Mk1 Honda Insight
Discussion
Found it. It was in the engine bay, I just wasn't looking hard enough. Bit of a bodge too.
It's down there, promise.
After extracting the wiring loom.
It doesn't look any better the closer you look.
Had to start again as there wasn't enough good wire left to play with. Ready to go back on, no more twisted wire and a bit of insulation tape.
Will get it reinstalled today.
It's down there, promise.
After extracting the wiring loom.
It doesn't look any better the closer you look.
Had to start again as there wasn't enough good wire left to play with. Ready to go back on, no more twisted wire and a bit of insulation tape.
Will get it reinstalled today.
Can I recommend you get the earthing strap replaced? I've seen a number of vehicles go up in smoke due to the earthing strap failing.
Admittedly they were trucks but apparently the earth can find other routes, like through power steering hydraulic lines etc.
Wouldn't want you to lose your P&J for the sake of a simple part.
Admittedly they were trucks but apparently the earth can find other routes, like through power steering hydraulic lines etc.
Wouldn't want you to lose your P&J for the sake of a simple part.
Super Slo Mo said:
Can I recommend you get the earthing strap replaced? I've seen a number of vehicles go up in smoke due to the earthing strap failing.
Admittedly they were trucks but apparently the earth can find other routes, like through power steering hydraulic lines etc.
Wouldn't want you to lose your P&J for the sake of a simple part.
Yes. Would have done it today but don't have any clamps big enough and trying to solder wire using the hob didn't work either. Admittedly they were trucks but apparently the earth can find other routes, like through power steering hydraulic lines etc.
Wouldn't want you to lose your P&J for the sake of a simple part.
It works. It maybe a placebo but it feels different to drive now, I think the IMA is coming in when it's supposed to now rather than when it was tricked into it, the battery gauge is already higher than I've seen it so far. It's stopped telling me to upshift when I'm already in fifth, which is nice.
Took it for a test drive, first one since the service. From stone cold it covered 26.6km at 28.9km/l, which I make to be about 83 mpg, mixture of urban and NSL, very impressive.
Took it for a test drive, first one since the service. From stone cold it covered 26.6km at 28.9km/l, which I make to be about 83 mpg, mixture of urban and NSL, very impressive.
Well done! I'd recommend uprating the rear springs, which will reduce the bouncy bouncy nature you might have experienced. Slightly stiffer ones are available and that will raise the back of the car up a few cm unless you want to hack a quarter turn off the spring before installing. You're talking about £20 a corner, and they're OEM springs for a Daewoo Matiz :-D
retepsnikrep gave me a great tip for driving the Insight - I was feathering the throttle a lot, almost trying to make it charge as much as I could (trying to keep the IMA battery full all the time) - he suggested that when you're approaching a hill or anything that will need a bit more gas, just bury the throttle and force the motor to kick in and give you everything it can. Then you can lift off when you get to the top, or you're just about past the thing you're overtaking etc...
retepsnikrep gave me a great tip for driving the Insight - I was feathering the throttle a lot, almost trying to make it charge as much as I could (trying to keep the IMA battery full all the time) - he suggested that when you're approaching a hill or anything that will need a bit more gas, just bury the throttle and force the motor to kick in and give you everything it can. Then you can lift off when you get to the top, or you're just about past the thing you're overtaking etc...
ewand said:
Well done! I'd recommend uprating the rear springs, which will reduce the bouncy bouncy nature you might have experienced. Slightly stiffer ones are available and that will raise the back of the car up a few cm unless you want to hack a quarter turn off the spring before installing. You're talking about £20 a corner, and they're OEM springs for a Daewoo Matiz :-D
retepsnikrep gave me a great tip for driving the Insight - I was feathering the throttle a lot, almost trying to make it charge as much as I could (trying to keep the IMA battery full all the time) - he suggested that when you're approaching a hill or anything that will need a bit more gas, just bury the throttle and force the motor to kick in and give you everything it can. Then you can lift off when you get to the top, or you're just about past the thing you're overtaking etc...
I'd heard about the Matiz rear spring mod, the rear beam is the only rusty bit so when I sort that I'll probably uprate the springs at the same time. retepsnikrep gave me a great tip for driving the Insight - I was feathering the throttle a lot, almost trying to make it charge as much as I could (trying to keep the IMA battery full all the time) - he suggested that when you're approaching a hill or anything that will need a bit more gas, just bury the throttle and force the motor to kick in and give you everything it can. Then you can lift off when you get to the top, or you're just about past the thing you're overtaking etc...
I'm tempted to take it to Blyton for a track day to find out where it's handling limits are before I find them on the road.
ewand said:
retepsnikrep gave me a great tip for driving the Insight - I was feathering the throttle a lot, almost trying to make it charge as much as I could (trying to keep the IMA battery full all the time) - he suggested that when you're approaching a hill or anything that will need a bit more gas, just bury the throttle and force the motor to kick in and give you everything it can. Then you can lift off when you get to the top, or you're just about past the thing you're overtaking etc...
I don't subscribe to the 'pulse and glide' technique some of the first hybrid drivers talked about. The critical thing I have found for fuel consumption, if you want to keep it low, is to use the lowest possible throttle openings possible. I keep it below 2000rpm, using EV mode wherever possible. However, that can make for ponderous progress, too slow for me generally. Gassing moderately up hills, and coasting once you've made the climb is quite effective. That said, I've found tank to tank average isn't all that different even if you dawdle along on one tank and clog it on another. With a hybrid, taking into account how the drivetrain works makes for the best experience.
Loyly said:
ewand said:
retepsnikrep gave me a great tip for driving the Insight - I was feathering the throttle a lot, almost trying to make it charge as much as I could (trying to keep the IMA battery full all the time) - he suggested that when you're approaching a hill or anything that will need a bit more gas, just bury the throttle and force the motor to kick in and give you everything it can. Then you can lift off when you get to the top, or you're just about past the thing you're overtaking etc...
I don't subscribe to the 'pulse and glide' technique some of the first hybrid drivers talked about. The critical thing I have found for fuel consumption, if you want to keep it low, is to use the lowest possible throttle openings possible. I keep it below 2000rpm, using EV mode wherever possible. However, that can make for ponderous progress, too slow for me generally. Gassing moderately up hills, and coasting once you've made the climb is quite effective. That said, I've found tank to tank average isn't all that different even if you dawdle along on one tank and clog it on another. With a hybrid, taking into account how the drivetrain works makes for the best experience.
500 miles at
40 mpg = 12.5 gal
60 mpg = 8.33 gal
80 mpg = 6.25 gal
100 mpg = 5.0 gal
120 mpg = 4.16 gal
So the difference between driving relatively normally and hypermiling is about £5 per tank, think I'll carry on driving normally, it's more fun.
A couple of little jobs sorted while I wait for the discs and pads to arrive at Honda.
The steering wheel and gear knob looked a bit grubby.
Pretty disgusting. I'm tempted to get the wheel trimmed in leather but an impending house purchase will probably put paid to that.
I heard a sloshing the other day and just assumed it was the petrol tank. I didn't tie it in to the slight damp patch on the boot floor.
When I lifted it to have a look I found about 15-20 litres of water in the spare wheel well.
No obvious leaking seals so I'll Mark it with chalk and monitor it over the next few weeks. It should be a bit lighter now at least.
The dust covers on the TRE ball joints have perished. New TRE's are £100 per side with no aftermarket support so I measured them and bought just the dust covers. Decided to order a few as they're only £2-3 a pair. The middle set is noticeably higher quality so ill probably use them.
I've also replaced the snapped earth strap and some Honda MTF3 arrived yesterday so I'll tackle that at the weekend but otherwise the novelty of driving it hasn't worn off.
The steering wheel and gear knob looked a bit grubby.
Pretty disgusting. I'm tempted to get the wheel trimmed in leather but an impending house purchase will probably put paid to that.
I heard a sloshing the other day and just assumed it was the petrol tank. I didn't tie it in to the slight damp patch on the boot floor.
When I lifted it to have a look I found about 15-20 litres of water in the spare wheel well.
No obvious leaking seals so I'll Mark it with chalk and monitor it over the next few weeks. It should be a bit lighter now at least.
The dust covers on the TRE ball joints have perished. New TRE's are £100 per side with no aftermarket support so I measured them and bought just the dust covers. Decided to order a few as they're only £2-3 a pair. The middle set is noticeably higher quality so ill probably use them.
I've also replaced the snapped earth strap and some Honda MTF3 arrived yesterday so I'll tackle that at the weekend but otherwise the novelty of driving it hasn't worn off.
It's been a frustrating day working on the car, in between various sporting events on TV.
The one job that did go right was the ball joint dust covers.
Bit fiddly but worth it, saved £170 not having to replace both sides completely and they're now packed with fresh Moly grease so should last a while.
All 4 disc retaining screws were seized in. My drill bits were blunt if not at the start, definitely at the end. I found a punch and hammer worked best but still annoying.
New discs on with the backing plates painted.
And that's where it started to go tits. The dust covers on the sliding pins were removed last night and put together with all the bolts and pins in degreaser, big mistake. Overnight they had swollen to at least twice their size if not 3 times. No way would they seat back in the caliper. I ended up tearing the first 2 before giving up.
The day before they were smaller than the bush. Luckily I'm not relying on it for transport as it's staying on axle stands until it's fixed.
Apart from that it is starting to look good.
Also got the gearbox oil done. Why Honda don't put a spout on their bottles is beyond me, at least half a litre ended up on the floor, it only takes 1.5 to start with.
Fitted the new striker plates to the door apertures
Got a new badge for the front but left it as after the day I've had no doubt it would have ended up upside down.
The one job that did go right was the ball joint dust covers.
Bit fiddly but worth it, saved £170 not having to replace both sides completely and they're now packed with fresh Moly grease so should last a while.
All 4 disc retaining screws were seized in. My drill bits were blunt if not at the start, definitely at the end. I found a punch and hammer worked best but still annoying.
New discs on with the backing plates painted.
And that's where it started to go tits. The dust covers on the sliding pins were removed last night and put together with all the bolts and pins in degreaser, big mistake. Overnight they had swollen to at least twice their size if not 3 times. No way would they seat back in the caliper. I ended up tearing the first 2 before giving up.
The day before they were smaller than the bush. Luckily I'm not relying on it for transport as it's staying on axle stands until it's fixed.
Apart from that it is starting to look good.
Also got the gearbox oil done. Why Honda don't put a spout on their bottles is beyond me, at least half a litre ended up on the floor, it only takes 1.5 to start with.
Fitted the new striker plates to the door apertures
Got a new badge for the front but left it as after the day I've had no doubt it would have ended up upside down.
Cleaned up a few brackets today.
Also regassed the A.C. It was working but needed to keep it on 18 to feel the effects and then you could tell it was working at max chat. It's ice cold now, set to 22 where it will probably stay.
Also wet vacced the seats and they've come up ok for a once over.
If anyone's heading to Japfest on the 1st I'll probably be there, feel free to have a poke around.
Also regassed the A.C. It was working but needed to keep it on 18 to feel the effects and then you could tell it was working at max chat. It's ice cold now, set to 22 where it will probably stay.
Also wet vacced the seats and they've come up ok for a once over.
If anyone's heading to Japfest on the 1st I'll probably be there, feel free to have a poke around.
I've been using the car as a daily for the last few weeks with no issues. I'm using it normally now so it will be interesting to see what the MPG settles down to. It also passed it's MOT last week with 1 advisory for handbrake travel.
The last few bits arrived from Honda.
Also chased a few trim rattles down, had the AC regassed and replaced the type A plugs with the correct Stamp B ones.
Nothing much to report other than I get asked more questions about it than any other car I've owned.
The last few bits arrived from Honda.
Also chased a few trim rattles down, had the AC regassed and replaced the type A plugs with the correct Stamp B ones.
Nothing much to report other than I get asked more questions about it than any other car I've owned.
ChocolateFrog said:
peterperkins said:
S2000 leather steering wheels are a straight swap.. 
Good to know. I'll keep an eye out.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff