Bought a 2006 Honda Insight

[Bull Dog]

After years of yearning to own a Honda Insight, it is now a reality

Drove it 100 miles back home and the computer says I averaged ~63 MPG

Other Pictures
http://files.livingthelateryears.com/Insight/P1000856.jpg Left Side of car
http://files.livingthelateryears.com/Insight/P1000861.jpg Almost criminally poor lifetime mileage.


105,000 Miles
Silver
5 Speed Manual
Previous owner wasn't a very economical driver.

Need to get a bunch of things done on it.
Front brakes are pulsing.
Order a Dashmat
New Floor mats
195/60 R14 tires need to go in favor of some RE92s
Add Cruise Control (already have a S2000 wheel on the way)
Replace the terrible, unusable aftermarket Headunit the PO has in it.
Grid charger

 

[Harrod]

Congrats, I always wanted to get one of those.

 

[Eug]

Happy new toy day! Good luck though, as I'm told some of the parts on that thing are quite difficult to find nowadays.

BTW, I had the first Prius, and then the second, and now I'm on the first Prius Plug-in. It was fun back in 2001, along with the Insight owners, being the first on the block with these futuristic hybrids. I actually got random women on the highway giving me the thumbs up as they pulled up beside me, and other women wanting to go for a ride in the car, and guys in mall parking lots following me around to ask about the car.

 

[RU482]

I'll second what Harrod said...

Congrats, I always wanted to get one of those.

 

[Bull Dog]

Thank you!

Updated the OP with some pictures.

Fuel economy for the trip back home. Net 500 ft elevation gain with garbage off-brand china tires.
Not too bad.

 

[MongGrel]

Um congrats, I think...

*Looks for Garlic, a wooden stake or something along those lines*

 

[skyking]

congrats! I'd have one if I could get comfortable in one.

 

[Yuriman]

Huzzah, another Insight owner.

Are you planning on using a Rosta cruise control unit?

You might consider Michelin Energy Savers over RE92's, depending on your preferences. The ride is a bit quieter, they wear slower, and are a bit more grippy, though more expensive and have a ~5% MPG penalty over RE92's (as opposed to 15-20% for regular tires). I prefer RE92's on mine but max MPG is as much a game as it is for the economics in my case.

I constructed my own grid charger for about $35. Here's the design I used:

90v PSU

12v PSU

You can add rear speakers rather easily. The car already has the wiring and mounts for them, but they were never a factory option for the US and are just carpeted over. Some people put low-profile 6.5" "subs" in the holes, and I'm sure you understand why.

EDIT: Here's my thread over on Ecomodder. You might be interested in some of my other projects, such as LED interior lighting and HID/projector retrofit.

Once you get your tires sorted out and aired up to the proper PSI (or higher ) you can expect to see near 100mpg cruising along at ~45, and perhaps 70mpg at 65mph, depending on how much A/C you use and the outside temperature.

 

[Bull Dog]

Starting in the 2004 (maybe it was 2005) the Insight came standard with rear speakers. So that is already in place for me.

I don't see any US availability for any Michelin Energy Saver tires that are anywhere close to 165/65 R14. Looks like Michelin stopped making them for the US market.

Probably just go with Tirerack at ~$354 shipped for a set of 4 RE92s.

Yea Rosta cruise unit.

 

[Yuriman]

Dunlops are another highly rated option. They're the stock tire on Mitsubishi's i MiEV. Last time I needed to change my tires, I found Energy Savers all over town but had to go online to get RE92's.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...tireModel=Enasave+01+A/S&partnum=665SR4ES01AS


If you find it runs poorly when in lean burn, you may need to clean your EGR passages. They tend to get gummed up after a few years, but luckily they're quite easy to get to.

 

[skyking]

I was under the mistaken impression that all the later insights had the CVT. Good score!

 

[Yuriman]

I was under the mistaken impression that all the later insights had the CVT. Good score!

All years of the first gens shipped with both a 5MT and CVT. The 2nd gens didn't come out until 2009, and were all CVT.

 

[tweakmonkey]

Congrats!!

I've had one for 7 years and it's one of the best cars I've ever owned (of about 20 cars). Incredibly reliable. With 200k+ the only thing I ever replaced was the IMA battery at ~140K and spark plugs. Other than that, not a single belt etc. I drove it like I stole it and still got around 53 MPG. When I'd cruise gently at 60-ish I could average 90 MPG in lean burn though.

They are super fun and nimble, really amazing on good tires but that kills the IMA battery and MPG. I would run OEM tires.

Is the IMA battery original? I'd definitely clean the EGR plate. I didn't bother for about 4 years and finally did. What a huge difference it made. Also the plugs looked NASTY when I changed them so I'd recommend that, fair investment for the time/money spent

The S2K wheel is a nice upgrade (I have one in mine) and I also swapped in the S2K seats. When I changed the brakes, I bought more aggressive pads and rear shoes from Porterfield and some slotted rotors.

 

[SAWYER]

Those mpg numbers are insane, why do other new hybrid cars not match it?

 

[Yuriman]

Those mpg numbers are insane, why do other new hybrid cars not match it?

There isn't another hybrid that weighs 1850lbs, has a three cylinder engine geared like a V8, can lean out to a 25:1 AFR while cruising, and has a CdA of less than 5 square feet (and is willing to sacrifice backseats to achieve it). A Miata is between 6.5 and 7 square feet, for comparison.

Except perhaps the VW XL1, but I don't think you can actually buy one.

I went to pick up a few bags of coffee yesterday and got stuck in traffic around 5 oclock:

Relative to other cars, the Insight sits very low to the ground, has stiff suspension and is a rather noisy ride (minimal insulation to save weight), so it didn't do very well.

 

[tweakmonkey]

This car weighs 1850 lbs, is tiny compared to most others, super aerodynamic shape, and it has a 25:1 lean burn feature at the right RPM/load.

EDIT- lol ! Yuriman beat me to it

The market for this car was very iffy mainly due to it being a 2-seater.

 

[Yuriman]

I practically stole mine from a dealer, because all anybody wants around here is a truck.

 

[halik]

After years of yearning to own a Honda Insight, it is now a reality

Drove it 100 miles back home and the computer says I averaged ~63 MPG

Other Pictures
http://files.livingthelateryears.com/Insight/P1000856.jpg Left Side of car
http://files.livingthelateryears.com/Insight/P1000861.jpg Almost criminally poor lifetime mileage.


105,000 Miles
Silver
5 Speed Manual
Previous owner wasn't a very economical driver.

Need to get a bunch of things done on it.
Front brakes are pulsing.
Order a Dashmat
New Floor mats
195/60 R14 tires need to go in favor of some RE92s
Add Cruise Control (already have a S2000 wheel on the way)
Replace the terrible, unusable aftermarket Headunit the PO has in it.
Grid charger

Neato, how much did you pay if you don't mind me asking?

Always was fond of these things - manual trans, 2 seats like a proper commuter and insane gas milage. If I ever end up needing an efficient commuter (hope that never happens...), insight will be it.

 

[yhelothar]

Really great gas mileage for a lesser known hybrid.
Seeing the mileage Eli got out of his gave me a lot of respect for this car.

 

[RearAdmiral]

Man, I really want one of these. Congrats!

 

[tweakmonkey]

If anyone's in California I've got a pretty nice one I'll sell for $4000. I don't drive it anymore and I'm moving soon so I need to sell it - I'm in the Bay Area.