Rep Power: 0

I´d like to know about the fuel consumption of this car (2005 civic lx, d17a1, manual transmission)

I bought it used last saturday and I can see the fuel gauge going down very fast.

Before I bought it I measured the compressions on it and it measured 200, 200, 200, 195 psi

I changed oil today (using castrol 10w30)

The car is only 10565 miles (the lady who I bought it from said she was almost not using it)

I also changed air filter for a cheap equivalent filter (not using original one)

I´m sorry to ask but how many valves does this motor has?

I bought it just because I liked the quick pick up it has at the time of pushing the gas pedal

I´d also like to know (sorry to ask too much) if the d17a2 (vtec) is dohc?

Is the D17a1 an interference engine?

I mean, does the motor dies when the timing belt breaks?

One last thing...what spark plugs are recommended to use in order to improve consumption?

Thanks in advance for any input you could give me

 
Rep Power: 812

motor has 16 valves, its interference so broken belt = broken engine. stick with NGK v-power copper plugs or if you can afford it the denso iridiums. the manual recommends 5w20 oil for best fuel mileage, but i prefer 5w30. anything higher is way too thick for these motors. and the thing about underused cars is you never know what shape the motor is in. if it was only driven to a nearby store and back without allowing the engine to warm up, it could be a disaster inside. 200psi seems very high when the manual says it should be around 135 psi for an ex (the lx should have even lower compression).

d17a2 vtec-e is a single cam engine, and it runs on 12 valves during most normal driving to save gas. it only opens all 16 when you floor the gas above 4500 rpms.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for your answers

Probably I got the wrong number at the compression test anyway the car feels with a lot of power I can easily make tires to screech

I´m still not getting 30 mpg (city traffic only) and this is starting to obsess me

Things I´ve done are:

checked air pressure on tires

changed spark plugs to ngk double platinum part number: PZFR6F-11 (I understand this are better than iridium ones... please correct me if I´m wrong)
the owner´s manual states the use of this part number.

properly aligned the car

changed the air filter to honda oem (genuine)

using now Honda genuine 5w20 oil

changed manual trans fluid (using Honda genuine manual transmission fluid)

I´m right now on 25 mpg

Should I go ahead and inspect valve clearance?

5 times in the morning I´ve heard this tic tic tic sound for some seconds but I don´t know if it´s coming from the valves
(please remember I was using castrol 10w30 until yesterday when I switched to honda genuine 5w20)

can you tell me if valve clearance should be made if the engine was not used too much (10,000 miles on it) ?

thanks in advance for your help and time

how to know for sure?

 
Rep Power: 0

should I change the fuel filter (I know it´s part of the fuel pump) ???

should I use an injector cleaner?

 
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I forgot to mention I don´t have a heavy foot and shift right under 3000 rpm

what can I do to get 30 mpg in city ?

 
Rep Power: 235

Alot of people dont get 30 mpg in just city traffic. I wouldnt be that worried about it honestly.

 
Rep Power: 0

I must be worried if one of the reasons to buy it was because of its fuel economy

I´ve read a lot from this forum in the past days and I can realize some of you get wonderful mpg while others don´t.

I seem to be in the category of the "not so wonderful mpg" and that´s what I don´t understand how can some cars get better mpg while others don´t ?

 
Rep Power: 812

ive gotten anywhere from 15-30 mpg in the city.

 
Rep Power: 0

how? please explain

 
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is that lube control good for more mpg?

 
Rep Power: 235

Dude in town mileage isnt suppose to be more than 30. If you were only getting 30 on the highway, I would worry somewhat but not for city. 30 is on the high side for only city driving. Lube control kicks ***. I listened to gearbox and got it. It works.

 
Rep Power: 812

the harder you press the gas pedal, the worse your mileage gets lol. highway mileage at constant speed is the only true way to measure mileage. there are too many other factors with city driving to get accurate readings. and yes on the highway, using lubecontrol products bumped me from 38mpg to 40-42 mpg. an average city mileage for soft footed drivers is 26mpg. i usually get around 22-24.

 
Rep Power: 0

ok i used to get 38mpg on high way and 34-36in town traffic. 01 civic dx, manual transmission. (location ky)

recently moved to maryland (school again), before that i parked the car for four months without use in detroit. I drove it to maryland after four months and i managed to get 36mpg.. i figured it was my alignment was out of wack, uneven wear noticed on car.

i got new tires, good year inegrity (old ones were good year triple tread) and got car aligned as well. now my gas mileage in city is 26 and highway is 30mpg if im lucky. my spark plugs are good and did change them to OEM ones. Oil is 5w20.

I drove it to ky again - to measure mileage accurately over long periods of highway driving... i got 28 to 29mpg.

can not figure what the heck is wrong, other than tires tires... that is the only thing that changed on my car. car has 130k on it. no check engine light either.

any help will b great.

 
Rep Power: 0

are you carrying any extra weight? IE you gained weight, you are carrying more passengers, you have a new sound system in the car, your trunk is full?

 
Rep Power: 0

I wouldn't worry too much about the tic tic... Chances are that it's simply coming from the injectors. They are indeed a bit noisy. Stick your ear on the top of the engine on the plastic part. If you then hear it louder, it might be the valves.. If the sound is coming from the back of the engine, i.e. between the air filter element and the engine head, I would suspect the injectors. Nothing wrong there.

Don't get too worried about the car, it's apparently barely new.

 
Rep Power: 812

alot of times different cities you will get different mpgs. if its flat roads at sea level vs mountain roads, obviously youre gonna be way off on the mpgs. tires affect that alot too, ive seen some hybrid civics drop 10 mpg just by switching from the honda recommended tire to a different brand.