I'm super happy with my Superb iV. So happy, in fact, that I'd like to replace it with a full BEV. But there isn't anything on the market that isn't either insanely expensive or a completely different car.

I'm currently doing about 50% of my yearly km on battery and the rest on petrol.

 

I figured I could make this 90% if I could add another 10 kWh or even 95% if I could add 20. There's plenty of room in the trunk where the reserve cables are.

 

So, anyone attempted this? Managed it, even?

 

I'd love to hear about it.

Looking forward to anyones experience of this. 

 

Maybe make the car lighter, also put on the most efficient Eco Tyres you can get rather than adding weight to the car as it is now.

Or if you add weight with the extra batteries you will still have to do that to achieve the greater range. 

 

Can you not fit a LPG kit to the car and put a LPG tank in the space and you will be getting the Skoda Technology where it is at already with other manufacturers that are not the VW Group?

@roottootTBH, I think your reply is (almost) completely off-topic. I'm already achieving up to 60km per charge and I'm ONLY interested in extending the battery range. I don't care about the added weight of 20 kWh battery pack. It should be around 100kg in a car that weighs two tonnes anyway, so, 5%? Yes, it's all in the back and a bit of a balance disrupt, but this is not a race car...

 

If 2023 Superb was a BEV, I wouldn't even be asking: I'd have already had ordered it...

Sounds simple, get a battery pack / controller, fit / connect a battery, job done. Range Extended.

 

I am surprised VW Group have not already done it, or some After Market Kit available or someone doing the job. 

 

*Maybe all the other Manufacturers with PHEV's and Batteries with around only 13 kWh capacity could double that, 

then more might charge at home and not sit tying up public chargers for hours getting just 3.5 kWh in, or less. **

 

Maybe someone is and we will get a link to them.  

?

What are Google Searches showing / other forums like a VW one? 

 

PS.

The 37 miles on electric you are achieving is impressive. 

Edited 14 September, 20223 yr by roottoot

@roottoot: My Google-fu is insufficient to find anything of use. I have an acquaintance who used to convert ICE cars to BEVs and he doesn't dare do it. He (IMO correctly) expects the car is going to find some voltage change, amperage change, temp change or anything else and start complaining about it.

 

I suspect if it actually WAS as easy, someone would have done it really soon after the car's introduction.

 

My best guess at success is that this would probably require connection directly at the motor. In this case, all the car's statistics would go out the window because it would think it's just using less power to move and generating less power when regenerating, but at least it wouldn't complain (assuming you can connect anywhere where there wouldn't yet be any logic). It would be a bit difficult to connect to home charging then, too...

 

Anyway, I suspect this is not the easiest thing to do.

 

My Social Media reading has not seen much other than BEV's towing trailers or caravans with batteries and regenning to charge. 

 

I really am looking forward to hearing of those fitting additional batteries to PHEV's.

There used to be a cottage industry adding cells and packs to early Priuses and even Leaf’s in simpler times. Problem you have is the cars system manages the battery smartly in a defined set of cells such balancing the rate of charging, the health of cells and so on, so it’s not as simple as a modular addition. The software would need to be fundamentally changed. The cost would be prohibitive. The weight penalty would be substantial.

 

You’ve actually already had the best answer above to achieve your range goal. Weight reduction.
 

A study with Tesla cars showed a 10% weight reduction resulting in >13% range increase. More details here:

https://www.teslasiliconvalley.com/blog//ev-weight-impact-on-range

 

If you’re serious about extending range you should quantify and cost all the potential weight savings, evaluate and execute. Wheels, brakes, auxiliary battery, subframes, control arms, suspension, removable items, etc can save you 50-150kg or potentially more and are readily reversible when you come to sell the car, unlike a modified battery.

 

The benefit of reducing unsprung rotational mass in the wheels, tyres and discs is significant and the upgrades are readily available.

Edited 18 September, 20223 yr by Frankenfurter

Would reducing the brake size help to be part of that weight saving? With the regen you rely on the mechanical brakes less. Add on some lighter wheels and tyres........

7 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Would reducing the brake size help to be part of that weight saving? With the regen you rely on the mechanical brakes less. Add on some lighter wheels and tyres........

depends on the options that play nice with the regen but typically you don’t want to reduce brake size but rather use lighter calipers and rotors. Cast slider brake calipers are cheap and very heavy so things like Cupra 4 pot Brembos can save 3kg per caliper on 340mm VAG brakes for example. Two piece rotors can be much lighter while maintaining the size. 
 

Lightweight wheels and dropping from 19 to 17-18 inches would save a bunch of weight too.

 

these things aren’t cheap but they maintain their value and could be sold easily when the car is disposed of.

11 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

Would reducing the brake size help to be part of that weight saving? With the regen you rely on the mechanical brakes less. Add on some lighter wheels and tyres........

Seems like a good idea but somebody, somewhere, lives at the top of a mountain, charges fully every night and doesn't have any regen capacity at the start of their journey...

Truth of the matter is the car is what the car is, a big heavy lump of a people and stuff carrier that is designed and built as all manufacturers Plug in Hybrids to assist them in getting the Average Co2 g/km figures required up until the Euro 7 emissions comes in.

 

They work for some business users for tax reasons and employees and for private owners / drivers as well.

 

The reason that the miles that can be done in EV mode is so low is the reason the UK government stopped throwing tax payers money the way of the Motor Trade, Manufacturers and Business users.

 

Kidology is the issue. 

If they could make them as Range Extenders with the Engine charging the battery which drives the wheels they would.   Others have done that and built the taxis and vans that are now on sale.

VW is always behind the curve, they were building factories to build Diesel Hybrids and then the Defeat Device Scandal bit their bum.

 

 

 

Although I understand the want to have more electric range in a car you love, isn't adding more batteries in the boot going to make the boot even smaller? Which in case kind of negate one of the main advantages of a Superb. 

 

In any case, extra batteries don't come cheap, it might work out cheaper just getting a cheap EV as a second car or upgrading to a long range EV. Maybe even an EV with longer range. 

 

Don't know enough about your usage patterns to give anymore suggestions...