Anyone added a second hybrid battery?

[LSchicago]

I know there is a place for a second battery, just curious if anyone has added or researched adding a second battery?

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[bighead]

I think the hybrid battery is too small and weak. There is plenty of time to charge it when driving and braking, so a bigger battery would hold more juice and allow the driver to get up to speed from stops without having to drive like an old lady and piss off those behind you. More zip from a stop would be better.

 

[Automate]

 

[triangulumhalohydra]

As far as I know, and I've been lurking for a while, nobody with the right combination of skill, disposable income, and bravery has come along. Is it you???

 

[GPSMan]

I think the hybrid battery is too small and weak. There is plenty of time to charge it when driving and braking, so a bigger battery would hold more juice and allow the driver to get up to speed from stops without having to drive like an old lady and piss off those behind you. More zip from a stop would be better.

There is no point to a larger battery.
This is a hybrid, not an EV.

It is literally the "right size" right now.
Less than one person out of one thousand would benefit from a larger battery. In a hybrid.

The battery is like a rubber band on a balsa wood airplane.

You just need to wind it up one time (regen while braking one time) then unwind it one time (take off from a stoplight). Then repeat.

The battery is not for cruising.
It is for capturing energy while slowing and stopping, and for releasing stored energy when accelerating. It also allows for a low torque high efficiency Atkinson engine to be installed as the electric motor can add back the missing torque.

Do you know why power / acceleration is limited in EV mode?

1) heat is generated quickly at high currents. More battery than you have now and things would overheat. Quickly.

2) the battery we have can put out 150 amps. With two batteries you'd have double the duration to use them, but you'd still be limited to 150 amps.

3) in EV mode you are limited to 75 amps. With two batteries EV mode would still be limited to 75 amps. While in EV 75 amps has to be "reserved" for starting the gasoline engine. Once the gas engine is running, you can put all 150 amps to the electric motor to spin the wheels.

75 amps is about 22 electric horsepower. This is why you have to granny it to stay in EV mode while accelerating.

150 amps is double that.
You have 44 electric horsepower of "boost" to pass on a grade, for example, while the engine is already running.

Having more battery weight is more or less "dead weight" you'd be carrying around all the time, and you'd utilize it very rarely.

 

[Palms]

Excellent explanation!

 

[GPSMan]

There should be a FAQ section.
This comes up every few months.

 

[Darnon]

I know there is a place for a second battery, just curious if anyone has added or researched adding a second battery?

There is no 'place for a second battery'.

 

[icegradner]

I think the hybrid battery is too small and weak. There is plenty of time to charge it when driving and braking, so a bigger battery would hold more juice and allow the driver to get up to speed from stops without having to drive like an old lady and piss off those behind you. More zip from a stop would be better.

The battery is big enough, I can drive for a few miles on the battery just fine, even at 55MPH. It's the way the electric motor is designed, it's not meant to be the primary drive on it's own. This is a hybrid, not a EV or sports car.

 

[dhill59]

I would actually like a larger battery. Go further on the electric mode.

 

[rallyshark]

I wouldn't mind a little larger battery with just a wee bit more electric motor power too. Unfortunately, that would require a re-design of the truck's systems, so not realistic until Ford decides so at production.

 

[LSchicago]

Acceleration is super slow at the 9% power level required to keep the engine from starting. If the truck could do 15%, you could pull away from a stop on electric without feeling like an ass. But yes, this tiny little battery does help when coasting or not accelerating more than 1 mph per second or so. As much as it helps MPG, there is much room for improvement. Hopefully the total redesign for 2028 addresses this.

 

[TheSEARCH]

Sounds like he wants a plug in hybrid. If they ever do make one it will be like 5 grand more going by the price difference on the prius regular verse plug in. For me In doubt I would ever break even .

 

[LSchicago]

Sounds like he wants a plug in hybrid. If they ever do make one it will be like 5 grand more going by the price difference on the prius regular verse plug in. For me In doubt I would ever break even .

I don't want a plug in at all. Just a slightly more usable acceleration on electric. Based on Escape prices, I'd say $5,000 more for PHEV is accurate. Then you are eligible for a $3,750 rebate. But again, don't want a plug in.

 

[BluegrassNbass]

Just push the little pedal below your foot further down. Get 5mph faster than posted speed let off the magic peddle and boom...Electric. faster than doing it the snail way.

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