Best comfort upgrades - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Rusty94cx · 05-10-2013, 09:28 PM

Ok so we all know the civics are great for the fuel economy. All trims and models. We also know that they are stripped of creature comforts. So far the vx has gotten front sway bar 25-35$ the newer front arms had nice newer bushings so good buy took about an hour. Next up dead pedal free at junkyard. 5 min and nice to rest on lOng drives. Next clock 20$ and about 10-15 min install so nice o have a factory clock where it should be. Next intermittent wipers love it must do upgrade 15$ possibly. Need the icu back of fuse box and the wiper stalk. Took probably 15-20 min. Love it. Last but not least those eg seats are so not comfy. Prelude seats installed. Best ever tool me about 2 hours but I'm not sure what I was trying to do at first. Should be and noe would take 30-45 min. Man adjustable lumbar support lots of bolstering. They are a billion times better than the factory seats.
Anyone have any other nice comfort upgrades for the civics? Rear sway bar is coming sooner or later. Considering doing a rear disk swap. They do weigh 14 lbs total more I believe. The stoping power is far improved. There is one close for the right price. Contemplating.

mcrews · 05-10-2013, 10:09 PM

I wont go w/ o a/c .....but that's me.
And I would also have am/fm/xxxx w at least 2 speakers and a bass.

Smurf · 05-10-2013, 10:35 PM

I need tunes. Wiring in my phone with MP3s on it does the trick, with a vent-mounted holster. Also, maybe some 35% tint? Not too ricey, but it'll help keep it cool with decent visibility.

Xist · 05-10-2013, 10:38 PM

I have seen 121° here in Phoenix.

As for music, I currently have a tape deck. The radio does not sound too good, my dashboard vibrates or something.

I have more pressing concerns.

mcrews · 05-10-2013, 10:40 PM

yeah gotta do tint.......I also had gotten some window visors on the Infiniti Q45. good for cool mornings w/ no a/c.

ps, I had the rears tinted legal, the put on the cling tint to REALLY make it dark. If you get stopped you can pull the cling right off.

Remember one trip thru AZ it was 110 at 2 pm. I had stopped at the walmart to get some fruit and stretch. Got back in the car and it was still 'cool'.

Rusty94cx · 05-10-2013, 11:17 PM

Yea got factory a/c so that's a plus. Though about the tint not sure though. Like stated afraid to look all ricy. Got decent tunes and speakers.

PressEnter[] · 05-11-2013, 09:21 AM

For highway trips, I have to have cruise control. Even if I don't use it all the time, I need to be able to take a break and move my leg around to keep it from cramping.

Rusty94cx · 05-11-2013, 07:46 PM

I thought about adding cruise but I'm never on a long trip in the car. Got 90% of the parts needed to add it to the car. Hmm Good one but the other problem is it would be out of lean burn mostlikely whenever I were to use it.

dlb · 05-12-2013, 12:31 PM

of all the mods listed so far, ADJUSTABLE intermittent wipers, a clock, and possibly the prelude seats are most interesting to me. a decent stereo is a necessity to me so that's mandatory.

i hate non-adjustable intermittent wipers though because they are always too fast or slow, rendering that setting useless. i prefer the civic's stock mist/low/high configuration to non-adjustable intermittent because at least you can just tap the stalk when you need a wipe every not and then. i don't think i've seen adjustable ones at the wrecker yet. still not terribly familiar with these cars yet so i'm not sure if any compatible adjustable ones are around. i put adjustable ones in my 4wd tercel and 4wd corolla and it was one of my fave mods.

the clock issue is covered by a decent aftermarket stereo, which usually displays the time. two birds with one stone. i usually go with something that has both USB and 1/8" inputs so we can use ipods, blackberries, flash drives, etc. the civic does not have many good mounting points for rear speakers but i did find spots for a pair of 5.25" JBL's i had laying around. i can take a pic if anyone is interested. i wanted to put a sub in the back but my wife is always putting her horse saddle and stuff in the back so it wasn't practical. i also view subs as a necessity since small speakers can't make the bass necessary for a full range of low end frequencies. i'm not into window rattling, high school parking lot bass blasting though, just a great overall stereo experience.

rusty, do the prelude seats require any mods to fit the civic? what years/generation of preludes did you use? can you post some pics? i love good lumbar support.

i may be in the minority here but i wouldn't sweat an extra 14 lbs for rear disc brakes. i think if anyone is that hellbent on cutting weight from a vehicle, they should first make sure that they are personally not overweight. if a driver is 50 lbs overweight, that's an extra 50 lbs that is always in the car when it's driving.

not into tint, personally. had it on previous vehicles and found it was more or less just for fashion. didn't noticeably cut down on heat in the vehicle, and it was easy to damage with cargo in the back. dark tint made visibility an issue at night which was a big deal. not a fan of A/C because it doesn't get hot enough here to use it, and it takes up valuable wrenching space in the engine bay.

Rusty94cx · 05-12-2013, 05:38 PM

The prelude seats I got came from a 92 life the eg rail needs to be swapped on the outside of the seat. You do have to drill 3 holes for this to work. The inside rail needs to to be modified if you want the front bolt to work. Right now seats only have 3 bolts holding them down. If I get in a serious enough wreck that I'm concerned about seats shearing off there are probably worse things killing me. All in all fairly easy. The intermittent wiper my original stalk was broke so why not put in the upgrade. Its actually decent for the sweep speed. I forgot I also undercharge the inside of the rear cargo area. Done after stripping all rear interior. Rustproofs and deadens the road noise a bit.