Black & Green modding thread (1998 Civic DX Coupe base)

[California98Civic]

I wondered about an oilpan swap briefly, but didn't have time for the research and sourcing, given it's my DD.

On th mods you asked about... some are great by themselves, others are great because of how they interact with hypermiling. first on my list of three: the transmission swap was great for steady cruise at speeds like 45 or 50 mph up to 65mph. But the second of te three best, the injector kill switch is great because of how it helps hypermiling (saving ignition switch wear and making engine cut off safer and easier and therefore ore frequent). The last great one was the power steering delete, because it is stealth, and the PS is not needed on this little 2000 lb car. It was a dealer add-on.

Also highly effective and cheap:
airdam, grill blocking (with ducted opening to radiator), and radical weight reduction (weight reduction might equal as muc as an mpg per 100lbs in a little car like this and I took out more than 200 lbs).

Stuff that was good but that I paid for: Michelin Defender LRR tires and my VX 9.7 lbs wheels. I bought the wheels three or four years ago, with Harmonys on them and used up the tires. when I HAD to replace them, I paid for Defenders.

When you go shopping for LRR tires, compare UTQG ratings as well as price (use tirerack.com). The 13" Defenders have a great "820" rating so even at $324 for the set they compare well with Kumho cheapos tat sell for $188 but have a UTQG rating of 460. You have to buy twice as many Kumhos (and pay to mount them and such).

I also like my WAI, though it's FE benefit is probably small.

Oh, an my alternator on/off switch, which means I can charge the battery only in breaking events or when I need range (I plug my deep-cycle batt in at night).

[E.Roy]

I would not recommend the D16y8 aluminum oil pan for 3 reasons:
-The y8 pan drain plug threads are far more likely to strip out (why I switched to y7 steel)
-The y8 pan has less capacity, not much but its about 3.5 qts vs 3.9 qts for y7 steel
-The y8 alum pan weighs a more than the steel, ~9lbs vs ~6lbs
I posted some details in my poorly executed video on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqNZIKMiyH4

Nice build by the way, I am almost ready to install my '95 CX trans with the 3.25 final

[firehawk618]

Originally Posted by E.Roy

I would not recommend the D16y8 aluminum oil pan for 3 reasons:
-The y8 pan drain plug threads are far more likely to strip out (why I switched to y7 steel)
-The y8 pan has less capacity, not much but its about 3.5 qts vs 3.9 qts for y7 steel
-The y8 alum pan weighs a more than the steel, ~9lbs vs ~6lbs
I posted some details in my poorly executed video on youtube:

Nice build by the way, I am almost ready to install my '95 CX trans with the 3.25 final

Different strokes for different folks.

If a person doesn't over torque the plug then that's not an issue. I've personally seen both stripped out.

I didn't measure capacity but from what the book says the y5 and y8 are the ones that hold more.

Can't argue the potential 3 lb difference other than I don't think either one weighs 3 lbs total. I have to wonder how much that extra oil weighs lol

That being said personally the only downside I can think of for the aluminum pan is that if you bottom out on a big rock or something I can see it cracking vs the steel one bending.

Thanks for the video E.Roy It illustrates the difference in gaskets I was trying to describe.

[Xist]

Funny, aluminum is supposed to be lighter! It must be far thicker, as I suggested elsewhere. How much of a difference does three pounds make?

They are also supposed to dissipate heat faster.

The Al pan is rated 36 lb-ft and steel is forty, which is pretty close to me.

Put a Quikvalve on it the first time you change the oil and you should never worry about it again!

[firehawk618]

Originally Posted by Xist

Funny, aluminum is supposed to be lighter! It must be far thicker, as I suggested elsewhere. How much of a difference does three pounds make?

They are also supposed to dissipate heat faster.

The Al pan is rated 36 lb-ft and steel is forty, which is pretty close to me.

Put a Quikvalve on it the first time you change the oil and you should never worry about it again!

Personally will never go back to the steel one. Gaskets always seem to spew or seep oil for some reason on that one.

[California98Civic]

Three repairs: cracked plastic backings for door liner, window regulator stickiness, broken outer door handle. First and last solved, but had to give up on the window regulator.

Also spent some time planing new lower grill block (someone stole my license plate and part of the grill block with it). And began repairs to passenger wheel well skirt (shape and attachments have never been ideal like the driver side).



Was a great day in the dirveway!



james

[Daox]

Its always so nice to have working handles...

[Hog F150]

I see you are using royal purple motor oil in your MT, how is this working for you? I will be changing my MT fluid soon, and I want to use whatever is best for these vehicles. So many choices.. Honda MTF, Red line MT90, Penzoil synchromesh, Royal Purple synchromesh or motor oil. The book says to use Honda MTF, obviously, but it does say you can use a motor oil as a temporary fix until you can get the right stuff.

Also, what spark plugs are you using? The book says NGK with a number 5 in there, and others are saying the correct plug has a no. 4?

[E.Roy]

Redline MT90 is considerably thicker than the Honda MTF. But Redline offers their MTL, D4 atf (closer to Honda) and MT85

Check out the data sheets for viscosity on Redlineoil.com

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Hog F150

I see you are using royal purple motor oil in your MT, how is this working for you? I will be changing my MT fluid soon, and I want to use whatever is best for these vehicles. So many choices.. Honda MTF, Red line MT90, Penzoil synchromesh, Royal Purple synchromesh or motor oil. The book says to use Honda MTF, obviously, but it does say you can use a motor oil as a temporary fix until you can get the right stuff.

Also, what spark plugs are you using? The book says NGK with a number 5 in there, and others are saying the correct plug has a no. 4?

I did use Royal Purple 5w30 in my 1998 DX trans, but when I swapped the trans for a 1993 VX/CX trans I went to 10w40, because that was Honda spec at the time. Honda MTF did not yet exist in 1993. The Royal Purple was not in the trans long enough to really tell much of anything, other than that the car still shifted fine.

I do have two sets of NGK plugs. I alternate and clean them every 6,000 to 12,000 miles (when I do oil changes). One is NGK "ZFR5FGP" (platinum alloy) and the other is the ZFR5F-11 (resistor). ... hope that helps.

james