1.2L TDI Honda Insight Build Completed

[jf_cole]

Wow! Congrats, cant wait to see the outcome.

[Red Light Racing]

Originally Posted by retepsnikrep

A difficult project well done.

I had a look at the website but I could not find any pics of the ima motor fitted on your engine?

Have you managed to fully integrate it all?

What issues have you encountered?

I'm sure others will be along with other questions.

The IMA was retained in the build. I hope to get some new pictures up on the site shortly to show how this was done.

After we replace a few integrated circuits I fried in the translator box the IMA will be fully integrated. We'll need to tweak how it operates but it will be fully operational. Right now the IMA starts the engine but doesn't do anything else but operate as an alternator as the car thinks the engine is not turning.

Boat drinks,
Jake

[Red Light Racing]

Originally Posted by wstander

Are you running biofuel diesel or the fossil#2?

How much weight difference between the 2 powertrains?

Interesting project...

Right now I'm running dino diesel but will run B20 for the X Prize race.

There's a 100 lb difference in the base engines. Items required for the diesel engine have undoubtedly added some weight. I'll get the car on the scale in the near future to see what the overall increase in weight is. We did ditch the AC (just wouldn't fit in the build) so we saved a few pounds there.

Best wishes,
Jake

[Red Light Racing]

Originally Posted by jonnyvtec

Awesome.

I was only doing a bit of googling about the A2 and the 1.2 Tdi version last night.

This marries the two very nicely.

Any chance of conversion kits later down the line?

The reception to the project has been pretty warm. Part of the process is to determine if there's enough interest to refine our initial conversion items in order to offer them to others. I certainly would like to do a kit and/or offer individual conversion items to those interested in completing their own builds. I would like to see a bunch of Insight 1Gs out there on the road.

Best wishes,
Jake

[Red Light Racing]

All,

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.

The electric motor side of the car still isn't working properly. There wasn't enough time to sort it out with a 31JUL show date in Washington State (one draw back of working for Uncle Sam). On the bright side, we did manage to convince the Honda ECU that an engine is turning under the bonnet. So, we're on the right track.

Additionally, there was a MAF trouble code that we couldn't solve before getting on the road. Correcting that problem might yield better efficiency. Time will tell.

Is 100mpg probable? I think so given: 1. A 92mpg starting point, 2. A fully operational electric side, 3. Correction of the MAF problem, 4. Improved ECU mapping. This of course presumes that the vehicle is driven in an efficient manner (no full throttle clutch dropping babe wooing drag races down Main ST).

I'll have some more YouTube stuff up within the next few days (I hope). First order of business is to recover from the journey.

Best wishes,
Jake

[uhtrinity]

Good to hear. Do you have autostop working? That will increase your averages in city driving.

In addition to mima you might also consider boosting battery capacity once IMA is functional. I myself have implemented a 13 Ah parallel mod, and Peter in the UK has done a 40Ah lion mod with bms.

[Red Light Racing]

Originally Posted by uhtrinity

Good to hear. Do you have autostop working? That will increase your averages in city driving.

In addition to mima you might also consider boosting battery capacity once IMA is functional. I myself have implemented a 13 Ah parallel mod, and Peter in the UK has done a 40Ah lion mod with bms.

uhtrinity,
Autostop isn't working yet. After pulling DTCs I found P1565. After doing some preliminary work, it looks like I have to repair an open wire between the motor comm sensor connector and the MCM. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be too painful.

I'm also getting P1361 and P1367 which means the cam position translator signals aren't making it to the Honda ECU. It is heartening to see that the crank position translator signal is making it to the Honda ECU (RPM is displayed on the instrument panel and tracks with the VW engine).

Additional battery capacity would be pretty slick. Once I get the car functioning up to snuff I'll take a more in-depth look at changing the electrical side around a bit. Changing too much in one big chunk makes for wicked headaches when it comes to troubleshooting problems that are inevitable with big build efforts.

Best wishes,
Jake

[RP-CLMBER]

Nice work and great up dates thanks for the links to the pictures Mike D
the first links are no longer good except the you tube link.

How did you get the engine imported, and will it be exempt on the sniffer emissions like grandfathered diesels? I guess it will be judged as a 2000 still.

I had just the other day told my canadian ecomodder buddy that (knock on wood) if my ima or batt packs ever went out that it was going to be a diesel tdi-sight and then I went to google eng's that would fit and found your video of it already done. I cant wait to see more video of it on the road and comparisons of before and after. I bet it doesnt really miss the ima in your 3000 mile trip 92 mpg was awsome. I would be interested in a kit or just the adapter plate later down the road, real clean job. Thanks, Paul

[Red Light Racing]

Originally Posted by RP-CLMBER

Nice work and great up dates thanks for the links to the pictures Mike D
the first links are no longer good except the you tube link.

How did you get the engine imported, and will it be exempt on the sniffer emissions like grandfathered diesels? I guess it will be judged as a 2000 still.

I had just the other day told my canadian ecomodder buddy that (knock on wood) if my ima or batt packs ever went out that it was going to be a diesel tdi-sight and then I went to google eng's that would fit and found your video of it already done. I cant wait to see more video of it on the road and comparisons of before and after. I bet it doesnt really miss the ima in your 3000 mile trip 92 mpg was awsome. I would be interested in a kit or just the adapter plate later down the road, real clean job. Thanks, Paul

Paul,

I imported an entire Lupo 3L to get hold of an engine. A PhD in Germany recommended that I buy an entire car since an engine alone would cost more than the car itself. Having an entire Lupo 3L to rob turned out to be a good thing. It was also useful in that I could figure out how the engine worked in the parent vehicle before removing it to use in my project.

In all honesty, I haven't really tangled with the emissions stuff yet. We're presently operating under an EPA exception. Getting the car through all the required EPA emissions testing will be quite a challenge. The idea is to make the car Tier II Bin 5 compliant. We're still working on a system that will take the engine to that level.

I could certainly hook you up with the adapters. My uncle at High Plains Tool and Mold has the files in his CNC mill. We need to sweeten them up a bit to produce something that would require little if any modification on the part of the end user. Other items required could also be produced if desired. The kit would likely go for around $7,500 if I could manage to find a good supplier for the engines (this would be the toughest part).

Personally, I think the diesel engine is a lot better fit for the Insight. Even without a fully operational IMA the car drives well. It will be nice to have the IMA working to fill the gap in torque to 2,200 RPM which is a result of VW tuning for absolute fuel efficiency.

Best wishes,
Jake

[Hybrid-Battery-Repair]

Originally Posted by RP-CLMBER

I had just the other day told my canadian ecomodder buddy that (knock on wood) if my ima or batt packs ever went out that it was going to be a diesel tdi-sight

Well Paul,

If your IMA or battery ever go out, contact me first because I can probably get them back up and running inexpensively. THEN add the TDI.