Civic VX cant get over 41ish MPG

[jlk16188]

Originally Posted by GTR

Looks really good

What'd you have to pay to get the fender rust removed and fixed from the body shop?

$700 but you get what you pay for. i was quoted $1500 by a different shop. I ended up redoing and touching up the paint after I got it back. I need to do some wet sanding to it still and get some dirt out of the paint that the body shop managed to spray right over. I have had to keep up regularly with the rust on the rear fender lips and grind them down and coat them with POR-15 even after the rust repair from the body shop

[slogfilet]

Were those the "custom 4-port" fuel injectors you bought and installed? I've seen them on eBay for ages, but never heard any reviews or results about them. Do you attribute any increase in mpgs to the injectors?

I'm considering getting mine serviced, or springing for some new ones.

[jlk16188]

Originally Posted by slogfilet

Were those the "custom 4-port" fuel injectors you bought and installed? I've seen them on eBay for ages, but never heard any reviews or results about them. Do you attribute any increase in mpgs to the injectors?

I'm considering getting mine serviced, or springing for some new ones.

yes thats exactly what these injectors are. I really cannot comment of their performance vs stock. When I got this car it was in such a mess electrically and mechanically that i just started throwing parts at it to get it moving. It started by giving me 25 MPG so i put injectors into it thinking I had leaking 230,000 mile original injectors. As it turned out the O2 sensor was bad and all of the wiring harness was so hacked up due to the previous owner attempting a K engine swap that the car was running the fuel pump non stop.

So in short, I have plans to swap out these injectors with the stock ones just to see where they sand but as of now, I dont know if there is a difference. I was blinded by results as I slowly got this car working and back to an original stable state

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

Hello jlk16188:

I'm finding myself in a similar spot as you were, whereas I've been averaging around 37mpg on my 94 Civic Vx, with over 233,000 miles on the engine. My goal is to also achieve the ever coveted 50mpg.

So far, I have done the following:

-Installed & indexed new OEM NKG spark plugs.
-Installed a new OEM wire set from Majestic Honda.
-Installed a new OEM fuel filter/Majestic Honda.
-installed a new OEM cap & rotor/Majestic Honda
-Installed a new air filter.
-Cleaned out the idle control valve (i.e. which fixed my hunting idle)
-Cleaned out the throttle body.
-Did an oil change with Amsoil 5w30 with Amsoil filter.

Soon enough, I plan on installing the new exhaust in addition the the new 5-wire OEM O2 sensor. Given your previous experiences, I'm hoping that you can make additional suggestions to achieve this goal...Thank You.

[jlk16188]

Originally Posted by Davo53209@yahoo.com

Hello jlk16188:

I'm finding myself in a similar spot as you were, whereas I've been averaging around 37mpg on my 94 Civic Vx, with over 233,000 miles on the engine. My goal is to also achieve the ever coveted 50mpg.

So far, I have done the following:

-Installed & indexed new OEM NKG spark plugs.
-Installed a new OEM wire set from Majestic Honda.
-Installed a new OEM fuel filter/Majestic Honda.
-installed a new OEM cap & rotor/Majestic Honda
-Installed a new air filter.
-Cleaned out the idle control valve (i.e. which fixed my hunting idle)
-Cleaned out the throttle body.
-Did an oil change with Amsoil 5w30 with Amsoil filter.

Soon enough, I plan on installing the new exhaust in addition the the new 5-wire OEM O2 sensor. Given your previous experiences, I'm hoping that you can make additional suggestions to achieve this goal...Thank You.

Make sure you have no check engine codes. My wiring was so hacked up on mine I started throwing parts into it before realizing the CEL was not functional. Once I got all of my wiring mess fixed I had to replace the O2 sensor and fix the ground at the circuit at the thermostat housing.

Have you checked your ignition timing with a timing light? Mine was out and I found that the mechanical timing was also out by one belt tooth. Once that was fixed it seemed obvious the rest was just little stuff.

Also check your EGR system. I though mine was clogged and after modifying the intake manifold to gain access to the EGR ports I found it was clean. Yet again another oop moment when trying to throw things at the car without properly diagnosing the problems.


My VX was a pretty unique case though. It had been hacked up and engines swapped in by raceboy kids that knew nothing of what they were getting themselves into and sold the car once they realized how far over their heads this project really was. Unfortunately for me I got a hold of the car and have been piecing it back together. I had to replace the entire wiring harness for the entire car/engine as a result and have been finding other issues that have been hacked up along the way.

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by jlk16188

Make sure you have no check engine codes. My wiring was so hacked up on mine I started throwing parts into it before realizing the CEL was not functional. Once I got all of my wiring mess fixed I had to replace the O2 sensor and fix the ground at the circuit at the thermostat housing.

Have you checked your ignition timing with a timing light? Mine was out and I found that the mechanical timing was also out by one belt tooth. Once that was fixed it seemed obvious the rest was just little stuff.

Also check your EGR system. I though mine was clogged and after modifying the intake manifold to gain access to the EGR ports I found it was clean. Yet again another oop moment when trying to throw things at the car without properly diagnosing the problems.


My VX was a pretty unique case though. It had been hacked up and engines swapped in by raceboy kids that knew nothing of what they were getting themselves into and sold the car once they realized how far over their heads this project really was. Unfortunately for me I got a hold of the car and have been piecing it back together. I had to replace the entire wiring harness for the entire car/engine as a result and have been finding other issues that have been hacked up along the way.

The good news to any of this is that I don't have a check engine at all. One of my problems appears to be a vacuum leak that I'm attempting to pin point. Plus, it probably wouldn't hurt to clean out the EGR valve given that my car is a completely stock Civic VX, with 20yrs of potential carbon build-up.

Setting the ignition timing is another matter. I do have a timing light; but I don't quite know how to use it yet. I'd be interesting in hearing any of your insights upon the matter, or if you could, direct to any leads from the internet...preferably, videos.

[jlk16188]

Originally Posted by Davo53209@yahoo.com

The good news to any of this is that I don't have a check engine at all. One of my problems appears to be a vacuum leak that I'm attempting to pin point. Plus, it probably wouldn't hurt to clean out the EGR valve given that my car is a completely stock Civic VX, with 20yrs of potential carbon build-up.

Setting the ignition timing is another matter. I do have a timing light; but I don't quite know how to use it yet. I'd be interesting in hearing any of your insights upon the matter, or if you could, direct to any leads from the internet...preferably, videos.

Checking ignition timing is really easy. I find it best to do it at night in the dark. First find your crank pulley and turn it until you can see the dashed markings on it and paint them white or some bright color other than rust brown so you can see them.

Your ignition timing is set by rotating the distributor. There are three bolts that hold it to the engine. Loosen then without removing them and this will give you some play and let you rotate the distributor. I like to use a sharpie and mark the current location of the distributor bolt ear in relation to its mount on the cylinder head just for reference.

Your timing light will have 3 wires going to it. The first two are power and ground which you can get from the battery of your car. The the next clips over the #1 spark plug wire, the one closest to the timing belt side of the motor. Once you have that hooked up go into you car at the passenger foot well and find the 2 pin service connector. I use a spade connector to short this out but you can use a paper clip or whatever. This will stop the ECU from trying to correct the ignition timing and allow you to check its actual position.

Now start the car, aim the light down the timing belt cover and pull the trigger. You are trying to line up the gun site looking nubs that stick out off of the timing cover with the lines on the crank pulley you previously painted to gain visibility.

If the timing is set correctly you will see 3 dashed lines close together and the gun site looking nubs will be aimed at the center line. You can rotate the distributor and see how the marks move and changes the timing. Dont be alarmed if you move the distributor and the idle goes up or down in RPM. Once you have it aligned where you want it, tighten down the bolts on the distributor, recheck the timing and youre done.

This is way harder to write out instructions on how to perform than it actually is to do. It can be done in less than 5 minutes and once you look at the car for the timing marks and play around with the timing light you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Davo53209@yahoo.com

Setting the ignition timing is another matter. I do have a timing light; but I don't quite know how to use it yet. I'd be interesting in hearing any of your insights upon the matter, or if you could, direct to any leads from the internet...preferably, videos.

Here is my link to how I did this on my Civic (write up with pics):
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post244353

I did a quick search for vids, but found none on your gen Civic. Yours is very similar to mine. Compare the instructions in the post above this one with my pics... that's all you'll need. Btw, reading the marks off the crank can be a PITA because of angles and obstructions. Be patient!

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Here is my link to how I did this on my Civic (write up with pics):
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post244353

I did a quick search for vids, but found none on your gen Civic. Yours is very similar to mine. Compare the instructions in the post above this one with my pics... that's all you'll need. Btw, reading the marks off the crank can be a PITA because of angles and obstructions. Be patient!

I read your thread and to start, I'd like to say thank you, it's quite thorough & helpful; but I need some clarity on just one thing. There's a gentleman who goes by mwebb who stated, "Base Ignition timing value or you will find degraded performance increased emissions and engine damage "

Seeing that I've never done this before, I'm no sure what to make of this, whereas it seems to read that if I try to do this blindly, I may do some kind damage to my engine somehow. Is it just as simple as lining up the marks with the timing light, or is there something more involved?

[jlk16188]

Originally Posted by Davo53209@yahoo.com

I read your thread and to start, I'd like to say thank you, it's quite thorough & helpful; but I need some clarity on just one thing. There's a gentleman who goes by mwebb who stated, "Base Ignition timing value or you will find degraded performance increased emissions and engine damage "

Seeing that I've never done this before, I'm no sure what to make of this, whereas it seems to read that if I try to do this blindly, I may do some kind damage to my engine somehow. Is it just as simple as lining up the marks with the timing light, or is there something more involved?

It is very simple. Just line up the timing marks properly. I believe the thread you mentioned discusses advancing or retarding your timing past the factory recommended specs to achieve higher performance of MPGs. I dont do this and set it to factory specs.