[joecvt]

Hello all,

I bought a used 2003 Blue Insight with only 4,800 miles driven back
in April of this year. (The previous driver could not afford the lease
payments) I had been looking for awhile before that but I found
one on the internet in North Carolina that I could not pass up. I
flew from New Hampshire to pick it up. Anyway, I have been reading
this forum for sometime before that and would like to thank many of
you for inspiration to perform many modifications and enhancements.
Here is what I have done so far:

Automatic warm air intake - controlled by thermal vacuum valve gate
Ram air intake - used in conjunction with the warm air intake
Rear speaker installation - repalced all four OEM speakers
Panasonic CQ-HR1003U CD Receiver - Flat panel LCD 4 x 50 watts
Husco Armrest - seems like a must for driving comfort
Raised drivers seat - about 1 inch higher now
Solar Panel and fans - panel placed in non-viewable portion of hatch
Enkei 13 inch rims - my old Honda CRX rims (tires makeup for sizing)
Sumitomo HTR T4 P185/70R13 tires - Specs go up to 51 PSI (I have 48)
Honda Floor and Cargo Matts - the carpet matt help with sound as well
Rear storage sound insulation - used carpet padding in spare tire area
Modified Cakley exhaust - a modification upon a modification (version 3)

I had to tighten a few nuts and bolts along the way because of the
rattles (the worst one was the rear winshield wiper - all three bolts
came loose and fell to the bottom knocking against the rear window
trim piece) Plus, I found that anoying rattle near the fuel filler when
going over bumps. Mine was the filler door cable inside the car. It is
taped to the chassis with foam tape near a hole for the rear cargo
area vent. The cable broke through the tape and was tapping against
the chassis when going over bumps. The sound of plastic cable sleeving
hitting the metal frame echos in the back so that was the hardest noise
to find and was driving me crazy. Hopefully this info helps someone else
find the problem. Now the cars goes over bumps well. My LMPG is 58.
something and my highest single tank is 64.5 This is with the different
rims and tires (Not too bad for a CVT) It's amazing that the Insight has
been out since 2000 but people will still stop and talk about the hybrid
and the shape. It reminds me of when I bought my CRX in 1984 (the
first year they came out) and how people reacted back then.

I will put more detail in the modification area of the forum if anyone
wants more info - just name the mod in a reply.

Thanks for the ideas - JoeCVT

 

[Holicow]

Welcome! We would all like to see pics and more info on the warm air intake system you have, I am sure.

What do the solar panels power?

Pics in general would be good. I would like to see how it looks with those wheels/tires. Are they HTR+ or no? I love those tires.

 

[MikeF]

Welcome aboard - I have one more modification to suggest. Take the OEM rims and put some real snow tires on them. You may be planning to go back to the OEMs when winter comes anyway, but I live south of you (in MA) and decided I just didn't trust the OEMs when the roads were slick. I picked up some Nokain Hakka 1s (OEM size) after the first snowfall, and loved them.

Glad to see another New Englander on the forum!

MF

 

[sunhunter]

Hi, I'm curious about your warm air intake setup. I have been thinking about putting in an electronic thermostat setup for controlling the intake temperature. How did you do it with the vacuum? Do you have any pictures?

Thanks, Hunter

 

[jtmco]

I am curious about the automatic warm air intake as well. Can you post some more info/photos?

Also, I thought the intent of the warm air intake was to get into lean burn more easily/quickly and that the CVT doesn't have lean burn. Did you compare your results before and after adding the warm air intake?

Jim

 

[joecvt]

From what I understand, many cars suffer with poor MPG during the
winter time. This automatic air intake was to have more heated air
in the winter. There is not enough heat from the radiator to heat the
air in the winter where the OEM intake is located. The catalytic
converter produces much more heat. Even the CVT has an optimal
perfomance and one of the factors is air temperature. This mod
should bring the air temp closer to the optimal value and have better
fuel economy. I got the car in the spring so I haven't seen freezing
temps yet so I do not have any numbers. It gets below freezing in the
New Hamphsire winter and I think any car would do better with some
warmer air. I'm not looking for a dramatic increase in fuel economy,
just a little better.

Here is a picture of the Insight with the rims and here is a picture of
the wheel itself. They are very flat and lightweight. The tire size makes
up for the 13" rim (actually my speedometer is a little too slow now).

JoeCVT

 

[joecvt]

I put the instructions and linked pictures in the modification section
for the automatic RAM air / warm air intake.

JoeCVT

 

[joecvt]

The solar panel (single) power two fans, one in each cargo vent.
I put them inside the vents (there is a hole big enough to mount
a computer fan on each side). That hole is where I found my fuel
filler cable hitting the metal chassis. I'm not sure if the tires are
HTR+ or not...I'll have to check.

JoeCVT