follow Honda's specifications

Hate to disagree with you but, Honda's Engineers have to make a compromise between performance and cost. Not everything they've done for the Inisight is what's best for the Insight. Take tire pressure for instance. I use 50psi and have seen how that gives me the best mpg. The lower psi Honda states will give you a better ride and safety for all road conditions.

The same is true with other items on the Insight. Some would have cost them more money to produce, some would have cost them more in safety. Do you really believe Honda's Engineers got everything they wanted for the Inisight? I don't think so. I'm sure it was a constant battle with the business side of Honda.

Honda's Engineers did the best they could to produce a product that is safe and fuel effienct within their companies guidelines. But others have taken it a step further and gotten more out of the Insight. To dismiss this is just ignorant.

In response to "Resist": Let us know how you feel about running 50 psi after you've been unable to stop or corner safely due to a reduced tire footprint, i.e. less traction. As far as I'm concerned, I'll choose to drive a safer vehicle rather than squeeze a couple more mpg's out of my Insight. Furthermore, I hope that in the future you can resist the temptation to insinuate a level of ignorance when I share my opinion. Let's keep this forum positive as it is a great avenue for us Insight owners to share information.

[quote="dflach"
I would not advise experimentation outside of their recommendations. [/quote]

Oil: the Insight owner's manual indicates that any 0w-20 oil that meets the same SAE certification (J?) and "energy-saving" (or whatever it is) label is satisfactory; furthermore it states that other weights are acceptable if 0w-20 is not available. Additionally it specifically mentions that synthetic oil is fine, but that you must stick with the recommended oil change interval to maintain your warranty. Of course Honda would like to sell you their oil, but they provide no technical reason for doing so.

Tires: I haven't seen much benefit from exceeding 35/38 psi, but dropping to 32 psi makes for a huge mileage disadvantage. I overinflate slightly more out of laziness (in case I don't fill up or check pressure any time soon) to attempt better mpg.

Specific refutation of Honda engineers always being wisest: the upshift light. This light was presumably designed by Honda engineers. When I learned to ignore this light, my mileage improved from the 60's to the 70's. This proves that Honda engineers, albeit talented and having built a fantastic car, do not always know what is best for every driver of the Insight.

Resist and dflach make good points and thanks to Tim (as usual) for bringing a balanced view to the topic at hand. Experimentation within reason is not a bad thing but owners should be reminded that we always recommend the factory settings be maintained (although, like Tim, I overinflate slightly out of laziness). We don't think more discussion on this point will benefit the forum so I'm locking this thread.