pretty sure the new Ford Focus ST or RS will have a turbo/regen charging unit, turning exhaust into stored electric energy.

I think that's a nifty idea!

[HitShane]

Just add a second battery in parallel which will keep your voltage up longer and the system will not engage the alternator as often since it is probably solely relying on voltage drop across the circuit.

Alternatively you could add a voltage regulated boost/buck driver to trick the ECU by keeping your voltage constant across the circuit even as the capacity of your battery diminishes. You would still need to charge the system at home though as it wouldn't be charging the battery unless you flipped a switch to disable the voltage regulator...

[codenamezero]

This thread is a horrible idea...
1) you are not deleting the alternator
2) you are throwing in an extra battery, dead weight most of the time, for the tiny engine
3) you are compromising the reliability of the car overall, making it more prone to get stranded on the long road trip

Is not worth it to go through all the troubles. The money you need to buy all the parts and extra battery, would've equal out the little 5% you save on gas. Anyhow, if you are gonna do it, go with a large bank of super capacitors might be a better bet than battery.

[stevedmc]

This thread is a horrible idea...
1) you are not deleting the alternator
2) you are throwing in an extra battery, dead weight most of the time, for the tiny engine
3) you are compromising the reliability of the car overall, making it more prone to get stranded on the long road trip

Is not worth it to go through all the troubles. The money you need to buy all the parts and extra battery, would've equal out the little 5% you save on gas.

My thoughts exactly. This and the aluminum pulley idea is just downright silly.

If you want a real world performance increase, install a high performance exhaust and either remove the cats or replace them with something less restrictive than OEM.

I'm happy with my little car in its stock configuration. You won't see me spending $100 to save 50 cents.

[Eggman]

This thread is a horrible idea...
1) you are not deleting the alternator
2) you are throwing in an extra battery, dead weight most of the time, for the tiny engine
3) you are compromising the reliability of the car overall, making it more prone to get stranded on the long road trip

Is not worth it to go through all the troubles. The money you need to buy all the parts and extra battery, would've equal out the little 5% you save on gas. Anyhow, if you are gonna do it, go with a large bank of super capacitors might be a better bet than battery.

It's worth remembering that 'improving' a car's performance can be done many ways. In the hypermiling crowd, improving fuel efficiency is often done one step at a time, is carefully measured and subjected to a cost/benefit analysis, just like what you are suggesting. On it's own, this modification may or may not not do much. But when added with other modifications, the total can be substantial.

This modification may have been done on other cars, but no one has done it to a Mirage and reported it here. I think it's clever, and I'm curious to see how it works.


Defeating the alternator in this manner is easily reversed - just flip a switch.

Adding an additional battery may be counter to saving weight, but it surely weighs less than a passenger or two. And if you happen to have an extra battery on hand for experimentation, the price is right.

Maybe I misunderstand your statement on reliability and becoming stranded, but again, it is easily reversed. The alternator doesn't go away, but it's load on the engine is greatly reduced.

My thoughts exactly. This and the aluminum pulley idea is just downright silly.

If you want a real world performance increase, install a high performance exhaust and either remove the cats or replace them with something less restrictive than OEM.

I'm happy with my little car in its stock configuration. You won't see me spending $100 to save 50 cents.

I may be wrong but I understand that improving fuel economy often shares a goal of reducing one's polluting along with saving money. Removing the catalytic converter would go against that goal, and does not necessarily contribute to reduced fuel consumption (think tuned exhaust.)

Besides, the experimentation is fun and costs you nothing. Grab some snacks and enjoy the thread.

[stevedmc]

I may be wrong but I understand that improving fuel economy often shares a goal of reducing one's polluting along with saving money. Removing the catalytic converter would go against that goal, and does not necessarily contribute to reduced fuel consumption (think tuned exhaust.)

Improving fuel mileage automatically reduces one's polluting. I knew someone would say something about my comment regarding removing cats. That's why I suggested installing a cat that is more free flowing.

Are you saying an engine that can breath better isn't going to be more efficient? Noisy exhausts aren't for everyone, but you will gain a few HP with a good exhaust system. Stock cars are build with exhausts designed to make the ride quiet. If you are willing to accept a louder exhaust, you get to feel like one of those stupid teenagers driving around in modified beaters and you get the added benefit of extra power.