SPEED TEST !

[Billy]

Yesterday I did a speed test here in the desert of eastern WA. 86 degrees F, elevation 740 feet, relative humidity 14 percent. 2003 5 spd, 46 lbs air in stock tires. I have no front license plate or right side mirror. The car is polished with several coats of wax. I ran both directions to adjust for any possible wind. I carried my Magellan GPS. Top speed indicated was 117 mph (115.1 on GPS) THIS OCCURRED IN THIRD GEAR, at which time some kind of speed limiter activated, cutting out engine power. It was NOT an rpm limiter, but a mph limiter. In 4th gear I could only do 106 mph, in 5th gear only 99 mph; it is obviously short of HP at those lower rpm's.

Hi Billy:

___115.x mph is a bit faster then the speed limited 113 mph many have discussed coming from Honda as well as others running there Insight’s up to the limits. How about winds? Any tail or cross winds to speak of?

___Lastly, what kind of fuel economy did you see on the instantaneous way up there in Autobahn territory

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:3epsuwpk]Waynegerdes@earthlink.net[/email:3epsuwpk]

[Billy]

Hi Wayne; terrible fuel economy; only around 32 mph while accelerating. I first ran west, then turned around and ran eastbound, in case there was a slope or any winds. The results were identical...

[james]

"... terrible fuel economy; only around 32..."

Goes to show how people's standards change. That's what, double what your typical big SUV gets at half the speed

[b1shmu63]

32MPG@115MPH! Looks like a great bumper sticker to me. (1.6 X US MPG @ 75 > limit)

[Delta Flyer]

What I want to see is one of these 5-litter monsters getting in a race at over 100 mph, then run out of gas. :twisted:

[Tim Maddux]

Billy, was that top speed maintained with or without IMA assist?

Not many cars could travel over 300 miles at 115 mph without needing a fill-up. The fastest Indy 500 ever had an average speed of about 186 mph.

[Billy]

Good question, Tim. I began the test fully charged. During acceleration it was needed lots of assist. Holding top speed (just below threshold of cut-out) required only about 2 bars of assist. I would estimate that after 15 minutes, charge might be depleted and I would need to slow down somewhat. billly.....

[Mitch]

The Insight is at redline in 3rd gear at ~ 113-115mph, so I'm not understanding why you're so convinced that it was a speed limiter, and absolutely not a rev limiter that kicked in.

[Rick]

I've had my Insight going 113 (according to the dash) in 5th gear on a down hill once. There was deffinitely more than enough down slope to go much faster given how quickly I was able to go from 80 to 113, but once it hit 113 it backed out on me, would not go any faster. There is deffinitely a speed limiter.