97 Civic HX best front bumper??

[davelobi]

Picked up a 1997 Civic HX that will need fenders, hood, and a front bumper cover. I'll be doing light-medium hyper-miling. No big mods, mainly driving habits.
Should I just put a stock one on or is there a better model/year that will be better aero? I just want to be able to bolt it on without modifications if possible. I'll be adding garden edging dam as well.

I just thought maybe there was a better than stock option possibility and knew if it existed, this was the place to ask. Thanks

[davelobi]

Oh, also want to make sure this is actually a leanburn engine.
HX badge on the back of the 2 door coupe could have been added. Interestingly it currently is upside down and says XH.

I had a hard time reading the block identification looking for the D16Y5 The first 4 are legible but the last looks more like a 6 than a 5, is that even a possible combination? Seems like the top of a five (the straight horizontal bar) but the bottom more resembles a 6. It does have an EGR and a 5 wire O2 sensor. It does NOT say Vtec on the valve cover. Is that a problem?

[Xist]

I do not know why anyone would pretend a car was an HX, instead of an SiR, since nobody outside of our community seems to know what it is or care.

This is the engine of my "HX."


This is one of my rims:

[davelobi]

Thanks for the engine pic. I just thought I remembered hearing that it would say vtec on the rocker cover. At close to $4/gal and likely higher the way things are going I could see hx badges being stuck on old civics at sale time. I think more people than from this forum know what kind of fuel economy is expected from an hf/hx/xfi/etc.
I'm intrigued with the extra bit of mileage available on a few cars and like to see how well I can do with them. I had no interest in this car if it was not an hx. The last two saturns I owned were the SL model, not the SL1 they were advertised as. The SL did not have power steering and was the car I wanted. My CRX was a HF. I would not have bought it if it was an Si.

Looks like I'll just buy a stock factory bumper cover unless advised different before I get to it.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by davelobi

Thanks for the engine pic. I just thought I remembered hearing that it would say vtec on the rocker cover.

Honestly, you probably have people faking that one. I am not positive, but I believe that Honda started writing VTEC on the engine in 2,001.

[freebeard]

I'd be looking for the parts as a package, in a color that doesn't clash with the rest of your car. Then do your thermostatic flaps and such in mill-finished aluminum.

[davelobi]

I decided, despite the possibility of 50 mpg, to let the HX go because I found another (bigger, think kids) good gas mileage car. I put it in the classifieds.
Thanks guys.
dave