Aeromodded Civic VX 72mpg (image heavy)

[The donkey CRX]

John, The wood boxes are on loan from one of the other tenants where our shop is located. They are made from 3/4" plywood and are assembled with yellow Elmer's glue and screws. They are 14" high, 17" wide and 24" long.

To get a car up on them requires a 2 step lift. First the car is jacked up with a regular car jack from the front and rear jacking points with the car wheels about 6" off the ground on jack stands. Then we use the "taller" floor jack in the picture to get the car high enough to clear the 14" boxes. This is necessary because the "tall" jack won't fit under a car unless it is first lifted.

The "taller" jack can lift as high as 32". Before I built this contraption we would need to put 4"X4" blocks on top of the regular jack, but this was way too unsafe.

[j12piprius]

TdCRX, thanks very much for the details. Thus I will need 4 jack stands, 4 boxes, and 2 floor jacks. I'm surprised those plywood boxes are strong enough.

Why do you have the floor jack raised up higher; is that just for mobility?

[The donkey CRX]

Here are some more detailed pics of how the adjustable "choke cables" are installed for the air dam vents and the adjustable WAI.

First, here is the HVAC vent in the top center of the dash which I removed in order to drill holes thru the cowl into the engine compartment to route the cables





I had to use some long reach drill bits to drill the holes because of the slope of the windshield. First I drilled a 1/4" pilot hole and then a 1" diameter hole with a step bit. I got all of these items at Lowes.



There are 3 metal bulkheads that need to be drilled through to get from the interior of the car to the engine compartment. The first 2 I drilled from inside the car and the last one was drilled from the engine compartment toward the interior. The cables are the 3 thick black ones coming straight out of the grommetted holes. The other wires are from the gauges to the sensors and power requirements.

[The donkey CRX]

John, The larger jack is lifted up on the dollys because it needs to be taller to get the car high enough so the wheels on the car can clear the 14" wooden boxes.

Yes, you will need all the items you listed, but could get it done with only one jack, if you took it off and on the dollys between lifts.

[The donkey CRX]

The Red Mule 92 VX got 87.22 MPG on it's first fill-up after being upgraded with a complete oil and water pre-heat system and an alternator delete with a 214 AH battery.

My goal with these upgrades was at a minimum to maintain the VX's lifetime MPG numbers thru this winter (life time in this case as May 2013 to present of 81 MPG). My "stretch" goal is to maintain the 90 day average of 87 MPG which was achieved in the months of July, August and September of 2014 .

The first fill up was today and I must confess that it was done with mostly temps in the 40's to 60's, as we had a little heat wave the last 3 days in West Tennessee. But I am very encouraged that these upgrades may help me meet my goals.

I would like to thank EM posters Brucepick, PaulGato, and California98Civic for giving me the confidence that these upgrades would work. I copied many of there ideas and I think they helped me avoid many issues that they overcame, sometimes at considerable cost.

I used Brucepicks wiring diagrams almost to the letter and totally used PaulGato's advice to go with one large (214 AH Odyssey) battery to make the install as simple as possible.

Only going through the next 4 winter months will prove my concept worked, but I am very encouraged by my first results.

I will post a few pics of what I did and will be happy to share anything that might help anyone thinking about these upgrades, just like I was helped in my quest for infinite MPG's and beyond by the above mentioned posters.

[The donkey CRX]

Here are some pictures of the items I used to assemble the "ultimate" oil and water preheat system, It consists of the following items:
1. 1500 watt Water Heater with Pump to heat and circulate all the water in the block and the radiator of the 92 VX to a temperature of 125 degrees.
2.400 watt Block heater to heat the water in the lower block to above 180 degrees.
3. 400 watt heating pad on the bottom of the oil pan to heat oil to 180 degrees.
4. 150 watt heating pad on the bottom of the transmission to heat the tansmission oil to 180 degrees.

Here are some pictures of each.

Here is the 1500 watt water heater and circulating pump. It takes water from the bottom of the radiator thru the drain cock and pumps it past the closed thermostat via one of the heater core 5/8" lines into the block.






Here is the 400 watt block heater which is on the front of the block right under the manifold. I removed the manifold and the exhaust down tube to get easy access to the threaded plug that was removed in order to install the heater.










Here are the two heating pads for the oil pan and the transmission






I will post pics of the alternator delete tomorrow.

3.

[OG VX]

Super awesome! Very cool. looking forward to the alternator delete pics and some stats on how the new system is performing. Always leading the way bro!

[The donkey CRX]

Here are some random pics of the alternator delete.

Here is a picture of the Odyssey PC 1800 214 AH battery in it's custom mount right behind the passenger seat. In front of it is the Dual Pro PS4 60 Amp charger that was recommended by the tech from Odyssey since Odyssey doses not have a charger available to adequately charge this large of a battery. I will still be able to fit a standard Honda passenger seat in front of the charger.







Here is the battery and charger after they were wired. On top is the 3-way switch that allows me to change between the regular battery under the hood, the Odyssey battery, both batteries or to disconnect both batteries. Also note the black 150 Amp safety fuse on the 12 volt lead from the battery.



Here is a picture of all the wiring required to connect to the large Odyssey battery and to disconnect the alternators heavy 4 gauge power wire.








This is where the alternator's 4 gauge wire and the 4 control wires coming out the back of the alternator are turned on and off.












Here is where the Odyssey battery is grounded and the location of the 500 Amp Shunt is installed in order to measure current amp draw and total amp draw from the battery.



Here is the gauge that is attached to the shunt, It will allow me to monitor how many amps are being drawn from the battery and will let me see the current state of charge (SOC) left in the battery as I drive the car. This will help me take good care of this rather expensive battery and allow it to perform for many years.




Let me know if you would like any more details.

[vrmouseyd15b]

Holy Christ! You are the most hard core ecomodder I've seen!

I absolutely love the little tags on everything including the wiring (from alternator, etc. .) Reminds me of pictures of custom aircraft

I'm still waiting for the day you guys put up some kind of a walk around/driving video. That has to be so freaking cool!

I'm totally jealous. That's a whole lot of hard work. Hydraulic crimping and heat shrinking all that wire must have taken for ever, but Jeebus, man that's beautiful work! Love the digital thingie under the hood-can you elaborate on that one for me please?

Edit: and that forklift battery disconnect? Magical.
Thanks,
Victor

[The donkey CRX]

Thanks for all the compliments Victor. I think you are referring to the CTEK 8 amp battery charger attached to the intake snorkel. It is used as the overnight charger for the under hood 12 volt battery. So when I go out in the morning to go to the shop both batteries are fully charged and all fluids are at 160 to 180 degrees. The batteries charge and are maintained with a "trickle" charge of 13.6 volts all night. I plug up the water and oil heaters about 2 hours before leaving.

Hope that answered your question.