New guy with 94 Civic Coupe DX Auto

[ElJefe]

Just inherited 1994 Honda Civic Coupe DX automatic that is sitting pretty at 199K at the time of this post. Just did a little tune up on the engine and took a 200 mile road trip to get a little over 34 mpg doing 70mph on average.

For the most part the car is in good condition but definitely needs some TLC which I'll be applying when I start to do some mods. Hoping that after every thing that I'll be able push that car in to mid 30's for city driving and mid 40's for highway, even with the automatic transmission.

Hoping there are others on the site with a similar model to compare to and any suggestions as far as modding the car are of course always welcome :-)

Thanks and looking forward to updating with good news in the future.

[JMac]

Welcome.

I'm curious to see what kind of mileage you could get out of that automatic too. Of course, everyone recommends the manual, but it looks like you're doing better on average than I am.

JMac

[California98Civic]

Welcome. I drive the sixth generation, a 1998 Civic DX Couple 5-speed manual. I'll be interested to see what you can do too. One thing you'll want to try is slowing down as much as is safe and legal. Once you are in top gear the mpg generally goes down steadily the faster you go. Aero and other mods help, but speed is a big factor too. Good luck.

[ElJefe]

Thanks for the replies guys! Thought I should clarify what I intend to do and some other details about the car. First off I am rolling on Michelin Destiny tires at 35psi. Great, great tire from Michelin and yes they do make a 175/70/13 it just doesn't list it on their website. Don't think I'll be jacking the air pressure above 40 but will do various tests to see what comes out the best.

The front and rear bumpers are both in need of being fitted flush again as one is being held on with some zip ties, but found a Honda forum with a great fixer for that.

I generally make a 200 mile road trip at least once or so a month to see my family so it will be nice to see the differences as they come along. My goal (clarified) is to hit 30-35 in the city and 40-45 on the highway, all while retaining my A/C and power steering. This of course is after more mods and probably correcting some highway speeds as I am thinking 60mph will be the sweet spot on this car. I expect the worse of the MPG to be in the city which is all I drive to and from work, as my job is less than 10 miles from my home and I don't get on the highway what so ever.

So JMac your average may be worse at the moment but wait until I post my all city fill ups, it is going to dip a bit (for now!).

And yes the manual is definitely the way to go on the older cars and maybe in the future I might consider swapping one in, which isn't beyond my capabilities, but just really want to see how far I can push it in the automatic especially as I don't see too many on here. Thanks for the advice guys, can't wait to see what she can do.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by ElJefe

I am thinking 60mph will be the sweet spot on this car.

If my experience with the 1998 manual over ten years is correct, the difference between 55 and 60mph is several miles per gallon. Sammy Hagar couldn't drive 55 after the aliens took him up to the mother ship. But if you can, you'll save a little more. Good luck... hope to exchange ideas with you in future...

[SentraSE-R]

Slower is better for mpg. Disregard the left hand portions of each graph, as they're P&G and next-to-top gear results. Our Elantra is an AT. The other two are MTs.

[95camaross]

i had one of those waaaay back in the day. Good on gas just watch out for the head gasket they are paper thin on those and blow right around where your at. easy to fix though.