Hey guys, just bought a 1996 Civic HX :)

[S2k-Takara]

Hello all!

I been lurking for a bit, finally made the plunge and picked up a 1996 Civic HX 5spd. I'm hoping to find a way to get instant mpg if the cheapest/best way to do that is scangauge, then that's what I will do. My other car is a 2005 S2000 it gets decent mpg on long freeway drives (as much as 38-39mpg) since I removed softop and put a carbon fiber hardtop and removed antenna and tools in trunk, but I get terrible city mpg 20ish. (because I drive it that way)

Also, trying to find other mods to bump things up a little. The front tire's the car came with look terrible for mpg...really soft sidewall and really chunky tread design. The problem is that they are damn near new.

I also have a set of Koni shocks and groundcontrols from my CRX, do you guys think lowering will significantly improve mpg?

What I have done so far:

remove AC belt - ac didnt work anyway, but do you guys think it's worth the trouble to remove AC componets?

I removed powersteering belt...but i been reading that I cant do that...I can def live without power steering, but how much will I really save by swapping in a manual rack?

[S2k-Takara]

Also, wanted to mention the ECU in the car shows A21 at the end, so it's a 49 state ECU (I think)

How do I know for certain that the previous owners didn't just put this in a CA car?

[Angmaar]

Lowering it will improve the MPG by ~5% depending on how far you lower it.

[S2k-Takara]

5% is significant considering I have the parts already

can anyone weigh in on my other thought? pun intended :P

[S2k-Takara]

I just read that scangauge does not give readings for lean burn, can anyone confirm or deny?

[Daox]

The SG does not handle lean burn. A more accurate device for you would be an mpguino.

[S2k-Takara]

Thanks Daox, really impressive numbers on the paseo,

[Daox]

Thanks.

I should clarify my statement too. The SG always assumes your car is in closed loop mode running at stoichiometric air/fuel ratios. It has no way of measuring lean burn conditions OR open loop mode, so it just assumes you're in closed loop all the time. So, the more time you spend in open loop & lean burn, the farther off it will tend to be. Using the adjustment in the SG, you can get it to read closer, but it'll never be dead on.

[PaleMelanesian]

I doubt you'll see anything close to 5% from lowering. My guess is maybe 1%, maybe less.

I suggest working on driving techniques.

[Ryland]

When I lowered my civic VX I saw no change in gas mileage but I did notice a change in how rough the car rode and notice an increase in suspension bushing wear, but if you already have the parts and you have the time to do the work your self test it for your self, just don't toss the old parts.
As for your tires, your cheapest option might be to get a 2nd set of HX rims, or Honda Insight rims and put your tires of choice on them, removing good tires from rims can damage them, so you might as well use them if you need chunky tread for winter driving or something, otherwise I would say keep the almost new tires and use them till the wear out.