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New MIMA Thread

244K views 1K replies 151 participants last post by  retepsnikrep 
#1 ·
As of 12/2/2007, we are re-opening MIMA discussion in this dedicated thread. Please refer to the last post in this thread for further details.

We ask that all participants follow the Forum Rules when posting at InsightCentral.net. In particular, any discussion on how to bypass the manufacturer's warranty is strictly prohibited. (Please read the rules!)

Thanks in advance for your cooperation!
 
#2 ·
MIMA discussions

I want to thank the Insight Central crew for their change of position on MIMA discussions.
A recent poll of MIMA drivers has tallied a total of 476K Miles with MIMA with with only 27 cars of the 56 MIMA owners reporting to date, and no evidence of any MIMA related problems.

I would say that the real world results are no longer speculation.

While having a dedicated thread for MIMA specific discussions is appreciated, I suspect that since MIMA can effect so many aspects of the car that many threads on other subjects like SOC management, battery equalization, MPG improvements will get the occasional MIMA drivers point of view, and hope that this will continue to be ok with the moderators?

Of course we will want to specifically respect the rule about not discussing any aspects of bypassing the manufacturer's warranty.
 
#3 ·
MIMA waiting list and MIMA video

The MIMA waiting list and list of owners will be keep up to date here.
http://www.99mpg.com/mima/people/
Once the waiting list has 10 people on it, I will build another batch. We now have three places where you can have a system installed if you do not feel up to the task, San Fransisco CA, Grand Rapids MI, and here in CT.

If you want to see what is involved in the install, see how to calibrate/operate the system, and see how the PIMA mode can bump the MPG to over 100MPG, feel free to just give me a call or e-mail, and I will send a copy of the video to you.
;)
 
#5 ·
If this post is not proper for this discussion - please delete it.

I will be installing MIMA in my 2000 Insight when the weather gets warmer, most likely it will happen in April. I'm in Northeast Ohio. If anyone wants to hang around, help out whatever, especially if you've done the mimafication already let me know. As far as I know, until Mike has the additional committments needed to create the next set of boards and components, this may be the last MIMA install for a while globally.

As for the warranty - my pack was replaced 10-06 with everything else. I no longer qualify for any warranty parts. In this case, with this car, I have no concern about warranty issues.

Also I'm looking into interesting ways to mount the joysticks that have not been done before - stay tuned.

cheers,
Wayne
 
#560 ·
If this post is not proper for this discussion - please delete it.

I will be installing MIMA in my 2000 Insight when the weather gets warmer, most likely it will happen in April. I'm in Northeast Ohio. ....
cheers,
Wayne
Hi Waynetc! Have you ever been up to Toronto with the MIMA Insight yet?
I am part of a team putting on a Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Show - EV Fest, and we have but one Honda Insight for the Show - Aaron Cake's 2000 Silver model - and would like a MIMA version there to complement the straight one!
Show info at EV Fest - Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival - this coming Sunday - Oct. 17, 2010

Any others interesting in showing Check out the web site and see if it looks like you can make it! Registration ends on Friday night!
 
#6 ·
I have one joystick on the gearshift and one on the e-brake. I use the second when I want to avoid loading the gearshift. The first one is especially handy when I want to FAS as I shift into neutral. Mike persuaded me to use both, and I agree with him on this.
 
#7 ·
Waynetc said:
Also I'm looking into interesting ways to mount the joysticks that have not been done before
As a minimalist, I chose not to mount my joysticks at all. I have only one plugged in and it's hanging loose on the cable (resting over the center console when not in use. When in use I'm holding it in my right hand. The cable is long enough that I can still shift and steer a bit, when larger maneuvers are required I just drop it in my lap and pick it up again when things quiet down...
 
#9 ·
Mike,

Congratulations on the new batch of MIMA systems. With my travel lately I haven't put many miles on the Insight but hope to get back to it soon. Looks like I may shift to working in FL by 2010 in which case I would be back to a 1000 mile a week commute. Have fun, Rick
 
#12 ·
Just curious if other MIMA users ever / regularly use the EV-MIMA mode? And what the ranges / conditions are that they use it in? :?:

On a particular section of road during my commute to my companies new building I find it is useful as coasting or FASing will slow down... but a low speed 3rd or 4th gear and a little MIMA , about 1 or 1.5 red lights and I will maintain speed without additional gas. :lol:

To those who don't know about it: :idea:
when MIMA has the IMA give more assist... if the assist is large enough compared to the currently required load ( no matter what gear you are in ) the Insights stock fuel cut mode will engage and you will be in a PURE EV mode of operation... this is easiest to see on the metric display ... You can also tell you are in MIMA-EV mode if your foot is off the gas and your RPMs are around 2,000 or more... it is not all sunny though... since the ICE will continue to operate as an air pump you will waste some of your energy just pumping air.... and of course without an outside source of Electricity for a V-boost type of system the power needed to get into the MIMA-EV mode still all comes from gasoline consumption.
 
#13 ·
I have used the MIMA "EV mode" when stuck in snow and the tires start to spin. I have a CVT so I don't have the option to start out like a manual in second gear to reduce some torque from the engine. There is alot of torque in the begining when starting out in a CVT...So I just leave my foot off the accelerator and use the MIMA pedal for assist only to slowly start the car moving then I'll use the acellerator a bit more. So I call this mode sort of a MIMA traction control ;)

The only other time is when showing my friends what it can do in "EV mode" but it does bring the battery down quite a bit when doing that so I don't do it often.

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner
 
#14 ·
I am going to purchase an Insight very soon.
So I will probably want MIMA in the near future ( maybe be 9th or 10th on the wait list??? ).

To Mike the inventor... I am buying this car because I perceive it to be one of the simplest hybrid models to hack and modify. Would you agree with this assumption? Also, due to its aluminum shell and light weight, I feel down the road, it would be one of the best chassis for possible all EV conversion, do you agree?

Lastly, would you find MIMA to be an advantage down the road, if I wish to custom build my own battery pack?
Just curious, but it sounds very promising.

My other car is a FEH and I get about 54 MPG in city driving, in mild weather in that 4,000 pound "brick".
But the Fords look like much more work to "hack".

Thanks!
Hopefully I'll be in the club in a couple of weeks.
-John
 
#16 ·
gpsman1 said:
I am going to purchase an Insight very soon.
So I will probably want MIMA in the near future ( maybe be 9th or 10th on the wait list??? ).

To Mike the inventor... I am buying this car because I perceive it to be one of the simplest hybrid models to hack and modify. Would you agree with this assumption? Also, due to its aluminum shell and light weight, I feel down the road, it would be one of the best chassis for possible all EV conversion, do you agree?

Lastly, would you find MIMA to be an advantage down the road, if I wish to custom build my own battery pack?
Just curious, but it sounds very promising.

My other car is a FEH and I get about 54 MPG in city driving, in mild weather in that 4,000 pound "brick".
But the Fords look like much more work to "hack".

Thanks!
Hopefully I'll be in the club in a couple of weeks.
-John
I won't speak for Mike or those who also worked on the development of MIMA But this is my 2 bits.

Of course any Hack or Mod risks voiding warranty and killing you or your car.

I think Insight is the easiest HEV to hack and for after market modifications... there are fewer of them so don't expect as much pre-made modifications as other HEVs might get.

I almost got a EV conversion of my pre-Insight car when it died... a 1990 Chevy Cavalier ... but in the end at the time what I could afford for the EV conversion would not have met my driving needs at the time... so I got the Insight instead... which I think is a great platform for conversion to EV... there are very very few cars you can buy that can beat the Insight for Low weight and aerodynamics...

My plan is more of a PHEV conversion.

MIMA was great because it gave me the control of the IMA motor that I wanted to have.

I have been planning and studying to do a small high voltage booster battery to make my Insight a PHEV... I live in an apartment right now so any battery I want to plug in I have to be able to remove from the car and carry into the apartment to charge up.... this greatly limits allot of my options... Lead Acid is way to heavy... NiMH is doable... I estimate the removable PHEV booster battery will weigh around 60 Pounds... Li-Ion would be about 3 to 4 times as much money as NiMH but would reduce that removable PHEV booster battery down to under 40 pounds...

I look forward to using my MIMA and the second battery to offset more of the gasoline I would have used to go the same distance.

After the PHEV booster battery is done I plan to continue to make more mods for my insight that will push it more and more into EV range and allow even more electric priority operation with the help of MIMA.

Even if I end up doing a full EV conversion I like my insight for the vehicle... I like the included 10kW IMA motor and the motor controller with regenerative braking ... the included DC-DC module.... lots and lots of nice stuff. :D
 
#17 ·
My waiting list requirement of 10 people has been reached. :) I am starting the reordering process.

People should continue to send in the forms, so I will be better able to decide how many to build. :doubt:

25-50- or 100? How many more Insights will want one?

How long before we are drawn to the Aptera and other cars of the near future, and we will abandon our Insights?
Tough decision.
I don't expect to ever build another batch of MIMA after this. :?:
 
#18 ·
Hi Mike.

I am picking up my Insight next weekend.
I'll need a few weeks to get used to it, and a few more paychecks, before I can buy MIMA.
However, you can count on me to buy one for sure, which will be around June of this year.

Is it true that I can reset the "lifetime" MPG meter myself? Or do I need to ask the dealer to do that before I drive it home? I would like to know my lifetime number, not the previous owner.

But yes, I will buy a MIMA, and a FAS if that is a separate component.
You can count on me. I've been dreaming of ( and tinkering with ) manual control of my Ford Escape Hybrid.
I'm so glad MIMA is available!
-John E.
 
#22 ·
A lot of user feedback about operation can be read here:
http://www.99mpg.com/mima/people/

Many other questions are answered here:
http://www.99mpg.com/mima/faq/

Jay,

I hope we have an easy plug in booster pack option soon, that is the missing piece the MIMA concept.
Spring is coming, and with the better weather, who knows what may happen? ;)
An electric Aptera is a fitting replacement for an Insight in my book.
 
#23 ·
one of my long list of projects is a new display for my MIMA.

There is nothing wrong with the current display ... but I am a tinkerer .... and I have been thinking it would be neat to have amp numbers going in on regen and coming out on assist on a digital display.... Since MIMA already ties into all of the needed information and displays a version of it on the LED bar graph .... I was thinking the easiest way to do this would be to just tap into the LED outputs for the MIMA display and run it into a small circuit for the digital display.

Anyone else already done this?
Anyone have any suggestions to add?
 
#24 ·
I'd love a digital display as well. Feeding the LED lines into a separate circuit which calculates the current is an interesting approach which I hadn't thought of.

I envision a digital display replacing the current display. Some of the LED lines could be retasked to some sort of serial protocol to send data to a more intelligent display.

Actually this could probably be accomplished without replacing the current display, by using the currently unused light sensor lines for the serial connection.

Serial communication would allow delivery of more info than just amps in/out. Pack voltage would be great to have, but I don't recall whether MIMA is aware of the pack's voltage or would be able to calculate it without a hardware mod.

Implementing a serial protocol in assembly would be tons of fun, I'm sure. ;)
 
#25 ·
LCD display for MIMA

I am meeting with my cousin that did the MIMA board layouts this weekend, and since the waiting list has grown past the 10 required units, I need to get going with another batch of boards. I am swamped with lots of other projects, so I don't see the time to source a display and develop the hardware for an LCD.

The serial com is not a big deal, and I have several serial routines in my library of old projects.
The battery current is already determined in the MIMA system, so outputting a digital amp value is no big deal. The display would not need any computing ability, so just the serial or parallel LCD, and a way to mount it would be required.

As Chris indicated, we should be able to just use the opto detector lines for the serial com, and still retain the led bargraph.
If the display has graphics capability, and is large enough, we may be able to totally replace the led display, in which case the other control lines would be available for a touch screen interface or for a parallel LCD control.

A bit higher level of this display would be to get an LCD with a touch screen, so we could change parameters and display function. There is no reason to retain the led display,but since we could have both the led driver and the LCD driver in the code, and simply switch drivers depending on the display.

If one of you MIMA guys wants to source a serial LCD, write a detailed operational spec on what to display, and how it would want to be controlled(user input), I can write the driver code for it, and if the hardware can be finalized before mid May, I should be able to add a PC board interface for it (if necessary)to the MIMA boards order. The final code can be developed while we wait for the hardware.
We have over 50 users, if you guys can work out the details of what display is best, at a reasonable price, with good availability, with enough resolution to display what we need, I can make it work. The first MIMA open source design team effort. Go for it. ;)
 
#26 ·
lithium booster pack

I just got a call from these people.
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/Products.html
They are interested in designing a booster pack for our Insights.
I sent them a preliminary spec, and asked for a ball park price.
The spec I chose:

Battery pack spec:
Basic requirement
Voltage: ~180VDC
Capacity: 25 to 50AH should be sufficient
Controls: Adjustable constant current output from 0 to 50A, voltage range of stock pack under current limit 120VDC to 180VDC
Analog or serial digital control
Charger: 120VAC full recharge in 8 hrs or less.
SOC feedback : either analog or serial digital

Advanced spec:
The booster pack can be recharged from stock battery regen system with adjustable charge rate of 0-50A
Solar charge ability (dc/dc charge capability)

Pack needs to shutdown if any safety issues with pack develop, as well as having a dedicated fault output line.
It should be interesting to see what they can offer. ;)
 
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