bth2278

Hello everyone. As the title states I am new to the world of Honda and more specifically the civic. I purchased this little car for a work car to drive about 150 miles/day. Yesterday was the first day I drove the car and I managed 35.6 mpg which I was very pleased with. My question is am I leaving mpg on the table by keeping this car stock? Are there any mods that will give me significant gains in mpg? Not concerned about power at all. Thanks in advance .

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Welcome to the forum! 150 miles is long commute!

There really isn't much you can do as far as mods go to increase your mpg. A short air intake is suppose to, maybe someone can support that I didn't see a change. I also changed some other things that could hurt mpg so maybe it did help!?!

Keep your tires inflated properly and get gas saver tires.
Use cruise as much as possible
Replacing the 02 sensors can increase mpg if they are old

lowlife9

just make sure its tuned up plugs,filters,oil,sensors normal maintenance.as far as ad ons go to increase mpg maybe get some low rolling resident tires. shed weight carbon fiber hood,trunk remove spare tire,jack,tools

ezone

http://ecomodder.com/

http://www.hypermiler.com/

kinakoes2

Not a whole lot, besides in ezone's hypermiler links. Those apply for pretty much any vehicle. It's been mentioned here that 0W20 oil is approved for use in 7th-gens, so perhaps a worthy gain there, given your long commute.

If there were a way to optimize the angle of the CV axles to nearly straight when cruising, there's a huge friction loss there (check out just how much friction Rzeppa CV axles have below). Lowering the car can improve its aero Cd, but you sacrifice optimal angle during dynamic sag (when the car is underway with you in the driver's seat).

And for the love of all that is holy, don't get GasPods. They've been proven time and time again to produce insignificant gains and the manufacturer has refused to post results of simple tests to back up their lofty claims.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I'm modded (intake, header, high flow cat, exhaust, stage 1 cam, lightweight flywheel, rims, etc.) and I can hit just under 36mpg city miles if I try. When I'm not trying, I usually average 32 or so.

Let's see.. Last few fillups since 2/24 (app on my phone that I use to track my MPG)..

32.124
32.374
35.817
27.667 (don't know wtf happened there.. lol)
31.341
35.567

Looks like I fill up my tank about once every 8 days.

Just some food for thought

kinakoes2

That's a good testimonial for modders, xRice (if I may call you that). Shows that with sensible and knowledge-based decisions about mods, you don't necessarily have to sacrifice mpg, and in a few cases (all those mods that decrease exhaust backpressure and increase flow)... they actually help the D17 increase mpg. Of course, a manual trans will be more efficient than any slushbox as well.

The Stage 1 cam is streetably-mild, and will noticeably increase flow without tagging idle quality or requiring bespoke fuel mgmt, but it MUST be accompanied by other gas-path mods to take advantage of that increased potential, on both intake and exhaust. Not only that, but the mods must compliment the cam, not work against it. That mileage increases rather than decreases speaks to that.

The lightened flywheel decreases mass, which decreases load... and any mod that lowers the mass in the wheels (esp driven wheels), eliminates it in one of the worse places to have it on a vehicle, because it has to be accelerated twice -- once in a circle, and again rolling in a straight line. Being conservative with aspect ratio, and lowering so as not to flex your CV axles anymore than necessary, will help efficiency (and thus performance) rather than hurt it.

ezone

Not any more.

kinakoes2

For the vintage he's looking for, it still applies. Nowadays, sure.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

You can call me whatever you want.. within reason.. lol..
riceboy, xrice, xriceboyx (super AZN capitalization optional), f***face, "you there," Josh, the list potentially goes on.

Also, more testament to modding, I was making about 36/30mpg city/highway with a snail under the hood (turbocharged, for those not savvy with the slang), assuming I didn't abuse it. A messed up wastegate actuator limited me to 2.5psi, but I was still making ~145whp (from a stock ~110whp)

Then again, I burned a quarter tank in 50 miles when I drove it like I stole it.

edit: I guess I should also mention that my rims are lightweight, with 17s weighing in at 17.5lbs a piece without tires (determined by 2 different digital bathroom scales, multiple tests for redundancy). Stock 15" steelies weigh (or so I've been told) 20-something pounds each.

kinakoes2

LOL Josh works. I'm Jay.


To someone who doesn't understand about how important decreasing rotating mass is, 3 lbs and change may sound insignificant... but if that 3 lbs is at the edge of the rim or near, it'll take a lot more bhp to accelerate it than if it was more towards the hub.

This is why, everything else the same, forged rims with higher strength but lighter hub and spokes can often lead to non-trivial increases in performance AND mpg, even when diameter and width go up. You can't do much about the material at the rim... but taking as much away from the rest of the wheel, while still being strong enough to take the occasional pothole, is mantra (esp for my vehicles on the powersports side). This is also why it's important to consider the weight of same-size tires by brand, as many cheaper ones tend to skip using lightweight aramids and more efficient carcass designs (compare Michelins to Fuzions, for example -- there's a reason Hondas have used Michelins as OEM-fitment for a long time).

Good example of this: my riding/racing buddy and I in WA, had identical SV650s -- right down to jetting and mods. He however moved to a much more modern '05 GSX-R600 inverted fork setup with a *much* lighter wheel and brake disc combo than my '99 GSX-R750 front end (brake discs are another huge source of mass), plus a CBR600F3 rear wheel, again lighter than the SV wheel but half an inch wider, supporting more modern sport rubber. He *thrashed* me on-track -- he was walking briskly away from me on straights, and his front end and lighter rear allowed him to turn sooner and brake later, lapping me by ~L7. Being that I usually did the same to him in <10 laps on identical bikes... was not happy. But, that's science for ya.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

That is light for 17's. My ss7's are over 20lbs and are 16's.

I average about 33-35 with 2.5" drop, summer tires and a CAI. 70% highway (60+ mph), 30% stop and go. Original o2 sensors also (182k), should get better if I replace them.