Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Dreaming...lean burn manual taller transmission Civic sedan...or get an Insight

mpg_numbers_guy · 09-03-2018, 05:00 PM

I've never been pulled over, even when a cop passed me while going 25 in a 55 during a traffic-free moment of P&G. Even so, I'd rather not risk it.

On the topic of my future Insight (hopefully), I read Ecky's entire original thread on his Insight prior to bypassing the hybrid system, and I came across a few questions to pose here.

1. When buying an Insight, what are all the things I should be looking out for when inspecting the car?

2. On his thread, and others, there seemed to be A LOT of maintenance required for the Insight. Compared to how worry free my Civic has been, this is slightly worrisome. Is this typical for Gen 1 Insights, or are y'all just buying beaters and restoring them?

3. A lot of these maintenance issues seemed to come from the battery/hybrid system. Looking at it statistically, say I could manage 70 MPG without the hybrid battery, and 100 MPG with the battery. I estimate roughly 10,000 miles/yr - roughly 143 gallons without battery and 100 gallons with battery. At approximately $3/gallon that's $300/yr with battery and $429/yr without battery. A new Bumblebee battery costs $1995 (not including installation costs). Even if I could make a battery last 10 years, my savings with the battery is only $1290, compared for over $2000 for new battery + installation. In order to make having a battery actually save any money, I would need to average 116.7 MPG with the battery if the battery lasted 10 years OR drive 15,555.6 miles/yr, again if the battery lasted 10 years. And that's with me installing it myself, which I don't know how to do, and most hybrid batteries don't last 10 years unless you spend $100s in maintaining the battery, which in the long run can't really be that much more efficient.

4. Another question, how much really does the IMA battery help fuel efficiency? Am I wrong or does the battery only come into play during acceleration and hill climbing? Regen benefits are negligible by EOC. I read in Ecky's thread that without the battery shift points at 3000-4000 RPMs were necessary during acceleration as opposed to 2000 RPMs, obviously burning...4x more gas in acceleration? But other than that, how much really does the IMA battery help fuel efficiency?

5. Without the IMA, does electrical load still affect MPG signficantly compared to other cars? I.e. radio usage, headlights, etc. AC will be deleted.

09-03-2018, 05:00 PM	#80 (permalink)
mpg_numbers_guy Master EcoModder Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: VA Posts: 1,372 Toby - '13 Toyota Prius C Team Toyota 90 day: 63.99 mpg (US) Daz - '15 Mazda 3 iTouring w/ Tech Package Team Mazda 90 day: 38.2 mpg (US) Thanks: 324 Thanked 483 Times in 368 Posts	I've never been pulled over, even when a cop passed me while going 25 in a 55 during a traffic-free moment of P&G. Even so, I'd rather not risk it. On the topic of my future Insight (hopefully), I read Ecky's entire original thread on his Insight prior to bypassing the hybrid system, and I came across a few questions to pose here. 1. When buying an Insight, what are all the things I should be looking out for when inspecting the car? 2. On his thread, and others, there seemed to be A LOT of maintenance required for the Insight. Compared to how worry free my Civic has been, this is slightly worrisome. Is this typical for Gen 1 Insights, or are y'all just buying beaters and restoring them? 3. A lot of these maintenance issues seemed to come from the battery/hybrid system. Looking at it statistically, say I could manage 70 MPG without the hybrid battery, and 100 MPG with the battery. I estimate roughly 10,000 miles/yr - roughly 143 gallons without battery and 100 gallons with battery. At approximately $3/gallon that's $300/yr with battery and $429/yr without battery. A new Bumblebee battery costs $1995 (not including installation costs). Even if I could make a battery last 10 years, my savings with the battery is only $1290, compared for over $2000 for new battery + installation. In order to make having a battery actually save any money, I would need to average 116.7 MPG with the battery if the battery lasted 10 years OR drive 15,555.6 miles/yr, again if the battery lasted 10 years. And that's with me installing it myself, which I don't know how to do, and most hybrid batteries don't last 10 years unless you spend $100s in maintaining the battery, which in the long run can't really be that much more efficient. 4. Another question, how much really does the IMA battery help fuel efficiency? Am I wrong or does the battery only come into play during acceleration and hill climbing? Regen benefits are negligible by EOC. I read in Ecky's thread that without the battery shift points at 3000-4000 RPMs were necessary during acceleration as opposed to 2000 RPMs, obviously burning...4x more gas in acceleration? But other than that, how much really does the IMA battery help fuel efficiency? 5. Without the IMA, does electrical load still affect MPG signficantly compared to other cars? I.e. radio usage, headlights, etc. AC will be deleted. __________________ 2013 Toyota Prius C 2 (my car) 2015 Mazda 3 iTouring Hatchback w/ Tech Package (wife's car)