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I owned a manual Echo 2 DR. Just over 2k pounds. Brake booster was tiny and the stripper had no PS. Mine had no AC, crank up windows. If you needed booster for braking just let the clutch out with the engine shut down and you will have vacuum. No problem stopping that car with the engine off.
The lighter car will not reach the same terminal velocity going downhill. I have seen 85 downhill near Blacksburg Va. on a trip to Va Tech. I never do engine off, but you can just use the gears on that kind of downgrade to engage DFCO, which is what I did in my VX.
In the Insight it just charged the battery back up. I did have a warranty battery, module, and catalytic converter replaced under Hondas warranties. Had to pay for the oxygen sensor becasue the previous owner put a K&N air filter in it and put too much oil in it.
The lightweight Echo will climb the grade using less energy, since it weighs less it takes less power to climb. It also lowers terminal coasting speed since there is less sectional density in a lighter car (ballistics). The Echo is also geared poorly for higher speeds. It needs about a 15-20% taller 5th gear. While not good on flat ground it would work very well climbing a 7% grade, which is close to the maximum allowed on Interstates.
In 1968 when I drove my 63 Valiant with the 101 HP 170 CI slant six, I had to downshift to 2nd go to max revs and then shift to 3rd and watch my speed slowly drop to 35 MPH then back to second and up to 55 MPH. This was for a distance of close to 8 miles (8% grade) climbing Afton mountain, between Charlottesville and Waynesboro Va.
43 years ago.
The Valiant got 28 MPG on flat ground, on cheap bias ply recaps. You had to rebuild the wheel cylinders every 20 k miles or when one blew a seal, your brake pedal went to the floor and all you had was the pull handle under the dash which you twisted to release the emergency brake. It weighed less than my 2011 Fiesta and had half the gears.
Ever driven home on one of those (pull and twist handle ebrake) with an auto transmission? I teaches you to never tailgate anyone or you eat someones rear bumper.
regards
Mech
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