Honda Insight Tail Extension Project

[euromodder]

Almost there ! Keep up the good work.

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

...Hopefully, you can grid charge your battery, since it was sitting for four months.

How much does it weigh? Are you happy with your mounting points and the rigidity of the assembly?

Hi Robert,

The grid charger is actually shown in one of the rear-end pictures of the extension, and this was done before driving the car the first week of October.

The wood brackets are already weighed and noted, but I don't have an official weight on the extension itself. As I close this project for the winter, I plan on making a summary page with all the stats and supplies used during the project, so stay tuned... But after lifting the extension numerous times, I would guess very close to 30 pounds.

Yes, the mountings seem very rigid, and I have not noticed any movement over some very old and bumpy country roads.

Jim.

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by stevet47

This is ridiculously cool. I just pray that you never get rear ended!

Me too! Steve, that's one of things that lingers in the back of my mind, and one of the reasons for using faster responding LED lights.

Jim.

[3-Wheeler]

Observations after driving with the extension for three days:

1) When big trucks pass by going the opposite direction, the car moves more to the right than it did before. It doesn't physically move in the lane, but the car rocks slightly side to side.

2) It's definitely easier to maintain lean burn on the same road, going the same direction and same speed. Before, the car would struggle to keep lean burn going over slight rises in the road, but now it's noticeably easier.

It may not mean much and take this with a grain of salt, but the first night driving home from work on a 60°F day, the car registered 95 mpg under the normal driving conditions. This was about 10 mpg better than normal over the same 33 mile route.

3) The change in fuel consumption is in the neighborhood of a change from 75 before to 85 now. This is not concrete, but noticeable on the same 55 mph stretch of road.

4) Real coast-down testing is already started with two runs recorded on the GPS, and I will report some findings after 20 or so runs. I can compare the new numbers with those from last year on the exact same section of road and under the same conditions. Temperature and wind speed are also recorded in the spreadsheet that is used for analysis.

5) Some people at work really liked the change in the look of the car. Most people did not say anything, but simply stared at it for a while, then went on their way. Several people had smiles on their faces and were chuckling as the car went by on the way home.

Jim.

[jime57]

Originally Posted by 3-Wheeler

It may not mean much and take this with a grain of salt, but the first night driving home from work on a 60°F day, the car registered 95 mpg under the normal driving conditions. This was about 10 mpg better than normal over the same 33 mile route.

That would work out to be around 12 % improvement, realizing that your data is quite preliminary right now. If indeed the improvement is 10-15% then that is going to make lean burn cruising at realistic speeds possible!

Will you be trying some tuft testing before real winter sets in up there? The reason I bring this up is that you might want to see some initial "flow" data before you actually put the finishing coats of paint on the extension. That way, you could make minor improvements to the bottom of the extension, which will likely be the most challenging part. Just thinking out loud ;-)

Great work!

[spydyr]

So how much as it costed you thus far?

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Varn

...Do you have a link to your motorcycle fairing?

Hi Varn,

Almost missed your question. Whoops!

Yes, there are old pictures of the fairing here....

Picasa Web Albums - jsmosher - Motorcycle-Fa...

I have some newer pictures of the fairing somewhere, and should try to find those and post. I just took the motorcycle apart for the winter today, so I can't take update pictures of it since I just removed the fairing before storage.

Jim.

[Varn]

3 wheeler: My wife's mini-interceptor is similar. Well it is similar in that the front windshield is opaque. Gets 65mpg and can do over the ton.

Her bike was red when she got it. But the fairing was held on with twine.

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by jimepting

...Will you be trying some tuft testing before real winter sets in up there? Great work!

Hi jimepting,

You know, right now I have worked so hard over the summer and into fall, that I am ready for a nice break! Even tonight, I spent about one hour after supper, and that was after doing a complete brake job for my sister earlier today.

The HV battery is charging funny today after purposely discharging to exercise it after sitting so long, and that means that there may be a cell or two dying. I'll try a couple more charge/discharge cycles before declaring anything, but this needs to get taken care of before the colder weather sets in.

As you can see, I'm ready for some nice R&R.

Jim.

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by spydyr

So how much as it costed you thus far?

Hi spydyr,

I'm going to post a complete run-down of the project here shortly, so stay tuned.

And to Robert Smalls, I took the extension off and weighed it today, so I'll post that as well.

Jim.