2001 Honda Insight
Discussion
Been meaning to post this for years so finally got round to it. Bought back in March 2009 and closing in on probably moving it on as I’m not using it at all anymore after taking it from 130k to 273k over the 13 years I’ve owned it.
Usual facts. 1.0 3-cylinder with lean burn, engine weights 56kg and runs as low as 25:1 AFR.
manual gearbox and all aluminium body to deliver 835kg weight and 0.25 Cd.
It’s a much better drive and steer than it looks!
Will be some old posts from forums to bulk it out! Haha.
the little shoe car as I went to an insight meet up with a rather clean car for once and also crossed 265k. Finally got the new H for the boot badge on along with a fresh rear plate... exciting mods!
Parade lap and quick geek out.
Ewan who was talking has had an NSX in the past and also has an Evora.
Warm weather is great aswell
Usual facts. 1.0 3-cylinder with lean burn, engine weights 56kg and runs as low as 25:1 AFR.
manual gearbox and all aluminium body to deliver 835kg weight and 0.25 Cd.
It’s a much better drive and steer than it looks!
Will be some old posts from forums to bulk it out! Haha.
the little shoe car as I went to an insight meet up with a rather clean car for once and also crossed 265k. Finally got the new H for the boot badge on along with a fresh rear plate... exciting mods!
Parade lap and quick geek out.
Ewan who was talking has had an NSX in the past and also has an Evora.
Warm weather is great aswell
Edited by JonnyVTEC on Wednesday 6th July 13:15
Piginapoke said:
Love it. Will it run on battery only?
No it’s just a small 10kW or so pancake motor on the flywheel so basically does the job of a 4th cylinder adding power on demand and of course regen to charge the battery. No alternator needed then either as the 144V HV system does all that thanks to a DCDC Converter in the boot to power the 12V stuff. JonnyVTEC said:
Piginapoke said:
Love it. Will it run on battery only?
No it’s just a small 10kW or so pancake motor on the flywheel so basically does the job of a 4th cylinder adding power on demand and of course regen to charge the battery. No alternator needed then either as the 144V HV system does all that thanks to a DCDC Converter in the boot to power the 12V stuff. This was the new pack charging before fitment at 160k, it's a yellow stick pack so a recent one from honda replaced under warranty, I rang honda with the plate of the donor car we broke as a group of UK and seems it was replaced in 2009. BONUS!
Fitting the controller previous to the pack change.
Not much space but I've managed a few successes over the years!
Fitting the controller previous to the pack change.
Not much space but I've managed a few successes over the years!
Again bit of a post dump from other places to get this one up to speed and share some ownership experience.
This was from last year - April 2021.
Well, MOT ran out Oct 2017.... and that's how it stayed. So revive the thread and car is now the plan! CRZ sold 2 years ago now - put 12k on it and sold for £300 more than I paid for it
Big fail on various brake lines which I' ve had fixed today. The front to rear and also the one that cross engine bay very low down to LH jump hose.
Next item before retest is a handbrake cable that seized solid in the ally collar here in the steel sleeve... bad design. Thats on the way as a pattern part, not sure what will show up and also some smaller engine bay brake lines coming from Japan as Amayama still have good stock at sensible prices and here in 2days! Another advisory is the worn brake pedal rubber
Hopefully get that sorted ahead of the weekend and drive ready for a trip to Caffeine & Machine.
Comedy compared to the IPACE - 20 year age gap and not far off a 1/3rd of the weight!
This was from last year - April 2021.
Well, MOT ran out Oct 2017.... and that's how it stayed. So revive the thread and car is now the plan! CRZ sold 2 years ago now - put 12k on it and sold for £300 more than I paid for it
Big fail on various brake lines which I' ve had fixed today. The front to rear and also the one that cross engine bay very low down to LH jump hose.
Next item before retest is a handbrake cable that seized solid in the ally collar here in the steel sleeve... bad design. Thats on the way as a pattern part, not sure what will show up and also some smaller engine bay brake lines coming from Japan as Amayama still have good stock at sensible prices and here in 2days! Another advisory is the worn brake pedal rubber
Hopefully get that sorted ahead of the weekend and drive ready for a trip to Caffeine & Machine.
Comedy compared to the IPACE - 20 year age gap and not far off a 1/3rd of the weight!
Jimmy No Hands said:
These are so cool! Jonny Smith the journalist has one too. (You're not him, are you?)
Ha no, hes got his back. Ill keep adding content here.... got a picture with him only last night PurpleTurtle said:
Always been fascinated by these quirky little things - the most aerodynamic production car ever built, at the time.
What sort of real world MPG are you getting?
Yeah I think its a shame the underfloor didnt quite get some extra aero coverage at the rear to help - frontal area is comedy of course too.What sort of real world MPG are you getting?
Real world is 66.9mpg on the computer for the 273,205 its done and real world tracking Ill add a post later is 65.8 for 86,000 miles i used Road trip and thats lots of commuting and running around, short trips etc so really impressive. Its never ran better since it had a new 12V battery and replaced the broken knock sensor so driving to work yesterday was 78mpg.
When its warm and you sit at 68-72mph with the instant consumption pegged at 100mpg its pretty impressive. Even better if you can hook onto a transit making progress.
Edited by JonnyVTEC on Tuesday 5th July 12:07
JonnyVTEC said:
Piginapoke said:
Love it. Will it run on battery only?
No it’s just a small 10kW or so pancake motor on the flywheel so basically does the job of a 4th cylinder adding power on demand and of course regen to charge the battery. No alternator needed then either as the 144V HV system does all that thanks to a DCDC Converter in the boot to power the 12V stuff. 
From memory its about 29kWh and will do 170miles! Yeah CRZ was a great blend of both the Insight and Integra, didnt have that quirky look for day to day and the extra seats were useful as the kids were small enough to use it. Good for both spirited drives and cruised nicely with far more power accessible.
Same app on the CRZ for fuel.
19,800 miles 48mpg which is pretty respectful for normal/fast road driving.
Same app on the CRZ for fuel.
19,800 miles 48mpg which is pretty respectful for normal/fast road driving.
Edited by JonnyVTEC on Tuesday 5th July 13:32
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