I'm back!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

My only objection to an outside staircase would be the lack of weather protection, but the space under such staircase could be used to store a motorcycle too...

Originally Posted by atomicradish

I'd prefer a small house with a huge garage.

Just a kitchen, a bathroom, a clothes washer and dryer, and a living room with one or two sofa-beds would most likely be enough, as long as the garage would be big enough.

Or I could just live in the garage, no house required.

Most of the folks who could stay overnight once in a while, if I lived in such a big garage, wouldn't mind sleeping on a hammock. Not a bad idea at all...

[freebeard]

My only objection to an outside staircase would be...

I was actually thinking of a specific example on Eugene's west side. The pole could double as an entertainment device.

My favorite floorplan exists a few blocks from here. It's an L-shape with the house right up against the sidewalk, with an enclosed two-car garage on the alley and an open carport at the corner. It's like a one-car showroom with the walk to the front door passing right below the kitchen window (for surveillance).

[atomicradish]

Originally Posted by samwichse

That 5mt 4cyl is going to be your go to for FE.

Just pulled these numbers on a 44 mi trip to the salvage yard to pick up a wheel in the V6. The trip was 90% highway. Kept steady foot on the throttle and speed between 55 and 62 mph. This car isn't as efficient in stop and go traffic, but on its pretty deep darn close on the highway! I'm happy with those numbers.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by atomicradish

This car isn't as efficient in stop and go traffic, but on its pretty deep darn close on the highway!

That's quite predictable for vehicles with a large displacement. Idling in the city will always be worse with a larger engine, yet once it hits the road being able to reach cruise speed with a longer gear and lower RPM leads to a more balanced comparison.

[atomicradish]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

That's quite predictable for vehicles with a large displacement. Idling in the city will always be worse with a larger engine, yet once it hits the road being able to reach cruise speed with a longer gear and lower RPM leads to a more balanced comparison.

I'm so glad that I hooked up the scan gauge to this vehicle. I had been previously driving this car indiscriminately, between city and highway. Now I make sure I only drive it on roads with relatively few traffic lights. I should be able to get well in excess of 400 mi out of a single tank of gas, as I'm averaging close to 30 mpg. Previously I was only able to get around 21 MPG, even driving pretty conservatively. While I have been in full-on eco driving mode, I never drove it hard because this model Accord has a very weak automatic transmission. With terrible numbers like those, I was suspecting there was something wrong with my car - possibly a rich fuel trim causing the catalytic converter code. Now, I'm not so sure about that.

All I've done is modify my driving habits and pump up the tires from 32 to 40 psi. I also installed a new China-zon distributor (the old one was slinging oil everywhere) and replaced a few old plugs ( when I replace them the year before I only got four on accident). I was expecting 30 MPG to be pretty difficult to achieve in this vehicle but its looking like a great starting point.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

It does surprise me that a '98 Accord would still rely on a distributor. Most of the cars of that vintage that I was used to, basically Brazilian rebadges of the Opel Corsa B, got rid of the distributor in '96, and that was a much more austere econobox... Makes me wonder if converting to some distributorless ignition could be useful for your Accord.

[atomicradish]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

It does surprise me that a '98 Accord would still rely on a distributor. Most of the cars of that vintage that I was used to, basically Brazilian rebadges of the Opel Corsa B, got rid of the distributor in '96, and that was a much more austere econobox... Makes me wonder if converting to some distributorless ignition could be useful for your Accord.

Honda used a distributor on the '98 /99 year model V6 Accords and on all of the F-Series engines for the 6th generation, 98 to 02.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

OK, but would it be totally out of question to adapt some distributorless system? It's now quite common in my country.

[atomicradish]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

OK, but would it be totally out of question to adapt some distributorless system? It's now quite common in my country.

Almost all new vehicles use a direct ignition system to my knowledge. It is possible, but I don't see enough benefit from doing so to make it worth the time and money. I would have to cap off the spot where the distributor attaches to the camshaft. I would also need an ECU from a 2000 to 2002 Accord and to have it programmed to accept my keys. Possibly a new ignition switch as well and the coil packs.

I've never done a job like that, but I would imagine there might be other issues to come up as well. I don't see it passing the cost/benefit analysis.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

It's been a quite common mod in my country, even though it's mostly done in simpler cars. Coil packs from some Chevrolets are often adapted to models from other manufacturers too.