G FORCE

Hey all,

New to the forum and thought I'd share my latest Honda. I've owned 3 Preludes and another 5th gen coupe but this is my first hatch. Last Friday I drove 50 miles to a neighboring city and purchased a 100% stock, '94 teal Civic VX hatchback from the original owner.

The car is rust free (love the southwest for that) and has 155k miles. The thing was, and still is, dirty but that is being addressed. The exterior is in fair condition with a slightly crunched fender and faded paint but it is straight. The interior is pretty well worn and, at the moment, all I can do is scrub away and throw on some seat covers. The car runs very well however the original suspension is completely shot so I have all new bushings and struts/shocks on the way. So, there are some minor things to address but all in all I think it was a solid purchase.

I'm getting used to having no power and hoping for a good MPG return on my next fillup. I plan to fix the car up clean but keep it stock because the VTEC-E motor does nothing well but sip gas. Thanks for checking out my latest purchase!

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

You will have to do some serious hypermiling even with the vtec-e to get 50mpg. These cars are economically minded but they are just not geared properly for ridiculous mileage like that. I will say it can be done though and good luck. The tricks are to plan your route very carefully and try to eliminate as many hills as possible. Go slow especially if nobody else is around you and leave early lol. Your sweet spot for mileage is around 40-45 mph. Keep us posted on how your doing and track all your fillups on www.fuelly.com

ezone

ecomodder.com


I'd lose the roof rack if it won't be used.

LOL @ both lines here.



I need a southwest B2k..I need a new frame under my truck.

TiggerDX

iTrader: (1)

Any chance you want to sell the roof racks on that car???

Stock 99

That's my all time favorite Civic colour and all but yeah 50 mpg, lol. I do almost everything I can to get max mpg for years now (99% highway driving) and I max out at 42 mpg.

Do everything that's already been stated. Loose at the passenger sideview mirror. Strip out the passenger seats, carpet, spare tire....everything you can and maybe you'll come close. I personally don't want to strip my car down like that but probably the only chance you'll have a 50 mpg.

G FORCE

Good advice! I've made an account at ecomodders and plan to track my fillups. I may need to do some routine tune up maintenance as I'm not sure when that was last done. I could see the VX getting 50mpg if it was a completely flat road and I was able to keep each shift < 2k RPM without getting honked at! In all honesty, I'll be happy with anything over 40mpg.

I'm struggling with a good compromise between throttle position and RPM with this guy, especially with any kind of grade in my way. The anemic 92hp is bad, but at over 5500' above sea level the thinner air makes it even worse. I HAVE to rev it over 2k or the next shift place the motor on bog. So I'm thinking that until I find that sweet spot, my MPG may not be what it could.

I'm not sure how I feel about the roof rack. I could see myself using the car to do some snowboarding trips if I found a spare set of wheel and blizzaks. It would definitely make the trip less costly but I'd still probably opt to take my truck. So...not sure I'll ever use it. It looks kinda funky but sort of cool at the same time. Idk.

Stock 99

The owner's manual describes driving with a roof rack as 'severe driving condition' lol, oh Honda. The roof rack alone will create too much drag to get probably even 40's mpg. Sweet spot for shifting is 2000-3000rpm and top mpg is under 3000rpm.

I even overinflated my tires for a while this year to increase MPG...long story short...don't. It dangerous and gains aren't noticable. Tune up...yes. Getting it lower to the road will help too. If you have a truck then that's the ski hill chariot.

I'm doing the same thing this year...I bought a 1990 F150 4x4 (12mpg) for the ski hill and to save the Civic. My truck weighs 6300 lbs, rotfl.

You must be in Utah or Colorado to be at 5500ft.

G FORCE

Thanks! I think the teal is growing on me....sort of. Ah man, 42??! I guess that's still great but unless the conditions are ideal 50mpg is a little stretch. I'm certainly not willing to strip out my car or spend money on lightweight modifications. The thing already doesn't have A/C, PS, power anything (including the engine itself lol)!

G FORCE

Lol nice! Severe driving conditions! I may remove it after your post haha. I shift most of the time right about 2k or little over so that's right in line. I was thinking about the higher tire pressure but glad to hear it doesn't make THAT much of a difference. The ride is already harsh so it would make it worse anyway, though the new suspension should help that.

Same mindset. Sometimes it's worth the comfort, safety and versatility of a truck on those ski trips.

I'm actually in Albuquerque, NM. Same elevation as the mile high city, Denver.

Stock 99

Sorry, I'm Canadian....My US geography knowledge could be better. How far to go skiing? It might be worth the trade off to keep the roof rack in your case but put a spoiler in front to make the air push over.

I live in Canadian snowboard mecca (really)...my Civic doesn't stand a chance of getting to the hill on a good day. The last season I rode the hill closed with 600 cm of snow. You need weight and 4 wheel drive to get where I'm going.

I upshift at 3000rpm and cruise at about 2500rpm.

When I over inflated to 35 psi (all tires) the handling was unsafe at highway speeds and literally 0 mpg gains after 2 or 3 months of that. I'll never do it again.

G FORCE

It sounds like you get some great snowfall each year. We are looking at a potentially good year this season, which is uncharacteristic when compared to the past 3. If we do, reasonable snowboarding is 1-3 hours away depending on the mountain and great snowboarding is up in Colorado 5-7 hours away.

Good to know on the tires and shift points. Thanks.

Stock 99

You do have a bit of an edge on me there. I've got a '99 coupe. So bit bigger, bit heavier, I do have AC and PS (more weight) and a couple air bags. Mine is a 1.6l and your should be a 1.5l....so maybe better chance of 5-0 than me. Altitude probably levels us out pretty close though.

G FORCE

Just filled the car up again and it turns out to be right at 40mpg with 80% city 20% highway driving. I'm ok with that considering we have "winter" gas now but I'd still like to be closer to 45mpg with these conditions. I'll experiment with a slightly different driving technique this round. I noticed the car was bogging quite a bit on a lot of 2k RPM shifts which would require more throttle input to maintain speed. I'll rev the car out a little more, perhaps to just below 2500 RPM and see where that gets me. I also am not sure if a tune up might be in order.

ezone

Look into high efficiency/low rolling resistance tires when it comes time for tires.

See if you can find 100% gasoline, no Ethanol.
Also, use top tier gas. http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

civic_pro

my wife was getting 40mpg solid for years on her 95 vx, I recently aired the tires up to 40psi instead of 32, & put 5w-20 oil in it & she's been getting 47mpg now for the last three fill ups

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

I disagree ezone!!! Without ethanol (shell V power premium) I could only get 48 MPG in my Chevy Cruze. When I got Ethanol regular (Pioneer). I managed to get 53 MPG and also I put 690 miles on a single fillup at around 13 gallons. I tracked this over several fillups.

ezone

WTF? Howdja manage to do that? Isn't that car rated at something like 38 MPG highway?
Wait, I managed to get over 50 MPG in my Civic......I just don't have a commute route where I can do that consistently.

----------------------------

I bet you did, and I'll disagree with your disagreement.....Here's why:
You're comparing high octane to low octane--- on top of Ethanol or not, in addition to the likelihood of different additive packages for each stations' fuels.

Cucumber + Apple vs. Pickle? LOL

My reasoning:
Fuel with a higher than necessary octane rating generally nets slightly lower efficiency (gas mileage) than the correct octane rating fuel (all else being equal) due to the anti-knock characteristics of the higher octane fuel (anti-knock = resistance to burning, the fuel is harder to ignite and burns slower.).

I'm not nearly as familiar with the operating strategies of anything GM these days as I used to be, so I don't know off the top of my head if they run timing maps where it could take advantage of high octane fuel or not. If they do, it would most likely be a power advantage instead of efficiency advantage.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Tom,

a 94/95 is still OBDI and engines were not designed for ethanol, yours is. compression ratio would be a big issue for higher octane/low energy alcohol fuels

see below:
D15Z1
VTEC-E
Found in:
1992-1995 Honda Civic VX
1992-1995 Honda Civic VEi (European Market)
Displacement : 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in)
Bore and Stroke : 75 x 84.5 mm (3.0 x 3.33 in)
Rod Length : 137 mm
Rod/Stroke : 1.62
Compression : 9.3:1
Power : 90 hp (67.1 kW, 91.3 ps) @ 5600 rpm (92 hp @ 5500 rpm USDM)
Torque : 98 ft/lb (13.5 kg/m, 133 Nm) @ 4800 rpm (97 ft/lb @ 3000 rpm USDM)
Valvetrain : SOHC VTEC-E (USDM- Lean Burn Federal Emissions 49 State) (3-4 valves per cylinder depending on RPM)
VTEC Switchover : 2500 rpm
ECU Code : P07
Fuel Control : OBD-1 MPFI

G Force,

another trick is to simply leave the throttle shut when in downhill - engine will shut the fuel down (given engine is hot)

G FORCE

Wow! That's quite an improvement for relatively low cost.

Most definitely! Deceleration map FTW!

G FORCE

Got some work done this weekend. Only got to the front but it now has new struts and all 3 lower control arm bushings replaced. The bushings were quite a fun job let me tell you! The ride is noticeably better in front but I still have a lot of squeaks and clunks from the back. I also need new axles. :/