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Many of us hypermilers have heard of the MIMA that overrides the Honda Assist and recharging. I just thought of a way to improve milage that is not talked about much.

Change the tires.

Look for tires of the same diameter but with maybe half the width, get matching wheels, aluminum if possible.

I have not researched skinny replacements on the Honda Insight. It would probably take a lot of looking and not recommended by Honda, but I bet it would work.

dan did that to his del sol.

I better ask him on what he did....

Hi Chuck:

___Dan purchased the Insight specific RE92’s. Unfortunately, you are not going to find a thinner tread width with as low a RR as the Insight specific RE92’s for your Insight anywhere. The B381’s, SP20’s, and all other size RE92’s will take your FE down. Honda was not messing around when they designed the Insight and this is just another area where the only direction you can go is OEM to maximize her potential.

___For everyone else, no matter what they drive, a LRR tire of similar diameter and thinner tread width will definitely help. When the 16” Michelin MXV4’s are due for replacement, I will be looking far and wide for a tire with the MXV4’s LRR and a thinner tread width as well.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I would definitely like MIMA on my HCH2. My battery is almost always filled to the brim. I'd love to be able to tell IMA to use more electric motor power than engine power sometimes.

On tires and IMA:

Trust Honda. :)

I knew you were joking without the smiley when you said tires, trust, and Honda in the same sentence. :D Dunlop SP31=crap! Nokian WR all the way :)

Of course, the drawback to going to narrower tires is that your cornering and braking performance will be reduced. I read that Dan almost lost control going around some sharp curves until he learned the limits of the performance envelope with his new wheel/tire setup.

Of course, the drawback to going to narrower tires is that your cornering and braking performance will be reduced. I read that Dan almost lost control going around some sharp curves until he learned the limits of the performance envelope with his new wheel/tire setup.

Yes, that was true the day I put the tires on, but after a few hundred miles I began to notice much better traction. And now, after a few thousand miles and much higher pressures than i used on my previous 185/75/15's, the conrering is now superior. I say that because I am now taking certain corners at higher speeds than with the previous tires. The same speeds with the previous tires caused severe oversteer. I am very happy with the RE 92's. Thinner, lighter, LRR, better traction, higher sidewall pressure and 3-5 MPG improvement to boot. It's like having your cake and eating it too. Wet traction is good also.:D