Turboing my Insight

In reply to 1988RedT2:

In order to make that happen, I would need to greatly increase the amount of juice I can haul around. It doesn't take that much hard driving to drain the battery completely. There are people who have done just that with good luck, if I remember right.

kb58 wrote: I have no idea what that's worth but it's heavy.

The battery packs weigh 67lbs with the cooling fan.

Swank Force One wrote: In reply to Vigo: Promise me you'll remember that post you just made next time i'm on a crusade against people who call the S2000 and RX8 totally gutless and undrivable in normal traffic, and join the good fight.

Yeah! shakes fist

Take out the existing drivetrain - that's got to be worth $$$$

Nobody wants them because they never break. Same reason Prius engines are so cheap.

Hot rodding the electrics is possible but very expensive because you have to have a VERY good condition pack, and preferably a BETTER than stock pack, and at that point you're talking thousands of dollars. The turbo setup is relatively cheap.

Thanks Vigo!

I have been looking at what tiny turbo to bring home and the new choice is a Garrett GT15. That seems to be in the $800 range. Little steep for my cheap ass. There are always the chinese copies of that turbo which come in at just below $200. Much better but I am afraid of running something like this on my daily. Last is the stock turbo on the Audi A2, VW Lupo, etc... These are around $500 and seem like a solid option even though information seems a bit scarce. It comes off a 1.2L Diesel so I think that sizing should be fairly good for a lower reving 3 cylinder 1.0l. Getting into the used market, the turbo to have seems to be one of the stock turbos off of a Volvo S80 T6 from the early T6. Some of the later ones have integrated exhaust manifold and housing. There is one of Ebay right now that comes with the oil hoses, down pipe, and intake pipes for $125 shipped.

I like the idea. I think I'd try to setup a MS as a fuel controller for some extra injectors. Let the OE ECU stay so that it plays nice with the electric motor and just have the MS add fuel when boost hits.

This looks like a viable option.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awh_mRqzbbY

I have some 34 lbs (I think) Ford injectors laying around that I can plumb into the intake tract right before the butterfly.

I vote K20 swap

I vote for the tiny turbo on a budget.

kb58 wrote: I wasn't kidding about the K20 mid-engine conversion. Take out the existing drivetrain - that's got to be worth $$$$, sell it, and it gives you money for the upgrade and knocks car weight down by what, 300 lbs? Next, remove and sell the battery pack (does it actually have one? I don't really know the car that well). I have no idea what that's worth but it's heavy. Now you're down to what, 1200 lbs?! Even a normally aspirated K20 would give you some crazy good power.

I can say from experience a bare Insight shell is so light that it can be carried around the shop by two skinny college kids, actually weighing less than the people carrying it. Everything is aluminum!

Petrolburner wrote: I vote for the tiny turbo on a budget.

Hey look I made a word bold!

Seems like a better deal than a motor swap.

I have one turbo from a 2.5L v6 masi biturbo for mine.

Just a thought but what about a K03/4 from the vw crowd, can be had for cheap and the insight might be able to push it....

Worth a shot.

I think that I like the Volvo T6 turbo, one of them that is. It is a TD03 which I can't find any specs. This makes me think that it must be frickin' tiny. Also good, there is one on ebay right now that comes with oil line, down pipe, and intake tubes for 125 shipped.

In reply to JtspellS:

How small are those things? I want something that has a nice low CFM rating.

Thoughts on E36 M3ty ebay turbos?

Td04s are tiny. I didnt even know td03s existed. They must be ridiculously small. I think it would probably work well on an Insight if it blows ~130hp of air in the stock T6 application.

Good to have some confirmation. I might snag it tomorrow. Nobody wants them and there are lots of T6 cars with blown transmissions. With a $125 turbo and Zombie's injector controller, I might get this done for less than $500. I already have an aux injector, the turbo has one of the oil lines and flanges and such. No plan for an intercooler at 5 psi. I do need to get an AFR gauge setup but the insight has a wideband stock.

Isn't the electric motor on the Insight sandwiched between the engine and trans? Would another electric motor fit? Two motors would drain (and regen recharge) the battery twice as fast but you wouldn't need to haul any more cells around to raise the voltage.

In reply to oldopelguy:

Its a big custom piece built into the engine, not some add on bellhousing adapter type thing you can easily stack up like that.

If you were to add electric power, I'd think you'd be better off adding it in the rear as it's own separate system with a separate battery.

Plenty of information on these out there, and I bet if you hang around vw or mazdaspeed forums you can find them for cheaper.

Welp, I just snagged the tiniest of turbos of ebay for CHEAP. It is claimed to be new, never installed and I got it for less than half of new from any site I found. Lets see if the seller lets it go. It didn't have a reserve and he has a pretty low rating so I am guessing an ebay noob.

Garrett GT1241

oldopelguy wrote: Two motors would drain (and regen recharge) the battery twice as fast but you wouldn't need to haul any more cells around to raise the voltage.

Often the power output and regen capabilities of the motors are limited by how quickly you can discharge and ,even more so, rechage the batteries. 2 motors does not necessarily mean double the power/regen.