RE: Honda Insight: PH Carpool

[cptsideways]

tomcrowther said:

cptsideways said:

Pretty much the same reason I have one, mine has the almost the same tweaks & end results.

• SNIP*

I also have what technically was its nearest competitor at the time in Europe at least a Lupo 3L 1.2Tdi which really is loads quieter, faster & more economical in day to day driving than the Insight. Though the green Lupo has gone I have replaced it with a black one now.

• SNIP*

Is that a genuine 3l? never actually seen a picture of a standard one!

Yep both mine are/were genuine ones, the green one was imported from Germany about six years ago. My "new one" came from Italy but its converted to manual to get rid of the awful automated/hydraulic/clutch system. Not an easy task due to the electronics needing reprogramming. There are always a few 3L's for sale on mobile.de if you're after one. They seem to hold their value well.


I was thinking of selling my Insight to fund the deposit on a Caterham 160 that I rather fancy building. But as usual the good old VAG Lupo has st itself just as I planned to put the reliable Insight up for sale. Guess what I'm driving for the next few weeks

[dino ferrana]

Has anyone ever done a full electric conversion of these? I imagine that very low weight and great aero would make an excellent starting point?

[cptsideways]

dino ferrana said:

Has anyone ever done a full electric conversion of these? I imagine that very low weight and great aero would make an excellent starting point?

Yes I believe a few have been done, Insight Central forum you will find them. It would entail a total re-engineer though as the original system is a motor flywheel/generator thats connected to crank side of the engine.

Quite a few have ripped the batteries & IMA system out & stuck normal go faster Honda engines in for 200bhp plus & 700kg of fun.

[harleywilma]

10k for a battery. eeeeeek.....

[leglessAlex]

harleywilma said:

10k for a battery. eeeeeek.....

£10k? The article says around £2k...

[macky17]

I owned one of these for a while. It wasn't about saving money on fuel, just for the interest (I had a Nissan GTR at the same time!) I got really sad, slipstreaming trucks at 55mph and averaging over 200 mpg for several miles at a time. The novelty of that wears off pretty quick but it was a fun and quirky little thing. I miss it sometimes.

[ewand]

cptsideways said:

Yes I believe a few have been done, Insight Central forum you will find them. It would entail a total re-engineer though as the original system is a motor flywheel/generator thats connected to crank side of the engine.

Quite a few have ripped the batteries & IMA system out & stuck normal go faster Honda engines in for 200bhp plus & 700kg of fun.

K20 linky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx89KisEUCI


There's a turbo K20 prep with 500bhp too. Tellingly, you only ever see video of it on a drag race...

Edited by ewand on Tuesday 10th May 22:40

[RowntreesCabana]

I've always wanted one of these, then I read something about the price of a replacement cat...

[Hugh Jarse]

Ive heard people moan about cat availability before for all sorts of cars, surely any old 400 or even 200 cell cat will do, it is just reactive metal to lower NOx and others.

[Thunder18]

ewand said:

Thunder18 said:

The fact it was a 2 seater only put thousands off and no doubt Honda's ability to ask crazy money was a turn off too. One did appear in the movie, The Day after Tomorrow, Denis Quaid playing an ECO warrior drove one.

Honda claim this to be the worlds hybrid first because it sold globally in 1999 and Toyota claim their 1st gen to be the worlds first in 1997 but I think it only sold in Japan??

I've no idea what they were priced at new (£18k maybe? that would be worth about £28k in today's money...), and the 2-seater thing undoubtedly did put people off as it's not very practical (though the boot is surprisingly capacious but you couldn't really chuck a bike in there). Honda's claim to be the 1st global hybrid might have been true, but they only pipped the Prius by a few months in the UK, when Toyota brought the Prius saloon over. It's a real shame that Honda couldn't have delivered a modern sporty hybrid that was a jump forward like the Insight, when they brought out the CR-Z.

I do actually feel that the cr-z could be the next first gen insight, only lauded long after I production has ceased, the rear seats are useless and the it didn't sell well but by all means it's an excellent drive with a good chassis and manual option too.

The facelift also had a kind of Kers boost type function added to the mix, as well as plenty of mod cons too.

[Black S2K]

Fire99 said:

Podie said:

It got an update. It looks like a Prius

Oooooooh! That might explain why I hadn't noticed it.. Bit of a 'bum steer' by Honda. This early one is distinctive (for the better)

The second one is essentially a rebodied Jazz/CRZ and completely misses the point of the brilliant 1st Gen.

[cptsideways]

Black S2K said:

Fire99 said:

Podie said:

It got an update. It looks like a Prius

Oooooooh! That might explain why I hadn't noticed it.. Bit of a 'bum steer' by Honda. This early one is distinctive (for the better)

The second one is essentially a rebodied Jazz/CRZ and completely misses the point of the brilliant 1st Gen.

It was also a total sales flop & now Honda have recently stop making it. With the Prius being the opposite. They appear to be a sensible dull daily over the diesel options, have considered one for my wife to run about in, has to be painless if dull motoring.

[JonnyVTEC]

Hugh Jarse said:

Ive heard people moan about cat availability before for all sorts of cars, surely any old 400 or even 200 cell cat will do, it is just reactive metal to lower NOx and others.

It's pretty special nox capture to allow the lean burn function to meet emission requirements.

[Hugh Jarse]

ok cheers, i stand corrected.
Ford abandoned lean burn mid 90s because of NOx.
I suppose the cat must be extra sensitive/dense.