[cwjjr]

I have a 2001 Insight just purchased. Low miles. When on interstate highways esp. truck routes...the truck groves in the road start to move the vehicle back farily vigourously..On occasion it will be thrown out of the track and shoot across lanes if I don't respond quickly.

It also appears on less traveled roads but only slightly usually when the road as not smooth surfaces or pavement lips.

Aprreciate feed back and helpful ideas. Checked tire pressure was okay. newer tires tred looks even. ??? Thank You cwjjr

 

[jack9994]

cwjjr

Its a common thing with Insights and I guess down to the skinny tyres - drive faster and get out the slow lane - it is certainly disconcerting when you are not used to it

Cheers

John

 

[ChrisY]

Same thing happens to motorcycles, especially on metal bridge decks. The answer is to cross diagonally at as sharp an angle as you can, back and forth if nec. (slalom style).

 

[Willie Williford]

If you fill out your profile showing where you are at, you will probably receive more assistance.

The "snaking" you talk about is caused by the difference of the "track" of the vehicle, front vs rear. Heavy trucks collapse the freeways, especially in Oregon. (This is from my driving experience on their freeeways.)

Try not to drive in the truck lane when possible.
If you do get in the truck lane try to drive close to the traffic lane lines. The snaking will be a lot less if you don't drive in the middle of the lane.
Don't over correct the steering, Insights have very tight and quick steering.
Hope this helps.

Willie

 

[Just Frank]

Right on Willie.

Last month, during the heat wave, I drove pretty much, 50 miles short at each end, from border to border. Mexico Canada. I found myself driving with the driver's side wheels close to the lane line and then the pasanger's side wheels are pretty much in the middle of the lane. The track is almost half a lane wide.

Driving in the HEAT the millage just kept getting better and better. I've got to do the air pre heat mod.

Frank.

 

[Resist]

I have a 2001 Insight just purchased. Low miles. When on interstate highways esp. truck routes...the truck groves in the road start to move the vehicle back farily vigourously..On occasion it will be thrown out of the track and shoot across lanes if I don't respond quickly.

This is not an Insight issue, it's an issue with any vehicle that has tires with a small footprint.

 

[b1shmu63]

Welcome to the forum cwjjr.

A little experience should help with this. Depending on your speed trying to quickly respond may just make the situation worse. There have been some good suggestions made here. I would also suggest that if you get on a really bad section of road you back off the speed a little until you see how the car responds. On a recent 4,000 mile trip I only encountered about 10 miles of really bad surface. Moving into the fast lane helped.

Part of the issue is the way the alignment is setup to maximize efficiency, part is due to the harder rubber compound, part due to the narrow tires, part due to the different spacing of the front and rear tracks, part due to the electric steering.

Some folk here have changed tires and claim a big difference in handling, but they also take a significant hit in mileage. Search the forum for tire recommendations if you find you can't adjust, or find the roads are just too messed up in your area.

 

[jack9994]

Resist

You havent driven many cars on skinny tires then - it is an Insight problem and dangerous if you dont expect it - I would guess the typical US car has fairly wide tyres

John

 

[ElectricTroy]

I had the same problem.

But once I inflated my tired to 44 psi the problem seemed to disappear. Anybody know why hyperinflation would make the tracking problem disappear?

 

[cwjjr]

skiny tires

Thanks for all the responses. I did move to the fast lane which in most cases correct the problem. Also drove on the upper smooth edges of the truck track which helped as well. I have driven skiny tires before a 85 chevy sprint which got 50-55 mph but not near as nice as the Insight , I wanted all your expertise to see how you handled it. Thank you once again. I will update my info . I am in New Mexico about 75 miles north of Santa Fe...Note NM is surrounded by Texas Colorado and Arizona yet the update for battery warrenty did not included NM probably as not many Insights here. Any suggestions or contacts to remedy this appreciated. Thanks Again!....cwjjr

 

[LoNOx 1]

Call your dealer with the VIN.
See: http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4796&start=60

 

[originalbadbob]

Just Frank said,

I found myself driving with the driver's side wheels close to the lane line and then the pasanger's side wheels are pretty much in the middle of the lane.

and I have a section of the same type of road on my commute. Putting the left wheels in the center of the lane makes it much better, but it almost always makes me laugh when my head is bobbing side to side. Fortunately I only have a couple of miles of it. If it was the whole way, I probably wouldn't think it so funny.
robert