I've done a thing

"Tareim - V8 powered" (tareimgaml)
04/30/2019 at 15:50 • Filed to: CRZ, Honda, VTEC Yo

I did an unexpected thing OPPO, I ditched my 1 series which has turned me away from German cars and back to the reliable Japanese cars, as I’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline I needed a fairly economical car.

Now I’m not one for the boring everyday choices so that ruled out the likes of Fiesta, Golf etc.

So what did I end up with? A Honda CRZ, I never expected I’d own a hybrid, at least not until I was almost forced into it by the government but here it is;

DISCUSSION (45)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 15:53

Nice! I quite like these for their quirkyness, and have been thinking about getting one and upgrading the battery.

Does it have the boost button?

Chariotoflove > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 15:54

That is an interesting choice. They look cool to me , but I’ve read people make disparaging comments about the performance. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Tareim - V8 powered > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
04/30/2019 at 15:54

nah it’s the pre facelift but that S+ ‘boost’ button is pretty useless, just press the sport button and it’s essentially the same thing

as for the upgrading the battery, it’s something that’s crossed my mind however I woulnd’t know where to start and would probably kill myself messing with the high voltage

jminer > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 15:55

E njoy it! I almost bought one instead of my TDI. I couldn't find one in a stick locally though.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 15:58

AUTO OR MANUAL

Tareim - V8 powered > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
04/30/2019 at 15:58

6 speed manual of course :)

Tareim - V8 powered > Chariotoflove
04/30/2019 at 16:02

C oming from a 3l straight 6 to this, it is a drastic reduction in acceleration, so if you frequently have open roads where you can floor it then this wont be the car for you, however if you commute in a lot of stop start traffic (which I’m currently doing) then it’s perfect

T he handling is pretty good, has a bit of body roll (more than the bmw), I’ve only had it for a couple of days so not really pushed it yet to find out how well it holds the road but once up to speed it feels decent enough

Tareim - V8 powered > jminer
04/30/2019 at 16:03

I would’ve ignored it had it been cvt, really despise that transmission type (particularly when there is a manual option)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:05

Ah so the Boost button is only for show, that’s pretty boring.

The battery is actually not that high voltage, only 144 V I think. A while ago I’ve aalready made a small draft for a CR-Z retrofit based on battery packs we make at work. I’m pretty sure I could re-use some development prototypes for this purpose, they would otherwise be destroyed anyway

I think a higher capacity would benefit the duration the Hybrid system can operate , as that seems to be limited by the state of charge. In that way it should gain quite some torque in normal use. Maybe add a charging port to be able to top off the battery at all times for optimal efficiency

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:06

niiiiice. when it’s on its last legs k20 swap and make your own CR-Z Type R, i’ve seen it done before and they’re sosme pretty cool builds too, plus you can get instant torque depending on how you utilize the hybrid drivetrain with the build, that’d be good for low-end torque and then at 5k rpm VTEC still kicks in, yo

Tareim - V8 powered > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
04/30/2019 at 16:07

where are you located? time for a road trip for an upgrade :D

Tareim - V8 powered > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
04/30/2019 at 16:08

you’re not the 1st one to suggest k20 swap lol but yeah that will be considered

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:11

Near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I’d need a few months to get a running CR-Z pack though, and the ‘cost’ would most certainly not weigh up to the gained functionality...

Tareim - V8 powered > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
04/30/2019 at 16:15

ah that’s a shame

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:21

what was wrong with the 1?

404 - User No Longer Available > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
04/30/2019 at 16:26

A friend who had one told me manuals are actually more common than CVTs for the CR-Zs.

Tareim - V8 powered > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
04/30/2019 at 16:27

very thirsty on fuel and kept having dsc sensors fail

LongbowMkII > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:30

Failing sensors? BMW? Un possible

BarryDanger > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:30

Very interesting. These are sub $ 5k cars in the U.S. so if you can find one that hasn’t been abused and with a stick, seems like a buy. Modern safety features & tech with old school economy car mpg and (lol) performance. Looking forward to hearing more about your day-to-day with it!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:38

I’ve always considered performance a bit of a moot point. I respect and enjoy performance cars as much as anyone, but you can only ever use so much in everyday driving, so I’m very much of the ‘any car can be a fun car’ philosophy. :)

Looks like an interesting purchase!

Tareim - V8 powered > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
04/30/2019 at 16:51

That’s kind of where I’m at, apart from going to and from work and the odd place around town I’m not really going anywhere where I could make use of the BMWs performance without getting in a lot of trouble so having a car like this was perfect for the work commute

Party-vi > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:58

This needs a Sprintex supercharger :D

ranwhenparked > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 16:58

I actually cross shopped those with the Camaro, ended up going the other direction, but the fuel economy and hatchback are compelling features. Also, I noticed that the CRZ does have windows.

JeepJeremy > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 17:05

that’s a cool car! Post more pics!!!!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 17:12

I intend on having something like my Accent as a DD and then getting a second ‘fun’ car as a weekend ride, preferably importing a FIAT 126, so it will have less performance than my DD, but many times as many smiles. :P

Tareim - V8 powered > Party-vi
04/30/2019 at 17:26

that may have crossed my mind once or twice...

Tareim - V8 powered > ranwhenparked
04/30/2019 at 17:28

those are certainly 2 vastly different choices lol

Tareim - V8 powered > JeepJeremy
04/30/2019 at 17:28

thanks, any specific pics of it you wanted or just generally more external pics?

Chinny Raccoon > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 17:37

Must be something in the air, I’ve been keeping an eye on these as a possible commuter option for the near future.

Tareim - V8 powered > Chinny Raccoon
04/30/2019 at 17:49

If it’s mostly town/city driving then definitely worth looking into, I’ve not tried a roads or motorway to see what it’s like at that speed for economy but hopefully wont be too bad

ranwhenparked > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 18:29

Well, I have a long commute now, and I’ve had a Mustang and a Challenger before, but was thinking maybe something still fun and good lo oking but with hybrid fuel economy this time. It was almost a coin toss, if a really good deal hadn't come up, I might have gone with the Honda.

JeepJeremy > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 18:56

All kinds of pics! Inside and out! This is a car that I see from time to time but I have never been in and I don’t know anything about them

Jun Jun > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 19:51

Its a great car! I’ve owned one myself a 2013 Milano red crz cvt and I had the hpd exhaust and diffuser installed. I was going to have some boost installed for the engine but I never go around to it. I put about 120k miles on it and unfortunately as time went on, I decided that I needed something bigger and more fuel efficient. Great little car and I never had any problems with it.

Adam Graham > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 20:26

HPD Supercharger calling your name!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 20:54

Manual?

TheJWT > Tareim - V8 powered
04/30/2019 at 22:11

I just saw one of these on aftermarket wheels and it looked really good. Also, Spoon makes a lot of parts for these...

Tareim - V8 powered > TheJWT
05/01/2019 at 03:01

I’ll be looking to change the rims as it’s on 16s with cheap tyres but I’ve got some decent 17s tyres lying around somewhere from a previous car so just need to get some 17s wheels

Tareim - V8 powered > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/01/2019 at 03:01

Yep

Tareim - V8 powered > Adam Graham
05/01/2019 at 03:02

So many things calling my name but resisting the urge for now...

Tareim - V8 powered > Jun Jun
05/01/2019 at 03:04

I would've liked a red one but had too good of a deal to pass this one up

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Tareim - V8 powered
05/01/2019 at 08:53

Get you some of that Honda Performance supercharger kit!

Tareim - V8 powered > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/01/2019 at 10:17

Maybe...

TheJWT > Tareim - V8 powered
05/01/2019 at 11:46

I think the one I saw had Sparco Assetto Garas which looked really good. Spoon CR93s are incredibly cool and incredibly expensive

someoneatacura > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/06/2019 at 17:11

Not sure how much it would really help, as these don’t have a Pure EV mode like a P rius. If you could get a better electric motor to handle some more juice, these could be great DIY PHEVs. Would probably see a mileage boost as well.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > someoneatacura
05/07/2019 at 10:24

Yeah, doing something like this to a Prius makes way more sense.