Honda Insight w/Acura TSX engine - Ecomodding

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

^ It is because of neighbours like that that we have mandated back-up cameras.


It probably would have saved you a tail light.


====


Ecky: a top gear that stays in gear on its own? Coming soon??

Funny thing was he inspected his steel bumper for damage from my plastic light housing on his 30 year old truck while paying no attention to what he'd done to my car, as if misfortune had befallen him.

If he'd have just said sorry, offered a beer, and said he was short on money, I'd have been completely satisfied.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

At least he stuck around and paid for the damage!

Any specific LEDs you're looking at? Be sure to check up on beam pattern, etc.

Looking forward to the results on the trans!

I've had good results with these:

JKCOVER LED H4 9003 HB2 Headlight Bulbs

They're pretty small, and I imagine that contributes to a better beam pattern. The closer they are to a point source, the better.

[redpoint5]

I have limited experience with something similar to (or exactly this), but considered them pretty decent:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=LED+H4&i=automotive&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

My conclusion so far has been that reflector housings tend to work out ok for LEDs, and projectors need LEDs designed for them, but operate decently with HID or halogen.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Interesting. I like the idea of having heat sink fins versus a fan. My main reason for going with LEDs versus brighter halogens was for power savings - my LEDs are rated at 30W vs those ones at 40W. Anything to facilitate a longer ability to EOC at night.

Unfortunately the exact bulb I used was discontinued except as a yellow fog light (the 6000K/6500K variant is no longer available) but appear to have been replaced with a newer model.

[redpoint5]

I measured my LEDs at something like 9W, and wouldn't trust any advertised consumption. My "35W" HIDs consume 50, so they save me nothing over halogen.

The heat sinks still get hot, on the verge of what you could hold.

[roosterk0031]

Somebody backed in to the Impala early summer, bought a ebay headlight assembly, I didn't drive it till a few weeks ago, drivers low beam lights up opposite lane pretty well. No horizontal adjustment, just vertical so cranked it down to not bright the other lane. No adjustment on OEM either but apparently made better and don't need it. I'll spend a little more next time or go to a junk yard.

[Ecky]

There were no aftermarket headlight housings so these are both from Honda. They weren't cheap, but they're certainly nice.

[Ecky]

Today I spent most of my Saturday helping the shop manager at AAMCO put my transmission back together. It's apparently hard to find good help and he had been stuck for a few days, needed a fresh perspective.

Diagnosis: The magnesium casing I purchased had one of the bearing seats ovaled out, which I should have noticed - one of the bearings went in suspiciously easy. This is apparently common with magnesium cases, as it's a weaker metal in most ways than aluminum is. I had also shimmed the transmission wrong which was letting the input shaft move laterally a bit, and between the two of these, that's probably why it was popping out. Driving around holding it in 6th occasionally put some wear on one of the shift sleeves, so I bought a hardened replacement for that from Synchrotech.

Rather than get another magnesium case, I took it on authority from a few sources I felt I could trust that the Accord 5 speed aluminum case was identical on the outside, that the internals were (mostly) interchangeable, that Accord parts can be put into a TSX case so therefore I should have no problems putting the TSX gears into the Accord case, which is less likely to wear out due to it being made of aluminum, as well as being cheaper and easier to acquire.

WRONG!

Turns out the internal castings of the two cases are different. The 5-6 shift fork on the Accord case has the fork for reverse welded in place at the bottom of the fork shaft, and when the shifter is moved right and down (into reverse) the fork moves a blank (with a syncro, amusingly) into the position that has 6th gear in the TSX case, it also engages reverse.

In the TSX gearset, the reverse fork rides on the 5-6 fork shaft but is not welded in place, as shifting into 6th would put the transmission into both reverse and 6th gear - which would be bad. Reverse has its own ... erm, not sure the proper name, but it's what the shift lever presses on. So anyhow, the reverse fork from the TSX contacts some of the structural ribbing in the Accord case when not engaged, and that needed to be cut/ground out of the way.

Transmission will likely go back in the car on Monday. And, I will have the weirdest K series box: Accord case, TSX 1-5, 2012 Civic Si 6th gear, 2006 Civic Si limited slip differential, and a custom final drive originally intended for Mini Cooper K swaps.

[MetroMPG]

That is a heck of a commitment to getting the transmission you want. Nice going!

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

That is a heck of a commitment to getting the transmission you want. Nice going!

I could probably have bought the difference in fuel for the rest of the life of the car for the price difference between a $300 junkyard Accord transmission and what I've gone through to get this one how I want it.