Got me an Insight...

[NoD~]

Did some highway today. First time since I got all my panels done. Before I think I was pulling high 93's in MPG. Today, I got 96-100. So, good improvements from the pan.

Figure, ~120 miles highway, rest unfamiliar city driving...


Oh, and experimenting a bit with 4th gear at low-to-mid 30MPH. I think it may do better with leanburn in that territory, but will take more experimenting to know for sure.

[NoD~]

Wash, wax, and... PHOTOSHOOT!

Which one you guys like best?

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


(#3 shows the paint that has "fallen off" on the wheel skirt. It's also got some damage on the side there as well... on the list!)

[fusion210]

The last one for sure.

[Ecky]

I like #1, but you need to clean up your headlights.

Originally Posted by NoD~

Did some highway today. First time since I got all my panels done. Before I think I was pulling high 93's in MPG. Today, I got 96-100. So, good improvements from the pan.

Figure, ~120 miles highway, rest unfamiliar city driving...

IMAGE

Oh, and experimenting a bit with 4th gear at low-to-mid 30MPH. I think it may do better with leanburn in that territory, but will take more experimenting to know for sure.

I too prefer 4th gear in lean burn when I'm below around 38mph. I find that staying between 1500 and 2000RPM returns the best fuel economy, even if it means dropping down to a lower gear.

What I'm unsure of right now is whether, when climbing hills that are too steep to stay in 5th in lean burn, it's better to do it in 4th with lean burn or in 5th with a stoichiometric burn, if they're both in the ideal RPM range.

[Fat Charlie]

#5. Nice shot, man.

[NoD~]

So I got my first real full road trip with the car! Doing an average of 49MPH (according to Google Maps... I was down to 35 and up to 73! but felt my average was pretty close to 50+ the whole time) and around 375 miles netted me 86.9 MPG! Can't complain. We'll see how it goes on the way back.

I did throw a bit more grill blocking on the way here, since it's cooler and the heater was likely going to be on (though it was too warm for me most of the time). Engine stuck around 206*F most of the time and intake up to 130*F.

[Daox]

Very nice!

I was hoping to take mine on a trip last weekend of about 460 miles... alas dumb gas line leak wasn't fixed yet. I look forward to taking mine on its first long trip.

[Ecky]

I drove to Boston in mine earlier this week. Some combination of lower temperatures (just above freezing), winter tires, non-aero rims and possibly winter gas landed me at 82.0mpg for the trip, despite aiming for 50mph.

[NoD~]

Yeah, seems I've lost about ~5mpg so far since summer on the highway! Temps outside were ~36*F in the morning and probably around high 50's to low 60's arriving at the destination. Another thing that hurts is on some hills, I had to get down as low as 2nd gear to keep going! Long, steep hills are not an Insight's friend, for sure... but still probably gets better MPG than anything else on those same hills, so it's not a complaint. lol

Just wait till it starts getting into single digits and lower... You can it, throw it on a shelf, and call it "MPG-be-gone".

Outside of my knee locking up (from holding the throttle pedal the whole time without moving it), the Insight was more comfortable than most cars I've driven in such distances/time. I do have a small lumbar support pillow, which I believe helps as well. If my back or tail bone started to hurt, just had to stretch my torso around while driving and all was well. So, for those of you who haven't road tripped much in the Insight, you have my thumbs up on the stock seats!

[Ecky]

I really don't like the seats.

You could add a Rostra cruise control for around $300. It won't shift for you but works well in gently rolling areas.