Soon to own an Insight!

[BabyDiesel]

I went this past weekend to check out a 2000 Honda Insight I found on Craigslist. It was my first time being up close to one, so I was (beyond) very excited! Here is what I went to look at:











Hmmm.... looks oddly familiar...



Haha!

I wish I could have got y'all some video of my first time driving, but I didn't think of it till after the fact. Sorry guys

Overall, the car is in good condition, both mechanically and aesthetically. It has that 1-2 gear grind at times, and the IMA system is not working. That isn't a problem for me, and I'll soon have it back up and running to help out my city mpg. The battery was replaced within the past couple years (don't remember exactly when the owner said). It has the 165/65/14 Re92's at around half tread

My first impressions driving one: Wow. I was bubbling with excitement and my expectations were high, and the Insight didn't disappoint! He let it idle for 5-10 minutes to let me watch and listen to the idle. The mpgs on the screen feel from 55 to 43 in this time. I took it out on some back roads before hitting the highway. I wasn't exactly prepared for the length of the gears combined with a 3-cylinder's low torque, but all went well! It is a D-O-G after 2nd gear and if you're under 2000 rpm. It coast very well for it's lightness. I was able to keep the FCD over 75 mpg cruising 51-52 in a 45 zone. I'm not sure if lean burn was active, it didn't feel like it compared to when I went into lean burn in the ZX2.

I was sold!!!

As of now, I'm in the process of getting the money together, finding out insurance and DMV cost. Within the next week or so, I will officially have me a new-to-me Insight

[oldtamiyaphile]

Is that bicycle sticker on the quarter window a kill marking?

[BabyDiesel]

Yep! With the title being clean, it must had been a drive-by

[jakobnev]

I approve of both the number of doors and the colour!

[MetroMPG]

Hey, congrats!

How many miles? Hope you got a good deal.

I was able to keep the FCD over 75 mpg cruising 51-52

Yup, you were in lean burn. (Unless you were just going downhill!)

[BabyDiesel]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Hey, congrats!

How many miles? Hope you got a good deal.



Yup, you were in lean burn. (Unless you were just going downhill!)

Hey Darin! It has 246,000 miles on the OD. More than I would like, but it is expected when it is a 17 year-old commuter car.

I got a super sweet deal! $1000!

That stretch was slightly downhill. There isn't much perfectly flat land out in Missouri! Well, towards the west and north, when you get towards the Great Plains. Not where I'm at.

I thought that when in lean burn, you had to apply MORE throttle to provide adequate power. I was feathering the throttle!

On my old Escort, going in to lean burn at say, 50 mph, would be a difference of almost no throttle to maybe 1/3 of full throttle. Load would go from 46% to around 60% having a 17.3 AFR, and the Insight is more than capable of passing 20:1. Is my thought process correct?

Also, the tire pressure was probably spec (38F, 35R) during testing. Definitely getting a boost before I drive it home!

[Ecky]

If you have an ELM347 bluetooth dongle you can monitor AFR:

PID and formula for Air Fuel Ratio for torque pro - Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum

After driving it a few weeks you'll definitely not need to though.

[Daox]

Sounds like a fair price. Since these cars are getting so old, it will have issues to deal with almost guaranteed. I've had mine only bout a half year now and I've already fixed a fair amount. Nothing difficult, but there are quirks. Check out Ecky's build thread, its chalk full of awesomeness, lots of pictures, and its indexed as well which is super helpful.

[cowmeat]

Not bad for a grand! They're fun little cars, for sure!

I did a bunch of mods to my two Insights, the threads are on here somewhere if you want some laughs and a couple of legit pointers.
I'm not sure lean burn works without the IMA system. Mine quit when I had the IMA turned off, but maybe that was just me. Honestly, the only thing losing lean burn did for me was it made it easier to drive on the highway!

Enjoy!

[samwichse]

Some IMA failures disable lean burn.

The car is MUCH -- I can't stress this enough -- MUUUUUCH nicer to drive with a working IMA. 2nd gear is fun gear. 3rd gear with IMA is high speed fun gear. 5th gear is cruising gear.

4th gear is... mostly unused :-P