K24 2001 Honda Insight. The jack of all trades.

Hey everyone. This is going to be my build thread for my 2001 Silver Insight. I plan to modify almost every aspect of the car in search of the ultimate Insight Cruiser/Track Toy.

The goal of this project are as follows;

• 12.50 1/4 mile times
• 50-55 MPG on highway trips
• 1G skid pad handling on street tires (RS-3, StarSpecs, Rivels)
• Long distance driving in comfort
• Well integrated Infotainment center
• A/C, Heat, ABS, Power steering are all required.

With those ever lofty goals in mind....Please don't laugh at me, Haha. Here are the parts I have already acquired and some I plan to acquire in order to meet these goals.

Engine:

• K24A2 out of a TSX
• Skunk2 ProSeries Intake
• 50 degree VTC Actuator
• K-tuned Swap Header
• Custom 2.5in exhaust
• Aftermarket Cruise Control
• Kpro V4 Ecu
• WireWox Custom Engine Harness
• Innovate Engine Mounts

Transmission:

• K20 RSX transmission
• Custom hardened gear set
• Carbon syncros
• Stock 06-11 Civic Si LSD
• TSX longer 6th gear
• Custom 3.4 Final Drive
• Custom modified cases for strength

Suspension:

• Custom Fortune Auto front Coilovers with special valving
• 4K swift springs
• Custom front camber plates
• Custom swift Rear springs
• GAZ rear shocks
• Modifed front control arms to accept 02-05 Civic Si ball joint
• Custom rear sway bar
• Custom front sway bar and mounts

Brakes:

• 02-05 Civic Si front calipers
• Slotted Rotors
• Bosch High Performance Pads

Interior:

• S2000 seats on custom rails
• S2000 Steering wheel
• S2000 gauge cluster
• Custom Infotainment center (Tablet integration)
• Window tint primarily for UV protection
• Custom rear interior paneling to fill battery hole
• 500 Watt amp
• 8 Infinity Speaker Sound System
• Battery Relocation to rear
• HID Retrofit (not really interior but whatever)

Wheels and Tires: - Kosei K1 15X7 wheels - 200 TW tire, Undecided.

These are my plans so far. I would say that I am about 40% of the way through this project as of right now. I have most of the parts on hand and am gathering more and more each day. I just want a great cruising car that will also get great gas mileage. I want it to be at home on the street as it is on the track. I know this is a lofty goal but I think I have the parts and the know how to do it. Even if I don't quite make it there I will still have one fun Insight to mess around in.

Stay Tuned.....

I really wanted to do this or something like it to my Insight but now it lives in NY and I drive a Fiesta, oh well. Look forward to this.

1) Awesome. How much of this is plug and play kits, and how much requires custom fab?

2) What in the unholy hell do you need 8 speakers for in an Insight?

I am watching. Rooting for you to hit your goals.

And pictures. Lots of them.

ProDarwin wrote: 1) Awesome. How much of this is plug and play kits, and how much requires custom fab? 2) What in the unholy hell do you need 8 speakers for in an Insight?

ProDarwin- People have completed the swap with off the shelf mounts but it is not a kit type swap. Wiring, Axles,Cooling,Exhaust,Suspension all end up custom. I went a little further as I didn't like the mounts so all pretty much custom.

No 8 speakers aren't necessary, Haha. Its not that impressive, just 4 middies and 4 tweeters.

Pics! This will be such an obnoxious sleeper...

Here is what she looked like when I got her. She had a bumper and headlights but those quickly came off to make room for what was going to happen next. Yes my garage was a mess. I am working on that as well, haha.

I started by taking the everything in the rear including the IMA battery. The Previous owner was kind enough to leave me all this stuff in the rear compartment. Looks at there are some brass looking things back there....

Got the foam out and started to remove the battery and converter. All of these was pretty easy. Stripped it down until I had a clean rear section. So much room for activities.

Wow, I have a lot of questions about the previous owner of your Honda, and I don't think I want any of them answered.

Was the IMA battery already acting up?

I have 2 Insights and have to say.. if this was easy or cheap, i'd do it.

Itll definitely be interesting to follow along with this.

ssswitch wrote: Wow, I have a lot of questions about the previous owner of your Honda, and I don't think I want any of them answered.

Yeah he had 9mm bullets back here with a bunch of screws. That was an exciting find.

Vigo wrote: Was the IMA battery already acting up? I have 2 Insights and have to say.. if this was easy or cheap, i'd do it. Itll definitely be interesting to follow along with this.

It was acting up a little but I have a grid charger so I deep cycled the battery before I pulled it so it was in decent working condition. I would not say this swap has been easy or cheap. Haha. That may come back to my high goals I am trying to reach.

In reply to proawemike:

This is gonna be great!!! Difficult, but great.

Good luck with it.

Wow. I've always wanted to do this swap myself.

Just bringing an insight to a racelegal drag night or autocross would be priceless

Tremendous!

Next I wanted to tackle getting the engine removed. Right here you have 1.0L of 3 cylinder fury. 63hp on tap waiting for you to unleash the excitement.......

It comes out pretty normal except for the power cables running to the rear for the IMA system.

Normal looking Insight running gear and....

Bam... Its out.

I have a bunch of parts if anyone needs anything from an Insight.

Actually I could use some stuff you pull out. Ill be in touch.

Looks fun so far.

This is awesome! Moar pics!

You know what’s annoying about an Aluminum car.... The magnetic tray won’t stick to anything.

What was the big square tubing thing that looked like a strut tower brace?

FUN! I want to see if you can meet your goals.

Same concept, only slightly different ...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/worlds-only-diesel-honda-insight-10005.html

VW 1.2 liter TDI 3 cylinder

What was the big square tubing thing that looked like a strut tower brace?

A strut tower brace. It also forms the 12v battery tray.

How that all of the running gear is out I will start by showing what I did with the suspension.

Someone who owned it before me slammed the poor Insight. When I got to the front suspension this is what I found. They had cut the springs and zip tied everything together. As you could guess the car never touched the springs, it just rode on the bump stops front and rear. I drove this car 5 hours home and my back hurt for a week. I hate hellaflush kids. haha.