Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (Tab Green Guru Guides)

Oldie but a goodie. The author is great at explaining the concepts, but this edition is missing some more in depth theory behind the operation.Great Read and available in a new version now.

Useful

If you have read  Build Your Own Electric Vehicle  by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant, this book will seem like an old friend. Written by Seth Leitman alone this time, Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid not only has the same rather folksy style as the earlier book, but it borrows a lot of the same text. Quite a lot -- about 50%, by my rough estimation.Even with the repetition, the 50% that is new offers a lot. Seth Leitman knows what he is talking about, and has gathered information from a variety of sources, including from his own experience making a plug-in hybrid with lead-acid batteries in a Prius. Much of this information is hard to find elsewhere.I'm not a particular fan of Seth Leitman's style. He calls out a lot of people by name to call their work and contributions "great" (a word that is clearly a favorite of his). Many of the pictures in the book are snapshots, a little poorly printed, that have these people in them. Some of the wording seems a bit corny from time to time as well.Finally, unlike Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, this book does not really tell you how to build your own plug-in hybrid. The actual building, the book suggests, should be left to experts. This book tells more about what kits are available, and how to plan and participate in the conversion. That's helpful, but the title of the book suggests it will deliver more, and may be a bit misleading.Despite these flaws, I recommend the book. As with Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, this book could be a lot better. There is plenty of room for improvement. But there is no other book out there that competes with it. For now, at least, it stands alone. And if its parent book is any indication, this book too may well stand out for quite a long time.

This book is not really about building a plug-in hybrid; it just deals with the conversion of the Prius to plug-in, and recycles a lot of things from the book "build your own electric vehicle" I think that the book "the zero carbon car" by kemp is more interesting in that it really deals with a complete hybrid drivetrain design and construction.

Diy

I always hate to write a negative review, because I know first-hand the work that goes into putting a book together. But this book simply isn't helpful. It gives authoritative-looking table after table, but almost never does it explain precisely what the data in the table mean or how they would apply to your particular project.There are pages of intricate wiring diagrams, but no specific, detailed instructions as to how you would go about wiring your own vehicle. The same is true of the major components: lots of fluff about the different types, some pluses and minuses, but no directions as to how you would actually implement your choices.This is really much more of an overview of what's been done, including a couple of specific cases, and what the future may hold for hybrid vehicles - but it's going to do you very little good if you actually want a step-by-step guide to building your own.

very informative

This book is pathetic.Editing and proofreading are non-existent. The text rambles and frequently repeats. Many figures make little or no sense. Tables referenced are out of place, incorrectly labeled or non-existent. "Build Your Own" in the title suggests some element of "How-to". There are a lot of fun facts. But there is little information to help size and select batteries, controllers or motors. And there's nothing to help piece a whole system together.And in spite of the title, there is nothing in this book relating to building a hybrid vehicle, only adding a plug-in option to an existing hybrid.I've been building, testing and modifying cars for over 30 years. I am an engineer, admittedly mechanical, not electrical. I should have come away with something from this book. I came away with nothing.I want my money back!

This book is riddled with basic misunderstandings (e.g. lack of clarity about the distinction between torque and power). One graph for example purports to show the power output of series DC motors but uses a typical torque curve instead, showing power as a maximum at zero r.p.m. This is like finding a book on climate confusing heat and temperature: it undermines any confidence in anything else the author says.The text was poorly structured both in terms of the flow of the topics and the depth at which they were tackled: you would read a page of general description then turn the page to find a circuit diagram from a Prius.Finally I found the environmental finger-wagging irritating: I bought the book wanting to understand more about the engineering of hybrids and the environmental bits struck me as both inappropriate and partisan.

Tehoretische und Praktische Einleitung für den Bau eins Hybridfahrzeugs. Praktische Erfahrung und Bezugsquellen im amerikanischer Markt. Für Bastler und Interessierte und nicht nur. Technisches Englisch und Automobilkenntnisse erforderlich. Wegen der Aktualität der Thema nur zu empfehlen.

more theory. not help ful for practical applications.