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NoD~ · 05-02-2019, 10:24 AM

Been a while since I posted...

Been working on lowering noise in this car. Adds a bit of weight, but weight doesn't seem to have much of an impact on MPG, so it's worth the sanity.

Something I found the other day is one of my tires has a bulge in it (thump thump thump). Timing is terrible (as always is), but I pulled the trigger on the Bridgestone RE92's and they should be here Monday. $130 each installed... not the greatest, but locally, it's the best I could find. Hoping to see an increase in MPG over whatever I have now...

...Just went out and looked, Cooper CS4 Touring 185/60R14. Didn't even realize I wasn't running the same size tires. Never paid much attention, just knew one day I'd have to replace them and I'd do it right. I'm guessing I should see some gains, lol. Been running ~50psi front and ~60psi rear.

Current tires, I can run leanburn in 5th somewhere between 50-60mph (probably 52-55mph average leanburn on flat ground), depending on the day it seems. I'm hoping this increases, at least to 60mph average, but I won't get my hopes too high.

In other news, I still don't miss the IMA system. The extra trunk space has come in handy a few times and not having to deal with the charging alone has paid off. I do miss that extra torque, no doubt, but not worth the $2K IMO. My MPG has gone down a little on average, but again, not $2K down.

I've talked myself out of an engine swap for now. Really, when I get 3K RPM, the pull on this car actually surprises me! I'm just so often in town going no more than 35MPH that over 2.5K rpm is rare. If I could increase torque from 1K-2K w/o loosing MPG, life would be complete... but dreaming a bit there (though reducing weight from any rotating mass is possible... but at what cost?)

Finally, my work got a 3D printer. I got pretty excited and made a lot of designs (and found/requested some as well) that I plan to print. Just haven't had the time to do so, sadly. I've got the front grill block adjuster to do, mirror blanks, but one of my own designs is an intake hot/cold switcher. Basically, it will T off the filter box and have one hose towards the cat, the other towards somewhere for outside air (maybe straight down through the plastic engine pan I made). Inside is an oval plate (similar to throttle plate) that will be used to adjust the amount of hot or cold air the intake sees. For now, it will be manual, but I'd like to program it ultimately. Probably do target 120*F intake, but go full cold on WOT and high engine temps for performance and safety. I'm happy to share these plans, though I haven't printed it yet to prove it works as I theorize.

Anywho, that's my latest.

05-02-2019, 10:24 AM	#220 (permalink)
NoD~ Master EcoModder Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Posts: 469 Frogger - '00 Honda Insight Gas Only (unHybrid) 90 day: 68.51 mpg (US) Thanks: 13 Thanked 247 Times in 133 Posts	Been a while since I posted... Been working on lowering noise in this car. Adds a bit of weight, but weight doesn't seem to have much of an impact on MPG, so it's worth the sanity. Something I found the other day is one of my tires has a bulge in it (thump thump thump). Timing is terrible (as always is), but I pulled the trigger on the Bridgestone RE92's and they should be here Monday. $130 each installed... not the greatest, but locally, it's the best I could find. Hoping to see an increase in MPG over whatever I have now... ...Just went out and looked, Cooper CS4 Touring 185/60R14. Didn't even realize I wasn't running the same size tires. Never paid much attention, just knew one day I'd have to replace them and I'd do it right. I'm guessing I should see some gains, lol. Been running ~50psi front and ~60psi rear. Current tires, I can run leanburn in 5th somewhere between 50-60mph (probably 52-55mph average leanburn on flat ground), depending on the day it seems. I'm hoping this increases, at least to 60mph average, but I won't get my hopes too high. In other news, I still don't miss the IMA system. The extra trunk space has come in handy a few times and not having to deal with the charging alone has paid off. I do miss that extra torque, no doubt, but not worth the $2K IMO. My MPG has gone down a little on average, but again, not $2K down. I've talked myself out of an engine swap for now. Really, when I get 3K RPM, the pull on this car actually surprises me! I'm just so often in town going no more than 35MPH that over 2.5K rpm is rare. If I could increase torque from 1K-2K w/o loosing MPG, life would be complete... but dreaming a bit there (though reducing weight from any rotating mass is possible... but at what cost?) Finally, my work got a 3D printer. I got pretty excited and made a lot of designs (and found/requested some as well) that I plan to print. Just haven't had the time to do so, sadly. I've got the front grill block adjuster to do, mirror blanks, but one of my own designs is an intake hot/cold switcher. Basically, it will T off the filter box and have one hose towards the cat, the other towards somewhere for outside air (maybe straight down through the plastic engine pan I made). Inside is an oval plate (similar to throttle plate) that will be used to adjust the amount of hot or cold air the intake sees. For now, it will be manual, but I'd like to program it ultimately. Probably do target 120*F intake, but go full cold on WOT and high engine temps for performance and safety. I'm happy to share these plans, though I haven't printed it yet to prove it works as I theorize. Anywho, that's my latest.