00 Civic Ex vs 00 Civic Hx MPG?

[IWantHX]

Yeah, according the the MPG above, the HX doesnt really get all that much better mileage than the EX, and then I wouldnt have to swap all the stuff I like from the EX onto the HX. And apparently no lean burn on the cvt hx either which is pointless.

Which intake style would be best for mpg? short ram intake, cold air intake, or icebox intake?

Maybe if the y8 takes a dump I will do the y5 + hx manual swap.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by IWantHX

Which intake style would be best for mpg? short ram intake, cold air intake, or icebox intake?

If you are running at near red line on a race track then any of those should work fine, if you are not racing and are keeping your RPM's more reasonable then non of those are going to do much good, the lower the RPM's the longer you want your intake.

[IWantHX]

Originally Posted by Ryland

If you are running at near red line on a race track then any of those should work fine, if you are not racing and are keeping your RPM's more reasonable then non of those are going to do much good, the lower the RPM's the longer you want your intake.

I'm not asking which intake would make the most hp at high rpms or w/e, which style intake generally produces the best mpg if the car is driven for economy. I used to want to make my civic fast, and would floor it everywhere just to hear the engine and exhaust, but lately I've been driving like an old lady, hardly ever passing 2500 rpm.

If I drive slow, and stay below 3000 rpm, which style intake should help with my mpg? My long tube Aem cai, a short tube sri (either cut mine shorter or buy a "whale penis"), or something like the Comptech Icebox?

[PaleMelanesian]

Theoretically, the longer intakes are better for low rpm and shorter is better for high rpm. In the real world, though, I get by just fine with OEM.

[Ryland]

As I said, you will most likely not see an improvement in gas mileage with any of those air intakes that are designed for engines that are running at higher RPM's, the same math based theories that say larger around and shorter intakes are good for higher RPM's say that smaller around and longer intakes are better for low RPM's, it's the same math that is used.
And if you look at the cars on here that are getting the highest mileage, they are often running a warm air intake.

[IWantHX]

Wouldnt a warm air intake pretty much just be a short ram intake where the filter is still in the engine bay as opposed to the front bumper like a cold air intake?

[Ryland]

A well designed warm air intake is sized for the engine and cruising RPM and then it takes air that has been heated by the exhaust, there is enough air flow in the engine compartment that it's not much warmer then what you see from a "cold" air intake, but if you duct 100 degree air from near the exhaust, you see an improvement.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by IWantHX

Wouldnt a warm air intake pretty much just be a short ram intake where the filter is still in the engine bay as opposed to the front bumper like a cold air intake?

What Ryland said, and my experience in my car to add to his: my 1998 Civic's WAI is black plumbing pipe, running from the airbox forward over the junction of the Distributor and then curving toward the exhaust manifold heat shield. It is just the tube, no filter on the end. Filter is still in the stock airbox. Last summer I saw intake air temps over 145*F at times. Commonly mid 120s to 130s. Without it and without my grill blocking, the temps would be closer to 80s, 90s, or maybe 100. I tested the results ABA and saw a modest 2% improvement (results posted on this site, search for it). The best explanations I have heard for this is that (1) the warmer or even hot air allows better atomization of fuel and maybe more plausibly (2) that the ECU adjusts to the lesser air density by reducing fuel and that leads to a gain in fuel economy because I then have to open the throttle wider to get the same power and therefore I reduce pumping/throttle losses in the engine because the throttle opening is wider than it would be, making the intake strokes less of a loss to overall engine efficiency.

A CAUTION: before you make a WAI, take a look at SENTRA-SE-R's testing here at EM. His car is newer than mine and he has the MAP sensor that mine has plus a MAF sensor. It seems the MAF cars might not see a benefit, though I don't understand why. If an 00 Civic has a MAF, my test results might not apply to your car.

james

[hamsterpower]

Originally Posted by IWantHX

If I drive slow, and stay below 3000 rpm, which style intake should help with my mpg? My long tube Aem cai, a short tube sri (either cut mine shorter or buy a "whale penis"), or something like the Comptech Icebox?

None of them will help AT ALL! The best you can get is the one honda put on at the factory. The only exception would be if you were to add pipe to pull even warmer air from near the exhaust manifold to the stock air box. The complete opposite of what racers want from the products you listed.

[IWantHX]

Ok thanks guys. I guess if I ever sell my obd1 civic for a 96-00 civic I will just get the Ex and leave it stock, and if/when the engine and or trans fails I will swap in the HX y5 and manual trans, instead of buying the Hx and adding all the stuff I want from the Ex...