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Old 08-31-2013, 03:32 PM   #65 (permalink)
RedDevil
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
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Red Devil - '11 Honda Insight Elegance
Team Honda
90 day: 53.03 mpg (US)
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I do not have an ABA test result, and I will never have it. I will not remove the springs as I feel they make for a more predictable brake behaviour.
I do have some kind of AB data though; the 'hot brake' test.

When I just got my car I was glad with the FE, but not really impressed. There seemed to be bad days; low wind, reasonable temperature, moderate driving, but not able to get the same figures as the previous day under worse circumstances.

After one of these days I saw the air vibrate in one of the wheel wells. Heat! Sure enough, the disk was almost too hot to touch. But only on that wheel; the others were lukewarm.
After that I regularly check brake temp after a drive, esp. when FE is less than hoped for. And sure enough, I had several hot brakes in the course of half a year; usually the left front but sometimes another, even the smaller rear brakes take turns.
Now that I have the extra springs up front I only have the occasional hot rear disk.

No hard numbers; the decision to check them is subjective after all. But a night and day difference for this one aspect.
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2011 Honda Insight + HID, LEDs, tiny PV panel, extra brake pad return springs, neutral wheel alignment, 44/42 PSI (air), PHEV light (inop), tightened wheel nut.
lifetime FE over 0.2 Gmeter or 0.13 Mmile.


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