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Hi All:

___I think some might like this pic ;)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Enginer_in_an_Insight-I.jpg

___This was a short drive around the neighborhoods of Oak Creek with a ton of stop signs.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Nice. :D

:eek: I'm speechless!

ollie

WOW, that is turning out to be a great kit. I am hoping they will have one for the Gen III Prius soon.

Looks like I have some more competition in the MPG game. :)

Please explain.:confused: - Dale

Hi, Dale -- Jay is referring to the ridiculous mileage he gets with his PHEV upgrade.

I should have been more clear. Please explain the picture to a nonhybrid veiwer. ;) - Dale

The left number, 1.4, is Liters per 100 km. Translated, 168 mpg. The Insight's mpg display only goes to 150, so you have to switch over to metric to see anything better than that.

Thanks Andrew. What is the 2.6 on the right?

And since I've got a pic reference, could anyone tell me about the battery readout, I've heard ya'll mention down to a certain number of bars. It gave me the impression that if it was discharged too low too often the battery life would be near it's end.

My conception is when charged it reads max but when discharged it could read much lower on one car over another determined by how the car is driven not by a particular short run but by it's overall service, is this wrong? Does regenerative braking hurt battery life and/or mpg? What does hurt it? :D - Dale

Hi Dale:

___2.6 km.

___A problem for any assist system like this in an IMA hybrid is that is cycles (drains and refills) the small pack. Bad for Honda packs is an understatement. With a large enough pack and inverters, balancers and controllers, you could allow the Enginer kit to bleed into the system as much as was being drawn off and that is where Nirvana would arrive. With a 2kWh system, there was not enough current pushed into the pack from the Enginer system to allow it. While it was sitting still, the Enginer kit would bring the SoC back up to 20 of 20 bars as expected. An 8 kWh system w/ MIMA and 4 inverter/controllers could make this really work well for an all-highway driver even when driving the car foolishly.

___I have some thoughts on how to make an Enginer 8kWh system in any hybrid work really well over the long haul and keeping the heat down while doing so but it would take some time behind the wheel to really dial the technique(s) proposed in.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Thanks Wayne. I generally stay away from the hybrid side of things since I don't have one but I need to know enough about them to make an informed decision if a good used one happens to become available at a ridiculously low price.

Is this right? Prius for city driving and Insight for highway driving?

But the Enginer kit makes the Insight an impressive city vehicle.

To return to topic: What does the Enginer kit do differently than the OEM setup? What is the cost installed? :D - Dale

Hi Dale:

___I spoke with a guy that purchased a pristine 02 Prius-I for $7K the other day. Not that this is a good deal or not as any of us could best that Prius with a little work but $7K for a hybrid is a good deal for an easy actual 50 + mpg.

___The Enginer kit makes the Prius and the Insight better city and highway cruisers but it is not really a city type system as it is currently designed.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

So is this the 8wh installation on the Insight?

Other questions:

is the EV range 20 miles? My guess is not quite
Folks like Wayne, Sean, myself could lean-burn 100% as long as the pack has juice? Hope that's at least 20 miles.
Is it pretty simple to install if you go slow and very careful?

Looks like I have some more competition in the MPG game. :)I'd predict your Prius will still do it's best work in city driving, and the Insight I cruising on the highway - only with numbers well in the triple digits.

So is this the 8wh installation on the Insight?

Other questions:

is the EV range 20 miles? My guess is not quite
Folks like Wayne, Sean, myself could lean-burn 100% as long as the pack has juice? Hope that's at least 20 miles.
Is it pretty simple to install if you go slow and very careful?

Chuck,
This is the 2kwh system that I installed on my Insight a few weeks ago. I think I mentioned it to you on the phone a while back. I'll start a new thread with lots of pics when I get a chance.

You cannot get true EV mode, since the Insight engine is always turning when the electric motor is on. If you have MIMA, as you know, you can drain the stock pack pretty quickly if you are really aggressive. (A mile or so?) But if you are conservative and have a pretty easy drive you can make the pack last 20 miles, but you'll probably get less depending on your terrain. This would assume that you use assist lightly and there is enough time for the Enginer system to refill the stock pack. Depending on the length of the drive, another way to use the Enginer pack is to drive around town, heavily using the stock pack to offset the mpg hit you take when starting from a stoplight, or climbing a large hill.

With the system, and MIMA, you can keep in lean burn much more easily.

I would say it isn't much more difficult than installing MIMA.

Hi Eric,

What was your total price.

He had a special for ~$500 off when he first advertised the systems, but this special has expired.

The current pricing as listed on the web site is:
- 2kWh (for 10 miles): $1995
- 4kWh (for 20 miles): $3495
- DIY: No Batteries $995
Note:$1000 is added for California buyers due to CARB compliant cost (5 Year Warranty and Certification Cost)

Any Insight I performance updates?

EDIT: I just found out that this retrofit IS NOT covered for a rebate by the Illinois EPA.