From 20 mpg to 36 the easy way...

[Marc F.]

My first tank was 36.999 mpg. That was with Geocaching, hwy, some serious lead foot and quite a bit of city driving. So I am doing a more "sedate" tank now, typical (for me) driving. I like the torque but dont tromp it often. I set the cruise and let it run the car up to work and back so I can get a good idea of mpg without my foot involved. So if I do the aero mods I can compare by using the cruise again and my foot wont do a better run one time or another.

Ok, so your going with aero mods. I kind of think belly pans and grill blockage (some) will be the way I go with that. As easy as it is to get get good fuel mileage the aero mods are understandable.

First thing I wonder and want to try is if there is a way to tap into the i-VTEC system and have an indication that its on. The goal is to know when its in economy mode and drive to keep it there.

It been a crazy week and I havent had time to lift the hood. But my thoughts are to find the solenoid and maybe tap it to light up an LED. I figure its 12 volt and I have to step it down, and an LED shouldnt draw enough to screw with anything.

I'll start with the net tonight. Tomorrow I start poking around under the hood.

[Marc F.]

During my search oddly enough this really neat forum called "Ecomodder.com" popped up...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...18-7820-2.html

Which lead to:

i-vtec solenoid wiring help - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum

EXACTLY what I want to do, and I get a head start. []

[Marc F.]

Half way throught the i-VTEC light install. Tested it tonight just at dark and it WORKS!

My wife, who I drug on the test ride, noted it was bright. I think she was bored and did not fully understand my "delight"... (no pun intended..)

I am 6 foot and about 190, stuffing myself under the dash to thread the wiring was, well, fun. I will finish tying everything up tomorrow, I ran out of light.

[Marc F.]

[ecomodded]

Originally Posted by Marc F.

My wife, who I drug on the test ride, noted it was bright. I think she was bored and did not fully understand my "delight"... (no pun intended..)

Next time don't DRUG her, and she may understand your delight

a seriously good mod you did,clean looking to i might ad.

[mmmodem]

That is mighty impressive. Very stock looking, although it might be a little low. That's not a normal place I would stare at while driving. I like the position that the author of one of your links installed it but the dash removal process is too daunting for me. I want to do this to my Civic as well but I'm deciding on the mounting location.

[Marc F.]

I was not going to rip into the dash like that. Hes a brave man. It is kinda low but Its not bad for me. I sit pretty far back due to being 6 foot tall and kind of lanky. Its in my lower vision and I figured the replacement cost for that little button cover would be minimal if I didnt like it. The dash mod is a one time deal.... The glow it puts out is easy to see even when your not looking directly at it.

My first trip got 40.6! The other tanks (without it) varied from 32 to 37 mpg. (Geocaching is hard on mileage, lots of idle time.)

It really shows how you drive. In traffic driving "normal" like everybody else, it hardly ever lit, and not for long. Being conservative with the throttle really made it light up. I did notice you have to accelerate lightly down hills to keep it lit, as soon as you back completely off the gas it goes out.

I need a scanguage to tell if its better to have it in eco mode or just come completely off the gas on hills. I have a feeling its better to get completely off the gas, what do you think?

[TEiN]

My guess would be that when you're completely off the gas, you go into DFCO, and there's no fuel at all being used. This is starting to make sense to me (we just bought a 2012 Civic LX, and I think it works the same way)... I think it coasts so well in DFCO because the butterfly stays open. Is that possible?

[Marc F.]

I just ment to introduce my car and the fact that I had moved a more fuel efficent vehicle. We got going into how to get better fuel mileage which is great but later some noob may not find this thread. So I started a i-VTEC Hypermiling thread.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post310062

We should move all these discussions over there to make them easier to find.

TEiN, I think your right, it would dump all the gas input and be just that little bit more fuel efficent. But the trick will be finding which hill or slope is best for eco mode, and which is best for completely off the throttle. I guess I have to buy a Scangauge now, darn. I wonder how I will break this to my wife...