Quote:
Originally Posted by mpghunter
Yes I heard about this. I am concerned about it affecting the reliability. Have you heard of anyone having issues with this setup after many miles? Also does it still have the problem of not charging the 12v battery when 4k rpm is hit? Im concerned that it will slowly ruin the battery and the dc converter. Reliability is important for me. Thats my Im interested in the mirage 5 speed and echo
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Essentially all the arduino does is tell the ECU that the IMA system is "ready" but that the battery is at zero, so don't call for assist. I set this up and used it for around a year and, while the car was slower, it was perfectly reliable.
The 4k limit is hard-baked into the DC-DC converter, unfortunately, but it only cuts out for around 30 seconds (unless you're staying above 4k) - basically a non-issue, unless you're climbing the Rockies or something.
I replaced my DC-DC converter with an aftermarket unit which can charge all the way to redline, not because I was concerned with the OEM unit's reliability, but because the aftermarket one was considerably smaller, which let me free up a ton of space in the back of my car.
The DC-DC replacement probably isn't appropriate for someone in Texas, however, since the aftermarket units cut out at ~160F, and I imagine a closed car parked in the sun probably exceeds that during Texas summers. So, you'd start your car and the unit would already be in thermal protection.
To my knowledge, an Insight with the IMA delete is still more reliable and robust than a Metro, which are generally pretty "tired" by 200k. There are examples of Insights running around with 5-800k miles on the stock engine. The Metro engine seems to start burning oil and loses compression relatively young.
I'm unfamiliar with the Mirage's reliability, but I haven't heard anything to suggest unreliability.