- Honda Car Owner's Manual

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67
ADVANCEDGASOLINEENGINE
TheInsight'sinternalcombustionengineisanin-linethree-cylinderwithadisplacementof995cc.Its
designincludescomprehensiveweight-reducingandfriction-reducingfeatureswhichensurefuel-efficient,
environmentally-friendly operation. The engine employs a VTEC mechanism which maximizes running
performancebyoptimizingthevalvetimingandliftatallenginespeeds.
Veryprecisecontroloverfuelinjection,astrongair-fuelswirlcreatedinthecombustionchamber,a
new linear air-fuel sensor and lean-burn NOx catalyst allows the use of stratified-charge lean burn
combustiontechnology.TheInsight'senginewilloperateonair-fuelratiosaslowas22:1,meaningthatthe
amountoffueldrawnintotheenginecanbereducedtomuchlowerthanthatofatypical1.0litergasoline
enginewhichoperatesat14.7:1.Thishappensunderlightloadconditions,whichwilloftenincludecruising
asfastashighwayspeeds.
Stratified-chargecombustionmeansthattheair-fuelratioisn'tequalthroughoutthecylinder.Instead,
precisecontroloverfuelinjectionallowsagreaterconcentrationoffuelclosertothesparkplug,further
improvingcombustionefficiency.
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NewTransmissionDesign
Hondaengineersdesignedacompletelynew5-speedmanualtransmissionfortheInsight.Liketherest
oftheInsight,itsnewtransmissionisdesignedtobeaslightweightandascompactaspossible,andissized
tothepowerrequirementsofthe IMAsystem.The newtransmissionweighsjust91poundsandis9.25
poundslighterandalmostahalfaninchshorterthanthecurrentCivicmanualtransmission.
Inorder to minimizepower losswithinthetransmission,thegearshavebeencarefullymachinedto
reduce rotational mass. The transmission's lubricating system has also been redesigned to provide more
efficientlubricationwithasmalleroilcapacity;therebysavingadditionalweightandsize.
Thetransmission'sshiftlinkageoperatessmoothly,withminimaleffort,thankstotheuseofshortened
synchronizersleevesandaredesignedreverse-gearmechanism.Aneutralswitchbuiltintothetransmission
tellstheIMAidle-stopfeaturewhenthetransmissionisinneutral.
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