Honda Insight w/Acura TSX engine - Ecomodding

[elhigh]

43 MPG and no sixth gear, I think when you've got sixth sorted out it'll call into question whether the Insight ever needed to even be a hybrid.

[MetroMPG]

I was quite happy with 100+ mpg round highway trips (scenic route) in my mostly non-hybridized Insight with the stock engine/trans.

But I'm a weirdo. Almost no normal drivers would be satisfied with that engine & gearing combo, sans hybrid power assist.

[Ecky]

How about "Hotrodding and Ecomodding: 2000 Honda Insight". I'll probably update the first post with a link to when the car was "finished".

@elhigh, with the stock motor, 100mpg trips are normal at moderate speeds and in good weather, so 48mpg isn't all that great, at least relatively speaking.

@hayden55, 3.4 final drive, 0.825 5th gear, 0.647 6th gear, 165/65r14 tires. ~2100rpm @ 65mph.

[19bonestock88]

Any plans for a taller/wider tire? How are those 165s coping with all that torque?

[Ecky]

They're largely fine unless I gun it in first gear. Sure, I can break them loose in 4th, but I have to be very intentional about it. I'm actually pretty happy with the traction.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=47KExOLz...ature=youtu.be

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Had to replay that last acceleration run multiple times, that thing is insane! Bet it's hard to even think about fuel economy with that much power at your disposal!

I know someone had some sort of arduino hack for the cluster that made RPMs read correctly for their HCH1 transmission install; would something like that work for your tachometer, or does 4cyl vs 3cyl and 6spd vs 5spd add some complication to that?

[Ecky]

I was thinking about working out something with an Arduino, but came across a used Dakota Digital 6 cylinder to 8 cylinder converter for pretty cheap, so that's going in. The tach basically counts cylinder fires and since the cluster comes from a 3 cylinder car, it assumes 3 fires per rotation. A 4 cylinder engine thus reads one too many.

You're right about economy. It's on my short list to get a gauge in here to temper my use of the go pedal, so much easier to be frugal when you can see the results immediately

[mpg_numbers_guy]

...but so much harder to be frugal when you see the results on the speedometer!

Will you be reusing the stock MPG gauges in the cluster?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

...but so much harder to be frugal when you see the results on the speedometer!

Will you be reusing the stock MPG gauges in the cluster?

If possible. I haven't yet looked into how it works. If it's a simple analog injector pulse length count, like an MPGuino, that's good. If it's a digital output from the original ECU, that's less good.

[MetroMPG]

So impressed!