# power motor + torque motor



## aquilante (Feb 12, 2011)

If I understood correctly Prius has 2 electric motor working togheter:
one for power
one for torque

they are connected via e planetary gear etc etc.

- Is this a useful layout for DIY?
- Having 2 motor in series with different specs means to have two controllers?
- Would it be helpful for best battery usage or there are not graet differences compared to a single motor layout?


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## steven4601 (Nov 11, 2010)

Reason for using two motors is lack of budget/power.

If they where to sell the Prius as a sports car and an budget appropriate for such a car they would have ditched the idea to use one smaller for torque and one larger for 35mph driving. More likely then would have been a single high power motor to deliver both off the line torque and power. 

Somehow all commercial personal electric vehicles are 'automatics' as in without a mechanical shifter. Even the single motor Leaf uses just one gear, maybe that trend it is trying to tell something


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## GerhardRP (Nov 17, 2009)

The Prius has an engine as well. One motor is coupled to the ICE with a planetary gearset while the other is directly on the output shaft. The controllers are programmed to keep the ICE operating most efficiently. 
I don't see any efficiency or operational gains using 2 electric motors with a planetary and no ICE.
Gerhard



aquilante said:


> If I understood correctly Prius has 2 electric motor working togheter:
> one for power
> one for torque
> 
> ...


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## aquilante (Feb 12, 2011)

steven4601 said:


> Reason for using two motors is lack of budget/power.


Typical of DIY too... 

Thanks!


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