HONDA Insight - Manual (Page 24)

24
A
LUMINUM
C
ONSTRUCTION
The Honda Insight's body is made of aluminum,
offering light weight and a high level of body rigidity to
enhance overall fuel economy, handling and passenger
safety.
Aluminum weighs only one-third as much as steel. In
addition, aluminum alloy is highly versatile and readily
lends itself to a wide variety of manufacturing techniques.
Lastly, aluminum is extensively recycled, which helps
lower its cost. The Insight's aluminum body in white (just
the sheet metal: doors, hood, etc.) is roughly 40 percent
lighter than a comparable steel body.
The basic structure is a new, lightweight aluminum monocoque, reinforced in key areas with aluminum
extrusions joined at cast aluminum lugs. Stamped aluminum panels are welded on to this structure to form
an extremely light and rigid platform for the drivetrain and suspension.
The resulting body structure has 13 percent more bending strength and an impressive 38 percent more
torsional rigidity than a comparably-sized steel body, despite weighing 40 percent less. The unit-body part
of the Insight's body uses stressed sheet-metal panels to absorb and distribute structural and suspension
loads, much like an ordinary steel unit body.
From their experience building the Acura NSX - the world's most produced aluminum-bodied car -
Honda engineers have gained extensive knowledge of aluminum. However, the Insight is designed for a
very different purpose.
Market requirements dictated the development of new, more cost-effective techniques for
manufacturing the Insight's aluminum body. In response to this challenge, Honda engineers developed the
Insight's innovative unit-body/space-frame construction.
The unit-body part of the Insight's body uses stressed sheet-metal panels to absorb and distribute
structural and suspension loads, much like an ordinary steel unit body. However, with the Insight's body all
of these panels, including the roof, floor, front and rear wheel wells, rear quarter-panels, bulkhead, and
even the doors and hood, are made of aluminum alloy. These stressed panels are reinforced in key areas by
aluminum-alloy frame members.
It is these aluminum frame members and their cast-aluminum connecting joints that make the Insight's
hybrid body so unique. In a steel unit body, frame members are formed by stamping in large presses and
then joined to the body by welding. However, the Insight uses extruded frame members. Extrusions are
drawn from a die in much the same way that tubing is made, and like tubing are of constant cross section.
Once formed, extrusions can be easily made into complex three-dimensional pieces, such as a curved
windshield frame. They also do not require any additional machining or finishing after they are formed.