Honda Insight w/Acura TSX engine - Ecomodding

[mpg_numbers_guy]

And these MPG figures are still with just the 1.0L and no IMA battery?

How has it gotten driving it "gutlessly"?

It would be interesting to see a speed vs. MPG chart in the various gears w/o the IMA battery...hint hint

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

And these MPG figures are still with just the 1.0L and no IMA battery?

How has it gotten driving it "gutlessly"?

It would be interesting to see a speed vs. MPG chart in the various gears w/o the IMA battery...hint hint

Yep, still the 1.0L, 240,500 miles at this point (still young for this engine! ), no IMA battery.

Hills and mountains hurt economy a fair bit, because any time the engine needs to be rev'd over maybe 2500rpm, economy tanks, and it's completely gutless at low rpm. With the IMA system working, you can sometimes chirp the tires in 2nd gear. Without it, dropping the clutch at 3000rpm even in 1st gear will nearly stall the car - you really have to finesse the clutch in traffic, and forget about hills. Starting on a hill, I have to rev the crap out of it and still finesse the clutch to safely get moving forward, whereas the IMA motor makes it virtually impossible to stall the car.

It has real VTEC which kicks in around 3000rpm and it's definitely not a slow car above that, but you also lose economy there.

Even with all of that, it's fine to drive. I keep rpm low when cruising and rev it when I need to (which wouldn't be necessary with the IMA working). However, I'm not looking forward to winter, where there will be a lot of extra drag on the car from cold, thick fluids and deep snow and slush on the roads. I sincerely hope I have the new engine in before we have much snow on the ground.

I can't remember, maybe it was Doax who made this chart? Anyway it's pretty realistic for the car as a theoretical max without engine-off coasting which, frankly, does a lot less for the Insight than most cars since it has great gearing already. Be aware that it's much harder to approach the "max" numbers at lower speed, because things like stop and go are more common, and other factors like head winds, road conditions and parasitoc drains are relatively a much larger portion of energy used. I find that I can realistically approach 100mpg if condiitions are great between 35mph and 50mph. A slightly cool day, wet roads, or needing to run a lot of electrical accessories can easily subtract 25mpg from that number. In winter, I can struggle to get 60mpg even in otherwise optimal conditions until the car fully warms up.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Yep, still the 1.0L, 240,500 miles at this point (still young for this engine! ), no IMA battery.

So for regular cruising, except for hills, acceleration, and stop 'n' go traffic, your fuel economy is pretty much the same as with the hybrid battery?

Originally Posted by Ecky

I can't remember, maybe it was Doax who made this chart? Anyway it's pretty realistic for the car as a theoretical max without engine-off coasting which, frankly, does a lot less for the Insight than most cars since it has great gearing already. Be aware that it's much harder to approach the "max" numbers at lower speed, because things like stop and go are more common, and other factors like head winds, road conditions and parasitoc drains are relatively a much larger portion of energy used. I find that I can realistically approach 100mpg if condiitions are great between 35mph and 50mph. A slightly cool day, wet roads, or needing to run a lot of electrical accessories can easily subtract 25mpg from that number. In winter, I can struggle to get 60mpg even in otherwise optimal conditions until the car fully warms up.

near 100 mpg between 35 mph and 50 mph...we're still talking about since you bypassed the battery, right?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

So for regular cruising, except for hills, acceleration, and stop 'n' go traffic, your fuel economy is pretty much the same as with the hybrid battery?

Yeah, it's quite close.

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

near 100 mpg between 35 mph and 50 mph...we're still talking about since you bypassed the battery, right?

My driving conditions are different now than they used to be. I live and work in the "city" now, and thus deal with some traffic, red lights and stop signs at the bottom and tops of hills, and even with the IMA system working it took some serious hypermiling to hit 85-90mpg within the city limits. I'd say I can approach 80 without the battery in similar conditions if I work for it. I bet that if I still lived farther out, 100 would still be acheivable without the battery.

All that said, I'm still averaging 70mpg +/- right now without doing any kind of pulse and glide or EoC, with rain and traffic and short trips and cold starts and hauling lumber and furniture. Meaning, half the time I'm doing much better than 70 even in these conditions.

[airbiteses]

Nice course of this Honda Insight 1.0. He has the power of 66 hp? And what kind of oil do you use for your engine?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by airbiteses

Nice course of this Honda Insight 1.0. He has the power of 66 hp? And what kind of oil do you use for your engine?

66hp @ 6000rpm, more like 21hp at 2000rpm.

I've tried a few oils and find myself always returning to Mobile One 0w20. I'd be tempted to try Toyota's 0w16.

[airbiteses]

Mobil one 0W40 life is already a story in Europe. I don't know how the engine will react to 0W16 oil? Probably better in winter, because in summer you don't know how to react. My mom auto Suzuki Baleno manufacturer recommends Suzuki oil 0W16. But it is poured in 5W30 because there was no place for 0W16 but the difference in combustion none.

[Ecky]

0w40 and 0w16 should both be the same when cold, because they're both 0 winter weight. Honda's Green and NEXT oils are less than a 0w when cold and thus are good for winter, but the oil analyses I did suggested increased wear with them over Mobile One, so I switched back.

5w30 in an engine which has the tolerance for 0w16 is probably a bad idea. Maybe it doesn't sound different, but the thicker oil might not be able to get into the bearings as well, causing increased wear and premature engine death, seen as higher operating temperature and marginally worse fuel economy.

[airbiteses]

Yes, but the manufacturer of Suzuki baleno indicated in the manual what oils: 0W16, 0W20, 5W30 and 10W30. Tomorrow I would have to look into the instructions because I am not sure to the end.

[airbiteses]

Hello again I have read from Suzuki Baleno's car manual which oils to use in engines. So yes:
-engine 1.2 K12C: 0W-16, 0W-20, 5W-30, 10W-30, 10W-40
-engine 1.0 turbo K10C: 5W-30, 10W-30, 10W-40