I am in high school and seriousely considering buying an isight. I've heard it's a pretty peppy vehicle but i would also like to make some modifications because, being 16 years old, i would like a car with some autority. I was interested to hear what everyone had to say about the possiblity of replacing the two existing catalytic converters with a single, high-flow cat, as well as installing a performance muffler and tail pipe.
The exhaust system
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
as I've heard with previous modifications; mods that work on other cars, usually make things worse for this car :lol:
Don't quote me on this information, but I think I read (was it on this site?) that the Insight uses back-pressure to keep a) emissions low and b) mileage high.
reducing it might have a negative effect (except for maybe horsepower)
if you do manage to keep things "okay," you then have to deal with the computer. I can't imagine what kind of codes would be flying out at you if you touched the cat.
however, after the cat, I don't think there's much back pressure to be maintained, so maybe a different muffler would help.
great, now you've got me rambling and brain storming again :twisted:
Don't quote me on this information, but I think I read (was it on this site?) that the Insight uses back-pressure to keep a) emissions low and b) mileage high.
reducing it might have a negative effect (except for maybe horsepower)
if you do manage to keep things "okay," you then have to deal with the computer. I can't imagine what kind of codes would be flying out at you if you touched the cat.
however, after the cat, I don't think there's much back pressure to be maintained, so maybe a different muffler would help.
great, now you've got me rambling and brain storming again :twisted:
You cannot out engineer the engineers. If you put a muffler on it (and man will it sound like an ugly weed whacker) you'll loose mileage, probably a lot. There is a guy on the honda-acura.net forums, Nuke, who messed his Insight up badly, his lifetime is only 39mpg. And like mentioned above, you'll probably get a bunch of codes and check engine lights along with all of the fact you'd probably voide a great deal of any warranty that remains on the car. I know how it is, I'm 19, I've been there, though I had a toy that would smoke all the half rice rockets at my school at half throttle. Believe me, the mileage figures alone will be more than enough to impress your friends and that combined with the acceptional stock performance the car has on it's own for being an economy car.
Ohh, and yes, you will have a couple of girls who will run when they see the car, but the rest of them will think it's "cute" :x
Ohh, and yes, you will have a couple of girls who will run when they see the car, but the rest of them will think it's "cute" :x
Joined
·
1,228 Posts
Ahhh, youth (Hi, Puck)
Hey, Puck, I hear you. Unsolicited free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it, so take this for what it's worth:
Leave the Insight alone. It brings more attention to you as a smart man instead of one who has to have the fastest car. (WARNING: Non-PC statement to follow) Chicks dig smart guys :wink: .
When I was your age (I'm 18 with 34 years of experience at staying 18) I had an MG that I spent untold hundreds of dollars (would have been 1,000s today) in making it go faster, before it dawned on me that if I had spent that much to begin with, I could have had a used Jaguar XKE. The girls I dated could have cared less about the MG's horsepower, and the other guys all wanted an "American" car. But I got the attention because I had the "cool" car (a 2 seater convertible) regardless.
Since then, as my finances improved, I have owned GTOs (2), Citroens (2), a Porsche, a Corvette, BMWs (3), Cadillacs (not my fault, I "inherited it" from a bad debt situation), Jeeps (2), and thirty-plus other cool cars (never a boring one in the bunch). The Insight is by far the neatest and the one that has brought the biggest grins into my life. It's like being in a parade float 24/7. Get it, drive it, love it, and it will love you back and bring you admiration from your peers... that's the true meaning of authority and power. Good luck to you, my friend...
Hey, Puck, I hear you. Unsolicited free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it, so take this for what it's worth:
Leave the Insight alone. It brings more attention to you as a smart man instead of one who has to have the fastest car. (WARNING: Non-PC statement to follow) Chicks dig smart guys :wink: .
When I was your age (I'm 18 with 34 years of experience at staying 18) I had an MG that I spent untold hundreds of dollars (would have been 1,000s today) in making it go faster, before it dawned on me that if I had spent that much to begin with, I could have had a used Jaguar XKE. The girls I dated could have cared less about the MG's horsepower, and the other guys all wanted an "American" car. But I got the attention because I had the "cool" car (a 2 seater convertible) regardless.
Since then, as my finances improved, I have owned GTOs (2), Citroens (2), a Porsche, a Corvette, BMWs (3), Cadillacs (not my fault, I "inherited it" from a bad debt situation), Jeeps (2), and thirty-plus other cool cars (never a boring one in the bunch). The Insight is by far the neatest and the one that has brought the biggest grins into my life. It's like being in a parade float 24/7. Get it, drive it, love it, and it will love you back and bring you admiration from your peers... that's the true meaning of authority and power. Good luck to you, my friend...
i guess i decided the true reason i want an insight is to spend as much time as possible outside of my hometown in iowa for as little money as possible. I got a decent job and im going to sell my Mazda 626 and get an insight ASAP. Im not going to murder it, instead im going to make some cool mods to save weight. I once saw a guy who put cameras and 4" monitots on his insight in place of mirrors in an attempt to lower the CD ratio. Very cool idea even if it has no effect on the Drag.
Thanks alot for the input.
Thanks alot for the input.
Mod to save weight? Plust braking safety
You are going to modify a Honda Insight in order to save WEIGHT? Are you KIDDING? This is a car that has a carbon fiber dip stick because it weighs less than a metal one. The engineers have been all over this car, looking for every possible way to save weight. Unless to rip out the passenger seat, I doubt you'll find many ways to make it weigh less without threatening the structural integrity of the vehicle.
It is already the lightest car commercially available in the US, with the lowest drag coeficient. The Subaru Justy used to weigh less, but that was inherantly unstable in hard breaking and only got about 33mpg, despite the 3 cylinder, 1200cc engine. It was a trashy little car. I know. I owned one until I realized that my neck problems were directly related to the fact that this car was made for people shorter than my 6'. My posture is still recovering from the years I drove that car.
The Insight is MUCH roomier, safer and more stable. When I buy a car, I eventually try emergency breaking on a backroad with no traffic just to know how the car is going to handle. The 1987 Justy was scary. veering way out of control as soon as the tires began to skid at all. It seemed to want to turn around backwards and required a LOT of active handling to keep it facing forward.
My 1992 Honda Civic, by contrast, remained stable and understeered (kept going straight) when the brakes locked up. I also learned how to pump the brakes to make the car hop for incredibly short stopping distances. Brake until the car squats (braking with its weight PLUS suspension momentum), then release the brakes when the tires start to skid, do corrective steering while the car hops upward, then slam on the brakes again when the car reaches peak height and make it squat again. Four pumps and you are stopped from 60mph.
The Honda Insight is something else. Because of the anti-skid brakes, I never actually skid. Instead, I stomp on the brakes, ignore the noisy vibration in the brake pedal and I continue to steer comfortably, except for the extreme G-force pushing me into my seat belt. I remember that the pressure of my hands on the steering wheel made me think of what it would be like to do push-ups with a large gorilla on my back.
If you want to lighten your Honda Insight, I suggest that you start by dieting. You are probably the only thing in the car that has not already been severely engineered for maximum strength with minimum weight.
Note: I had a 2 cyllinder, 4 valve Yamaha Verago, then a 3 cyllinder, 9 valve Subaru Justy, then a 4 cyllinder, 16 valve Honda Civic. I figured I couldn't buy another car until someone came up with something with 5 cyllinders and 25 valves, but I bought an Insight, instead. So much for mathematical progressions in my life.
Will M
You are going to modify a Honda Insight in order to save WEIGHT? Are you KIDDING? This is a car that has a carbon fiber dip stick because it weighs less than a metal one. The engineers have been all over this car, looking for every possible way to save weight. Unless to rip out the passenger seat, I doubt you'll find many ways to make it weigh less without threatening the structural integrity of the vehicle.
It is already the lightest car commercially available in the US, with the lowest drag coeficient. The Subaru Justy used to weigh less, but that was inherantly unstable in hard breaking and only got about 33mpg, despite the 3 cylinder, 1200cc engine. It was a trashy little car. I know. I owned one until I realized that my neck problems were directly related to the fact that this car was made for people shorter than my 6'. My posture is still recovering from the years I drove that car.
The Insight is MUCH roomier, safer and more stable. When I buy a car, I eventually try emergency breaking on a backroad with no traffic just to know how the car is going to handle. The 1987 Justy was scary. veering way out of control as soon as the tires began to skid at all. It seemed to want to turn around backwards and required a LOT of active handling to keep it facing forward.
My 1992 Honda Civic, by contrast, remained stable and understeered (kept going straight) when the brakes locked up. I also learned how to pump the brakes to make the car hop for incredibly short stopping distances. Brake until the car squats (braking with its weight PLUS suspension momentum), then release the brakes when the tires start to skid, do corrective steering while the car hops upward, then slam on the brakes again when the car reaches peak height and make it squat again. Four pumps and you are stopped from 60mph.
The Honda Insight is something else. Because of the anti-skid brakes, I never actually skid. Instead, I stomp on the brakes, ignore the noisy vibration in the brake pedal and I continue to steer comfortably, except for the extreme G-force pushing me into my seat belt. I remember that the pressure of my hands on the steering wheel made me think of what it would be like to do push-ups with a large gorilla on my back.
If you want to lighten your Honda Insight, I suggest that you start by dieting. You are probably the only thing in the car that has not already been severely engineered for maximum strength with minimum weight.
Note: I had a 2 cyllinder, 4 valve Yamaha Verago, then a 3 cyllinder, 9 valve Subaru Justy, then a 4 cyllinder, 16 valve Honda Civic. I figured I couldn't buy another car until someone came up with something with 5 cyllinders and 25 valves, but I bought an Insight, instead. So much for mathematical progressions in my life.
Will M
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
