ARZ's 2001 Honda Civic EX
 

Been a member for quite a while, have taken some stuff to heart, implemented other stuff on other vehicles, and yeah...

So, just graduated from nursing school, and my 81 Pup, while awesome, needs more work than I care to get done in the next month. I was suppose to inherit my wife's Echo (she just upgraded to a 2014 Mitsu Mirage), but due to a fender bender, it's been totaled (didn't realize we still had full coverage on it, 13 years old and 200k miles :rolleyes: ).

So, off to craigslist. Scored a low mile 01 Civic EX with a 5 speed for $5500. 71,000 miles. Babied, but could use a bit of updating. Looked for an HX, but everything I found had near triple the miles and was the same price.

Going to run as is for a tank or two of gas to get a good baseline. Going to use separate GPS to see how accurate the odometer is as well.

Planned mods:
Replace stereo with in dash with Nexus 7 (2012 version) android tablet
- this will be running Torque Pro for vehicle monitoring
- will also be running BT and Pandora for my listening pleasure
Needs tires before snow flies. Going to bump up a size.
Might get lighter rims if I can get a good price.
Window tint - hate untinted windows. Not limo dark, but needs some.

Off to read about more stuff.

Finally some pictures!

Low miles. Nice and clean.

Apparently I saved two posts for a reason.

Here are the boo-boo pics.

Before the repair:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1412429926


During the Repair:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1412429926


After:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1412429926


$100 trunk deck off Craigslist.
$120ish tail lights from Amazon.
Couple hours work, including sledgehammer massage
--------------------------------
Hard to tell the back was bashed. Slightly uneven gaps around trunk, but ehhh... it'll work.

Too bad about the HX; you can get decent mileage out of an EX, but with the shorter final drive you'll always know in the back of your mind it could have been better.

Yeah, I know. However, I'm not averse to swapping the transaxle, if I find the right deal.

Great find, any civic with under 100k is a rare vehicle on the used car market. Don't be too upset about the hx, unless your commute is completely flat and all highway you won't notice much difference in gas mileage. Just be sure not to use cruise control and practice active driving and you will be maximizing the fuel you are using.

Looking forward to pics & baseline info.

What do you think of the Mirage? Which transmission did your wife get & why?

She picked out a 2014 Mirage with the 5 speed. Reason: she prefers to drive a stick than a manual. She's not a hypermiler of any sort - just likes little cars that get good mileage. Nothing more than regular driving. First couple tanks were just shy of 50mpg calculated by miles driven / amount of fuel to fill up to full. She's more than happy. Convinced her that the extra couple bucks for the ES trim level would be appreciated in the long run as she'll keep this car until it's used up. The BT integration with the stereo is what got her. And it's red.

Edit: because of where we live, there is no trip that is shorter than 10 miles round trip. Her work is 25 miles from home. I'm just starting to look for a job, and anything I find will be at least that far. Need DDs with good-excellent mileage.

LIKES TO DRIVE STICK! Awesome.

Also, manual Mirage drivers are beating CVT drivers at MirageForum.com, despite the higher EPA ratings of the CVT:

CVT - 27 cars: 42.1 MPG (US) = 17.9 KM/L = 5.6 L/100 km = 50.6 MPG (UK.)
5-spd - 33 cars: 44.2 MPG (US) = 18.8 KM/L = 5.3 L/100 KM = 53.0 MPG (UK)

Source.

No surprise there: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-27416.html

So... had this for a week (literally, picked it up last Thursday) and some jackwagon hits it in the parking lot. :/

New tail lights and trunk decklid are in order. Should be a sub-$200 repair. But still pisses me off.

That bites!

I take it they did not leave a note...

Of course not.

I'll get this fixed for less than my deductable. Just a PITA.

edit: though it may be a reason (excuse) to do a vehicle wrap. I hate the champagney/gold/bronze color.

New tires before I had intended. Bolt through one required it.

Was going to go larger size, but was talking snow tires with the tire guy and he was pricing out same size snows (was going to stick with that due to possibility of needing chains) and then he offered me a buy 3 get 1 free deal on all seasons. Took it and not until I got home did I think to check the size. :/

I'll get over it.

Odds are good that yours will fail anyways. Input Shaft Bearing failures are common. See if you can find an HX tranny with a bad ISB. They aren't too hard to swap out, but you have to open up the case. Then have it ready for when the EX tranny gives out.

Any pics yet?

Pics are forthcoming. Just got a new phone. the one below is one of the first I took with it. And it makes me pretty happy - provided the odometer is accurate, and it seems close.

No mods to the vehicle. Pretty much just basic eco-driving stuff - almost all shifts were done about 2200rpm. Was always in 5th gear by 45mph. Coasting where ever possible. Don't think I ever hit 70mph. And almost all of my driving is approaching highway type driving, though usually at 45-60 mph. Think 2 lane country roads, and almost no stop and go rush hour stuff.

Fueleconomy.gov rates the 2001 5 speed Civic at either 33 or 35 highway - I can't figure out where there is a DX/LX/EX split on that site. Assuming my odometer and the fuel pump were both accurate (no reason to believe they weren't at least very close), this works out to 42.8mpg. Better than I got in my 81 Pup (2.2 diesel), and it's much smoother and easier to drive, though it is lacking in style (love the pup :thumbup:)

pics uploaded.

Second tank of fuel 3/4 gone, approx same MPG. Still need to verify odometer with GPS.