Forgive me, for I have sinned...
 

... I bought a 2014 Honda CR-Z.

My little Toyota Echo is still going strong after 13 years and it has never let me down; a true workhorse. I felt I needed a change and the CR-Z is the perfect compromise for me. A hybrid which can be fun when it matters and efficient when it counts.


I can't say that I will ecomod this car, given that it is brand new, but I will definitely hypermile it. I intend to keep this car for at least the next decade. It has serious MPG potential, IMO. So far, the only ecomod is the OEM Engine Block Heater and my scangauge II.

Picking it up at the dealership this Friday! Will post pics soon after.


Cheers.

Wooo, nice fun car. I test drove one once. I wouldn't mind having one of those in the stable (though a taller 6th would be nice). It IS manual, right?

Opted for the 6-speed MT, the only CR-Z they had anyways. :D

meh, I drove both the cvt and stick, I wasnt impressed.

Maybe the push to pass a insight feature they added later is "fun"? :turtle:

Hey - congrats on the CR-Z!

They've got potential, in the right hands.

One mod you definitely have to consider though is a kill switch. The IMA engine stop/start programming isn't aggressive enough, and the kill switch is worth a healthy bump in fuel economy.

And the re-start when shifting back into gear or tapping the throttle is fantastic - one of my favourite features of the manual 1st gen. Insight.

Keep us posted!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410327372

Sweet! How long is the ROI? :)

Do you count ROI in $ per mile or smiles per mile? :D

Wasn't that impressed with the economy when I drove the CVT before, but a local guy is getting over 70 mpg. Yup, there's potential there!

A blast to drive, those things.

I cannot say that I bought the CR-Z for the fuel economy. It is better than my current car, as demonstrated by Xist. I should be able to get 55 MPG with basic techniques such as DWL, DFCO and neutral coasting, not to mention the Stop/Start function. Looking for a mix of fun and frugality.

Concerning the engine kill switch, I think it will be hard to implement it without potentially affecting/voiding the warranty. Unless there is a non-intrusive method to do it.

Non-intrusive:

Find the fuse for the Ignition Coil circuit. You could easily make a little plug-in harness that could be removed when you go in for service.

In the gen. 1 Insight, that fuse was under the dash. In my '07 Civic, it's under the hood.

EDIT: looks like it's your fuse #33, under dash. :)

http://www.nissanmaxima.org/crz/fusepanel.jpg

Breaking the ignition circuit saves you from using from the fuel circuit? :eek:

Yeah, one of those add a circuit fuse adapters would make this an easy hack. Id just want to stop the injection of fuel as I imagine the spark may be there even when coasting.

Here I thought you were going to say you bought a 454 powered dually, or a 5.9L Grand Cherokee. Cough cough. CR-Z's are a neat choice, I really dig them. When they get a bit cheaper in a few years I will grab one at the auction for sure.

Modern ECUs have considerable memory capacity. Consider that when you modify any system in any way that could be construed by the manufacturer as a reason to deny any warranty claim. It could be stored in memory in the ECU.

I would not do anything that could cost you the warranty coverage you purchased with the car. My Fiesta with a salvage rebuilt title is still eligible for any recalls issued, but The ford warranty obligation vanished when my car went to a salvage auction, but then I paid a lot less for the car that it would have cost me with a warranty.

So far nothing that would have been covered by warranty with the single exception of a vapor recovery system CEL which was cleared and apparently corrected by cleaning and lubrication of the fuel filler mechanism (capless fuel filler).

regards
mech

So, I have had the car for a week now, and I am impressed by the way the handles and how it behaves. Still trying to find the best driving techniques to improve efficiency. My average for the week has been around 38 MPG or 6.1 litres/100km. Could be better, but it will improve over the next few tanks.

Decided to install my scangaugeII today, as I need to know what's really going on! Haha.

I approve of this sin.

Edit: How you do drive it? All Eco, or do you change modes?

If its like the gen 2 insight its going to take 10 thousand miles for it to break in and your mpg to take off. Right now you can do all the basic stuff, tire psi, part grill block and feeling the car out. The gen2 is real sensitive to the health of the starter battery. A weak, but still good testing starter battery can cause low assist and lower mpg.

Kill switch kill switch! :D

Glad to hear you're enjoying the car.

Been driving in Normal mode for the most part. Tried Econ a few times, as it is efficient on flat roads, especially with cruise control. Trying to stay away from Sport mode, for the time being..hehe.

I noticed that the coolant temperature is stable at 80 degrees celsius. I was expecting it to be in 87-90 range, like my Toyota Echo. That's good news, since I can get away with some grille blocking !

Went for a drive yesterday and managed about 4.8 L/100km. The drive was mostly on the highway (120 km) with cruise control locked at 95 km/h, in normal mode.

http://imageshack.com/a/img743/9634/ts9zzm.jpg

Scangauge is a bit off.

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/6238/crlvuA.jpg

Forgot to add some pics !

I am surprised nobody has mentionned "This thread is worthless without pics" yet.. Haha

http://imageshack.com/a/img674/756/iobTJJ.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img674/3180/SsHG68.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img673/9849/JD4XiK.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img540/2122/WsBaVz.jpg


The front bumper is begging for a partial grille block on the bottom part. The middle of the front bumper is already blocked. Might even build some foam blocks and insert them where the optional fog lights would normally be installed.

I was very close to buying that exact same car, but I ended up with black instead. :thumbup: I miss my factory wheels, but they will go on as soon as the snow falls.