Got me an Insight...

[Natalya]

Originally Posted by NoD~

Finally, my work got a 3D printer. I got pretty excited and made a lot of designs (and found/requested some as well) that I plan to print. Just haven't had the time to do so, sadly. I've got the front grill block adjuster to do, mirror blanks, but one of my own designs is an intake hot/cold switcher. Basically, it will T off the filter box and have one hose towards the cat, the other towards somewhere for outside air (maybe straight down through the plastic engine pan I made). Inside is an oval plate (similar to throttle plate) that will be used to adjust the amount of hot or cold air the intake sees. For now, it will be manual, but I'd like to program it ultimately. Probably do target 120*F intake, but go full cold on WOT and high engine temps for performance and safety. I'm happy to share these plans, though I haven't printed it yet to prove it works as I theorize.

Anywho, that's my latest.

Can I pay you to print me some stuff with ABS? I'll take multiples of the following:
- Grill block adjuster thing
- Spoiler fix blocks
- Trunk latch actuator arm fix thing
- And one OBDIIC&C case

It's hard to find people on IC who do this, lots of times whoever started making something moved on by the time I post. Get me via PM here or on IC.

[fusion210]

I'm also interested in seeing the grill block adjuster.



I've never asked anyone running without the IMA boost, doesn't it turn the car into a total dog starting off from a stop? When my battery got weak and triggered the IMA light, it was incredibly bad. Just wondering if that improves when getting rid of it or if it's normal.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by fusion210

I've never asked anyone running without the IMA boost, doesn't it turn the car into a total dog starting off from a stop? When my battery got weak and triggered the IMA light, it was incredibly bad. Just wondering if that improves when getting rid of it or if it's normal.

I also run without the IMA. Yes, the car is quite slow. Fuel economy should pretty much be the same except for urban driving (lack of autostop and regen). I don't mind how slow it is though.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

I also run without the IMA. Yes, the car is quite slow. Fuel economy should pretty much be the same except for urban driving (lack of autostop and regen). I don't mind how slow it is though.

Agreed. It's "fine", I've driven slower cars. I think a slightly shorter 1st and 2nd would make the car perfectly palatable without the IMA.

[NoD~]

Originally Posted by fusion210

I've never asked anyone running without the IMA boost, doesn't it turn the car into a total dog starting off from a stop? When my battery got weak and triggered the IMA light, it was incredibly bad. Just wondering if that improves when getting rid of it or if it's normal.

When the IMA was having issues, it was constantly trying to regen (even if the lights for regen weren't on) and it made it much slower. It's definitely slower without the IMA all together, but not as bad as when it was forcing regen. That was miserable. The torque boost of the IMA was very nice and I do miss it, but not at the cost and constant maintenance.

[NoD~]

OK, I'm sold. Got the RE92's on my car yesterday. I pumped them up to about 55psi each. Right away, I could tell steering, even from a dead stop, was easier (no power steering for me! worm gear thing removed as well)

I was overshooting my stops by a few mph after each coast, which I was hoping for. On my way to work, the meter said around 110mpg, which is something I haven't seen since I pulled the IMA system (old tires, no IMA = usually 90's).

Note these are still brand new, maybe 10 miles on them now and I'm confident they are definitely better than my old tires (which weren't even the right size, 185/60r14).

My alignment was a little off as well, which was corrected when these tires went on. Front toe was 0.32 and 0.26, now 0.05 and 0.04. Rear toe somehow got worse and they said it couldn't be correct, from 0.01 and 0.15 to -0.1 and 0.09. Said it's good enough for tire warranty, so good enough for me I guess?

Anywho, that's just my report thus far on these tires. No noticeable noise gains thus far, which I was worried about.

Now to get this damn 3D printer working so I can start spitting out some parts...

[Ecky]

I recall someone on IC making shims to correct the rear alignment, but there's no factory adjustment. It being off could be from worn bushings.

Nice mileage!

[NoD~]

Originally Posted by Ecky

I recall someone on IC making shims to correct the rear alignment, but there's no factory adjustment. It being off could be from worn bushings.

Nice mileage!

Cool, I'll have to look into bushing replacements and shims, etc. Thanks for the heads up on that.

On the way to work each day (about 3.5 miles) has a lot more down-hill than going back home, so it's the way back that always drops me back to reality (lol). When I had IMA on my old tires, on the warm summer mornings, I was able to get 120+ (even a few 130's) to work.

I'm thankful to live in such a small area with such limited traffic. Makes getting good MPG on the daily drives much easier, as I have all the traffic lights pretty well memorized and know when to take back roads to avoid heavier traffic (which means harder to predict lights, basically). I'm sure my higher-than-average city MPG has much to do with the lack of ever seeing "bumper to bumper" traffic. Worst thing that can happen around here is a train blocks you for a bit. (those are the times I miss the IMA for nothing more than the auto stop and start!)

I'm very excited to see what kind of MPG, daily driving and the occasional highway trips, comes out of these new tires! I've got nearly all the other mods I can do at this point for aerodynamics (minus some work under the car and adjustable grill block), so I knew my tires were the weakest link.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Nice mpg! RE92s are definitely wonder tires for the Insight. Do you do any engine off coasting on your commute?

[NoD~]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Nice mpg! RE92s are definitely wonder tires for the Insight. Do you do any engine off coasting on your commute?

Yes. I have the the plug-and-play FAS and the 3D printed kill switch knob. If I'm not at a stop or have my foot on the throttle, chances are, I've killed the engine. I really do miss the auto-start of the IMA. In fact, if I could figure out a small battery setup to have that be the only thing it does, I'd be completely happy. I don't think you can push power back through the meanwell, though. Ah well, still worth it.