Dezoris | FR-S Build | Supercharged & More

[Anthony]

Why no more Exige?

[TouchMyHonda]

I'm glad you are local. Would love to pick you brain about things and compensate you with micro brews.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by TouchMyHonda

I'm glad you are local. Would love to pick you brain about things and compensate you with micro brews.

I am here.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Why no more Exige?

One trick pony. Rotted in garage 6 months out of the year, hard to work on, parts scarce/expensive, reliability, expensive to insure, and finally attracted too much attention.

[PineappleFriedRice]

How many miles did you get per tank on that insight?

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by PineappleFriedRice

How many miles did you get per tank on that insight?

Lifetime was 60MPG until the cars EGR, CAT, O2, Battery packs took a dump for the 3rd time.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Lifetime was 60MPG until the cars EGR, CAT, O2, Battery packs took a dump for the 3rd time.

Might be a dumb question but did you guys ever figure out why?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Top secret AWD conversion?

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by Frost

Might be a dumb question but did you guys ever figure out why?

Lean burn, amazing system but byproduct is heavy carbon buildup in EGR system and passages. Secondly it had an esoteric catalyst and wide band O2 sensor. The car was capable of running as high as a 26:1 AFR. The results were extreme heat on the cat. Lost efficiency after 70k miles.

As it lost efficiency the car would pull it out of lean burn faster to purge and cool the cat. Wideband O2 replaced 3x in 120k.

Injectors were also replaced twice as there were also a high part of efficiency and being able to basically run in an almost off condition most of the time. Spark plugs were also keyed based on the motor, much like the FRS DI injectors are keyed.

And finally the shit IMA system. The NIMH batteries were horrible, Had two packs swapped and mostly according to the hard core guys is because the cells would be out of balance. (140ish batteries all at different states of charge) Its not that the pack was bad it was just performing like shit.

So when the batteries were unbalanced the car would be force charging the pack which would constantly drain power from the 55HP motor and kill lean burn.

All of these things made for an annoying driving experience. Constant leech charging constant in and out of lean burn, killed MPG, made the car slower than it already was and was constantly surging.

After 80k the car went to shit. Before that I loved it and loved the manual trans.

Near the end I had direzza Z1 and tracked it just to be an asshole.

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Top secret AWD conversion?

It's a Subaru I thought it was already AWD, the dealer told me it was need to take it in now.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Near the end I had direzza Z1 and tracked it just to be an asshole.

Best reason I've ever heard.

You're the first person I've ever talked to that has/had one of these things. Was it a hassle dealing with the covered back wheels, or did the cover have some sort of quick release? And what the hell was the point of covering the wheels?! Aero?

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Best reason I've ever heard.

You're the first person I've ever talked to that has/had one of these things. Was it a hassle dealing with the covered back wheels, or did the cover have some sort of quick release? And what the hell was the point of covering the wheels?! Aero?

The actual track in the rear was closer together than the front so that the car followed the tear drop shape towards the back and the wheel covers allowed air to flow over smoothly. Considering the entire car was aluminum and plastic including frame for some odd reason the wheel covers were steel. And used steel fasteners that rusted. There were held in place by two bolts.

This car had a lot of production car firsts as well. The Insight, S2000 and NSX were all made in the same place using many shared technologies, last of the good Hondas. But at the end of the day it turned into a pile of shit after 100k. The 1900lbs curb weight could not save it.

[ayau]

Couldn't you run those Insights on gas engine only?

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by ayau

Couldn't you run those Insights on gas engine only?

IMA, electric generator sandwiched between motor and trans, also used to start motor (also has a 12v starter) Whole host of other programming things. Some people did custom setups called MIMA (manual integrated motor assist) to over ride how the ECU controls it. The cost and time to get rid of the IMA was not worth it to me.

[Dezoris]

OLD PHOTOS FROM VORTECH AUTOX TEST

[phenoyz]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

"Exige"
hard to work on, parts scarce/expensive, reliability

Really...