Getting into the ZE1 Honda Insights
Years ago I was searching for a car to replace my 1995 240sx SE that I had sold, just after completing the LS 6.0 V8 Swap (i had also just bashed a wall with it and it cracked the exhaust header.. which wouldve been “exhausting” to repair… to say the least).
And after dealing with the cheap 90’s Nissan Metal in the Midwest Salt region… i was hoping to find an Aluminum Chassis i could afford. Ferrari’s and NSX were out of the question, but there was one car that i found that had something in common with the NSX; The 2000-2006 Honda Insight. It was an affordable All aluminum Chassis by Honda, two Seats, Light, FWD platform with Hybrid Technology. In Fact, the 2000 Honda Insight Beat the Toyota Prius to the US market by a whole Year, making it the First EVER Available Hybrid in the American Market. And it was sold Exclusively for that year with a 5 Speed Manual Transmission, with the Automatic CVT becoming available the following sales year.
it was Rough 2014 by now and the Honda insights were starting to drop in price, as one of their most Expensive Components were beginning to fail; the Hybrid battery pack was a $2000 part, and at most would last upto a decade, if properly cared for. These cars need to be driven regularly, to charge the Hybrid battery packs, but with these cars being so small and light, and only having 2 seats; many were out grown, not the first choice, or simply not comfortable enough for the average driver… So many were starting to spit CEL’s and even worse IMA lights on the dash, showing that the “Integrated Motor Assist” Hybrid system was failing or had failed. Usually that might make most modern cars Un-usable, but Honda had built the first Generation Insights in a special “over engineered way”. Since Honda still believes that internal combustion engines can still be pushed further for efficiency, the IMA is mostly seperate from the Engine, It merely boosts the Engine, much like KERS in F1. Back then, hybrids werent so integrated as they are now, So these cars could still be driven even with the Hybrid functions shut off; just like a normal car, with a seperate 12volt battery and starter! So with a $2000 off coupon, i was able to buy one (in)sight un-seen from Texas, and have it shipped back to Ohio, for roughly $2000 with about 170k on the odometer.
When i got it, the Clutch was slipping badly…. the clutch was soooo bad in fact, that you couldnt find the engagement point… you could pop the clutch in gear, and the car would NOT stall… (later i would learn that it was even slipping in 5th gear)
but driving the car, you could feel how good the chassis was, it cornered without chassis flex and stable, with even more rigidity than my s2000!!
but besides a new clutch, i had far more plans for this car, ever since i had see one with a kswap keeping up with a corvette; i knew this was indeed my next car.
