[n20civicb18]

Does anyone have any information on engine swaps for insights? I heard about a K20 swapped drag car (insight) that is running 10's N/A?

I went down to a local honda dealership and looked at the engine bay and noticed there was like half the room that is in my civic's engine bay. is there enough room to swap something into here after removing the stock 1.0 and electric engine? what swaps have been done? any pictures?

Kyle

 

[Rick]

Not without massive chassis reconstruction. And don't let anyone tell you the Insight is based on CRX or Civic platforms, it's not. It's a propriotary Insight drive train. It would probably end up being cheaper to use a different car considering all the custom fabrication that would be necessary.

http://www.fred.net/wwmfarm/HighlandRacing.htm

 

[b1shmu63]

Or keep the IMA engine and put on a turbo or E-supercharger.

 

[Aaron Cake]

Or do a rotary swap...How does a 400HP+ 1.3 litre engine that weighs in at 200LB sound to you?

 

[Mitch]

swap

The engine bay in the Insight is virtually identical in size to that of my '84 CRX. I checked out the measurements a few years ago.

Someone has already put a B16A into an Insight, so I've been told by someone who had seen it at a car show in Miami. As is the case with the 1G CRX, it's surely a very tight fit, and perhaps not even possible to fit in a/c without major work being done. I have a B16A-powered '84 CRX with a/c, but wouldn't want to go that route with the Insight.

The best Honda engine swap candidate is probably a SOHC D-series engine. I'd go for the Japanese Domestic Market D15B 3-stage VTEC engine that was in some previous-generation Civic models in Japan. It had excellent mpg (18.6 KM/Liter, which is almost 44 mpg) and was rated at 130PS (128hp) in a 2,200 lb. Civic. In an Insight you'd have one quick car still capable of 44+ mpg. The D-series is small enough so as to probably still allow sufficient room for turbocharging as well, without adding too much weight up front. Those DOHC (K or B series) engines will add alot more weight up front, which is detrimental to the Insight's great handling (with good tires on, that is). Moreover, there are no after-market struts made for the Insight, as is the case for the CRX, so that's another good reason to keep the weight down in the engine bay.

 

[leftturney]

Why not use the HCH 1.3 engine ? There's not as much power gains, but I bet that would work

 

[JustinGray]

The drag car that you read about has a fully custom tubular welded aluminum front end....

picture an isight with everything infront of the windsheild cut off with a sawzall!!! Then a new, bigger engine bay welded on in it place...


As far as swaps.... i still contend that the engine and battery pack from the civic would be an amazing feet. I think that it "could" be fit in there with minor fabrication... but might require some creative suspension solution to make it fit.

Then you would have a 100 HP engine capable of nearly the same miles per gallon you started with... save lean burn mode!

 

[Guest]

Hi JustinGray:

___Unfortunately, placing a larger ICE in the Insight minus lean burn would destroy our Insight’s fuel economy. Our 1.0 L lean burn ICE is good for 105 - 110 mpg without any wind aid when driven gently. Placing the HCH’s 1.3 in her would probably allow 70 - 75 possibly? The non-Lean burn 1.3 from the Fit/Jazz and your talking 55 - 65 mpg as the Fit/Jazz weighs only 2,100 #’s and receives less then an estimated 45 - 50 mpg out on the highway already. Honda engineers are tough to be bested as they know system integration (ICE/tranny/drivetrain) better then anyone in the business.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:32z6vrto][email protected][/email:32z6vrto]

 

[JustinGray]

My father has a civic hybrid.... he get about 45 miles per gallon.

I still am amazed that anyone can get 115 mpg out of their insight! i can never really get better than 65!

Now the civic does nto do lean burn mode, so you will loose a bit of miles per gallon comparitively. But i think that if my father can get 45 out of it in a civic... i could do 5 - 10 miles per gallon better if it were in my much lighter and more aerodynamic car. So being what i consider conservative... ill say 50 mpg..

So yeah, its not as great as the original insight... but im only hurting myself by about 5 - 10 mpg on the highway... and not really any in the city! But i would be able to run with the rsx's anyday!

 

[Guest]

Hi JustinGray:

___The HCH’s are all lean burn capable.

___As for an Insight’s fuel economy, my best was a 117.2 mpg/96 segment achieved just the other night coming home from work although as with all my > 112.5 mpg/96 mile segments, they are all wind aided in one form or another. A nice 15 mph tail wind for ~ 2/3 of that particular trip helped but 105 mpg average throughout the entire summer is normal with my Insight, my drive, and my driving style. With a little tweaking of your Insight (if the pack isn’t already a drag on her) and your driving style, I am sure 100 mpg segments are not that far off either.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:262w9j5e][email protected][/email:262w9j5e]

 

[b1shmu63]

Doesn't the HCH shut off its valves for more efficient regeneration?

 

[Guest]

Hi B1schmu63:

___It (the HCH) does indeed shut down 3 of 4 cylinders in any regen situation for lower friction during braking. The problem is that it isn’t nearly as efficient overall as our 1.0 L’s but it does have more power: 85 HP vs. 67 HP/torque: 87 Ft.-Lb vs. 66 Ft.-Lb. in the case of an HCH vs. the Insight 5-speed.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:3fef0y56][email protected][/email:3fef0y56]

 

[No. 166]

I'd rather swap the Insight engine and IMA-system into an 84' CRX or an early 70s ciVic.....
The Civic-Hybrid Powertrain would fit rather nicely into a 76' Accord.
And the Accord-Hybrid system would be cool in an 84' Prelude !
8)

 

[flunkysama]

I'm pretty sure that anyone going to the trouble and expense of an engine swap is not going to be too worried about a drop in MPG. You do an engine swap when you want HP, MPG be dammed. besides, I doubt there is any gas engine you could put in the insight and get better MPG.

BTW. A stock honda B-series engine won't work. It spins the wrong way.

 

[H22CRXSOL]

I'm pretty sure that anyone going to the trouble and expense of an engine swap is not going to be too worried about a drop in MPG. You do an engine swap when you want HP, MPG be dammed. besides, I doubt there is any gas engine you could put in the insight and get better MPG.

BTW. A stock honda B-series engine won't work. It spins the wrong way.

It spins the wrong way?? If you're going to use an engine you're also going to use it's transmission, especially if you're going to maintain it's drive configuartion (Front engine, Front Wheel Drive). Since you'd be using the B Series transmission along with the B Series engine, the wheels will still turn forward.

 

[Big D Insightman]

H22CRXSOL the B series engines are installed in their "parent" vehicles where the engine section is nearest the drivers side fender and the transmission section is on the passengers side. In the Insight and the Acura RSX the engines are of a newer generation and are installed with the engine section next to the passenger side fender and the tranny on the drivers side. I don't know if it would be even possible to install it reversed from the OEM engine but it would take some custom fabrication by someone who knows a great deal about welding aluminum. Also the exhaust matifold would be on the front side of the engine block toward the raditor.This is also reversed from stock. This engine swap would be more trouble than it would be worth. The best swap would be an engine that is oriented the same way as the OEM engine and the axle shafts hook up to its tranny very close to the OEM location. Maybe the new Honda Fit engine will be about the right size? It probally would be a close fit,it is 1339cc and I belive it is oriented correctly. It is the same size as the HCH engine but with a little bit different cylinder head.

 

[JustinGray]

Almost Any swap into the insight would require a lot of fabrication. The RSX motor is a good choice if your going to do a swap... lots of power... revy...

ALthough i have to say after driving my freinds car... it has nothing below 5000 rpm... i mean nothing...


Anyway... the swaps i saw for all the drag cars used tube framed front ends. The b-series motor could be made to work... but if you footing the bill for a swap into the Inisight... go for the RSX motor!

 

[Mitch]

engine swap

The current generation Civic is sold with both K-series (intake in front, tranny closer to driver-side) and D-series, which is configured like the B-series (header in front and tranny closer to passenger-side), so it's surely not as complicated as it may seem to bolt a reverse-configured engine/tranny into the Insight. I just read a magazine last week in the supermarket with an article of a B18A-powered Insight.