On my previous car I always left the heater on and the fan blowing hot air into the passenger cabin after the engine warmed up (in really all weather conditions thanks to the convertible top) as my mechanic friends said this would take workload off the engine cooling system and prolong engine life. With all the talk about cold weather killing MPGs though, is this a good move in the Insight? Or should all the heat be left in the engine to keep MPGs high? Thanks!
That depends on a number of other factors. Are you using a grill block? What is the lowest temp you are considering? I have a grill block which tends to keep more heat under the hood. I also use the obdii c&c gauge to monitor engine temp. Even at 20F there is enough heat to run the heater and warm up the inside as much as I want.
__________________
2001 Red CVT
19,351 miles lmpg 19.0 as of Oct 7, 2011
Best tank 78.9 MPG, 738.9 miles
Email dave@groe.us
Operating conditions make the difference: I set my heater low in the sub zero F cold weather and run the 'Defrost' on full for a while upon cold startups; then switch to 'no a/c econo' mode once things are heating up with fans speed on full.
The car warms up a bit faster with less coolant circulated and the extra 'load' of the a/c compressor may likely help initially.
On my previous car I always left the heater on and the fan blowing hot air into the passenger cabin after the engine warmed up (in really all weather conditions thanks to the convertible top) as my mechanic friends said this would take workload off the engine cooling system and prolong engine life. With all the talk about cold weather killing MPGs though, is this a good move in the Insight? Or should all the heat be left in the engine to keep MPGs high? Thanks!
Check out AbCaRed00 's warm air mod & grill block. He's got other info too about cold weather ops.
I use a couple of his mods for cold weather (insight engines like heat). They work!
Try them, and tell us how many mpg's you get back.
..Bob
__________________
'01 Red CVT , US cvt #218, 162K, Bought May '12 with 145k & 47.4 lmpg
Best commutes: 84.6 mpg / 50 miles, 74.4 / 100 miles. My commute: http://veloroutes.org/r/91468
Best tank 708 miles, 51.4 lmpg & climbing
Genisis One Pack Harness, Discharger, Modified Grid Charger: Mike Dabrowski 2000
Warm air mod & Grill block, AbCaRed00
RE92's aired to 65 psi 4 1/2 acres of sovereign U.S. territory
Anytime, Anwhere,Go Navy or don't go
I haven't tried the mods yet because I want to be sure I can monitor engine heat before putting a block on the radiator, but just leaving the heater off had a big difference. Boston to DC I got ~55.5 MPG on Dec. 22, and DC to Boston I got ~57.5 on Dec. 31 Who would have thought that wearing an extra sweater and a pair of socks would give such a big boost in fuel efficiency
Definitely a good idea to have a way to monitor the engine coolant temperature if you're going to do any radiator blocking.
There are folks that block the radiator 100% and use the heater alone to moderate engine temperatures. That's how little heat the Insight engine produces.
It seems the Insight's cooling system was made to climb Pike's Peak at 90MPH in 3rd gear at 3PM on the hottest day of the year.
__________________
Bumblebee Batteries, LLC - Helping your hybrid get from point A to point Bee!
BTW, Eli (Bumblebee Batteries) sells them, although he nicely didn't plug this fact .
Sam
Quote:
Originally Posted by brownoarsman
I haven't tried the mods yet because I want to be sure I can monitor engine heat before putting a block on the radiator, but just leaving the heater off had a big difference. Boston to DC I got ~55.5 MPG on Dec. 22, and DC to Boston I got ~57.5 on Dec. 31 Who would have thought that wearing an extra sweater and a pair of socks would give such a big boost in fuel efficiency
I think that a 2 MPG difference one way, then a return trip a week later is in the noise. There are many factors that cam affect MPG. I am amazed that your two trips were that close, just from a measurement point.
__________________
2001 Red CVT
19,351 miles lmpg 19.0 as of Oct 7, 2011
Best tank 78.9 MPG, 738.9 miles
Email dave@groe.us
BTW, Eli (Bumblebee Batteries) sells them, although he nicely didn't plug this fact .
Sam
Fair disclosure, a Scangauge will give an engine coolant temp reading, but if you're in the market for a gauge and own an Insight, you'd have to be positively NUTS not to buy an OBDIIC&C gauge... mine is worth it times four, for the functionality it gives me!
As I posted in the 6" x 17" piece of cardboard thread in mpg issues: I'm gonna hold off on the rad block 'till there's money in the budget for the OBDII. Then I'll be in touch with Eli.
With single digit temps the other day and night I had pretty good performance (for a cvt) just with the warm air and grill mods. Averaging 65 mpg round trip on the mountain commute.
Beginning to wonder if a rad block can do much more.
..Bob
__________________
'01 Red CVT , US cvt #218, 162K, Bought May '12 with 145k & 47.4 lmpg
Best commutes: 84.6 mpg / 50 miles, 74.4 / 100 miles. My commute: http://veloroutes.org/r/91468
Best tank 708 miles, 51.4 lmpg & climbing
Genisis One Pack Harness, Discharger, Modified Grid Charger: Mike Dabrowski 2000
Warm air mod & Grill block, AbCaRed00
RE92's aired to 65 psi 4 1/2 acres of sovereign U.S. territory
Anytime, Anwhere,Go Navy or don't go
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Impact of heater on MPGs
