New wheels: 2 seater, aluminium, Tochigi-built...

[Ewan]

It's been over a year sine I sold my last Honda, and nearly 2 since I sold my NSX...

So I decided to add this to my growing fleet :)

12136

[andystevo]

Had a notion for one of these for some time.
The quality of the engineering and I guess Honda's decision to build it just because they could appeals to me. Held off so far though as I suspect I would hardly ever use it - my old Beemer estate easily swallows my bike, not sure the Insight would.
One of the American sites has a good article on how to install an aftermarket cruise control kit which would make it more attractive for long distance work.
MPG so far?

[Senninha]

Hi Ewan, like most Honda of that age they seem built to do the miles if so inclined ...

Still enjoying the Lotus?

regards, Paul

[Ewan]

cheers guys... I too had a notion for an Insight on and off for years (I remember they came out about the same time as the S2000) and I saw one at a PH meet a couple of years ago and just thought it was cool. There's a really strong owners' group at www.insightcentral.net (http://www.insightcentral.net) and they pop up on Ebay or classifieds from time to time. Currently there's a Formula Red 2000 MY car with 105k miles on Ebay, being sold by a real enthusiast who bought it, tarted it up where possible and is selling it on... just failed to make its reserve of £2.5k so he's relisted with no reserve...

Mine is Silvestone silver, and only 35k miles on the clock so it hasn't lived a hard life, I don't think. Average MPG, well I'm just getting the hang of driving it and am therefore nowhere near as good as the truly committed hyper-milers... I put £25 worth of petrol in it on Monday, drove from York to Cambridge then Cambridge to Reading on Tuesday, and it still had more left than it started with. The 100 mile Cambs-Reading leg averaged over 75mpg.

Next steps for me are to swap the seats and steering wheel for S2000 items, and get an OBDII command & control module from the Insight community's equivalent of Kaz - an artisan engineer who designs & builds stuff that goes all over the world, and he has a waiting list to work on the 250-odd examples of the car left in the UK...
Maybe I should bring the car to JapFest ;-)

Still enjoying the Lotus, thanks Paul :) I even managed to get it invited to display at the GRRC open day last year...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1318057


Rarity and the WTF looks on people you pass are fun in any car :)


cheers,
Ewan

[Ewan]

An update, for those who seem to be interested :)

I've done one of the main upgrades to the Insight - installing stiffer rear springs, to help the handling (turn in a bit livelier) and stop the rear end bottoming out so much. What kind of components did I go for? Coilovers, Bilsteins, adjustable Nitrons? Nope. Stock fitment rear springs from a Daewoo Matiz, £15 each on Ebay to you sir.

I've installed an AP2 S2000 steering wheel - it's a direct swap for the Insight one, only it's covered in leather rather than vinyl..

http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/attachments/modifications-technical-issues/14881d1399109597-another-s2000-ap2-steering-wheel-install-wp_20140503_08_57_52_pro.jpg

... and installed some Blue S2000 AP2 seats too...
http://thumbsnap.com/i/51xq36wi.jpg?0623

I filled the tank up tonight - just over 32L of petrol. 464 miles... so it works out about 9p per mile in petrol, no road tax, £200-odd insurance and hopefully won't depreciate much if at all...

[Senna88]

Hi Ewan, here's mine after managing to climb Hardknott pass (30% incline at one point)! How easy were the s2000 seats to fit? My bum seems to go numb when driving long distances in it (2hrs+), but I also remember having the same problem when I had my s2000?

I installed IMAC&C myself which tested my soldering skills and got the OBDIIC&C too (I'm currently testing 3D printing of a case if you're interested). Great car, though it's a shame it's no longer Congestion charge free :( I get about 650 miles to a tank (£46/36l).

http://thumbsnap.com/s/HBM9KmV5.jpg