Project "Save the Flea!" Winter beater: 2007 Civic 1.8L, 5-speed

[MetroMPG]

Back window is plexi. 1/8th?

I'm just using commercial grade black garbage bag for the plastic skin. But I can't find my heat gun! So it's going to look all wrinkly until then.

[MetroMPG]

Some of the "camber" in the part seemed to get lost during construction. See how it's lifted off the trunk lid at the rear corners? I'm hoping it will flex it back down when I tape it on. It also lost some fore/aft camber -- I think putting in the plexiglass did that.

I was hoping to use this on a trip I'm taking tomorrow/Thurs, but it's pretty cold out and I'm reluctant to try taping it on in these temps. I'd like to get the car inside the workshop and warm everything up first. I'll probably save that for something to do on Sunday afternoon.

[awcook]

How do you plan on opening the trunk with that thing on it? Or do you plan on not using the trunk? That is the hardest part about the sedan, having to deal with the trunk when doing aerowork on the back.

[MetroMPG]

Others have made fancy hinges on the kammback to preserve trunk access... I'm not going to. But I will set the rear seatback latch in the unlatched position so I can still access the trunk through the cabin. (For those who don't know, the seatback release is inside the trunk.)

[pletby]

I'm not sure about your model year, but my 2000 civic also has a release in the cabin in front of the brake light that you need your key to operate. If you don't have that release the first time you push the seat back too hard you're going to latch it and have to go in through the trunk again. Or just leave the seats down.

Now you're giving me more ideas for my own car. Soon my Wife will refuse to be caught dead in my car. Ha ha!

I don't know actually if I would consider doing this in the winter. Days like today at -35 this morning would prohibit clearing of frost from a secondary window like that. This morning was quite difficult weather to clear the stock windows. Maybe if I had a garage, or install one of those little 12V interior warmers to run for the short while it would take to clear the window. Maybe just a regular house current interior warmer that would be turned on just prior to liftoff.

[awcook]

I simply cannot remove usability of the trunk because I still need access to the rear seats (friends and younger siblings rely on me). But I've got a long ways to go until I get to the kammback.

My car has pretty much the same release as yours, with the folding feature next to the left brake light on the inside of the trunk. I totally know what its like when people refuse to get in your car because they know you don't do things that other drivers do. My brother always tries to get me to turn the volume up in the car, but I don't do that because I know it annoys other drivers and it puts more strain on the alternator to power the stereo. He also wants to drive with the AC on or for me to drift around corners in the neighborhood like his friend did.

I still have yet to do any mods to my car, but recently I did get instrumentation, which is actually helping me understand a lot about my car. I don't DWL necessarily with it (don't watch load %, just watch gal/h and inst MPG), but already I'm seeing major improvement.

I can't give fully tested numbers, but I can confirm that the automatic version is really amazing once it is in its top cruising gear. At about 40 MPH I get 60 MPG w/out cruise control going through hilly terrain. At 50 MPH I get 55 MPG, 60 MPH I get 50 MPG, 68-72 MPH I get around 42-48 MPG. I haven't gotten much of a chance to test it out alone, since I had my brother and his friend in the car while testing and they wanted me to keep AC / Heater on.

To keep myself warm in the car during these Winter months, I like to throw my socks in front of a space heater as well as my jacket, then put them on and get in the car to keep me warm. This usually will keep me comfortable enough to make it through the warmup period of the engine. This obviously isn't Canadian Winter, but it does the trick for me.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by awcook

I simply cannot remove usability of the trunk because I still need access to the rear seats

I'm not giving up the trunk, just making it less convenient to use. Access will be via the cabin, through the folding seatback. The seat back will still fold up & down so the seat can be used.

I can't give fully tested numbers, but I can confirm that the automatic version is really amazing once it is in its top cruising gear. At about 40 MPH I get 60 MPG w/out cruise control going through hilly terrain. At 50 MPH I get 55 MPG, 60 MPH I get 50 MPG, 68-72 MPH I get around 42-48 MPG.

With its better gearing, the auto should outperform the manual on a 100% highway drive in the same conditions. But those gauge readings are likely optimistic. Mine was 10% off until I calibrated it.

[awcook]

Next tank will tell if these numbers are optimistic. This tank is pretty much screwed and I introduced the gauges about 1/4th of the way through the tank (the first 1/4 was really bad, I think I went through 5 miles in one gallon )

Course I do think that these results are pretty accurate, I have seen some people get 44 MPG going between 72-79 on all highway drives in this car. Only time will tell though.

[MetroMPG]

Time will tell indeed. I probably won't need to fill again until later this month.

I'll be working on the tail again this weekend. Progress pics to come, of course.

[MetroMPG]

TAIL LIGHTS! Get it?



These are off a late 80's/early 90's Suzuki Swift GT parts car I have in my collection. They've got everything: running lights (including side markers/reflectors, licence plate lights), signals, brakes, reverse & rear reflectors. I chopped off the segments with the reverse/reflectors/license lights because otherwise it was all too wide for the end of the tail.

I just have to wire them to a trailer harness and then I'll have a quick release to the trailer plug on the Civic.

The donor: