We now have 170 MIMA systems around the world. This page is your page. I offer to put up any photos and text that you would like and continue to update it as long as you would like. I can also set up this page as a blog where the last blog entry is always at the top of the page. We are a small group, so lets communicate about the MIMA system, and the future of the Insight.
The MIMA list in order of serial number. Prototypes: MIMA 001 Rick R----------------------(SC) MIMA 002 Yves----------------------(Canada) MIMA 003 Calpod----------------------(CA) MIMA 004 thermal pilot---------------(CA) MIMA 005 Highwater-------------------(OK) Hardwired: MIMA 006 LoNox 1---------------------(IL) MIMA 007 James O --------------------(TX) MIMA 008 JackMPG---------------------(FL) MIMA 009 JoeMultihuller--------------(CA) MIMA 010K Predrag---------------------(NY) MIMA 011 Tyler K---------------------(OH) MIMA 012 Jdep1-----------------------(PA) MIMA 013 Armin-----------------------(MA) MIMA 014K James(Reno)-----------------(NV) MIMA 015K Jsnable---------------------(CA) MIMA 016K Artie-----------------------(NY) MIMA 017 Alex------------------------(CA) MIMA 018K Nemystic--------------------(MA) MIMA 019K Johnsn----------------------(OR) MIMA 020K Chris (Fenrir)-------------(IN) MIMA 021K Tubesguy--------------------(MI) MIMA 022K Chisight--------------------(IL) MIMA 023K Andy G (HafnHaf)------------(VA) MIMA 024 Ian G (IamIan)--------------(RI) MIMA 025K Jerry O---------------------(VA) MIMA 026K Lester M--------------------(IN) MIMA 027 Paul A-----------------------(UK)(CVT) Pin replacement: MIMA 028 Miles G----------------------(ME) MIMA 029 Andy L-----------------------(IL) MIMA 030 Eric H-----------------------(NY) MIMA 031 Jarrod H---------------------(CA) MIMA 032 John F----(Lightfoot)--------(NY) MIMA 033 Jason H----------------------(IN) MIMA 034 Robert L --------------------(CA) MIMA 035 Mike R-----------------------(OR) MIMA 036 Peter P----------------------(UK) MIMA 037 Ken K------------------------(WI) MIMA 038K Scott R---------------------(CA) MIMA 039 Jay L------------------------(CA) MIMA 040 Chuck T----------------------(TX) MIMA 041K Geoffery R------------------(OH) MIMA 042 Robert B---------------------(CA) MIMA 043 Eric P-----------------------(WI) MIMA 044 Lew P------------------------(WA) MIMA 045 Ed Z-------------------------(MI) MIMA 046 John A--------------------(Australia) MIMA 047 Mark S-----------------------(ID) MIMA 048 Douglas G--------------------(CA) MIMA 049 Rebecca G--------------------(KY) MIMA 050 Dan C------------------------(CA) MIMA 051 Harry C--------------------(Canada) MIMA 052 Chris Y----------------------(MA) MIMA 053 Amin D-----------------------(CA)(CVT) MIMA 054 Erik S-----------------------(CO) MIMA 055 Dale H-----------------------(OH) MIMA 056 Blake B--------------------- (NC) MIMA 057K Carlton B-------------------(MI) MIMA 058K Wayne C---------------------(OH) Plug & Play: MIMA 059P Scott M---------------------(MI) MIMA 060P Roger C --------------------(UK) MIMA 061P Tim M ---------------------(CA) MIMA 062P Michael S ------------------(CA) MIMA 063P Joel B ---------------------(UK) MIMA 064P Mark W ---------------------(AL) MIMA 065P Tim B ----------------------(MO) MIMA 066P Eric Z ---------------------(CA) MIMA 067P Bill H ---------------------(WA) MIMA 068P Iain C ---------------------(CA) MIMA 069P Kirk H ---------------------(TX) MIMA 070P Ron H ----------------------(NY) MIMA 071P Ken E ----------------------(WA) MIMA 072P Robert V -------------------(OR) MIMA 073P Chris S --------------------(MN) MIMA 074P Kevin D --------------------(LA) MIMA 075P Todd P ---------------------(BC-Canada) MIMA 076P Eric M ---------------------(TX) MIMA 077P Lynn F ---------------------(NM) MIMA 078P Herman S -------------------(TX) MIMA 079P Chadwick O -----------------(SC) MIMA 080P Allert J ----------------(The Netherlands) MIMA 081P Patrick B ------------------(IL) MIMA 082P James E --------------------(OH) MIMA 083P Eric P ---------------------(WI) MIMA 084P Lowell L ------------------(BC) canada MIMA 085P John E----------------------(CA)was(CO) MIMA 086P Sean P----------------------(CA) MIMA 087P Charles M-------------------(CA) MIMA 088P Hunter S--------------------(MA) MIMA 089P Steven S--------------------(MA) MIMA 090P Gregory B-------------------(VA) MIMA 091P Michael S-------------------(OH) MIMA 092P Patrick M-------------------(AZ) MIMA 093P Robert F--------------------(TX) (CVT) MIMA 094P Hiroyuki H------------------(Japan)(CVT) MIMA 095P Paul Andrews second MIMA----(UK) MIMA 096P Mike E ---------------------(OR) MIMA 097P Joe G ----------------------(FL) MIMA 098P Tim B-----------------------(VA) MIMA 099P Ray H-----------------------(OH) MIMA 100P James M---------------------(WA) MIMA 101P Sarah C---------------------(TX) MIMA 102P Bill D ---------------------(GA) MIMA 103P Bruce T --------------------(NB Canada) CVT MIMA 104DIY Jim I --------------------(FL) MIMA 105P Patrick G ------------------(Qc Canada) MIMA 106C-L Jim M --------------------(WI) MIMA 107P Daniel T ---------------------(CA) MIMA 108P Jack D ---------------------(AR) MIMA 109P Isuzu R&D ------------------(Japan) MIMA 110P Art I ----------------------(HI) *MIMA 111-112DIY Toshikatsu A ---------(Japan) MIMA 113P Kenji I --------------------(Japan) MIMA 114P Thomas R -------------------(Switzerland) MIMA 115P Michael S-------------------(CA) MIMA 116P David T---------------------(NC) MIMA 117P Adam F----------------------(AZ) MIMA 118P Dan S-----------------------(ID) MIMA 119P David F---------------------(NJ) MIMA 120P Art W-----------------------(FL) MIMA 121P Bernd H-------------------(Switzerland CVT) MIMA 122P Rod A-----------------------(UK) MIMA 123P Lars K----------------------(TX) MIMA 124P Don A ----------------------(WA) MIMA 125P Gene V----------------------(CA) *MIMA 126DIY Tom F---------------------(NM) MIMA 127P Jivko A---------------------(NJ) MIMA 128P Bill P ---------------------(OR) *MIMA 129DIY Randall S ---------------(CA) MIMA 130P+ *131DIY Steve H------------(NY) MIMA 132P Mark B----------------------(Canada) MIMA 133DIY Matthew G-----------------(NY) MIMA 134P Andrew C -------------------(CA) MIMA 135P Gary M ---------------------(TN) MIMA 136P Steve M---------------------(KS) MIMA 137P John J----------------------(Denmark) MIMA 138P John F----------------------(VT) MIMA 139P Gilbert G ------------------(Qc Canada) MIMA 140P Joseph D--------------------(NV) MIMA 141P Aubrey G--------------------(CA) MIMA 142P Kazuya T--------------------(Japan) MIMA 143P Takayasu K------------------(Japan) MIMA 144P Jon W-----------------------(NV) MIMA 145P Linda H---------------------(ME) MIMA 146P Sean W----------------------(MN) MIMA 147P Andrew B--------------------(Australia) MIMA 148P Rex S-----------------------(AZ) MIMA 149P Rus C-----------------------(CT) MIMA 150P Sam S-----------------------(NM) MIMA 151P Brandon B-------------------(MN) MIMA 152P Andy L----------------------(UK) MIMA 153P Jeremy B--------------------(NC) MIMA 154P Anthony P-------------------(MO) MIMA 155P Mark O----------------------(IL) MIMA 156P Jay G-----------------------(OH) MIMA 157P George S--------------------(NY) MIMA 158P Graham F--------------------(CA) MIMA 159P Brian M---------------------(NH) MIMA 160P Robert M--------------------(ON Canada) MIMA 161P Luke C----------------------(TN) MIMA 162P Bobby B---------------------(NC) MIMA 163P Eli P-----------------------(NM) MIMA 164P Dustin S--------------------(IL) MIMA 165P Greg M----------------------(Qc Canada) MIMA 166P Bill N----------------------(VA) MIMA 167P Gabriel B-------------------(FL MIMA 168C-L Richard A-----------------(CA) MIMA 169 DIY David W------------------(NY) MIMA 170 DIY Robb H ------------------(MN) MIMA 171P Eli P ----------------------(NM) MIMA 172P Duane J --------------------(On Canada) MIMA 173P Mark K----------------------(UT) MIMA 174P Tim F ----------------------(NY) MIMA 175P Josh D----------------------(SC) MIMA 176P Sarah E---------------------(OR) MIMA 177P Mark S ---------------------(MA) MIMA 178P Trevor H--------------------(AZ) MIMA 179P Spence P--------------------(DE) MIMA 180P Greg R----------------------(NY) MIMA 181P Jim E-----------------------(VA) MIMA 182P Michael C-------------------(MN) MIMA 183P Denis L --------------------(CA) MIMA 184P Jim T ----------------------(CA) MIMA 185P Rich C----------------------(IL) MIMA 186P Bill B ---------------------(Ed Canada) MIMA 187P Matt L ---------------------(OR) MIMA 188P Dan C ----------------------(LA) MIMA 189P Alfred state ---------------(NY) MIMA 190P Gary G ---------------------(GA) MIMA 191P Russel C -------------------(CT) MIMA 192P Nathan B--------------------(UT) MIMA 193P Robert G -------------------(NY) MIMA 194P Bruce G --------------------(IN) MIMA 195P Ed M -----------------------(WI) MIMA 196P Paul M ---------------------(NH) MIMA 197P Jim B ----------------------(CA) MIMA 198P Patrick W-------------------(CA) MIMA 199P Alan C ---------------------(IA) MIMA 200p Ray H ----------------------(OH) MIMA 201p Dan D ----------------------(WA) MIMA 202p Jerry W --------------------(CA) MIMA 203p Gene V ---------------------(OR) MIMA 204p Mike K----------------------(MT) MIMA 205p Mark W----------------------(WI) MIMA 206p David H --------------------(VT) MIMA 207p Scott C---------------------(MN) MIMA 208p Joe C ----------------------(NJ) MIMA 209p Aram S ---------------------(OR) MIMA 210p Will L----------------------(CA) MIMA 211p Mark V----------------------(CA) MIMA 212p Mike C----------------------(LA) MIMA 213p Randal W--------------------(CO) MIMA 214p Steven C--------------------(Ontario Canada) MIMA 215p Joel P----------------------(NY) MIMA 216p Jeff J----------------------(IN) MIMA 217p Melvin N--------------------(MO) MIMA 218p Victor M--------------------(MD) MIMA 219p Douglas S-------------------(HI)
MIMA_L # 002 Tour de sol Road rally winner Hypermiler Brian H
Brian, Philip, and Mike
Brians MIMA system is a small MIMA_L board that he built, just in time to compete and win the Tour de sol Monty Carlo road rally. With only 3 days to practice, a recal in route, and the Berkshires make Brians 94MPG trip from Greenfield MA to Saratoga springs NY an amazing feat of hypermiling.
After 3.5 months with the MIMA modification, and about 4000 miles, I believe it's now safe to conclude that the MIMA mod. has enabled a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency, compared to the same season in previous years without this mod.
Excluding increased tire pressure, the other "passive", (but no less elegant) modifications have been temporarily disabled for the summer season, so this controlled experiment can for the most part, isolate the MIMA influence.
With regard to the emotional factor, the novelty still hasn't worn off. MIMA (and to a lesser extent PIMA) are interactive, and therefore downright engaging.
While it's not all that difficult with cooperative climate, terrain, and careful driving technique to achieve > 100 mpg in a stock Insight; in less than ideal conditions for high fuel economy, the MIMA modification isn't a panacea, and it doesn't change the laws of physics. Climate, weather, terrain, and driving technique remain major factors in ultimate fuel efficiency.
Traveling East/West through north central Massachusetts, the hills are very long and relentless, and the Insight battery pack capacity (with or without the MIMA modification) doesn't coordinate well with the terrain. Despite all my best efforts, it seems nearly impossible to exceed 80 mpg on most of that route, and I only exceed 80 mpg by "recovering" in the relatively short segment in the east where the hills aren't so long.
On a recent trip to Cape Cod, the FE was 100 mpg over the 150 mile distance, 90+ % highway, with the windows open. There were big hills over at least 70% of the route, but many of the hills weren't quite so long, and there were some segments where the battery pack SoC could be restored.
I don't believe there's any way to get even close to 100 mpg in an Insight on that very hilly route without the MIMA modification, traveling at legal speeds, and not drafting trucks or RV's in very close proximity.
MIMA 001 Hypermiler Rick R
Rick was the first to Install a MIMA_C system. Rick has been a consistent Hypermiler, and has a Lifetime 90.2MPG before MIMA at 120K miles. Unfortunately , he has changed jobs, just as he installed MIMA, and his commute will soon change drastically. It may be difficult to do a direct before and after comparison, but Rick has promised to try and get a tank's worth of comparative trips before his commute changes for good.
1. Wow! Being able to tap the IMA for full assist or regen is pretty impressive. Reminds me of the time I drove Willie's little Red Rocket and felt the turbo kick in. It definitely adds to the fun to drive factor. I used full regen on several hills instead of the brakes and it does a pretty good stopping job. The assist or regen response is immediate with no delay or lag. This mode of operation is called the MIMA on demand Mode. It allows temporary manual joystick control of Assist/Regeneration. This mode is activated by moving the joystick. After three seconds with no joystick activity (joystick back in the center), the system reverts back to standard Insight IMA mode, with background charging if needed. You can think of it as the manual override to the IMA logic. It allows you to do stuff like get full assist from the electric side even though you are not pressing the gas at all. In other words you are crusing along at 150 mpg in 5th gear and want to pass a car. No need to change the throttle position or downshift. Just hit the joystick and stay at 150 mpg and let the electric side provide the needed extra power. I think this is the mode I will use the most but only time will tell.
2. The next mode is MIMA Active Mode. Its essentially the same as the above allowing joystick control but the car does not return to the Insight IMA mode until you disable the Active MIMA mode using a push button switch. I can see using this mode when you don't want the parasitic background charging. I havn't really spent much time with this mode but intend to get some experience with it in the future.
3. The next mode is called PIMA (Programmable IMA) Mode. Its kind of like an electric cruise control based upon the MAP signal. Basically if the mpg reading falls below a threshold that you set the IMA kicks in to meet the demand instead of the engine. If the MAP signal goes above the point that you set then the Regen kicks in to charge the battery. Its amazing to see what this can do for fuel economy. Mike and I went out on a test run and got 120+ mpg for over 10 miles but note that we had too high of an assist point so the battery was not staying completely charged. I plan to experiment with various set points but so far have only used the really high ones. This really has a lot of potential when working with a cruise control. I have a Roseta cruise control and when using both,they complement each other beautifully. For instance when the car slows to the min speed set on the cruise control the cruise control will increase the throttle position causing the vacuum to drop. Normally this would continue until the engine provided enough power to maintain the speed set. However with MIMA-C the dropping vacuum triggers MIMA which reacts much quicker than the engine and causes the IMA to start providing the additional power needed to maintain speed. As the speed increases the cruise control reduces throttle pressure causing the vacuum to increase thus dropping the need for assist. In other words this is a cruise control that combines both the speed and mpg set points!!!!!! (First time I ever tried one of those smile faces.
Wow, I have been away for the last 2 weeks and it looks like this thread has grown a good deal. Anyway just wanted to pass along a new MIMA observation. First my last tank was 104.3 mpg. Quite a number for November. Anyway the bigest gain came from drafting. I followed a slow moving Previa van hauling a 22 ft boat. The van was only doing 50 or less most of the time and I used MIMA to follow the boat. MIMA allowed me to regen when I got too close or pick up speed rapidly to stay close. It worked great for fine tunning my speed. Interestingly enough I was doing the drafting on the way to my training course. One of the events in the course was driving at 1 to 6 inches clearance on all sides (Front, back, sides) of the vehicle. I wonder what my mpg would be if I applied this to Insight drafting. We also spent a lot of time raming and pitting vehicles. I asked about the size differential and the instructors insured me that even the Insight could take out a Surburban. Have fun, Rick
MIMA 002 Yves M
Yves was the first person to run the electric motor by MIMA control. He was the brave one that built up a rudimentary MIMA_L, and found that MIMA actually works. We all should be thankful to Yves, as I do not know if I would have been brave enough to do the mod to my car if not for his historic test.
"Here is the result AND IT IS GOOD, IT WORKS !! I have built the first MIMA version 0.1. It has a switch to either get the normal IMA control or the manual MIMA control " While enjoying the occasional challenge of hypermiling, Yves typical driving style is fast, like me. Mima increases performance as the electric drive can produce 14KW continuously instead of being limited to 7 KW after 10 seconds like the stock system. Like an electric turbo. Yves website with many cool modifications: Yves Website
MIMA # 003 Calpod
Calpods onder construction setup
I've had a chance to take the car for a drive this evening with MIMA, and What a difference, this is what I expected!
When you slow down and still in second gear, you just push on the stick and it feels like you downshifted, but it's much smoother, I even had the AC on and you can't even tell it's on.
It just pulls a lot stronger. Very Happy will keep you posted on mileage.
The last few days driving the Insight with MIMA has been a learning experience, when you're driving in the auto mode, you don't even have to downshift to pass, just push on the pedal lightly and the electric assist will do the rest, the only think I'd wish for is more battery capacity, all this week I've been playing with the controls, I want to get to know the system capabilities before I really start going for mileage, this morning on my way to work I averaged 96.1 mpg.
Another feature I really like is being able to turn off assist, I go up a 7% grade, and sometimes I deplete my battery on the way up, it usually happens when someone cuts me off, such when a truck changes lane to pass an even slower vehicle, but now i'm able to turn off assist, save my battery, and I can use it the rest of the way.
I'm still trying to see with is the best way to maximize mileage, I think by next week I'll be able to do 100+, remember, this is not a flat area, there are a lot of hills.
I may take a drive to San Diego next week and see how good mileage I get going south.
I'm still testing my unit, I'm having so much fun that I noticed now i'm driving a little faster, while still being able to maintain 75 to 83 mpg.
Due to the many posibilities you can set up IMA, it will take some time before I can come up with a set up to suit the terrain I drive in.
At first I had assist to start at 100 mpg, and regen at 140, but my battery level was lower than I'd like to see it, so I've been playing with the settings, now I wish I had a longer drive.
The best part is when you come up on traffic, you don't have to take your foot completely off the gas pedal, you just have to keep it at 140 mpg and it will start slowing you down, you want to have less assist, you can change that by moving the joystick, so you can change your set points as traffic conditions change.
The only thing I'd like to see is when you go to mode 2 (PIMA) that you don't have to press mode 1, as it can get confusing, while you still need to keep your eyes on the road, this is the only reason why it takes longer to find out what the settings that work best.
MIMA is well worth the price IMHO, hypermiling is important but, it's better that you enjoy the drive and do it safe.
I think that MIMA would be more beneficial for those people that can't seem to get good mileage than those in the 90's and above.
Once I get all my settings where I need them I have no doubt that I'll be able to be over 100 mpg a lot more often, this year I've only been three times over 100, that should change soon.
You can just leave your settings in PIMA, as long as you don't come to a speed lower than 19 mph it will stay there, you can jog you assist and regen level with the joystick not even taking your eyes off the road.
This is one of the features I like the best, you have total control of the battery, and it's at it's best in moderate traffic, say you are driving at 55 or 60 mph and traffic slows down, you don't even have to take your foot off the gas, you just lift a little and regen starts working to slow the car, if your battery level is low then you can change your assist setting, again just by moving the joystick once, on the other hand if you come up to traffic and you have a full battery, then you can change your assist a little higher to use more battery.
I have been also driving faster than before and still improving a little on my mileage, the biggest difference I've seen is on the way home in the afternoon, this used to be where I would take a big hit in mileage, specially when there was traffic.
To sum it up on PIMA settings for those that don't have it yet:
Press mode 2 button once, then mode 1 twice and you are in PIMA, it's that easy, then start enjoying your drive.
MIMA #004 Hypermiler thermal pilot Hi All,
I thought I would share my (MP)IMA expericences. Sorry I couldn't respond earlier, but my month vacation had ended, and work became all consuming.
Calpod helped me with the phase 1 install. It went pretty straightforward. He knew just how to fish in the cables. First day was about 5 hours. The next day I finished the rest of the install in another 2 hours.
Mike did a really fine job on the installation and testing instructions. Everything went well, except once I turned on the car without the cable plugged in, and got an IMA error. No problem, just connected the cable and rev'd the engine for a while to fix it.
My 2001 CVT with 140k miles, lifetime milage of 51mpg, (2nd battery pack at 135k), has California Car Pool Lane stickers and no PIMA. My 2005 MT with 3k miles has PIMA and no stickers (no stupid atpzef*S#!Mad) .
I MIMA-fied my new car for the same reason I selected a manual transmission. I wanted an open road max milage car. My CVT is for city commuting, but my MT/MIMA is for hybrid experimentation. I fly sailplanes, hang/para gliders for fun, and think of my Insights as road gliders. Find some lift and see how far you can go in a wing - store some charge and max out your mileage in an Insight.
I live against a hilll in Lake Elsinore, CA and either commute on Interstate 15 (80mph+) or take Ortega Highway to the coast. Ortega Highway is too steep for the Insight's battery and invariably, the IMA will drain half way up and then start charging! My mileage for this 10 mile section is 35 mpg with no MIMA and 48 mpg with PIMA. I am able to slow the assist rate to get to the top of the hill, and then charge on the way down. I achieved 80 mpg the other day on my 130 mile round trip commute with PIMA! (I usually go with the flow at 70++, to avoid getting rear ended)
Driving a PIMA Insight in the mountains is pure joy. You can follow the car in front of you downhill and never (well almost) need to take your foot off the gas and hit the brakes.
Another fun activity for the PIMA is to draft trucks. My old Boy-Scoutmaster was a truck driver and he taught us a trick to draft close: Drive with one foot on the gas and another hand on the emergency brake. The problem with drafting is that you need to be really close and when you are close, the air resistance drops too fast for you to pull your foot off the gas and hit the brakes. With PIMA, any reduction in the gas pedal, will INSTANTLY slow the car. IMA waits a couple seconds before it kicks in, PIMA is lighting fast.
I have found that I drive faster and get better mileage than before MIMA. Also I am able to prevent premature IMA charging, which seems to me to be the worst mileage waster.
I seem to be getting about 15% better milage reliably with (M/P)IMA. I will try to get more detailed specs later.
Regards, Thomas
MIMA #005 Hypermiler Highwater
Randall's setup and best commute
Welcome to the MIMA family to all the new installs. That must have been a super weekend experience for you guys, and looked like great weather for the event. Cool to see all the Insights in a row. Excellent web page Mike.
I have been totally pleased with the MIMA install on my unit. I was one of those, as Mike has mentioned that was experiencing recals before I installed MIMA. When I would get into a commute situation that was using lots of assist, such as hill climbing in traffic, I would get State of Charge (SOC) down to the point of forced recalibration. This happened many times prior to MIMA. Post MIMA, I have been able to manage SOC to prevent these forced recalls from taking place. Yes, I had a go a round or two, with the lead finger syndrome (operator manually draining the available battery capacity with the joystick), and during this time, with the input of others here at IC, it was determined that my battery is one of the weaker ones. I am only able to use about the top 4 to 5 bars of indicated charge. This limited capacity has not been a problem for my commute; as I said sometime back, I only need to use a small portion of charge_AT_MY_DISCRETION_for hill climbing, This is the beauty of MIMA. It allows the operator to manage the assist/regen for optimum individual performance, whether that be fuel economy(for me) or leaving the guy next to you behind from the green light. I have only had one recal since I got over the lead finger, and this was just a few days ago. I was in the PIMA mode and got some traffic behind me, and while accelerating up hills to stay out of the way, and with my attention focused elsewhere, the SOC got down too far. Normally when it gets down to this point, I just go back to MIMA mode 1 (manual) and this turns off all IMA defaults, allowing me to avoid the forced recal.
I find that I use a mixture of all three modes of operation now available to me. Factory IMA, MIMA, and PIMA. When starting out on my commute, I will use factory IMA assist in first and second gear, then hit MIMA mode 1 while shifting into third or fifth to kill IMA charge, until the car gets warmed up. While cruising in the 25/35 mph zones in town I'm generally still in mode 1, at least up until the point of lean burn enable. Once lean burn is available I can use the higher mpg to do either factory charge or PIMA charge. Back in the warmer weather I had my PIMA activation points set at ~100mpg for assist and 125/130 for regen. Since the colder weather has moved in, and the lean burn window has lowered its address on the instantaneous display, I have both narrowed and lowered my set points to ~90 for assist and ~115 for regen. During unmolested commute cruising, I do what I'll call sip_and_dribble while in the PIMA mode. On the uphills I back off on the throttle and try to (sip) keep 1 amber led lit up and at the same time allow the vehicle speed to drop slightly. If the hill calls for it, I just let PIMA do its thing, and usually 2 ambers will climb it. If the speed begins to increase going uphill, back off slightly until speed stabilizes and carry on. After cresting, I back off on the throttle until I get 1 green led (dribble), and let the speed increase while maintaining throttle position. This is not a 1 to 1 ratio. Amps out is twice that of amps in. Enter factory default. The deficit in PIMA charging is made up while on the ~level~ ground. Since I am dribbling back in up around the top of the lean burn window, I use factory charging to make up the needed SOC by cruising down around what would be the assist set point were I still in PIMA. This is at night. During the daytime its tricky to get factory to charge even when down 3 to 4 bars SOC. That's another story, and I'm long winded already. Yes, you could jog the assist/regen points but I prefer to leave them where they are because they work well for me there, and I don't want to have to find them again. Always watching for traffic behind me, I like to stay off the friction brakes as much as possible. There are a couple of 30mph curves in my commute and if I get into the curves a little too fast, backing off while in PIMA will use regen to slow down, or pulling back on the stick while in MIMA. When coming to a known stop and needing regen (if not doing a FAS) I down shift to 4th and pull back on the stick until I get some shudder, then repeat in 3rd and 2nd down to 10 mph or less where I can usually get it to AS by shifting into neutral with the clutch in. The green AS light does not come on most of the time, but it self starts when shifted into gear just like factory AS.
As for results: well I just filled up (dead dino) Thursday, Nov. 17 and I have 3 days commutes on that tank, well over 100 mpg and a couple just under 100, and this is in much colder temps than August. I usually get 10/11 days out of a tank. The tank was 92.8 with 864 miles. The last three days were mpg killers. The 15th we literally had a 40 mph constant wind straight out of the North (per the weather man). This is a 0 degree headwind for me coming home. Had it not been for MIMA, I would likely have had a recal. I just turned on Mode 1 (off IMA) and cruised in fourth at ~48 mph ~21/2200 rpms (read keep up momentum against the wind), and climbed hills in third. Got home with 76.1 mpg. I had been setting on ~100mpg when I got to work that night. YUK.. This northern front continued for two days and brought much lower temps and the next two days mpg were 87 and 86. To sum it up, MIMA is a great tool. It will allow you to manage the SOC to optimize your performance, whatever that may be. I look forward to hearing about the experiences of all the folks in the latest install.
Randall MIMA #005
MIMA #008 Jack MPG Where to begin. Back when I had my '00 Insight 5 spd I learned about the hidden (parasitic) charging. I learned, and knew for certain, it was the main cause that held me back from achiving hyper mpg. I wished for a cure. Then came my '04, wished even more, made the IMA TPS mod, which works but is not very elaborate. Turbo'd the '04, hidden charging still a parasite, learned to force charge to make it stop and drive real lightly to minimize it. What an extreme pain in the ass. Why would Honda do such to a car that was almost perfect, to keep this from the end user? The answers pretty simple, the engineers lost on this issue to the sales holes (marketing).
Then came the '05, my retirement car, turbo'd it like the '04 and Mike's MIMA was in the process of becoming. I, for the most part, followed all threads closely. Now that MIMA is in my car it would be impossible for me to ever own an Insight, turbo or no turbo, without a MIMA. Do I need more options? Might be nice, but the answer is no. Maybe additional battery power so I could drive to town and back without touching the gas pedal, and being able to "plug it in". Right now she'll do 40-45 mph with just the electric, pretty cool. There's also the potential to use the Insight as a generator to power my house as I can force charge on demand.
MIMA, mode 1 that is, is all I could have asked for. Good bye hidden charging, see you in hell. As you know, with a stock Insight to achive a high mpg tank of fuel, you have to keep the average extreme high, especially at the beginning. Once it drops off it doesn't come all the way back. This is no longer as much an issue since 120 mpg is possible without getting shot at. Personally, I do not care about the cost of fuel. Driving with a MIMA is what an Insight should have been.
Now PIMA, mode 2, havn't gone there yet. From studying the effects shared on this, and similar threads (there's that word again!), it appears that coupled with a cruise control, Cakley's or Global, a new level of mpg can be achived. We are going to find out, look out, Tour de Sol. Jack
MIMA 009 JoeMultihuller
Joe's control panel
Just came back from my first short drive after installing MIMA. Haven't even tried PIMA yet, and it will be some time before I can match Highwater's and Predrag's writeups. We need someone to produce a custom MIMA Grin cartoon or emoticon or whatever, as I can't stop smiling. MIMA adds another dimension to the fun and excitement of owning an Insight! Laughing
Kudos to Mike for all his time and effort in providing us with the IMA control capability that Honda didn't. The design and implementation are marvelous - few of us fully understand his depth of knowledge and hands-on expertise needed to accomplish this. It took a tremendous effort on his part to share this with us and produce the kit and especially to carefully consider and address so many safety-related issues in the design. Thank you Mike!
For those of you taking the plunge, be sure to allow a full day for the install as you definitely do not want to rush this! Took me a little longer because I was very slow and fussy. I found that taking out the passenger seat made it much easier to access the wiring.
I'm really looking forward to enjoying this new driving experience! Cheers, JoeS. Cool
MIMA 010K Hypermiler Predrag
I am posting this extensive report in hope that it will clear some of the unknown areas about kit building and installation of MIMA. Added is a comment of my user experience so far.
1. KIT ASSEMBLY I was reasonably nervous after the decision to build the MIMA from kit, since I have never really done any serious soldering nor electronic assembly before. The amount of time required to put it all together was completely unknown, but here are results now: board itself takes about 4-6 hours, display less than 30 minutes, and harness about 1 hour to complete. The joystick comes assembled, and so do the temperature probes (those resistors are about 1.5 mm in diameter, and I think Mike uses the microscope to put them together!). The basic principle of soldering electronics is to heat both the board and the component at the same time with a wetted iron tip, and then to introduce some more solder to make the connection. Iron should be removed just at the point when solder is seen to flow down into the board hole. In my experience, the whole iron to component contact never exceeded 2 seconds. If this doesn't work, it is advisable to remove the iron and wait for the component to cool, so not to damage it. While building the board, it is good to start with resistors, since they are the lowest (stick out the least) and are hard to damage by overheating. Insert the element or a few of them through the board, slightly bend the wires on the other side to prevent them from falling out, flip the board over and solder them all at once, then clip the excess wire close to the board, inspecting that the contact is full, but it doesn't short with anything around. Leave those upright mounted resistors for later, and move on to the next higher component, capacitors. As I can see on www.99mpg.com , Mike has laid out the board building order just fine. Be careful not to mix up the components that come within the same envelope: a few of them contain resistors that look fairly similar, yet go to the specific contacts on the board! (I managed to screw up 2 times.) Mike will test the boards and make necessary repairs, but that takes his time and your money! Display is a piece of cake after the complex board, but pay attention to the diode orientation (it is printed on the board itself!). After taking care of resistors and a transistor, start with soldering the black photo cell, then slip the plastic bezel over it and use it as a holder for led's - cut their wires to exact length and slip them into the bezel holes, then solder all of them to the contact points. Harness is not hard to do, but do make sure you measure the wire correctly, so not to end up short where it counts later. It is almost worth buying a heat gun to shrink the shrink tubing correctly. I wouldn't be doing this length of tubing over a kitchen stove! One more thing you should address is joystick and display mounting: after deciding where you want it to go, that epoxy really works in making the case and the mount fit. If you want to conform to any shape in the car (like shifter knob, or dashboard shape for the display), use saran wrap on the car, and let the epoxy harden on it. It is better to start with more material, as it is easy to sand the hardened epoxy down. I tried some double stick tape to mount a joystick on my shifter knob, but found out that hot melt glue works better.
2. INSTALLATION This is covered on the website, so I won't go into the details. Here are couple of suggestions, though. Mark the rear cover bolts with the marker on the cover ("H" for hex, etc.). The bolts are all the same except for 2 shorter hex bolts that take care of the breaker switch cover. Remember to also unscrew that small black hex bolt in the breaker compartment without which you cannot remove the cover. Fishing the harness from the parking brake to the rear could be tricky, but it works with an almost straight piano wire (fed from the rear), which comes out down at the opening behind the brake. Take a digital photo or make a diagram of the original wiring wrap - so you can restore it to the "factory" appearance later. Get a good pair of wire strippers! With bad ones, it is easy to cut the wire you just want to tap into! (Well, no problem, as you can still just solder it all up - but that shortens the wire and makes it harder to wrap back.) Make sure you identify the wire both by the connector position and the color - double check yourself here so you don't have to go back! In front, do not forget to connect the ground wire with bolt to the car frame (just above where the board is mounted). Route all the wires neatly along the existing wires where possible. Make sure the joystick cables don't rub against the shift rods inside the console - if you are mounting joysticks there (as I have mounted them both), tape the ribbon cables to the console housing on the inside, going all the way to the board. Mount the MIMA kill switch in one of provided switch mounting plates left from the steering wheel. They pop out easily, but the best is to push them from the back. Take out the little drawer there, and "somehow" get your hand into the position to push one of those out. You are allowed to use a tool too. While drilling the little plastic plate, bear in mind that it is quite brittle! Go with the smaller diameter bit first! Here are pictures of my controls: http://predrag.net/mima%20install/p%20dispay&joysticks.jpg http://predrag.net/mima%20install/p%20joysticks.jpg
3. DRIVING WITH MIMA Well, it's fun! They don't call them JOYsticks for nothing! But then, you want to talk about this seriously, right? One of the most prudent ability of MIMA is to actually turn off the background charging, and then your car achieves the mileage like when it has a full battery. This amounts to something like 85 mpg at 55 mph, flat road, no wind, in my car. With background charging, it is hard to achieve 65 mpg at 55 mph. What I found myself doing before was trying to keep the battery in top 1/4 range, just to have this kind of mileage! Well, now I can use the whole battery capacity and still get it. Which in turn means that I can go climb a bigger hill and not have my mileage suffer - especially because now I can use more electric assist without pressing the throttle further and increasing gas consumption. Performance? Well, the electric motor has the torque peak at 1500 rpm, that low. I live on the hill that I had to climb in the first gear. Now I can do it in second, just pull the joystick up and barrel up like a tractor at 1500 - 2000 rpm. With this additional torque, starts from the full stop are quite fun too. Charging the battery is much easier as well. It is now possible to charge (and that at full 50A!) all the way down to auto stop. I do not use my FAS switch (forced auto stop, by ignition circuit interruption) while coming to stop, but just jam the joystick down, and when I press the clutch when the charging lessens (engine speed around idle), engine goes to auto stop immediately. On the road, I often drive in MIMA active mode, then switch it off into on-demand mode on the slight downhill to charge the battery up without much attention demand. PIMA is something one would want to use when not in the mood to play with the buttons too much. Basically, we aren't saying that automatic IMA is that bad - as long as we have the option to program it ourselves!!!! Once the charge and assist points and magnification are set, the system will remember those settings, so entering PIMA mode is quick, and it feels just like a normal car (what Honda originally intended) - in this mode, IMA is operated with your right foot.
4. CONCLUSION Ok, I admit it: this is not just like adding air pressure to the tires, blocking the radiator with a cardboard, or plugging in an aftermarket component. MIMA is involving step. If you build it from the kit, it will take 2 days. If not, 1 day will be enough for the complete install and all the tests. Originally I made decision to go with MIMA taking into account that it will also be an interesting adventure and diversion from my regular routine: I have never done anything like this before, and it was a learning process. It also feels great to know that I have built it myself (I'm quite impressed!). My car now definitely has a piece of me built into it, and it appreciates it! I can drive faster, get better mileage, and in retrospect I can say that I would have done it even if it wasn't for the therapeutic part!!!
And oh, yeah, almost forgot to put in a legal disclaimer: -- This is an unsolicited report with no financial benefit to the writer -- Very Happy (you started it, highwater!)
Predrag
MIMA #023K Andy G HAFNHAF
Armrest/MIMA controls
Andy has built a cool combined armrest and MIMA/FAS control panel.
MIMA# 24 IamIan
Ian's FAS and MIMA joystick mount
With MIMA I now have the power to do things I always wanted to... when going up a hill I can turn off the forced charge ... I can use full Assist even at 100+ MPG ... With FAS I can put the car in fuel cut mode without haveing to be in gear and have the drag of the Engine ... In short I would say that depending on the road I am seeing at least a minimum of 10% improvment in MPG and some of the very irritateing things I can now make go away... MIMA , PIMA , FAS are all VERY easy to use... Although I admit I mainly use the MIMA more than PIMA or FAS. I have been using MIMA now for a few months.. I am up to ~90,000 Miles On my Inight... No problems so far at all...
Anyone with an Insight who enjoys driving .. Or who wants to get the most MPG they can... I would strongly recomend a MIMA system.
Ian George
MIMA # 027 Paul Andrews first UK MIMA
Paul pushes his CVT to the limits
The first International MIMA system is shipped. Paul does Rally racing with his Space Alien green CVT insight. He will be the first to install a MIMA-C in a CVT, and also the first to use MIMA to increase performance. This is the guy to watch if you have a CVT and have been waiting to see how MIMA will work in that platform. A few photos of Paul putting his beauty through some turns. First test run with MIMA: Interesting results. We were doing 2 way acceleration runs on a 0.8 mile straight at Millbrook. These results are from the speedo as we have not yet analysed the logged data, with the car running E85 bio ethanol. IMA off terminal speed 93 IMA on 97 PIMA on 101
We later did a run on Standard 95 unleaded and recorded 104 with PIMA. Paul has recently run some economy runs, here is his report: HI Guys, We've just done a fuel economy rally in our 2000 Insight rally car and HCH rally car. (see www.oaktechybrid.co.uk for pics and details.) Before the rally we did some mods to the car which is a Jap import CVT which perceived wisdom says should be lean burn. First up we repositioned the MIMA controller to a little plinth mounted on top of the instrument pod to allow easy access to the manual control joystick. (we have a PIMA setting for speed competition work ) 3 years of motorsport using PIMA have given this car an amazingly fit set of batteries! Next we did some aero and suspension work checking all the alignments and replacing the very harsh competition front struts with a standard set. The car still has its stiff rear end and poly bushes etc. We backed off the rear shoes to eliminate any drag. On the aero front we made a dam to cover the lower front intake and tidied up the under side by extending the tray over the fuel tank and rear beam and screwing up the leading edge of the rear bumper to the floor of the car which otherwise hangs down as a big air scoop.
We fitted a set of Pirelli low drag tyres and put in 60psi.
Our next job was to blank off 75% of the radiator and fit a very neat curved intake pipe from the airbox to just behind the open part of the rad to pick up the warm air flowing through. It's cold here at the moment and driving the car hard shows very little temp increase on the gauge. This pipe is trumpeted at the intake end the idea being to use this warm air to stimulate the lean burn. This rally, run by Ilkley Motor Club, has run each year for over 40 years and covered a timed course of 55 miles of very tough single track rural and hill roads in the Yorkshire Dales plus some urban driving through the towns on route. The result for the Insight was 81.3 mpg on the rally which was easily a new record for the event and 17 mpg better than the next best car a little Renault Clio Diesel. Our Civic Hybrid which also competed managed 52mpg.
On the 60 mile drive to the event however we measured the Insight at 98.9 mpg at a 42mph average over quite hilly 'A' roads and the Civic at 63 mpg at an average of 48mph. __________________ Insight Rally Man
MIMA # 029 Andy L Living in northern Illinois we have continuous rolling hills, not big long hills, but continuous. Before installation my 40-mile trip to work with stop signs, rural driving, and small towns would yield about 55 to 65 mpg. To get the best mileage I would have to be very careful to build momentum and charge the battery on the down hill runs, and not try to accelerate up the hills. Sometimes speed would bleed off to around 47 mph at the top of hills to maintain a reasonable MPG. Now that I have installed my MIMA and learned some about how to program it I average 65 to 75 mpg and maintain speeds of 55 to 65 mph all of the time. I believe it is very important to be able to drive at what most people would consider a reasonable speed while getting the best mileage attainable. It is not my quest to sacrifice my personnel time or driving pleasure to get this type of mileage and the MIMA helps me do exactly that. This is a wonderful tool. After first installing you cannot believe how much potential the electric part of your Insight has that you never were able to tap before. It is also possible to drain the battery in a very short time having the "sports car'" kind of fun that the power of your thumb now holds. With playtime over and the real intent of my purchase ahead I began adjusting the programmable part of MIMA to my driving style and terrain. This thing works just like the rest of the owners will tell you, coming up to a hill a very small change in foot feed pressure causes the electrics to pull you up the hill with minimal change in instant mpg reading. On the downhill run an equal change up on the gas and assist changes to regeneration. This action uses the electrics of the Insight more aggressively but maintains the battery charge mid-scale. It also evens out your driving speed to what the rest of the drivers around you are doing. Down shifts approaching a stop sign cause the regeneration braking to charge at a more useful rate, I may never have to change the brakes on my car it works so well. With the development of an easier to install "plug in" version of the MIMA in development, all Insight drivers should consider this modification.
Installation pictures yet to come after I am happy with a permanent location. Andy Lamm
MIMA # 030 Eric H I visited Mike to have him help me with the new plug in installation and the actual work took no longer than three hours with no glitches. I probably could have done it myself, and certainly could now having done one but was close enough to drive up there.
In general, I tend to drive my Insight (and my 2002 Honda Civic Hybrid) using the assist as little as possible. I've found this is by far the best way to get the best mileage. Before Mima I rarely used the electric part of the car unless a situation forced me to which the Honda computer does far more often than you actually need it. Now, with Mima, I switch on the ABC button, which totally cancels out the assist and regeneration unless I call for it with the joy stick. I drive around like this until I get up to cruising speed. Although not fast, the gas engine has more than enough power to be driven this way. Once I get the car up to say 40 - 55 MPH and it start lean burning at say 100 MPG, I cruise at that speed. Before Mima when I would hit a slight incline in lean burn the Mileage would drop significantly. Now I just hit the electric assist with the joy stick and the car stays right at 100 MPG. The other day I drove 40 mile round trip commutr and averaged 107 MPG using this technique with Mima. This was with little traffic, averaging the speed limit of 45, with three lights and some hills). These numbers would have been impossible without Mima which allowed me to stay up in lean burn where as previously the car would not have assisted me in 5th gear with such low rpms.
Because I now control the assist the car has more power when I need it. This a wonderful when pulling out at a busy intersection or passing someone. With mima you have all the power you need when you want it. I had an interesting experience with this returning back to New York after the install with Mike. I was climbing a large hill on the Mass Pike in 5th gear with a fair amount of traffic. About halfway up my speed began to slow and I noticed a large semi bearing down on me. There was too much traffic for it to pull out around me. My primary reason for driving an Insight is for conservation reasons so I knew that if I killed the trucks momentum it was going to waste a lot more fuel than what I would personally save by continuing to crawl up the hill in 5th gear. It could also be potentially dangerous if the trucker wasn't paying attention. Before he reached me, I jammed the assist on full with Mima and in a relatively short time I had the car back up to 75 Miles Per Hour leaving plenty of room between myself and the truck. This maneuver drained a lot of my battery which I easily recharged using Mima down the other side of the hill. Before Mima I would have had to down shift and still would not have been able to bring my speed up to a level that would buffer myself from the truck. The car can actually feel like a sports car when you want it to, although I tend to drive the most efficient way I can which is not by racing around with the electric assist.
In summary, if you own an Insight and want to get the most out of it, the cost of Mima is small compared to the tremendous benefits. I also own a 2002 Honda Civic Hybrid with over 100,000 miles on it and it is very frustrating to drive these days without the Mima option. I am just waiting for Mike to come up with an extra, lightweight plug in battery system so I can use Mima to get my mileage up over 120 MPG which should easily be attainable when you don't have to worry about draining the batty with the assist.
Eric Hertz Earth River Expeditions
MIMA #032 John F (Lightfoot) I'm extremely pleased with MIMA. It's wonderful to be able to override the computer system when it's doing something I don't want it to do.
I didn't get the Leadfinger Syndrome, but it's taking me a while to learn to use more of MIMA's capabilities. So far, my main uses (in order of frequency) are: (1) keyless FAS (forced autostop), which I now do much more often than when I had to key-off (2) adding in regen, e.g. on gradual downhills that aren't steep enough to merit an FAS or coming down offramps to a stop light (3) adding assist here and there to avoid taking an mpg hit, say approaching the crest of a hill
A lot of this is a result of my particular commute. It's 34 miles each way, starting out with about 6 miles of 35-40mph, then a long stretch of interstate which I drive at 50mph, then about a mile in town and up into a 7-level parking garage. Rolling terrain but the hills are all different, so where possible I FAS the downhills.
I've had it for about six months at this point and I'm still learning to use MIMA in new (to me) ways.
Summer has complicated things but I'd guess I'm seeing 10% or more improvement in mpg. My record for a commuting day (34 miles each way, 2 warmups) is 103.4mpg. I don't think I had a tailwind either way, I don't draft anybody, and I use AC only when it's REALLY hot. Tires are at about 45psi.
John Flory
MIMA # 033 Jason H
Jason and Mike just before the trek back home
Well, it's been just about a month since my trip to Connecticut to have MIMA installed on my '06 Insight and I have a few things I'd like to share. First off, what a drive! I left my hometown of Evansville, IN at about 4 AM on Sunday morning and was in Hartford, CT (still an hour away from Mike) at my hotel at 10 PM. I really punished myself on the way home though, driving straight through and stopping only to refuel. A little background info on my car; it's an '06 with some odd battery behavior from time to time. I'll sometimes get positive recals, especially in cold weather. I'd be cruising along with a SOC low enough to make the car do it's forced background charge and after some time and with no warning, the SOC jumps to the top and all regen stops completely. After ten minutes or so of normal driving (and regen still not functioning) I'll get a mild to moderate negative recal. Then my regen functions normal and in a few miles the SOC is back up. Odd and frustrating, and of course the techs at my local Honda dealer don't even know what a recal is. I'm pleased to report that after living with MIMA for a month I haven't had ANY recals, positive or negative. And as a really unexpected bonus, my battery charges and discharges in a much more linear fashion. The SOC doesn't quickly disappear during certain "assist heavy" portions of my daily commute, and before MIMA I definitely noticed this. As for mileage, it's still a bit early to get really good numbers, but I topped off the tank as soon as I got back home and to my normal driving... the mileage for the first full tank was 84.3mpg. And my best pre-MIMA tank avg was only 78.2. So with the first tank I've shattered my old record, I can't wait to see how much MIMA will help in the less efficient winter months. I'll be at HybridFest '07 in just a little over two weeks and participating in the MPG competition. Hope to see everyone there, and please say hi if you recognize me. My car should be easy enough to spot, I'll bet it will be the only '06 with leather seats and MIMA.
-Jason Holder
MIMA # 045 Midwest MIMA installer Ed Zandee
Zandee's
Need a MIMA system installed, or your Insight repaired in the Chicago/Detroit area? MIMA owner # 045 Ed Zandee, is your man. Ed runs a well respected independent auto service center in Grand Rapids MI. He has the Honda factory scan tools, has attended several hybrid service seminars.He owns a 2000 Insight and is checked out as a MIMA installer. Contact ED at (616)245-8158
MIMA # 50 Dan Carrington
Dan's joysticks
Here are pics of my dual joysticks. Both are built without the circuit boards. The shifter is cut away to fit the parts. I sliced the outer rubber to the base to run the ribbon wire down, and glued back with silicone and put some heat shrink at the bottom ledge to keep it from opening up. The ribbon wire was then fit through the stock gap in the boot, next to the shifter shaft. When the console loose, I fished under and pulled the ribbon wire through and then put a connector on it for the motherboard connection. The armrest is from ebay. I had to buy an un-glued lid to do the install as the normal ones are glued really well. The ribbon wire runs out the back and then under the consoles and carpet. Both work with my thumb. Forward for boost, rearward for regen, up and down for PIMA regen adjust and settings.
MIMA # 53 Amin Damji with his CVT
CVT Insight
First, here are some stats before discussing my initial MIMA observations. For the weight conscious Insight owners, I almost always carry my kiteboarding gear with me and I have replaced the stock seats with heavier Recaros. The car has about 52,000 miles and my lifetime average is 45mpg. I bought the car with 28,000 miles from a guy who lived in the very hilly Sausalito (San Francisco area), California. The car is now in San Pedro (Los Angeles), California.
Here are my initial observations of the MIMA in a CVT. I've driven about 600 miles and have used MIMA on demand and MIMA active but have not had time to test PIMA mode. My drive consists of 3-5 miles of hills, stops, residential streets and about 10 miles on Los Angeles freeways (averaging speeds of 55-65mph). Prior to installing MIMA I averaged 51 - 53 mpg per tank of gas. I tested MIMA on demand for 100 miles and averaged about 54 mpg on the same drive. In MIMA active mode I've driven 500 miles at an average of 61 mpg. In the stock Honda setup the regen and assist seem to work against each other. By having control of the regen, I can maximize the cars ability to glide. So far, I would say that the control over regen is the greatest benefit of MIMA in a CVT. I've driven my route a few times just with the gasoline motor (no assist) and I averaged about 58 - 59 mpg. I'm still learning how to use the assist for greatest efficiency. My sense is that the assist seems to help with the mpg but not as much as that being reported by folks with manual transmission Insights. As we discussed on the phone, the assists limitations may be due to lack of lean burn on the CVT and the gear ratios. I will report more as I learn more.
MIMA # 057K Carlton B
Prius subpacks in an Insight
Carlton bought an insight without the HV battery pack. He found that the car will operate like a normal car and even keep the 12V system charged, as long as the BCM has connector A disconnected. He also built a replacement pack using a cut off Prius pack. He built a MIMA K, and is installing MIMA soon, so we will be getting some more info soon.
MIMA # 080P Allert Jacobs first MIMA in the Netherlands
Allerts Insight
Allert had his battery, BCM, and MCM replaced under warranty on his 2000 MT in 2007. After the replacement he found that he only got assist for a few seconds at a time, and eventually developed recalibrations at 6-7 bars from the bottom of the SOC guage. He uses his velomobile for much of his driving, so the Insight can sit for months at a time. Allerts report: I've installed MIMA, so far I've only used MIMA active, I will try PIMA later when I become more familiar with the system. Till now everything works fine. There is one thing that puzzles me though. I've noticed that after the MCM and BCM have been replaced, along with the replacement of the battery pack back in 2007, I can only get full assist for five or ten seconds if the SOC indicates a full battery. If the SOC indicates about three to four bars from the top the full assist is limited to one or two seconds and drops to half and none in the next few seconds. Using MIMA active I can get the SOC down to one or two bars, but I still can't get assist for more than a few seconds after the SOC has dropped to three or four bars from the top. Before the BCM, MCM and battery replacement, I could sustain full assist regardless of the SOC. By the way, FAS is great and yes, I've had that MIMA grin yesterday.
Allert made a grid charger/balancer, and had the following results: He discharged the pack to 100V using a lightbulb, then charged to full with about 300ma of charge. When driving I now can sustain full assist for 3 to 4 minutes. When the SOC is down to one bar, the BCM stops the assist, after that it is only possible to get assist for just one second as long as SOC shows one bar. I have not had a recall or IMA light so far, although I have only driven it for 60 km. But I have done two full cycles on the battery during that trip. The IMA light and recall usually appeared when the SOC got down to 6 or 7 bars, now I'm able to get it to one or zero bars without a recall or IMA light. The two full cycles with the light bulb seem to have refreshed the battery. I think it is now save to conclude that the BCM/MCM are fine and the problems are due to memory effect of the battery and /or balance problems caused by very extensive use. To keep the battery in good shape I will charge it with 300mA to full every one or two weeks when I don't drive the car. To make that easier I have made a socket in the booth, see photo. I have added a photo of the slightly different way I mounted the joy stick, and one of the kill switch I have replaced with one that looks OEM next to the headlight adjustment controls which the US models don't seem to have. Check out his website. Allert builds velomobiels. Velomobiel
MIMA # 69P,76P,78P,93P Texas install and Insight gathering
Texas gathering
Jay Straub, Kirk Holman, Eric Moore, and Bob Franklin invited me to fly out to Jay's place near Fort Worth Texas to help with the installation of the four Mima systems. Unfortunately all the photos I took were lost due to my new notebook crashing when I got home. These photos were taken by Chuck Thomas who also attended the event Thanks Chuck. Jay's comments: The MIMA users that have already posted here have shared a great deal of knowledge on the MIMA system. I can't add much to that part of it. As of right now, my best experience on one tank of gas involved three days of in town driving in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area followed by a 340 mile drive to Amarillo, and a day of driving in town there, followed by the 340 mile drive back home to the DFW area. I accomplished all of that on one tank of gas and averaged 86.3 miles per gallon for the tank. I was still pretty much a novice at operating MIMA when I made this trip. I didn't even use the PIMA mode on this journey. I suspect I might have exceeded the 86.3 mpg average if I had used PIMA. I am very impressed with Mike's MIMA system, but the main thing I want to make light of is his generosity, helpful attitude, and sincerity in wanting to do something to help us cut back our oil use and expense. It was a real pleasure getting to meet Mike and I would like to share in how that happened. Not long after I discovered Mike's website I decided that I wanted to get MIMA installed on my Insight. I have a couple of ailments that have kind of shut down most of my getting into this type of work. So, I called Mike to see how possible it would be for me to drive up to Connecticut and have him do the install for me. He said he would do that but he hated to see me have to drive all that way to get it done. A little further into the conversation Mike said that there were two other people in Texas that had ordered MIMA from him in this round of production. He said he would enjoy coming to Texas if the other two gentlemen wanted to pitch in on his airfare, hotel, and a good Texas steak, BBQ, or Tex-Mex dinner. WOW!!! You can see what I mean about his generosity and kindness. He just asked us to pay his expenses to come here and do this.
Before all of us got it worked into the schedule and set the date, there was one more gentleman from Ft. Worth that found out what was happening and ordered his MIMA and joined us in the project. There were also a couple of others that already had MIMA that came out to my house to offer moral support and friendship while all of this was getting done. Those two days with Mike were a real pleasure and I just can't say enough about his knowledge, expertise, and helpfulness. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next! Hopefully a battery pack or something along that line! Blessings, Jay
Linda from Maine came down to install her MIMA #145P. She had started to make some power vents for solar cooling of the car, but had not found the right solar panel to run them. I dug out the solar cells, and we did a few test to determine how many cells we would need to run the fans, and put together the narrow profile panel shown in the photos. Linda installed a pine strip to hold the panel into the window, and added a switch so the fan could be turned off when not required. Now all we need is some warm sunny days to try it out.
