[uhtrinity]

Call me heretic or blasphemer and get it out of the way

As we saw in the mid engine Insight thread the cutouts can look good if properly done. Well based on that I decided to give it a try. I truly love this car and what it can do, but those skirts have been the main sticking point. I also grew up wanting a CRX and this mod really makes this car look more like a new gen CRX.

I started by making a compass with and a pencil and drew and arc roughly 1" past the diameter of the tires. I pulled off the skirts and proceeded to carefully cutout the circle / arc. I then used some chrome trim that I picked up at autozone. It cost about $4 a package, 2 was enough for both sides. However with the cuts being so close to the tire I decided it didn't look right, the chrome also contrasted too much with the stock rims. So I took back the unused trim and picked up a 15' rool of black trim for $11 minus the package of chrome I didn't use. When I made the second cut I started with a 1" overlap as before, but this time raised the center point of the compass by about 2". This is closer to the Frankeninsight, other than my springs are a touch higher. To me it looks better.

The only issue I see and this is what has most likely made previous mods like this look bad. The rear wheels are inset where the Frankeninsight isn't. It looks normal, and mine is about half way from stock to being lined up with the front end due to the wheel spacers. These were mentioned in a thread last summer. The black trim also looks a lot better and matches the lower black side panels. In the future I might look into eitehr wider spacers or method to widen the rear tires to bring them close to flush with the outside of the panels.

Mpg wise I see no difference before and after the mods. On Saturday I took a roughly 100 mile trip and netted 80mpg. Speeds ranged from 45 - 65 mph, 2/3 of that at the higher speed.

Here are the pictures:

 

[uhtrinity]

I wanted to add:

The skirts are being held firmly in place and if anything are more secure than before due to ~75% of the material being removed. They weigh very little now. Also, the previus owner had used a screw on each side as I assume he lost 2 of the quick locks. I might even go a step further and used 4 short bolts with self lock nuts as the skirts no longer need to be removed to change the tires. In fact the only time they will need to ever be removed is for suspension work and that will still be optional.

I might also add a plastic wheel well cover as our cars don't have any and there is a lot of exposed metal. I guess they figured since you couldn't see it due to the spats they weren't needed.

 

[AClewell]

I love the look of your mod.

I am just trying to get up the nerve to cut my spats.

 

[02insight]

it probably looks fine when you are sitting in the car so that its not so high anymore.

by the way, why are your spats darker than the car?

 

[uhtrinity]

I'm guessing the original owner lost or damaged one and didn't do a paint match.

 

[jdstew]

Looks great Mark - Can you post a side view of your whole car when you get a chance?

Thanks

 

[retepsnikrep]

Call me heretic or blasphemer and get it out of the way

Your wish is my command!! Burn the heretic!!

It's your car though you do what you want I just don't like the look.

 

[Willie Williford]

The skirts are what gives the G1 it's personality....Now that is gone, it looks like all the other cars, but it's your car, do with it what you want.

Willie

 

[uhtrinity]

Looks great Mark - Can you post a side view of your whole car when you get a chance?

Thanks

Here is a side view:

 

[Mark Elvin]

I suspect that after time they will lose their shape as they are no where near as stiff now.

 

[jerrydelrey]

Since you already cut them. What always annoyed me with the insight is the rear wheel track is narrower than the front.

Put some light weight rims on them with some deep rims.

 

[uhtrinity]

I would go with wider spacers or modifying the hubs before making a big change on potentially mpg killing rims. The only exception I know of would be the Honda HX rims which are supposed to be slightly lighter. RHDInsight (Drew) has some on his car with the potenzas.

As far as spat strength, even with the cuts the material is still firm and is very secure, I don't see these changing form or falling out very easily.

The rear track width bugs me too for practical reasons. If you are on a road with tire groove the car tries to track with the grooves. The same thing happens in snow in the winter. Ideally the car should have even tracks.

 

[jerrydelrey]

Okay.

It looks good.

I think Honda should have just sold optional covers like this.

 

[02insight]

perhaps the spats should have been designed circular, so one could just take them off to have the normal look, (no cutting needed and easily reversible )

like this:

 

[bluesunbeam]

Wow!!!..that looks grate-its about time soomeone had the courage to do something about those horible spats on our cars . On related subject,if you ever happen to go to France and visit Paris , and whilst in Paris find yourself in the Louvre be sure to take a paintbrush and box of paints . There is a picture ther called the Mona Lisa - its a beautiful picture except that smug smirk on her face ; you know what to do .
Sorry about the odd speeling mistake . I'm typing this with my nose - they've put the jacket on me again .

 

[uhtrinity]

Wow, I am amazed at the range of comments, reminds me of a political forum. No middle ground, either it looks great or omg you blasphemer I knew I would take some heat, but the contrast in responses is what has me scratching my head.

If it had an impact on mpg I could understand, as that is the main reason for owning the car, other than I am a techno geek who loves the electric side of the car. As stated erlier I also grew up in the 80's and absolutely loved the CRX HF's. Unfortunately by the time I was able to afford one they were old and worn out. The Insight ft the bill to the extreme.

This is the first, and probably the only visual mod I will do as I love the simplistic elegance of the car. But those spats were also the one thing that made the car look quirkish / ungainly / ugly / dorky / boatish (I have heard it all). Since I agree which the quirkish or dorkish part why not change it? To each their own. The function is still there. In fact today alone the car netted over 110 mpg over 15 miles on the way home, and only a small part of that was from battery.

And on that Mona Lisa bit, you made me laugh as I have a fond appreciation of sarcasm.

 

[retepsnikrep]

Well we humans are a strange lot, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. The main thing is we aren't saying don't do the mod we are saying we like/dislike it but you do what you want. Anyway I'm in the padded room next to bluesunbeam so what do I know.

 

[dirty hippie]

When I was thinking about getting an Insight, the spats were sort of an issue because I didn't like them. In fact, I even mentioned that I didn't really like the spats to the seller and that factored into the purchasing equation. Fast forward a bit over a year. I absolutely love the way the Insight looks, and the spats are what gives the Insight its unique look. I think they look cool and would not have it any other way.

I even love the dish rims.

 

[Calpod]

The spats make the Insight unique, I wouldn't have it any other way, it was also done for aerodynamic purposes, it WILL affect the mileage somewhat, but due to the terrain, the driver or even the specific car, your mileage may vary, it is very difficult to compare mileage even if it's on the same road, as the road conditions/wind speed may change and we all know it does not take much for mileage to go down the drain.

If making the modification makes you like the car even more... Go for it!

 

[AbCaRed00]

I think we have a clear demonstration for 'normalcy bias' no matter what side one takes.
As for 'moi' just call me Ab* and sign me in next to the guy who cut off his ear.