First Gen Insight VW TDI mod

[Uhtrinity]

Here is something I thought I would share. There is a group competing fro the X-prize that decided to use a Gen 1 Honda Insight coupled with a 1.2L 3 Cyl VW TDI engine. They are planning on keeping IMA (hybrid assist / regen) intact.

To make it work they had to design an interface that allows the VW ECU to talk to the Honda ECU and an adapter plate for the IMA motor and the 5 speed Honda transmission. They still don't have the IMA system working properly, but are reporting 92 mpg on a cross country trip from Washington state to Maryland.

TDI powered Insight

Insight central link

 

[Eli]

:shocked:

That is freaking badass. That's really what we need, a 1st gen Insight class car with a diesel in it. That would be amazing. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[dsity]

Originally posted by: Eli
:shocked:

That is freaking badass. That's really what we need, a 1st gen Insight class car with a diesel in it. That would be amazing. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

I was gonna come in here to say don't show this to Eli, he'd probably get a hardon

too late haha. nonetheless this is really cool. it sucks there isn't a diesel hybrid available yet

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: dsity

Originally posted by: Eli
:shocked:

That is freaking badass. That's really what we need, a 1st gen Insight class car with a diesel in it. That would be amazing. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

I was gonna come in here to say don't show this to Eli, he'd probably get a hardon

too late haha. nonetheless this is really cool. it sucks there isn't a diesel hybrid available yet

Which really makes no sense. It seems like a no brainer combination.

 

[thescreensavers]

Cant wait to see what they will actually get when they get all the bugs fixed. This always boggled my mind how hybrids have gasoline engines and not more efficient diesel.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Interesting. Any reason you couldn't also make it a plug-in hybrid?

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Interesting. Any reason you couldn't also make it a plug-in hybrid?

I think the X-Prize precludes plug in's. However, there's no reason a plug in hybrid diesel wouldn't make a very good car.

It kills me that Detroit should have been working on something like this a decade ago.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Interesting. Any reason you couldn't also make it a plug-in hybrid?

If I remember correctly there's going to be a plug in prius sooner or later.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Interesting. Any reason you couldn't also make it a plug-in hybrid?

I think the X-Prize precludes plug in's. However, there's no reason a plug in hybrid diesel wouldn't make a very good car.

It kills me that Detroit should have been working on something like this a decade ago.

They made what people wanted. The relative cost of fuel in other countries is quite a bit higher than it is here so foreign makers have been worried about fuel efficiency were years. Thus, they had a more efficient line up because they had been focusing on it for some time.

If you want to blame someone for the gas guzzlers that came out of Detroit you need to look no farther than your local soccer mom with a suburban or hummer. If we weren't so willing to pay so much of a premium for larger vehicles making them vastly more profitable they would have switched years ago.

Idiots want to buy things for idiotic reasons.

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Interesting. Any reason you couldn't also make it a plug-in hybrid?

I think the X-Prize precludes plug in's. However, there's no reason a plug in hybrid diesel wouldn't make a very good car.

It kills me that Detroit should have been working on something like this a decade ago.

They made what people wanted. The relative cost of fuel in other countries is quite a bit higher than it is here so foreign makers have been worried about fuel efficiency were years. Thus, they had a more efficient line up because they had been focusing on it for some time.

If you want to blame someone for the gas guzzlers that came out of Detroit you need to look no farther than your local soccer mom with a suburban or hummer. If we weren't so willing to pay so much of a premium for larger vehicles making them vastly more profitable they would have switched years ago.

Idiots want to buy things for idiotic reasons.

Because they want them and can afford them and someone is willing to produce them? I know, hard concept for communists to understand.

 

[thedarkwolf]

One reason you don't see diesel hybrids is cost. The hybrid already adds a big chunk of change to the cost of the car. Throw a diesel in there and you add another $3k to the price.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: exdeath
Because they want them and can afford them and someone is willing to produce them? I know, hard concept for communists to understand.

Pretty much. Detroit made what people wanted. Not only did we buy them, we loved them and paid a huge amount over the cost of manufacturing so the profit margins were huge. Toyota and Honda started to move towards SUVs and trucks also, examples are Toyota's Sequoia (15 mpg combined with 4wd and a good sized V8) and Honda's Ridgeline (17 mpg, not as bad but shows they were hoping to cash in on the market too).

 

[JSt0rm]

if Detroit made what people wanted then why are 70% of them bankrupt? Seems like they made poor business choices to me.

 

[vshah]

cool...reminds me of the turbocharged insight i saw somewhere online

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01
if Detroit made what people wanted then why are 70% of them bankrupt? Seems like they made poor business choices to me.

No because the economy changed and fuel prices skyrocketed and nobody predicted it would skyrocket that much. Hell even this past year when gas prices went down to around $2 again, SUV sales rose. The Japanese were just in a better position with their smaller/fuel efficient cars. Chrysler well they are Chrysler and have been bad for a long time so they don't count.

 

[dsity]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
One reason you don't see diesel hybrids is cost. The hybrid already adds a big chunk of change to the cost of the car. Throw a diesel in there and you add another $3k to the price.

90+mpg is ridic and worth the 3k. also diesels tend to last longer which make up for the higher price.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: dsity

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
One reason you don't see diesel hybrids is cost. The hybrid already adds a big chunk of change to the cost of the car. Throw a diesel in there and you add another $3k to the price.

90+mpg is ridic and worth the 3k. also diesels tend to last longer which make up for the higher price.

Thats a 2 seater 1800lb insight that has been highly modified for fuel mileage.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01
if Detroit made what people wanted then why are 70% of them bankrupt? Seems like they made poor business choices to me.

They were betting on continued low oil prices, just like most Americans who were out buying those big SUVs.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf

Originally posted by: dsity

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
One reason you don't see diesel hybrids is cost. The hybrid already adds a big chunk of change to the cost of the car. Throw a diesel in there and you add another $3k to the price.

90+mpg is ridic and worth the 3k. also diesels tend to last longer which make up for the higher price.

Thats a 2 seater 1800lb insight that has been highly modified for fuel mileage.

It hasn't been "highly modified" other than the engine. Is that what you meant?

If they're getting over 92mpg average with no IMA, they should easily be able to get well over 100 once they get the hybrid system working.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

After 4 grueling days on the road, the Insight 1G made it across the country with no problem more serious than a minor coolant leak. The ultimate data point: a 92mpg average makes it a bastard of a time for the driver's ass. Also, waiting for the 10 gallon tank to run dry strains the bladder to its limit.

:beer:

Hell if they can't get the IMA to work they could remove the batteries and improve the fuel efficiency

 

[adlep]

Originally posted by: dsity

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
One reason you don't see diesel hybrids is cost. The hybrid already adds a big chunk of change to the cost of the car. Throw a diesel in there and you add another $3k to the price.

90+mpg is ridic and worth the 3k. also diesels tend to last longer which make up for the higher price.

Not to mention the fact that you can make the fuel yourself from used up cooking oil.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

After 4 grueling days on the road, the Insight 1G made it across the country with no problem more serious than a minor coolant leak. The ultimate data point: a 92mpg average makes it a bastard of a time for the driver's ass. Also, waiting for the 10 gallon tank to run dry strains the bladder to its limit.

:beer:

Hell if they can't get the IMA to work they could remove the batteries and improve the fuel efficiency

Dropping the iMA weight will make little to no difference. I can add 300 lbs in my Insight and see no difference in mpg numbers.

I totally understand what he means when on long trips. You don't stop for gas. Instead you stop for scenery, bathroom breaks, and to stretch. You stop every other day for gas. On my Oregon trip last month we did our first fillup in Portland Oregon .... that was 700 miles from the start. Average mpg up to that point was 78mpg with an average speed of 65 mph most of which was along highway 26. Breaking 100mpg all the time would be awesome.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
Cant wait to see what they will actually get when they get all the bugs fixed. This always boggled my mind how hybrids have gasoline engines and not more efficient diesel.

Diesels have more plumbing since they work best with turbos, let alone usually weigh a good amout more then a gas motor. A simple and small gas engine will be smaller and usually lighter.

 

[Arkaign]

I wonder if the motor has all of the government mandated nannyness installed (current emissions / c02 output limitation).

Still, this just proves how brilliant the 1G Insight was/is. I'm not entirely sold on diesel though, at least not for all areas. In many places it's scare outside of truckstops, and the price fluctuates wildly, sometimes it's 20% or more than regular gasoline.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
Cant wait to see what they will actually get when they get all the bugs fixed. This always boggled my mind how hybrids have gasoline engines and not more efficient diesel.

Diesels have more plumbing since they work best with turbos, let alone usually weigh a good amout more then a gas motor. A simple and small gas engine will be smaller and usually lighter.

He mentioned that the engine weighs about 100 lbs more than the Insight engine which is super lightweight for a gas engine.

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I wonder if the motor has all of the government mandated nannyness installed (current emissions / c02 output limitation).

Still, this just proves how brilliant the 1G Insight was/is. I'm not entirely sold on diesel though, at least not for all areas. In many places it's scare outside of truckstops, and the price fluctuates wildly, sometimes it's 20% or more than regular gasoline.

The TDI they used was imported from Europe. Btw, Co2 output is proportional to the amount of fuel you burn, in this case considerably lower than most vehicles, same goes for a stock Insight. As far as the other emissions, they haven't mentioned what they used.