d15z1 engine in insight

[steffen707]

So the VX was really light to begin with, but the 1st gen insight was 200 lbs lighter had 95 lbs of battery and electronics more, and was more aerodynamic.

Has anybody ever read about somebody putting a VX motor into an insight?

[Daox]

Welcome to the site fellow WIer.

Someone proposed the idea once before here. IMO it would be going backwards. If you want FE, why trade a 1.0L lean burn engine for a 1.5L lean burn engine? Plus you just lost regen. Sounds like a loose loose swap to me.

[steffen707]

Well the VX has 92 hp, and one complaint I read from people who have had their battery pack die on them and ran it straight on the 1.0l motor is that it has zero power. With the VX swap you would have something like 25 hp more than the stock insight motor. Plus there are many more gearing combos you could do with CRX HF, CX, VX, ect. ect. Parts are easier to come by then insight parts.

Just because its not the normal thing people do, doesn't mean it couldn't be a good option. The insight has every plus that the CRX has plus, it can't rust, its lighter, more aerodynamic, looks cooler, almost always has AC. Negative, lots of work to put a d15z1 into it. :P

Anybody else see or read about somebody that's done this? I read about a 3 cyl VW diesel TDI insight, another very interesting option.

[steffen707]

I'm not suggesting buying an insight for $6000, and rip out the stock motor and battery pack. I'm talking about doing this with an insight that battery pack is toast or some other major engine problem has happened and the car is being sold for $2000.

[robchalmers]

I think the zombie option would be a the best way to go, I mean it would be a waste to see a the effort that went into the genI sat in a breakers yard.

Personally I'd like to see what FE you could get out of an insight if you just ditched the cells and charge loom!

[steffen707]

The problem with that is you need to be able to charge the 12 volt battery. You can do this with a DC to DC converter off of the stock generator/alternator/starter thing. I'm just wondering how much more drag does that put on the engine over a conventional alternator?

[Ryland]

The main reason you loose power without the battery pack is that the fly wheel on the stock insight engine is also the fly wheel, so without a good battery pack you are more or less running the engine without the flywheel, the computer it seems would still pull energy out of the engine to slow it down on the power stroke but it's not going to be putting much back in on the compression stroke.
The engine spacing is not the same as a civic either from what I understand, it is however apparently the same as the Honda Fit and you can get a JDM Fit with either a 1.2 or maybe it's a 1.3L vtec engine, not sure on the lean burn tho.

[jamesqf]

People have done engine swaps on Insights, even I think a V6.

But if you want an easier route to fixing an Insight with a bad battery pack, there are two IMHO much easier options:

1) Get a used replacement pack from a salvage yard. It'll run you about $400. You may need to get into rebalancing the pack, maybe swapping good "sticks" between packs to get one good pack, but it works.

2) Turbocharge it. It's been done: search for "Little Red Rocket" on InsightCentral. I've driven it, briefly, and it goes like a bat out of you know where.

Oh, and there's a possibly a third option, which is learning to downshift. I have a MIMA setup on mine, which allows the IMA to be turned off ('cause the pack just doesn't last through a 4500 ft climb). The engine will develop pretty good power in 2nd and 3rd. 5th is really an overdrive gear, for constant-speed cruising on the level. People not familiar with the car don't realize this, but you can't just punch the gas and expect it to accelerate in 5th. Drop to 3rd, and it'll go.

[steffen707]

I'm not saying there aren't options, i'm just wondering about the d15z1 option.
With your MIMA setup and IMA turned off, does the 12 volt battery in the engine bay still get charged?

[zhillz]

The only hard part would be mounts. Use the d15z1 engine harness/ obd1 car harness. Are insights obd2a? They have ob2a to obd1 jumper harnesses. You would have to hardwire all your extra things though such as lights etc.

If they insite uses normal cv axles like the 88+ civics, you can get new shafts made to fit the insight spindles.