1991 Civic DX lurker coming out of the shadows

[California98Civic]

Set up a fuel log. Good for tracking.

[Daschicken]

Those aren't actual spare TIRES are they? MetroMPG did a rough rolling resistance test of a bunch of tires, and the spare tires did not do good. The best performing were the RE92s.

Also..

Originally Posted by sluggo1010

Unfortunately car is an automatic since my one daughter does not drive stick

Your daughter will drive that thing under her own will???


Looks like your mods are on point, try more driving technique modifications if you have not already. 38 MPG with all those mods sounds a little low. And note that if you are EOC'ing, you should not be switching the ignition all the way off. Switching to ACC will shut off engine and not lock steering.

[elhigh]

Well I was going to say don't EOC an auto, but reading the manual for a 91 Civic says it's okay. Low speed limited distance, the usual caveats but not the insta-kill warnings we usually expect RE: coasting in neutral with the engine off.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by elhigh

Well I was going to say don't EOC an auto, but reading the manual for a 91 Civic says it's okay. Low speed limited distance, the usual caveats but not the insta-kill warnings we usually expect RE: coasting in neutral with the engine off.

Isn't that just because any car is capable of doing it, but they say keep it slow and short to avoid tranny damage?

[elhigh]

To a degree yeah, but up until a few years ago it seems a lot of Honda models were safe for flat towing, even the automatics. Stop every couple of hours or so, start the engine of your dinghy Honda and run it through the gears, leave ignition in ACC and gear selector in N, no worries. So for EOC it really shouldn't be an issue.

Usually the kind of warnings about flat towing I have seen were along the lines ONLY IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO and JUST FAR ENOUGH TO LOAD IT ON A TRUCK, with JUST DON'T coming in a close third.

[ProDigit]

Didn't read the whole thread, but why in the world would you get rid of the safety belt, and replace it with a lap belt?
You're saving perhaps 2-3LBS on material, and make yourself lots unsafer.
Also, the spare tires aren't meant to be driven on.
Any accident with them, and your insurance can refuse to pay you.
They're rated for 80MPH top speed, and usually aren't made of long lasting rubber.
Perhaps good enough for 10-15k miles at best.
They're pretty lousy with punctures.
They run hot, and brake very bad!
It's totally not recommended driving on them!

I'd strongly recommend to find rims and narrow tires that fit on them, with a diameter of the wheel well.
Get rid of the wheel well liner, and spray paint with plastidip. That way you can maximize tire diameter. That's going to give you much better MPG than running on spares!

[19bonestock88]

They do actually sell a 125R15 car tire meant for permanent use... they were commonly found on old VWs apparently... still says nothing of the integrity of the wheel itself...

[sluggo1010]

Well, finally got through a second tank to get mileage numbers. After researching here and elsewhere, I deleted the hot air intake loop that I had on the first tank with very good results. First tank (with heated intake air) came in at about 37 mpg, this second tank (no heated intake air) came in at 48 mpg. Old school motor would have made sense to heat intake air, but with ECU modifying fuel and other factors based on temperature, it obviously is counterproductive.

Pretty happy with 48 mpg from an automatic transmission car !

[ProDigit]

Hot air intake only helps on low loads, like cruising. MPG gets worse on acceleration, as you would just press the pedal further.
It works best on cars without knocking sensor, that are running on low compression.