Friction brake indicator

Mar 28, 2009 6 Replies

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Mr. G 17 years ago

Does anyone know of a friction brake indicator for the Prius? I've spent a lot of time searching, but the only thing I've been able to find is a page from Hobbit that shows something he was experimenting with

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I'm not against building my own, but the circuit on that page seems to be in the early design stages. And since it's tapping into the ABS circuit, I'd be concerned that introducing noise, etc. from an improperly designed circuit could have very bad consequences. A while back someone mentioned in a post (that I haven't been able to find again) about having added an auxiliary dashboard to their Prius, and mentioned a braking indicator. If such a thing exists, either in ready-made, kit or design form, I'd be very interested.

TIA!

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Ike 17 years ago

Sure. I have a braking indicator on my '04, which shows regen, then friction braking. It's a little module the size of a Zippo lighter. Helps improve driving style and efficiency.

It came from

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but they're probably no longer making it as a standard product. Might do a quick custom run for you if they have some parts laying around.

I'd sell mine for the estimated cost of the extra gas I'll burn without it, over the next 100k miles. Plus my standard $250/hour for the time required to remove it. About $3,884.50, I estimate, plus postage.

In short, I like it!

Mr. G wrote:

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Mr. G 17 years ago

Ike, that sounds even better than what I was looking for. I would be happy to find something that shows when the friction brakes are kicking- in, so showing regen would be an added bonus. I'd checked the CoastalTech site (even used Google to search it) but couldn't find such a thing. On Hobbit's page that links to his design, it mentions the Coastal 'vaporware' product.

I'll drop CoastalTech a line to see if they have any to sell, even if it's not on their Web site. I appreciate the offer to sell yours, but the price is a bit rich for my blood. :)

Thanks!

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Elmo P. Shagnasty 17 years ago

for any lurkers, that would be Coastal E Tech, not CoastalTech.

coastaletech.com.

The other way takes you someplace completely different.

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Stan 17 years ago

Mr. G wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.giganews.com:

snip

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Mr. G 17 years ago

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Ike 17 years ago

That photo shows a simplified version of what I received in early 2004. Coastal sent it to a meeting of a newly-forming Prius club as a giveaway, and I was the winner.

Mine has four green LEDs to show state of braking, plus one red LED that indicates engine running. It may well have been a prototype leading to the current-generation device.

The Coastal people are clever and highly inventive, but often announce before the engineering is finished.

Ike

Stan wrote:

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