2006 Honda Civic project
 

Hi, I'm airfidget. I introduced myself in the introductions area a few days ago. I have a 2006 Honda Civic, I'm beginning to work on getting better fuel economy with it.
I'll use this thread to talk about my modifications to the car.
Early October 2016, new Yokohama touring S tires, max sidewall 51 psi, inflated to max sidewall. Also a four wheel alignment, and new rear shocks, old were blown and the old tires had flat spots from resonating on the road.
Since tires inflated to max sidewall, I've just been driving her normally, with some entry level hypermile get techniques I've always used. The first FE data point will be after roughly 200 miles of tank to tank type testing.
In my intro I saw people comment saying I should get a scangauge, I have ordered the ultra gauge instead, I couldn't tell if my civic is 100% supported by the scangauge. I'm sure it is, but It's a little funny how little fields it shows for Honda CAN formats. The ultra gauge should be in by October 29.
Lastly I ordered the alldatadiy.com manual for my Civic. I'll be using it to do a lot of my diagnosis and modifying.
My next plan is to get my base mpg rating with the new tires, and then do general maintenance on the car and check mpg again. Items include tune up, compression test, Restore compression, Restore fuel treatment, new fuel filter, clean and seal intake, change air filter, clean egr valve, Cataclean exhaust treatment.
Any suggestions on maintenance only right now would be appreciated.
Cheers.

I would avoid putting any "compression restore" gunk into your oil.

Why do you say that?

I'll be checking the compression before I put it in. Stock is 128 psi in the R18A1. If I'm within 10 I'll probably leave it.

I'm leery of putting anything into the tiny oil passages that is designed to attach and harden inside the engine. I expect you're as likely to do harm as good.

Anyway, I'm subscribed. =)

Hi there!
I'm from Europe and I have a 2007 Civic 1.8cc R18A2 engine, the hatchback european model...
Differences from R18A1 and R18A2 that I know: engine is pretty much the same, the A1 was built in US/Canada and some units had the engine block cracking issues. google it to find more info..
Gearbox in Europe there is 6 speed manual, and 6 speed auto or sequential called i-shift
The R18A1 I guess there is 5 manual with taller gears, and cvt I guess?!
Civiv Body is different from the US sedan, heavier but more aerodinamic...
I have a Scangauge and I still don't know the best way to maximise mpg on my Civic with my daily comute...
Still don't know best way to get up to speed: 70-80% load, or 99% load without enrichment...
Still don't know wich are the best shift points: 2k, droping to 1.5k, or 2.5 droping to 2k, or even 3k droping to 2.5k... Because this engine will enter easier on his eco i-vtec with the rpms above 2k... from 1k-2k rpms is dificult... the higher the rpm the easier the eco i-vtec engages, limited to 3.5k rpms.
It is LOAD dependent, and since we can get more hp and less load at higher rpm it's easier to engage i-vtec... (I have a i-vtec led light :) )
Also, low rpm bigger gear, could not be the best way to mpg for this engine since i-vtec reduce pumping losses, so 2.5k rpm can be better then 2.0k rpm...

Well you can check out this threads to more info...
check it out and let me know your thinkings :)
happy if we can help each other figuring this engine out for maximum mpg!!!
REgards.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...7-a-30111.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...1-a-29429.html

I second that motion ;)

How do I do @Somebody on here?

Anyway, @Ecky, I'll definitely investigate the oil additive before I put it in there. That was just my plan, but I'm flexible. I guessed that I would be at lower compression, because the car has 190k miles on it. But I'll show data of what I find. If I do find low compression, what would you suggest?

@Xavi, I'll definitely be putting in the eco-cam LED monitor, could you show photos of yours? Has there been anybody on here that controls the cam solenoids manually (switch or otherwise)? Mine is a 5 speed automatic (not CVT). I don't know any differences between US and Europe R18's dimensionally, but it looks like ECU tuning, or cam lift, or gearing are milder on the European models? Do you have a datasheet for R18A2? Below is a link to R18A1 datasheet.

Ah, I have to be at 5 or greater posts to post a link. Remind me to post it in a week.

will take some photos of mine later.
I just tap a led to the positive wire powering the solenoid that engages vtec...
I think someone try to control it manual but it got a cell light...

What do you mean by R18A2 datasheet? The engine specifications?
they are pretty much the same R18A1 and R18A2...
Other interesting links for you to look:

Technical Overview of Honda's new R18 i-VTEC Implementation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px0_6-Btx3Y

I understand the relationship between higher compression and better FE, got it...

But unless you are experiencing drivability issues, I wouldn't bee too concerned on whether or not the compression #s come on the lower end of the allowed range or not. (if #s are way out of range you should be experiencing drivability issues).

Yes, by all means take compression measurements for your own awareness. After all, compression #s are a good indicator of the overall health of an engine. So yes, be aware of your engine's health.

But there is no "quick-fix" for a REAL low compression issue. And additives can only temporarily mask a minor problem... If the engine runs good, then I wouldn't waste my time chasing imaginary FE improvements that may or may not be gained from a temporary few PSI of cylinder TEST pressure increase.

Obviously this is just my personal opinion and I'm sure someone may differ. ;)

If your compression comes up low, a cylinder hone and new rings are your best option. Any pour-in "fix" won't really fix it and won't last long in any case, though I see Engine Restore product gets some kudos on BITOG. And as Ecky pointed out, it could do more harm than good in those finicky little oil passages.

You pays your money, you takes your chances. There are known solutions that are known to work, and there are other solutions whose results are largely anecdotal. With enough anecdotes it can start to feel like hard data...but it still isn't.

Thanks MPGeo, no problem, I got the numbers in this weekend. Cylinder 1 - 4, 135, 125, 125, 115 psi respectively. Factory is 128. I'm good with that, so no restore additive. I'll be getting gas tonight, so it will be my first tank of gas check. I also received the ultra gauge last week, and I'll be starting to do A-B-A testing with it.

Next experiments will be fuel system cleaner (obviously cannot do A-B-A testing), and weight reduction (I will do A-B-A testing) just obvious items that I don't need.

I'll check back in a week or so.

Cheers to all the responders

Subscribed. Question: the range between your highest and lowest is kinda wide, like a 15% difference. That's an issue, no? I've been told more than 5% or 10% is a problem.

Also... how is the alldatadiy manual working for you? How extensive is it? Did they mail you a print copy or do you get it in an e-book form too?

Bah! I had my units wrong in my previous post. I'm sorry, I'm an engineer and I use metric all day. All of the units above should be in 100's of kPa.

Also my alldata manual says 28 kPa maximum variation. I tried to be consistent with cranks, cranking 5 times on each, but I could have fudged the last one. I attached photos.

alldatadiy, I definitely suggest a subscription, especially if you have two cars, you can get a discount, and especially if you want to modify electronics, they have very good diagrams of each connector on your vehicles. I have only

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1478004997

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1478004997

[imghttp://ecomodder.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20806&d=1478004997][/img]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1478004997

Best couple of gauges to add to your UG that I have found is Throttle Postion, the Avg MPG and INST MPG. I use my throttle position all the time because I can mess with hoe much pressure I'm putting on the pedal to squeeze a couple more MPGs out. I try to stay around 14-18% I have noticed the car stay at 9.4 just idling. Like most say the UG is probably the biggest mod you can do to the car.

I did quite a lot of maintenance to my car this past weekend. We'll see how it does.

I was doing maintenance so I couldn't do an ABA test, so I decided on AABB testing. On a 4.1 mile drag, I got 49.1 average down and back, and a 49.4 average down and back.

I then cleaned out the intake, new air filter, cleaned out the EGR, and put 1/2 can of seafoam in the fuel tank.

I'll run the seafoam out over the next few weeks.