2006 Honda Insight MT Build Thread

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by Cash68

LEDs are complete ****. Get HIDs, I have them in my insight and they're awesome. LEDs = tons of scatter, so the foreground gets ton of light, but they don't penetrate/go as far as HIDs.

The LEDs I've run are far better than almost all halogen setups I've experienced. I agree that it isn't as good as HID though.

With LEDs it's extremely important to keep the headlight housings clean, otherwise you lose a lot of visibility and add a lot of glare to oncoming drivers. This is true for all headlights, but especially with LEDs.

[Ecky]

Semi-related, I recently purchased a couple of LED flashlights and was highly impressed with the beam throw from the adjustable projector. A pair of Cree T6 LED flashlights running on 18650 batteries rivals, if not exceeds my headlight output. I've been hunting around for some LED projectors that are automotive-mount.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Turns out one of the 3 high voltage leads had come loose somehow, not sure how it happened. Replaced the bolts and tightened it up and it's back to charging fine. Rectifier and meanwell work just fine.

Originally Posted by Ecky

Semi-related, I recently purchased a couple of LED flashlights and was highly impressed with the beam throw from the adjustable projector. A pair of Cree T6 LED flashlights running on 18650 batteries rivals, if not exceeds my headlight output. I've been hunting around for some LED projectors that are automotive-mount.

LED flashlights are amazing, we've replaced all flashlights at the house with LEDs. We still have some of the older ones with incandescent bulbs but they're old and very dull. Haven't seen a flashlight that can meet both the breadth and depth of a proper headlight though.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Turns out one of the 3 high voltage leads had come loose somehow, not sure how it happened. Replaced the bolts and tightened it up and it's back to charging fine. Rectifier and meanwell work just fine.



LED flashlights are amazing, we've replaced all flashlights at the house with LEDs. We still have some of the older ones with incandescent bulbs but they're old and very dull. Haven't seen a flashlight that can meet both the breadth and depth of a proper headlight though.

Check out Cree's XHP70, I believe it's nearly 3000 lumens per single LED diode.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Benny (official name given the Insight by my fiancé) just crossed 284k miles today!

I'll be moving permanently to Virginia in May when we get married, and as such will need to get the Insight to pass vehicle inspection.

Things to do:

- Possibly replace front tires. With the IMA delete and curvy Virginia roads, the front tires wear stupidly fast and the rear tires get no wear. And I've been lazy and it's been 10k-15k miles since I've last rotated the tires. I need to be rotating them at every 5k oil change interval to avoid the wear discrepancy. Tires have about 50k on them, fronts probably have another 10k to go but I've heard that inspection places are picky. Rears still have another 20k-30k from the looks of it. It's really my fault for not being religious about rotating my tires with every oil change.

- Possibly replace front brakes. My brakes still had a bit of life left in them 30k miles ago when I bought the car, but Virginia roads are hillier than Michigan's roads and so I find that I'm actually using my brakes now. The front driver's side is squealing, although I'm not sure whether it's the brakes, the brake reduction clip coming loose, or a wheel bearing, as it squeals most when turning left, but doesn't squeal when turning right....and when pressing the brakes it tends to squeal more.

- Reset SRS light. I was foolish enough to not plug back in the driver's seat airbag when I plugged the battery back in after installing the under seat subwoofer, and so I have had the SRS light on for a while, but I'll need to reset that to pass inspection.

- The driver's side A-pillar trim flew off back in December, and I've been struggling to find a replacement. $250 is the cheapest I've found so far and I'm not sure if it's worth $250 to replace it right now.

Driving in Virginia with only mild eco-driving has netted ~60 mpg in the harsher winter months with lots of short drives; although it easily gets in the 70s when the drive is long enough to get the car to warm up. Now that it's starting to warm back up down here I'm starting to see drives in the 80s and 90s again. Speed limits are lower on the highways here but the terrain is hillier; if I can maintain decent speed in 5th gear then FE should be higher with the lower speed limit but if I have to downshift (which happens often) then FE is sacrificed. Michigan summers typically net 80-100 mpg averages; we'll see how it does here in VA.

Oh, and I also have to fix the high beams on my car. I recently got a DDM Tuning H4 Hi/Lo kit and installed it due to the LED headlight fans failing, and am super impressed with the low beams, however the high beams don't work - flash the stalk and the low beams stay on rather than the bulbs moving back for the high beams. Got a replacement harness from DDM under warranty but that didn't fix it so I'll be talking to support on the phone when I have time and am not dying finishing up classes and doing wedding planning. If any of you have installed a DDM Tuning kit, especially on an Insight, I'd love to hear feedback and suggestions! The low beams are great, but not having high beams is quite frustrating at times....especially since VA roads have WAY more deer on them than MI roads.

Neither my fiancé nor I want kids, so after getting married we're keeping the Insight! She actually learned how to drive manual in it, and learning manual in a gutless Insight with no IMA isn't for the faint of heart.
Although I do have to confess that I was looking at 2nd gen (2009-2014) Honda Fits tonight.....getting one and swapping in the Insight transmission and using Bridgestone Ecopia 175/65R15 tires on some 11lb Helium Konigs would give it slightly taller gearing than the Insight, and 30% taller gearing than the stock, screaming manual trans that the Honda Fits have, and based on what people have been getting on here should net me 50s mpg easy and 60s-70s if I tried. BUT the Insight does perfectly fine and gets way better MPG, so I should stop perusing.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

The driver's side A-pillar trim flew off back in December, and I've been struggling to find a replacement. $250 is the cheapest I've found so far and I'm not sure if it's worth $250 to replace it right now.

I have a red one in good cosmetic condition, but a bunch of the clip mounts are broken. Make an offer!

[Ecky]

I didn't think any Insights had seat airbags, but I've never sat in an 06, only an 05.

The Fit is certainly a nice car. I'd say that, at the very least, it could use the Insight's 5th gear. The first gen has a taller final drive, but shorter individual gears, and would benefit even more.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

I have a red one in good cosmetic condition, but a bunch of the clip mounts are broken. Make an offer!

I'll send you a PM this afternoon when I have a chance.

Originally Posted by Ecky

I didn't think any Insights had seat airbags, but I've never sat in an 06, only an 05.

That's just my assunption right now, I can't think of any other reason for the airbag light to be on. Waiting to hear back from my mechanic contact back in MI about the procedure to reset the light.

Originally Posted by Ecky

The Fit is certainly a nice car. I'd say that, at the very least, it could use the Insight's 5th gear. The first gen has a taller final drive, but shorter individual gears, and would benefit even more.

For sure! If I ever were to replace the Insight it would be with a Fit, Mirage, or a Yaris. But the Yaris has less storage and I hate the way Toyotas handle. Mitsubishi's reliability is questionable long term and even with crossing parts from the UK and USDM transmissions the tallest gearing available barely matches the Insight's 4th gear.

From what I've read from BongoBennie's stuff, the internals of the Fit, HCH1, and Insight transmissions are interchangeable, so I'd put the Insight's internals into the Fit's transmission. Might even keep the RE92s and Insight wheels on it, but the 2nd gen Fit comes with 15" or 16" wheels, so I'd need to confirm if 14" wheels would even fit.

But that's all hypothetical thinking, I'm keeping the Insight.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

... the internals of the Fit, HCH1, and Insight transmissions are interchangeable, so I'd put the Insight's internals into the Fit's transmission. ...

This seems like a very cool solution. Would love to see it completed.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

This seems like a very cool solution. Would love to see it completed.

I actually have a spare Insight transmission and a Fit, I'm just waiting for it to need a clutch or something.