What pad/compound combination did you use? That looks great!
What pad/compound combination did you use? That looks great!
In reply to Gimp:
It looks like a maroon Meguiar's pad (cutting pad), and Ultra Cut Compound. Aggressive combination, but definitely necessary in this situation. You'd want to follow up with a milder polishing compound on a yellow pad to remove any marring left by the first round of buffing.
In reply to thewheelman:
This is exactly the combination. I actually need to go over it 3-4 times with the cutting compound to get the majority of the fading off. I'm trying to be as slow and gentle as possible considering the compound, but the plain polishing compound doesn't even touch it.
brad131a4 wrote: Other than a Tesla which I don't want to afford. These little guy's are the only Hybrid I'd even think to buy. All the new ones are way overpriced for what you get. Even if you do get a rebate on your taxes big whoop you only see about 10% of that back in cash. Is the bolt pattern 4x100?
Does anyone still get rebates on their taxes for buying hybrids or is it just all electric?
If our Prius C had a stick , it would probably be my daily instead of my wifes. I think if Honda released another small commuter only version of this car with a manual, it would do well. THEN put a 220 hp motor in the CR-Z without a hybrid drivetrain.
I think there has been a major engineering philosophy shift with hybrids that means you probably won't see another manual transmission. The Insight is built with a teeny tiny gas engine that runs super efficiently at cruise and it uses electric power for a little extra acceleration when needed. All of the current hybrids are pretty much battery powered cars with a gas engine to extend range. With batteries getting better and more, or most, people wanting to plug in their car instead of generating all of the forward momentum with gas I don't see anyone just using electric for additional thrust any more. I could be wrong as the Porsche 918 certainly does a good job integrating super powerful gas with extra electric boost, but I doubt it. I think the manual Insight (or the even more rare manual Civic hybrid) is going to be an oddity in the transition from gas to electric cars.
I saw an old Civic hybrid for sale in town today. Do they use a similar system?
The first generation Civic hybrid has a bigger 1.3 liter engine but (I'm 99% certain) it uses the same electric motor and controller. I know it uses the same 144V battery.
mazdeuce wrote: The first generation Civic hybrid has a bigger 1.3 liter engine but (I'm 99% certain) it uses the same electric motor and controller. I know it uses the same 144V battery.
Yeah, the IMA system is about the same as the one in the Insight. Everything is packaged a bit differently, so I don't think there is much interchange.
It's an extremely similar system but not really 'the same'. All the stuff in the back of the civic is packaged differently although the 'cell-stick' system is so close that the sticks themselves interchange into the older Insight battery case.
To me, where it gets interesting is the early J30 Accord Hybrids. I waffle on getting one, but it seems like all the early Honda IMA stuff is hacked enough that you could do stuff like +40% electric power on top of a J35 swap and eventually end up with a Honda Hybrid way faster than my Lexus Hybrid for <50% of the money. Not that i don't still love insights!
It's a bit soggy again, but I have a covered work space!
Cutting compound wasn't quite cutting it (Ha!) so I pulled out a clay bar and went over the whole car. The change was dramatic. Then I went back over everything with 2-5 passes with cutting compound, 2-3 passes with
polishing compound, and then a coat of wax. I still need to chase some nooks and crannies and wax the door jambs and treat the rubber and plastic a couple of times a day for two weeks and finish cleaning the interior, but I'm increasingly happy with how the car looks.
99% of people will just look at it and see the crappy hood repaint and the dings and scrapes, but I see a car that was brought back to acceptable condition.
There was a weird two layer visor tint on the windshield that peeling so I pulled it off. It looks better.
Man, you are patient with all of those polishing passes. I'd throw in the towel (no pun) after 2. 
You probably already have, but be sure to read up on the suspension changes that Julian Edgar (autospeed.com) made to his Insight. I have the matiz rear springs and Gaz dampers. They make a difference but I'm really hoping that increasing the front spring rate helps as much as advertised. I can't imagine rallyx-ing one of these with the stock spring rates.
I'm sorting out suspension options in my head. If the car rallycrosses it will be more of a 'teaching my 13 year old to drive a stick while on a RX course' than really hammering it.
I'm making a few purchases that don't make a lot of sense in terms of making the car work, but make me like the car a LOT more. I spent $20 on a fuse box cover because it was driving me insane to open the hood and see fuses just blowing in the breeze.
An absurd amount of time is being spent getting things properly clean underhood. More on that after a few other parts come in.
Two kinds of car guys, those that tolerate bad hatch/hood struts, and those that think the $15-50 to fix them is worth it. I have moved to the replace them camp and now can't stand a hatch that wants to fall on my head.
The Insight did come with a calibrated umbrella which is classier than the usual calibrated stick.
But $28 from Rock Auto and I'm happy and don't have to worry about any of the Deucelings sustaining head injuries while retrieving their school bags from the back.
Terrible picture, but lights! Yay! I think there is a backlight for the tach that's not working but that's the only one and light from the rest bleeds over. At least all the warning lights work.
Interior is back together. I just have to pull the passenger door panel, clean it and make sure all of the handle/lock rods made it through my slim Jim episode and I'm done with the inside.
mazdeuce wrote: I like cleaning cars and bringing them back from the brink of being scrapped.
I love to bring them back from the brink, but am totally unable to wash or clean a car during the typical 10 years that I keep it. I have been known to paint a car because the option was to wash it.
This is a couple of small things away from being the cleanest car I own. If I put this much energy into my 'good' cars they'd look like trailer queens.
You're probably channeling your enthusiasm for your child through your favorite hobby and coming up with more than the sum of the parts. Which is both a compliment to your parenting spirit and a slight jab to the car i sold you. I've seen your other cars and think your opinion is skewed!
Maybe i just feel bad about how mismatched (and missing?) i left all the bolts in the battery compartment. 
This is really making me want one of these while they're still at the appropriate price/condition/useful life remaining point. They're all about 4-5 grand in my area though, and that seems a little high.
Not trying to add fuel to the fire, oh who am I kidding, yes I am!
crankwalk wrote:brad131a4 wrote: Other than a Tesla which I don't want to afford. These little guy's are the only Hybrid I'd even think to buy. All the new ones are way overpriced for what you get. Even if you do get a rebate on your taxes big whoop you only see about 10% of that back in cash. Is the bolt pattern 4x100?Does anyone still get rebates on their taxes for buying hybrids or is it just all electric? If our Prius C had a stick , it would probably be my daily instead of my wifes. I think if Honda released another small commuter only version of this car with a manual, it would do well. THEN put a 220 hp motor in the CR-Z without a hybrid drivetrain.
I'm not saying the CR-Z has understeer, but I hope you have the car pointed in the direction you're headed before you do that engine swap. It's one of the few recent cars I've been in with no compass, and after autocrossing it, I know why.
In reply to Vigo:
The battery compartment is the most sorted part of the car. You will be blown away by how well it cleaned up.
Petrolburner wrote: This is really making me want one of these while they're still at the appropriate price/condition/useful life remaining point. They're all about 4-5 grand in my area though, and that seems a little high.
My rallycross friend who had one sold it in less than 24 hours for $3500. It was lower mileage than mine but the interior was rougher. They seem to trade for $3-5k as long as the battery is working. The enthusiast community appears to be keeping prices up on them, which seems kind of weird with gas cheap again, but who knows. I kind of want to get a beater first gen Prius now and do a battle of the old eco cars.
Slight threadjack. Duece, you had asked a long time ago if I could do a walk through on wiring, so you can pick up tips and tricks for fergus. Keep an eye on the duster thread, as I'm going full bore on it.
You'll need to log in to post.
