Got a civic

[DifferentPointofView]

^ I hit potholes that bottom out my suspension everyday, and I haven't had a problem with my tires. The only problem I've had is my suspension takes more of the impact, and there's less ride quality.

[reformed]

Ok good, thats what i wanted to hear. I'm fine with less ride quality, too. What kind of mileage increases will I see with the overinflation alone? I've seen people claim 4-5 mpg average.. that seems awful high to me, but I'm new at this, so maybe I'm way off on that.

I've already bypassed the A/C compressor and I'm thinking of doing the same for the power steering pump. My past has been building cars that go fast, so I'm thinking along the lines of parasitic loss elimination to free up some hp, which should translate into better mileage, correct? I've done this on big block muscle cars, and all I did was just run a hose from the in to the out of the rack and fill it with fluid, not quite manual rack operation, but if I got away with it on a car that heavy, I'm sure I will be able to handle the civic.

Any other engine mods I can do for better economy? I'm pretty good with that aspect of cars, so if theres something I can do in that area, I will be more inclined to start there. I was thinking maybe a larger intake, but then I thought about the car's computer correcting for more air, by adding more fuel, which is counterproductive to the goal I'm trying to achieve here, am I right in this assumption that the car will add more fuel?

Also, to address the commute question, Its about 50% city and about 50% open road to work.. maybe more towards 60% city and 40% open road, not highway, just a long stretch of road with no stop signs and no signal lights.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by reformed

What kind of mileage increases will I see with the overinflation alone? I've seen people claim 4-5 mpg average.. that seems awful high to me, but I'm new at this, so maybe I'm way off on that.

That's the problem with talking about MPG. It's kind of meaningless unless you know what the starting MPG was. If base mpg was 10, 4-5 is huge. If it was 70, less huge. Sorry - pet peeve.

The only person I know of who's done any systematic testing of inflation vs. tire pressure is krousdb. But I forget what he found. I'll go poke him and see if he has any info.

I've already bypassed the A/C compressor and I'm thinking of doing the same for the power steering pump. My past has been building cars that go fast, so I'm thinking along the lines of parasitic loss elimination to free up some hp, which should translate into better mileage, correct?

See this thread for some info. Careful, of course, as the power steering rack has a different ratio compared to a manual rack. (IE it's harder to steer a de-powered setup than a manual one.)
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10461

[s2man]

Wait. No one has said "a Civic for $800?!". I'd take that in a second. Hondas are off my short list because of their high prices, even at the auctions. Nice catch reformed.

[reformed]

Originally Posted by s2man

Wait. No one has said "a Civic for $800?!". I'd take that in a second. Hondas are off my short list because of their high prices, even at the auctions. Nice catch reformed.

Thanks.. and it only took me 2 months to find it, haha. Craigslist is actually a wonderful place to find a diamond in the rough, but thats not where I found this car. I found two others on there that I was going to go look at, the same day i found this car. They were in nicer shape, but asking $1,500 and $1,700. I also found many cars that I would have purchased but they sold too fast. I just happened to find this on autotrader and it was less than 20 miles from where I live. It was pretty much a right place, right time situation, because I never saw even one car on autotrader that was worth looking at before this one.

[reformed]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

If base mpg was 10, 4-5 is huge. If it was 70, less huge. Sorry - pet peeve.

Thats ok.. I never really thought of it in those terms really. Haha, I guess thats a frame of mind I'll have to get used to. I'm just so used to around 20 miles to the gallon that i never even thought of it like that.

...and thanks.. that link actually made me think about switching to a manual rack. I forgot how much lighter they are, and now I'm thinking if I eliminate the pump also, along with all the A/C components, that will be a substantial weight loss, on top of the hp gain.

[reformed]

Well... bad news. I just picked the car up and drove it about 15 miles or so and the oil pressure light started coming on at idle. I made it about 2 blocks before it started staying on even when RPM's were above 1500, so I knew there was a problem. As I was pulling in to a parking spot, I noticed it was just starting to make noise. Hopefully the rod bearings aren't spent. Its snowing like crazy here, so I didn't get a chance to look at it. I'll know monday If I will be starting my search for a vx powerplant sooner than planned.