Can you imagining seeing a guy in Walmart parking lot string-starting his Honda car, dropping the hood, and driving off? Can you set up a video of people reacting to your engine starts?
Around here, I'm surprised I haven't seen that yet. I did see an ancient van with Minnesota plate last year with an add on air conditioner. The air conditioner was hanging from the back door window (the appropriate duct tape to fill the voids). The generator to run it was just below on a luggage rack mounted in the Reese hitch pocket. Nicely self contained. I was going to ask the owner about the set up, but he and his lady friend didn't appear to be the types that would greet questions with much humor.
so it gets gas mileage like an old 3 cylinder Geo Metro with a 5 speed transmission, and 4x more gutless... I'd call it a success, not trying to be sarcastic or trolling with that, when it breaks down you can replace the engine for less than the price of a car battery!
Well, seeing as Caddy was running an 8.3(?)L, 500 cu in V8 in the 70s...yes, a sub-3L V6 (Really?!) is positively puny. P.S. economy doesn't scale by displacement, ESPECIALLY if you include forced induction. Semi trucks are efficient for their size, and they get their efficiency by running MASSIVE engines at low RPM and minimizing internal frictional losses.
This CTS was available with a 6.0 liter V8 I believe. I believe in the later versions there was even a 6.2 l supercharged V8. Basically the Corvette engine. In a four-door luxury sedan. They were pretty badass. And surprisingly even with that big V8 they were reasonably fuel efficient on the highway if you kept your foot out of it and the speed under 70. My friend had a ZO6 Corvette we used to get close to 30 miles per gallon in it. you want to keep in mind that miles per gallon in the US is different than miles per gallon in the UK because our gallon is about 20% smaller than the one in the UK.
@@ninjamaster3453 The good (relatively speaking) new ones don't let any fuel flow until you brace it against the lip and push a lever thing. Works pretty well if there's enough clearance. The only other good modern ones I've seen are Eagle Safety Cans. Big ass handle you squeeze to open a huge spot that pours into a detachable funnel.
I don't think the Honda was going fast enough to generate turbulent airflow. At laminar flow speeds there is no "drift pocket" no difference between stacked up vs spaced out.
Mileage was not bad but it's interesting that the factory 4 cylinder engine with close to 100 horsepower got the same gas mileage as this setup. Of course you had the hybrid system to help you. But there were Honda crx's that weigh about the same as this insight back in the early '90s that we're getting into the mid 50 miles per gallon with just naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engines. the problem is this engine is running at near full throttle which is not really optimal for efficiency. You will probably end up doing better with a larger displacement engine that would allow you to cruise at about 50% -75% throttle.
Actually, the factory engine was a 3 cylinder, and it only has 72hp. And no, it doesn't get the same mileage as this - I own a manual 2002, and average around 65mpg, though some people can get as much as 75 in a stock car depending on environment and driving conditions. Having said that, I love this project and it's awesome to see the first gen insights getting some exposure, even if that means swapping out the engine :)
@@Demdere Your right.. about the 3cly. Found that out later. My point was the efficiency of the stock much larger , much more powerful engine was actually more efficient. Though it would be less without the IMA hybrid assist part. Loved the insight.. test drove one when they were new.. was great. Think they were about the same price as a civic at the time.
@@jtto6364 In older cars yes.. anything newer 90's forward not as much. Port fuel injection and catalytic converters took care of most of that. The old air injection stuff was terrible. But new cars have less stuff. Cats, EGR, and port and direct injection make stuff pretty clean to begin with. That simple carb setup on the predator is not nearly as efficient as any new engine, Would be interesting to see him mod the engines.. you can buy aftermarket fuel injection setups.. for stuff like this. Would be cool to see him test a bunch of different stuff and see what effect bit has.
So theCRX hf weighed in at 2100 pounds from the factory. HF stood for high fuel and they did get into the 50s. Honda didn’t make any lighter cars than that. I had a 91 dx 5sp and would get 42-45 mpg on the regular it was all stock and had 300,000 miles on it. Also this car has had the hybrid system removed and that is a ton of weight. I would love to purchase this shell when he is finished with it. I don’t know why but I always loved these cars
indeed these engines are small but not very efficient, not much is different to a pre w2 briggs engine, efficiency of car engines has come a long way to provide the power they do for the mpg
The $99 predator engine should be roughly 20% fuel economy lost approx just being a carburetor engine compared to an EFI engine. I think he needs to try a small EFI engine and try to beat that 62mpg! Lots of small tractors have 20-25hp EFI engines so there should be something that could be attainable. Of course EFI engines cost more though.
At 9.5 HP you could put a Japanese 125cc engine instead. It produce around 9.2 HP without modification, it'll be lighter and more fuel efficient plus a lot more reliable
You know that 1st gen Insight is actually quite a rarity. You might consider putting it back together after the project is done. They have a small following and since only about 17k of them were made they're hard to get.
Cadillac was only the gold standard during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Cadillacs after that were horrible. The Germans absolutely destroyed Cadillac. The only reason Cadillac is even around today is because of the popularity of the Escalade, it was what saved them and is still saving them today. No one gets anything else besides the Escalade, that’s it. Even then the Escalade isn’t that good compared to German cars. That’s not to say Cadillac never made fun cars, they did, the ctsv was very good but it didn’t sell that much. It’s safe to say their days of the golden standard are long gone.
Yeah, I was just having some fun with the Cadillac brand.. The only reason I own that Caddy is because of the manual transmission, otherwise that car is a POS.
Always amazes me what passes as street legal in the US. I have a Jeep and of course did a little something to it. Perfectly illegal in all of Europe, over here it's not even scratching the surface. Well, no surprise the little engine/light car combination is more fuel efficient. American cars are not exactly particularly fuel efficient and there's no need for that since gas is so cheap. I make around 14 mpg - not bad for wheels that weigh 90lbs each, but I also geared the crap out of it. I don't know what my top speed is for that "little" 3.6l V6 engine, but I bet it's no more than 80 downhill with pushing. I rarely exceed 65, usually more like 45 or 50 - open vehicles are just no fun at higher speeds.
Great video series! We know that carburetors are bad for fuel economy especially if they are not adjusted just right. 56MPG is great but you should see if there is an EFI kit for it or even better find a used small tractor FS730V-EFI engine or something similar that is about 25 horse power with EFI and you should have better hill performance and fuel economy.
Hi Doug, Unfortunately I did not document any of the actual build information, however when we switch to the 420 cc engine in a future episode there will be a full explanation how everything works and how it is put together. Stay tuned!
It seems that there's a threshold where fuel economy can't get much better, and you're just losing power. Looking forward to seeing the bigger 1cyl engine's performance/numbers.
People are starting to get tired of the over engineered, hideous, expensive, lack luster, cars of today so people are starting to build their own out of pieces of other cars and other machinery. My Jeep is almost all homemade except the body tub and the engine. Transmission, brakes, seats, wiring, steering wheel, brakes, exhaust, and much more are all from other sources and other vehicles not a jeep. I just can not stomach driving anything made in the last fifteen years, especially at the price the automotive companies demand. My improvised jeep will be running for decades to come. I also have another Jeep Wrangler I have had since 1996 with 415,000 miles on it. I hate modern cars. Maybe a predator engine in a junked Fiat, Mini Cooper, Smartcar, an old mini truck like a Ford Ranger, or something like that may be in my future. It will be fun.
In some parts of the World MpG doesn't mean alot. Some people prefer L/100km... I still don't get the fuel consumption of the go-kart Toyota Prius thing.. 😂
HEY YOU SPILLED 4 DROPS.....HOW COULD YOU!😆😅🤣😂😆 If only I could show people how much gas a iowa municipal golf course just throws on the ground out back because it was 2 month old. It's is not liters but more like GALLONS.
Awesome Videos!!! With today's technology you can probably use the current engine to charge a battery and run hybrid that car(different/better than the original hybrid). Best regards
Once had Ford Pinto with old worn out 2300 ( about a 1972 ) and it was so weak it probably had about 20 hp. You had to pet the dashboard to get up to speed. Probably a lot like driving your Honda. Then in 2010 I had Ford Escort wagon, close to same size, with 1800 or 1900 motor and 200,000 miles rated at 90hp. and it was fast as hell. What a difference 20 years makes.
How well would the Honda run with a ram air intake? How about A/C? I bought a new Yugo in 1987. Yugo means you go back to the shop once a week in the first 5 weeks of ownership. (13 different problems) Anyway, my Yugo had a 1.1 liter engine not much bigger than your Predator, at least it acted the same but you beat the Yugo by 4 MPG. It had A/C but it cost me a $436.00 clutch. In the summer in flat land Florida, you can't have a car without A/C. My first car in 1974 was a 1968 Chevy Bel Aire with NO air. I swore never again. The Yugo's engine was so underpowered that to take off on a green light with the air on, you had to slip the crap out of the clutch or stall the engine. Drive or be cool was an either / or proposition. After 20K miles, it drove like a Model T with a cone clutch. You could make milkshakes on takeoff. The dealer where I bought it stopped selling / servicing Yugo at this point because the exporter quit paying for it. I found an Oldsmobile dealer in St. Petersburg that still serviced them. No transmission shop in 4 counties would touch it. The dealer said that the pressure plate was the size of a tea cup saucer and they had to send it out to a machine shop to be surface ground as it wouldn't fit their lathe for resurfacing which is what it sorely needed. Another car for my "never again" list.
1986 Honda CRX HF got 42mpg city and 51mpg per gallon. 35 years later and we are trying to beat those numbers. Meanwhile we have super cars that crush numbers above 200 mph records like every year.
Try this in a Berkeley. It only weighs about 600 lbs. Although the stock engine didn't perform much better than this Honda. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-deL1Si9REjo.html
I would be interested in doing the same experiment with the supercharged 420 predator or a 670 predator (supercharged or not) engine. To see how it would compare to a 60HP Suzuki Samurai.
You should try getting her to 65 mph, then use the stock gas tank and have the ultimate high milage daily driver. Probably be pretty useful. Fully modded i bet a predator with the full 30-ish horsepower could do 65-70.
I have a roller cb750 honda motorcycle. I would love to see how you repower with a that s.. tock engine or a 420 . A 750 çc 4 cylinder honda weighs quite a bit. My first attempt might just be with a lawnmower seat tilt plate and direct belt drive, although a little cvt go kart drive might be much better..
It takes approximately 1 gallon of gas per 10 hp per hour for gas engines, and about .5 gallon per 10 hp diesels in boats running in their optimal torque band. It must be similar in hillbilly cars? My friend with the 10 hp diesel Geo metro was getting in the mid 90’s in somewhat hilly Oregon.
I bet I am too late for suggestions but... What if you put back in original fuel tank (or custom made way bigher one) and... go roadtrip? If its realy road legal in US (the hell it wouldnt in EU). My point is that we could see how far it can drive
I can tell your lawnmower man same thing here in San Antonio Texas did similar work on other things boat aircraft you name it translated riding lawn mowers 9 horsepower blah blah blah I don't have a nice to shop as you do though keep up the good work thanks for the mile per gallons checkout have a nice day I don't touch anybody it's a try to shake hands just start coughing they back away that's what I do
What if you made your car a hybrid with an electric assist motor to get it moving and then switch off after you get car close to max speed? Do you think it would work?
Maybe you should try and add a turbo and intercooler ( if you haven't done so already) and see how it improves or reduces the fuel economy! I'm sure there must be off the shelf solutions for that?
Love the videos! I want to see what the 420cc will do and the parts you can put on them. A 2014 toyota camry xle hybrid will get 50mpg at like 45mph. You also get the cool "haahhh " breath sound from the electric motor.
@@garethbaus5471 it made a big difference how to drive the car / behind a lorry with 56mph i was always between 94-117mpg (2,0 - 2,5 L/100km) on a flat motorway (on my daily way to work "there and back" about 130Miles) thats not fast i know ... but my overall consumption was about 73mpg (3,2L/100km) (think this could not be reseted) so it was from new car as long as i had it / i was 2nd owner and got it down from 69mpg (3,4L/100km) overall cons. in a couple of 1000 KMs / Miles
I didn't know anyone bought that base engine CTS, even more so with a manual. When I bought my CTS the dealership didn't even have any base models, they all had the 255 HP version, which still seemed a bit underpowered to me. The 08 CTS bumped that to 305 HP I think, that was a nice boost.
I used to be an automotive test technician. There really isn't such a thing as 'pure gasoline.' All gasoline is a blend, including naptha and all kinds of aromatic hydrocarbons, plus a whole suite of additives chosen by the blending company. Not trying to be pedantic, but just saying that when you say non-ethanol gas is pure gasoline, that's not particularly meaningful. Gas from two different company pumps will be different, and gas from the same pump in various weeks or months can be surprisingly different. Not meaningful for most things, but when you're at the level of measurement that you are doing, it can be significant.
@@robotcantina8957 Drove my old man's once. Made me sleepy and ran red light. Literally happened after like ten min. Manuals only, as long as they exist
Actually, if Top Gear rings a bell, they did a mpg test between a Prius and a BMW. The Prius went down to 19 mpg. The trick was of course that they performed the test at 90mph, which is the top speed for a Prius and like 4th gear for the BMW. If you rev a small engine to max it's less fuel efficient than a large engine pretty much idling. It's simple physics really and not a fair comparison. I would venture to guess that this was also a full throttle test and you could probably get a lot better mileage by going only 35.
@@islandfd3s Which to be honest is not that great for a hybrid, but then it's a first generation vehicle - I guess they're better today. A BMW 420d gets 56mpg at over 140mph. I rented one of those on my last visit to family and going 220km/h (about 136mph) it gave me just over 40mpg with the top down (it was a convertible). That I thought was impressive for a conventional car. My car gets about 12mpg with the top down - but then, one of my tires weighs 90 lbs and the aerodynamics are more like a box in a hurricane., so 12 mpg is reasonable for the fun factor.
@@uweschroeder Keep in mind, in that Top Gear challenge, they compared a gasoline (petrol) Prius to a diesel BMW. Diesel has a much higher BTU content per gallon than gasoline, so the diesel will always get better mileage than a gasoline engine of similar displacement in the same car. Had they used a gasoline powered BMW, the Prius would have indeed gotten better mileage. Gasoline engines are actually more efficient under heavy loads, than at light loads, because of pumping losses caused by throttling. Also, this small engine has fixed ignition timing. If the timing advanced based on RPM and load, it would do even better. It would do better yet, if it had an O2 sensor, to control fuel/air mixture. For a $100.00 engine out of the box, it did extremely well!!
@@vincentrobinette1507 I know the top gear "challenge" was designed to make a negative point about the Prius. If you saw the episodes about the Prius they were, while utterly hilarious, not very factual. I would bet they did that challenge several times with different vehicles until they found a constellation that yielded the intended result.
