Joined
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6 Posts
So- Background story because I'm new and feel the need to do that in my first post.
I originally when looking for my first car (being that I'm currently 19) had a variety of options, 2.0T/3.8 R-spec gensis coupes 2011, a ford fusion 2011 fully equipped, and a Honda Fit 2009/10. I had my eyes on the 2009 Fit because I always loved the car, it was in great condition, low milage and blue (who doesn't LOVE blue?). Long story short a Russian man took BOTH Fits from under my sleeve and then the same day the 2010 Honda Insight I ended up owning for a year now popped up. The car had ~40k miles, a new 12v battery, alloy rims and was in decent condition. I believe its the base model though? No navi (don't care for it), no turn signals on the side mirrors, and no bottom fog lights. I have the hand break in the middle of the car, unlike most I see which have the hand break and the arm rest. I don't think the speakers are basic ones though, its 6 speaker and sounds AMAZING. But.. Initially I hated the car. I mean hated. Essentially I went in my car, told it to gain weight and be a fit because it straight up sucked to me. As time passed, I learned I really didn't hate the car. By the end of December (purchased pretty much exactly a year ago) I really actually loved my car. Earlier this year though, a mofo civic 05 cut me off in a 1 way 1 lane coming out of a parking lot, hit the guy infront of me, and I hit him, due to the fact my breaks were bad and I couldn't stop in time. Small collision, insurance repaired the car. I got new headlights, back/front bumper, hood, etc. Essentially milked it as much as possible. The car looks pretty new now, most of it was repainted too! TO THE CAR!
At this point I've only replaced the cabin air filter and the one that's under the hood, both oem. My driving habits I'd call good.
-25% Highway & 75% city, roughly.
-Living in LA means I get stuck in some pretty sh***y traffic.
-There are no real "massive" hills, but every day is driving at a gradual uphill half the time.
-Getting to my house does involve a .6 mile uphill at about 25°-30° angle maybe slightly higher angle, followed immediately by a .2 mile uphill at 50°-55° angle and resumed by a .1 mile at a 10°-15° angle to reach my house, which is almost at the corner of the street. its a .35 mile climb up North to reach the last "main street" going east-west in my part of LA. I mention this because I go up&down this hill 2-3 times daily, so it's an unavoidable consistent mpg killer. *Actually took the time to make rough estimates of angles, and measured the distance via a roller*
-I average 48-58 mpg on the end of fill ups (only fill about 5-6 gal a fill up) with Real-World-Driving.
-I lightly use the AC, living in LA means it gets pretty hot in summer.
-Front windows half open during street driving, AC on Lo level 2-3 in highway, front vents only.
-Aux/Radio used at 20-25 volume almost consistently.
-35 psi, regular air, (should I use nitrogen?)
-NOT OEM TIRES, I actually have a size wider. The tires recommended for Prius (Oh the irony) but they were 55 dollars cheaper/ea and I NEEDED all 4 changed (Worn out & Popped 3 in 1 day [ask if you want an entertaining story how that happened!])
size-> **185/65-15** <-size
-Hypermiling attempted trips in city @ night usually land me *WITHOUT pulse/glide on Neutral and key to turn off engine* 65-80mpg. Driving at 35-45 mph. *Still use the radio*
-I switch between econ on/off as I feel. 80+% is econ on though. Some days I keep econ off is why I mention it.
-When parked, if right after the park I pulled up or something of the sort and I'm in auto stop, I will turn the engine off and shift into park from there, as to avoid that useless moment when shifting into Reverse(or past, AKA park) the engine will turn back on.
Anything else I should add about driving or the car?
Questions:
1) My car doesn't have mirrors on the visors, which also only go 1 in past the start of front window when folded down. What the hell? And what the hell again?
2) What mods can be done for performance, if any. Do those increase mpg or decrease?
3) Any MPG increasing mods?
BIGGER QUESTIONS:
1) Solar panels to keep the 12v battery charged, any ideas? I want some just to give it a 5-10w. Does the insight even benefit from it? I've read a few but no solid conclusions. *I turn off my car and use the radio a lot* And I'm asking because I really liked reading the article about the HCH-II and the solar panels used for that. Also, I know the benefit isn't massive, but I'd like it if noticeable.
2) MY HYBRID BATTERY PACK! I honestly and sincerely think there is something wrong with it. I feel the capacity has gone down. It can't keep a state of charge after 50% as it goes into a forced charge at times. Or the dreaded thing where it has limited ima and either charges or assists only.
What I mean by the failure to keep a SoC:
The multi information display will show the battery at 50%, if ever I need to give it a punch or I'm going at a gradual uphill shortly after that the battery level climbs down instantly.
*Half the time I get the minimal amount to keep ONE auto stop per decent acceleration. The 3rd lowest indicator. (Battery pack, 1 "line" of the dots, and the solid line at top of battery) *PICS AT BOTTOM* No IMA, only accelerates with gas engine, and at crusing speeds charges.
*The other half is when the battery depletes to just the solid line or a completely blank battery pack.
-1 Solid line would idle the engine at a stop. Have no IMA, gas only acceleration and harder charging when cruising (higher rpm than before)
-Completely empty battery pack = forced charge. It will ALWAYS be charging the battery, even when idling, accelerating or cruising until a less "Critical" SoC is reached.
*****After the "half" mark on battery when this happens, the IMA will be limited, and when "cruising" it'll slowly lose acceleration as it charges during the same time, it can't exactly "hold" a speed like it can when it's not in this "charge focused" mode because it tries to keep the low rpm of ~1100 to cruise at speeds below 37mph while still charging. Thus resulting in not enough power to keep a set speed. There's no way to go into a gas only cruising mode (meaning either its assisting or charging, not real gas only cruising) until the battery is near full, at which point the car will return to normal functioning mode.*****
Now, that being said. This happens mainly happens only once every 2-3 days. But it does happen on occasion I'll get this 2 days in a row, not often but it has happened 2x in a day.
NOTE: This is on a regular day of driving.
ALSO: When I give this rate, its for the battery pack suddenly dropping in SoC. The part where at 50% SoC and " the IMA will be limited, and when "cruising" it'll slowly lose acceleration as it charges during the same time ..... until the battery is near full, at which point the car will return to normal functioning " part happens at least twice a day for a span of about 3-5 miles. It impacts my MPG by like 10-25%. Depending on how stubborn it is.
NOTE ALSO(wait, what?): On long trips (usually highway) when cruising at 60-70mph the SoC will drop almost exclusively to the empty or 1 solid line state and begin charging for a while. This happens every 10-20 highway miles. [If no hills]
SOOO! After this stupidly elongated and painfully detailed description, any help for #2? As in where I can get my hybrid battery pack checked, replacements, upgrades. So forth, so on. AND, if any of you have any of the problems I do above and your work-around(s), solutions, failures, experiences, stories, etc.
That's all I can think of for now to share. I also would love general discussion of the insight and sharing of tips/tricks.
FUN FACT BECAUSE I CAN: If you did a hard stop, or the engine was too cold, etc for auto stop. Sometimes shifting into neutral will resume/start auto stop for you! Also, provides quicker/more allotted auto stops than when in Drive. Shifting into Second [if you have the P-R-N-D-S-L setup will keep the engine off, but Lower will turn it on (N will turn it back off, granted you're holding the break for all this). It's a fun little fact that's not to well known about N and Auto Stop.
Again, pics below.
My Car:
![]()
Post running the tank almost empty, drove 45 miles past 0 range, and still had ~.6 gal in it:
![]()
AS FOR BATTERY PICS: I can't find any on my current phone, but this is what I mean:
-"Empty battery" just the outline of the of battery, no white.
-1 solid line:
![]()
-Solid line with the 1 "row" of white dots is the next.
-Solid line with the 2 "rows" of white dots is what i refer to as half charge.
-Then 3 rows.
-And finally 4 rows, with the solid bar at the very top for full.
I originally when looking for my first car (being that I'm currently 19) had a variety of options, 2.0T/3.8 R-spec gensis coupes 2011, a ford fusion 2011 fully equipped, and a Honda Fit 2009/10. I had my eyes on the 2009 Fit because I always loved the car, it was in great condition, low milage and blue (who doesn't LOVE blue?). Long story short a Russian man took BOTH Fits from under my sleeve and then the same day the 2010 Honda Insight I ended up owning for a year now popped up. The car had ~40k miles, a new 12v battery, alloy rims and was in decent condition. I believe its the base model though? No navi (don't care for it), no turn signals on the side mirrors, and no bottom fog lights. I have the hand break in the middle of the car, unlike most I see which have the hand break and the arm rest. I don't think the speakers are basic ones though, its 6 speaker and sounds AMAZING. But.. Initially I hated the car. I mean hated. Essentially I went in my car, told it to gain weight and be a fit because it straight up sucked to me. As time passed, I learned I really didn't hate the car. By the end of December (purchased pretty much exactly a year ago) I really actually loved my car. Earlier this year though, a mofo civic 05 cut me off in a 1 way 1 lane coming out of a parking lot, hit the guy infront of me, and I hit him, due to the fact my breaks were bad and I couldn't stop in time. Small collision, insurance repaired the car. I got new headlights, back/front bumper, hood, etc. Essentially milked it as much as possible. The car looks pretty new now, most of it was repainted too! TO THE CAR!
At this point I've only replaced the cabin air filter and the one that's under the hood, both oem. My driving habits I'd call good.
-25% Highway & 75% city, roughly.
-Living in LA means I get stuck in some pretty sh***y traffic.
-There are no real "massive" hills, but every day is driving at a gradual uphill half the time.
-Getting to my house does involve a .6 mile uphill at about 25°-30° angle maybe slightly higher angle, followed immediately by a .2 mile uphill at 50°-55° angle and resumed by a .1 mile at a 10°-15° angle to reach my house, which is almost at the corner of the street. its a .35 mile climb up North to reach the last "main street" going east-west in my part of LA. I mention this because I go up&down this hill 2-3 times daily, so it's an unavoidable consistent mpg killer. *Actually took the time to make rough estimates of angles, and measured the distance via a roller*
-I average 48-58 mpg on the end of fill ups (only fill about 5-6 gal a fill up) with Real-World-Driving.
-I lightly use the AC, living in LA means it gets pretty hot in summer.
-Front windows half open during street driving, AC on Lo level 2-3 in highway, front vents only.
-Aux/Radio used at 20-25 volume almost consistently.
-35 psi, regular air, (should I use nitrogen?)
-NOT OEM TIRES, I actually have a size wider. The tires recommended for Prius (Oh the irony) but they were 55 dollars cheaper/ea and I NEEDED all 4 changed (Worn out & Popped 3 in 1 day [ask if you want an entertaining story how that happened!])
size-> **185/65-15** <-size
-Hypermiling attempted trips in city @ night usually land me *WITHOUT pulse/glide on Neutral and key to turn off engine* 65-80mpg. Driving at 35-45 mph. *Still use the radio*
-I switch between econ on/off as I feel. 80+% is econ on though. Some days I keep econ off is why I mention it.
-When parked, if right after the park I pulled up or something of the sort and I'm in auto stop, I will turn the engine off and shift into park from there, as to avoid that useless moment when shifting into Reverse(or past, AKA park) the engine will turn back on.
Anything else I should add about driving or the car?
Questions:
1) My car doesn't have mirrors on the visors, which also only go 1 in past the start of front window when folded down. What the hell? And what the hell again?
2) What mods can be done for performance, if any. Do those increase mpg or decrease?
3) Any MPG increasing mods?
BIGGER QUESTIONS:
1) Solar panels to keep the 12v battery charged, any ideas? I want some just to give it a 5-10w. Does the insight even benefit from it? I've read a few but no solid conclusions. *I turn off my car and use the radio a lot* And I'm asking because I really liked reading the article about the HCH-II and the solar panels used for that. Also, I know the benefit isn't massive, but I'd like it if noticeable.
2) MY HYBRID BATTERY PACK! I honestly and sincerely think there is something wrong with it. I feel the capacity has gone down. It can't keep a state of charge after 50% as it goes into a forced charge at times. Or the dreaded thing where it has limited ima and either charges or assists only.
What I mean by the failure to keep a SoC:
The multi information display will show the battery at 50%, if ever I need to give it a punch or I'm going at a gradual uphill shortly after that the battery level climbs down instantly.
*Half the time I get the minimal amount to keep ONE auto stop per decent acceleration. The 3rd lowest indicator. (Battery pack, 1 "line" of the dots, and the solid line at top of battery) *PICS AT BOTTOM* No IMA, only accelerates with gas engine, and at crusing speeds charges.
*The other half is when the battery depletes to just the solid line or a completely blank battery pack.
-1 Solid line would idle the engine at a stop. Have no IMA, gas only acceleration and harder charging when cruising (higher rpm than before)
-Completely empty battery pack = forced charge. It will ALWAYS be charging the battery, even when idling, accelerating or cruising until a less "Critical" SoC is reached.
*****After the "half" mark on battery when this happens, the IMA will be limited, and when "cruising" it'll slowly lose acceleration as it charges during the same time, it can't exactly "hold" a speed like it can when it's not in this "charge focused" mode because it tries to keep the low rpm of ~1100 to cruise at speeds below 37mph while still charging. Thus resulting in not enough power to keep a set speed. There's no way to go into a gas only cruising mode (meaning either its assisting or charging, not real gas only cruising) until the battery is near full, at which point the car will return to normal functioning mode.*****
Now, that being said. This happens mainly happens only once every 2-3 days. But it does happen on occasion I'll get this 2 days in a row, not often but it has happened 2x in a day.
NOTE: This is on a regular day of driving.
ALSO: When I give this rate, its for the battery pack suddenly dropping in SoC. The part where at 50% SoC and " the IMA will be limited, and when "cruising" it'll slowly lose acceleration as it charges during the same time ..... until the battery is near full, at which point the car will return to normal functioning " part happens at least twice a day for a span of about 3-5 miles. It impacts my MPG by like 10-25%. Depending on how stubborn it is.
NOTE ALSO(wait, what?): On long trips (usually highway) when cruising at 60-70mph the SoC will drop almost exclusively to the empty or 1 solid line state and begin charging for a while. This happens every 10-20 highway miles. [If no hills]
SOOO! After this stupidly elongated and painfully detailed description, any help for #2? As in where I can get my hybrid battery pack checked, replacements, upgrades. So forth, so on. AND, if any of you have any of the problems I do above and your work-around(s), solutions, failures, experiences, stories, etc.
That's all I can think of for now to share. I also would love general discussion of the insight and sharing of tips/tricks.
FUN FACT BECAUSE I CAN: If you did a hard stop, or the engine was too cold, etc for auto stop. Sometimes shifting into neutral will resume/start auto stop for you! Also, provides quicker/more allotted auto stops than when in Drive. Shifting into Second [if you have the P-R-N-D-S-L setup will keep the engine off, but Lower will turn it on (N will turn it back off, granted you're holding the break for all this). It's a fun little fact that's not to well known about N and Auto Stop.
Again, pics below.
My Car:
Post running the tank almost empty, drove 45 miles past 0 range, and still had ~.6 gal in it:
AS FOR BATTERY PICS: I can't find any on my current phone, but this is what I mean:
-"Empty battery" just the outline of the of battery, no white.
-1 solid line:
-Solid line with the 1 "row" of white dots is the next.
-Solid line with the 2 "rows" of white dots is what i refer to as half charge.
-Then 3 rows.
-And finally 4 rows, with the solid bar at the very top for full.
