The G1 Insight thread.

[fusion210]

Insight lurker here. Got over 800 miles on my second tank! I do top off but I don't bounce the rear end up and down to get every last drop in.

Riding solo for most of the tank without a passenger seat/glove box/rear wiper and 55psi in the tires. The fronts are RE92s but the rears are some brand in the 165/65/14 size I've never heard of. 230lb driver D:, drove the last 80 miles around the city/some 70mph highway with my 300lb friend. I didn't know they said 400lb max capacity before I bought the car. Good thing the tank was near empty!

I already bought and painted the plug to delete the rear wiper motor, I think I'll leave the interior panel off too.

[cowmeat]

Holy cow! I've never put more than 9.5 gallons in mine! I didn't even know it was possible to put 12 gallons in it, I dunno what to say.

I used to fill to the second click, but I changed my fill routine to only go to the first click (that bad tank, lol) and now I get gas at the same pump every time and fill to the first click so the mpg is as correct as possible.

[Baltothewolf]

Wow. I may have to stretch my tanks a little farther. I have filled 11.5, didn't know it would fit 12.

[fusion210]

I had the low fuel light come on right when it switched to one bar on the fuel gauge. Then drove around 10 miles to the gas station.

I'm not sure if they used any special methods to fill the tank (waiting until the evap system fills up, bouncing the car to get rid of bubbles, tilting the car) but the top two insights with the longest range used 13.4-13.7 gal. The Insight Marathon 2006 -- World Record 2,254.4 miles on one tank of fuel - CleanMPG Forums

Also, my first 85mpg trip! Pretty hilly freeway, I camped out behind a rig following two seconds behind and used him more as an excuse to accelerate slowly than drafting.

[cowmeat]

If you come through central Florida and happen to see a maroon Insight with a sunroof and tiny mirrors camped behind a semi all the way down the road, that'd be me! I try to stay just inside the bubble without being too close, and usually pick the slowest semi out of the bunch. I generally average 100 mpg on my highway leg of the commute, it's the stops and starts at the beginning and end that keep my mpgs down.

[veloman]

I have been trying to learn all I can on the gen1 MT Insights since I think that is going to be my choice in my car search. Is there one webpage that just goes through all the functions of driving one? I realize I could just spend days reading on IC and here but that is time consuming. I know a lot of the basics, but I want to know how and if it can stay in EV mode? I have a 4kwh lithium pack that I may want to bring in the car and use a DC-DC converter to keep the stock pack charged, and therefore stay in ev mode as much as possible around town.

I've been looking for youtube videos to show how drivers specifically manage using the electric power, but not much luck finding any detailed driving.

Update: I suppose this thread sort of answers my question. http://www.insightcentral.net/forums...ug-hybrid.html

Thanks.
And if anyone in the Austin area is looking to sell one, PM me.

[Ecky]

The G1 Insight is a parallel hybrid, and the electric motor cannot drive the wheels without spinning the engine too. It's basically a replacement for the flywheel.

From what I can gather, the factory programming regens more at low RPM and assists more at high RPM, making the engine "feel" bigger than the 1.0 I3 that it is; You end up with assist when you're getting up to speed, and regen once you're cruising in high gear. It also gives more assist in first and 2nd gear even with the same throttle, since the engine is pretty gutless and relatively easy to stall without electric assist.

Making changes to Honda's IMA system seems to be pretty hard to do without throwing a bunch of lights on the dash.

It's hard to answer you without more specific questions, but I understand you probably aren't yet in a position to know which ones to ask.

[veloman]

Okay, so it is not like a Prius. That is good to know. It seems I should likely scrap the idea of hauling another battery in an Insight. I just thought it'd be cool to use some of my spare batteries. I have a lot of small, odd lithium ones, and the big 4kwh Leaf pack which drives a motorcycle.

Does anyone supplement the 12v battery power? I could do the same method with my smaller batteries to reduce engine load theoretically. I wouldn't go out and buy a battery just for this. I have them and can't really sell them, so I try to find a use for them. (they are ranging from 100-500watt hours or so)

[Ecky]

You could do that, yeah, but it wouldn't achieve the same benefits as deleting the alternator in a traditional ICE setup. The G1 Insight uses a highly efficient DC-DC converter to move electricity from the big battery to the little one. It fills the 12v with far less loss than an alternator would.

Personally, I have a trickle charger for my 12v which I plug in at night so I leave home with a topped off battery.

[veloman]

Good to know as well.

I'm probably splitting hairs, but I have a small (DIY) solar panel in my yard which I could easily charge my small lithium battery with. So I have free electricity and free batteries. I would like to use them to increase mpg even more. By how much? Arguably not worth the trouble, but if it's 5mpg, that would be something.

Does anyone know the total 12v electric power draw while driving, with lights on and vent fans blowing? A very rough guess - 300watts? Let's say 1/2hp. If at 40mph, the car requires 6hp or 4500w. 300/4500 = 6.7%
6.7% of 100mpg = 6.7mpg increase.
Half that during the day with the lights off, perhaps?

Seems worthy if it doesn't cost me any money.