lower mpg, battery or egr related?

budomove · 01-15-2008, 10:51 AM

Hi, I just bought a 2000 5spd insight. I just got a negative recal today on my 4th day of driving. The owner mentioned the car gets approx 10mpg less than it got when new, and attributed this to the pack. She does 99% constant speed highway driving in lean burn, so I am thinking that the mpg hit isnt a battery problem,but more likely a faulty/dirty egr, especially since it missed a few times on the highway in lean burn, though not really bucking. Some degree of this is normal for the insight though, from what people say. It also stalled a couple times after slipping it into 1st, and letting off the clutch and giving apparently not enough gas. Maybe I need to get used to how much throttle to give from a stop, or maybe it's the battery?
Any insights?
Frank

HafNHaf · 01-15-2008, 11:34 AM

once in lean burn the car should run smooth as glass, just like in "rich" burn. the only thing you should feel is the transition to/from lean burn every few minutes. check the egr. on a level road (highway) the battery is not used.

budomove · 01-15-2008, 11:52 AM

hafnhaf,
i will check the egr, thanks for the input. I will also check the valve clearance, and put new plugs in soon, since it's at 98k. No matter how I drive on the highway, is either 55.2 or 55.4mpg. I am for the most part unable to use leanburn on my commute since it is mostly up and down.

Frank

I hope to do the sweet mtx sub install you did, I just dont know about the metal bending/cutting part.

HafNHaf · 01-15-2008, 08:09 PM

ya like the quick and dirty sub install, eh? me too! still sounds great after all these miles. as for bending the metal, a pair of 2x4s clamped to the sheet metal to serve as a soft-jawed vise will help you bend the metal without cracking it.

budomove · 01-15-2008, 08:18 PM

cool, I will try it.

HafNHaf · 01-16-2008, 09:58 AM

i just bolted the plate in and used foam pieces to get as good a seal as i could around the edges. the better the seal the better, but dont worry about it too much. the rest of the "box" is not sealed, but it is much larger than a real box stuffed into the available space, as you will see after you remove the original panel. the cavity goes all the way forward to the panel behind the seats.

shifty35 · 01-17-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by budomove

hafnhaf,
i will check the egr, thanks for the input. I will also check the valve clearance, and put new plugs in soon, since it's at 98k. No matter how I drive on the highway, is either 55.2 or 55.4mpg. I am for the most part unable to use leanburn on my commute since it is mostly up and down.

Frank

I hope to do the sweet mtx sub install you did, I just dont know about the metal bending/cutting part.

If you are going 70+, I'd say mid 50s is par for the course. Gotta slow down if you want the crazy numbers.