Hi,
We just recently (March 17th) bought the second Insight to hit Hawaii. I'm in the military and will be getting out in Dec and moving back to Iowa. So, is there anything that I will need to be concerned about in the winter with my Insight? How does it handle in the snow and ice? Do you need an engine block heater?
[I asked Jon for his story and here's what he told me--InsightMan.]
Being military, Monday of last week (March 13th) I was on duty. Not much to do on duty other than watch CNN. I saw an ad for the Insight. The next day I started looking it up on the internet to see what it was all about. We found a link to the local dealership and saw that they had one. The next day we went down to test drive it after looking up reviews on Carpoint and a few other places. We took it up the biggest hill in the area with the AC on, and it was awesome!
That night we started filling out the paperwork for it. I traded in my gas chugging '91 Trans Am for it. I must say that 700 miles to a tank of gas is much better than 150. Mine and my wife's Insight is Silverstone Metallic number 415. As you can see we didn't look long, nor did we wait after we found it.
I have yet to see the other Insight on the island. I sort of feel like a celebrity, as everyone stares at us going by, and we have had people flag us down and ask about the car. The AC has done just fine so far in Econ mode with the fan set at the first or second notch. I'm sure it will be a different story in the middle of this summer though.
Here is the first picture of our Insight at Kolekole Pass. It's a nice little mountainy area on one of our military bases. This was taken on Sunday the 19th. I'll have more on my web page after I get it revamped. We just got married on the 5th, too, so I have to pretty much redo my page from scratch, cause everything is out of date now. :) Hope you like the shot.
Thanks,
Jon and Dana Berger
sardonyx @metallica.com
[note: remove anti-spam space before @ to use this address]
[Congratulations on your marriage! Life in Hawaii, a new bride, and a new Insight--man, you're living right.
What a coincidence that I just received a phone call from Ralph, an Insight owner on Oahu last night! He's enjoying his Insight, too. Hopefully, you will find each other for a Hawaiian Insight rally.
Even at 20 below zero F, I've never needed an engine block heater for any of the three other Honda's I've owned. It never got below 20 degrees after I bought my Insight, so I can't verify the Insight will start at lower temperatures. However, the Insight's 0W-20 oil is very thin so I believe it will help starting in cold weather.
In cold weather, the Insight uses its auxiliary starter motor for starting instead of the IMA motor. Have you experienced this in Hawaii? I'd expect not. After you get used to the smooth, instant starting provided by the IMA motor, the chug-chug-chug of the other starter seems so crude!
I was not impressed with the "snow" part of the "mud and snow" tires that come with the Insight. But then I'm comparing them to the 185/60x14 Michelin snow tires on my two CRX Si cars. I found some discontinued 165/65x14 Pirelli snow tires for my Insight that I will put on next winter. You wouldn't want to use any wider tires up front because they would throw more crud up on the body where it tucks in flush behind the front wheels for aerodynamic reasons.
Finally, if you wash your Insight by hand in the winter like I do, you'll want some good anti-chap protection, like Corn-Husker's lotion. What am I saying? I'm sure someone from Iowa would know all about Corn-Husker's lotion already ;^) --InsightMan.]