Well finally got my insight home for Salt Lake City. Its a 2000 with manual transmission. I found out the battery was replaced about 160 miles ago under warranty along with the cat. The car has 41600 miles on it and a lmpg of 54.2. I got in the car and was suprised how the gearing was. Its like starting out in second gear on other vehicles. The trip was about 1480 miles and I got an average of 55.6 mpg on the way home. I just took it to the dealer to have the vales adjusted ( not sure it needed it but just to be safe. It was only $99.) It has been very cold here in Wisconsin lately and my mpg are down pretty low. On this tank of gas its only 47.4 mpg. I decided to do the warm air mod on it. I haven't had the chance to really test it out but around town i can see a difference. I also ordered the rostra cruise control. It should be here in a few days. I am really enjoying driving this car. It does take some getting use to after driving so long the old fashion way.
I do have a few questions. First does temp gauge always show 2 bars no matter how cold the car is. Everytime i get in my car in the morning (outside air temp -14F) the cars shows 2 bars. I am not worried about it just think it is a little weird.
Second i am playing around with trying to get in lean burn. I can get there but i only seem to loose speed. I have to give the car some more gas then going out of lean burn. Maybe the warm air mod will help this. Any ideas?
Thanks
Dennis

 

Hi denko,

I'll admit the gearing is high on the Insight, but it's even worse on it's predecessor - the CRX HF (the 1st gear would lug because it was almost like a typical 2nd gear!) BTW - the high gearing explains why the Insight has had more battery pack replacements than other hybrids.

The temperature gague does not tell very much - it seems to add two bars at a time. Using ScanGage I - it takes eight minutes for the coolant temperature to reach 195F when the outdoor temperature is 32F.

This is my experience with lean burn - on a level road it will activate at speed of 65mph or less. Bad weather conditions, using the A/C or defrost will add just enough of a load you will have to go slower than 65 for lean burn to possibly work. Lean burn works for me in freezing weather. The only way you know lean burn is working is noting the instant mpg bar jumps from 50 to 75 and above.

 

denko: Congrats on the new Insight! That must be really exciting. Good luck with the new (used) car! Isn't it great when you can say things like 'ONLY 47.4 mpg' when that's about triple what a lot of people get?

 

Thanks for the info Delta. I agree with you leahbeatle I really didn't think about it till you said something on 47.4. Its pretty funny. I recieved my cruise control today but they sent me the wrong remote. So now i have wait some more. I did get to test the hkot air mod and it really does make a difference. I would recommend it to any insight owner espically now that its freezing outside.

 

Congratulations to another Wisconsin Insight owner. The hot air mod really does help get into lean-burn more often, but in the last week or so I have hardly seen L-B at all. I have a 2000 5 speed with a scangauge2 and a warm-air intake. If you are getting lean burn in this sub-zero weather, then just wait until it gets warmer (like in the 50's) and you will see much more. Then when summer comes around you will be blown away by what you see. Lean-burn on a flat stretch in warm weather at anywhere from 30-60 mph you will see upwards of 90 mpg on a regular basis holding a steady speed. When we drive from Milwaukee to LaCrosse in summer we can average about 100 mpg on the 300 mile trip if we take state highways and travel at about 45-60mph.

My temperature gauge also always starts up at 2 bars no matter if my coolant temperature is 5 degrees or 100 degrees. The scangauge gives a much better picture of how warm (or cold!) your coolant is and many other variables vital to attaining decent FE in the Insight especially when the high for the day is -3.

Don't worry about the low mileage to start with. Right now i am seeing mileage in the 50's and I can get up into the 80's easily in summer. I would suggest that you check your tire pressure and make sure it is at a pressure you want for best mileage. If you do live in southeastern or southcentral Wisconsin I do hope that you will come see the Milwaukee or Madison Hybrid Group and what we have to offer. Both groups are run by Insight owners and will be able to help you get everything you can out of your car ASAP. Keep enjoying your new Insight, you made a great decision.

 

Hello just522,
I do live in madison and can't wait to go to one of the hybrid meetings. What is a scangauge? I have heard some people talk about this and i am interseted. Can you give me more information. I commute to work from madison to milwaukee about 3 times a week. This was my motivation for the car but i think now its mkore like a game to me ( lets see how good i can get.) I really enjoy this little car and have convinced my step father to get one. He is now looking for one instead of the prius. Now I have one more reason to look foward to summer the warmth and the gas milage increase.
Dennis

 

Yeah, summer (even spring in some areas) can be a really wonderful time, mpg-wise. If you leave your windows shut and don't have to use the A/C, you can see some really stellar numbers. I'm dreaming of the warm weather already.

Good luck!