Budget City-Driven Civic

[Christian]

Hey all,

I'm currently in the process of selling my 08 Accord Coupe V6 6spd due to paint peeling issues that are progressively getting worse and driving me nuts. Once the car is sold, I'll be driving my "winter beater" which is an 02 Civic Coupe LX 5spd. It's sad because I love that accord, and the civic is much more dated and basic, but I'm a student, and it's not a great market for buyers right now.

While I wait out this crazy car market, I figured I'd finally take a shot at an eco build. I'm a long time lurker and have always been intrigued by hypermiling (and Honda insights!).

As previously mentioned, I'm a student. My drive to school is roughly 1.5km (0.93mi) and my drive to work is roughly 11km (6.83mi). I live in a pretty hilly area so, I'm not expecting to really get better mileage than the EPA ratings, and this isn't going to be a way for me to save a lot of money, because I don't use that much gas in the first place, I just figure it is an interesting and very different way to drive than I am used to, and could be somewhat of a hobby.

So far I've purchased a Scangauge II that is set to arrive next week, once I am driving the civic I'll be filling the tires to 39-40psi, and I may do an upper grille block as I live in Canada and this will help me reach ideal operating temperature much faster (block heater is out of the picture). I understand that driving habits are going to greatly outweigh any crazy mods, but is there anything else you would recommend mod-wise for an eco-friendly city driver? I don't plan on kill switches or EOC as I'm a bit concerned about the safety of it (not knocking those who do it). The car is meant to still be a good daily, so I'm not interested in stripping the interior.

I've added my Civic as a vehicle on this forum, and once the Accord sells I'll begin tracking my fuel and updating you! In the mean time, if you have any tips let me know, I'm very curious if any of you have experience with trying to eco-mod a car that's mainly city-driven.

Thanks for taking the time to read,
Christian

[ECO-AKJ]

Based on your introduction, I would recommend getting some instrumentation that tracks fuel flow, then you can see if your car cuts off the fuel on deacceleration, if it doesn't, see what the flow rate difference is between coasting in gear with engine running versus pushing in the clutch and letting the engine idle.

[Christian]

Thanks ECO-AKJ. I’ve got a Scangauge II on the way. I’m looking forward to getting started