Got a civic

[reformed]

After much searching I purchased a 1992 civic lx. Its a 4 door with a 16v 1.5l and a manual trans. 800 bucks, just needed a cat-back exhaust system. Its not much to look at but its exactly what I wanted. I will be starting my mileage log as soon as I do my first fill-up. Feel free to barrage me with the first mods I should do.

The plan is to swap in a vx powerplant, but if I can get the car to get better than 40mpg without it, I might not spend the money (and time) in the swap. I'm not going to be a hypermiler, just normal driving conditions, about 50/50 with a light foot. Do you think its possible or should I do the swap?.. or at least the trans?

[DifferentPointofView]

I'm not going to be a hypermiler,

... what do you mean? hypermileing is something everyone can do, regardless of distance and etc.

The trans, go with something that has higher gearing, if yours already has higher gearing, stay with that, if not, it depends on what you think is worthwhile.

Anyway, good job on the purchase!

[SVOboy]

Do the swap!!! You'll like it, I fancy.

[Daox]

To add to what DifferentPointofView said, a hypermiling is simply consistantly driving to achive greater than EPA estimated fuel economy. That doesn't mean you have to pulse and glide. There are a ton of other driving techniques you can use to increase mileage.

Before thinking about mods you should make sure the car is in good working order. After you know things are working well you can start doing some mods.

As for mods, what is your commute like? Highway travel is a great opportunity for aero mods. City driving is a great opportunity for engine warm up mods. Describe your commute and we can get you started.

[MetroMPG]

Hey congrats Trevor. Post up a pic!

Right off the bat, I'd make sure the engine is in good tune. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, filters, timing, PCV valve, etc. Do an engine & transmission oil change with the lightest weight synth you're comfortable with.

Max out the tire inflation.

Think about installing a block heater.

Then I'd consider doing some simple aero mods:

- passenger mirror delete, with inside replacement (and more driver attentiveness)
- partial grille block
- mudflap delete (if it's got 'em)

Head over to the uber list of aero mods to see if I missed any that you might want to tackle.

[DifferentPointofView]

To add to what DifferentPointofView said

Uh... my name is kinda long... so if you want to abrv. go right ahead.

As for mods, what is your commute like?

I think he said the commute was 50/50, but I'm not clear on what he was referring to on that one.

[Daox]

Originally Posted by DifferentPointofView

Uh... my name is kinda long... so if you want to abrv. go right ahead.

copy & paste

[DifferentPointofView]

Hmmm... Yea I forgot about that function... Oh well. I can type faster than I can move my mouse up the thread.

About block heaters.... my timer froze up.... so My block heater hasnt been doing any heating these past few days. It's snowing so bad outside right now I was doing 25 on the highway. good thing I only had to go about 2 miles.

[reformed]

Thanks guys, I will definitely start with the suggestions you've given me. I think I'm going to do the swap too. I still have my other car and I'm thinking I might as well do it while I still have an alternate means of transportation, instead of deciding down the road that I want to do it and have already sold my other car.

As far as the tire inflation, I've seen many people overinflate their tires. I'm a pretty careful driver, and I know how to handle a car if it loses control, so the contact patch isn't what concerns me as much as the possibility of blowing out the tire does. Lets say I went with 40psi instead of the 32, or whatever the tires are capable of, is it much more likely to blowout?

I'll get a pic soon, if you want. I have it over at a shop right now. I'm no good with suspension work and it needed a lower control arm and an inspection.. while it was there the distributer quit on them and they had to push it out of the bay, haha. Its dumb luck that I just happened to have one laying in my basement from a previous swap I did a couple of years back, so hopefully I'll be up and running in the next couple of days.

[MetroMPG]

You're less likely to have a blowout from high inflation pressures as far as temperature is concerned - higher pressure = less heat build up. You may be at more risk of a blowout from hitting a pothole. (Though I haven't heard of anyone having a blowout from that situation either.)

And if you're a good driver, you don't have to worry about regaining control, 'cause you're not going to lose it in the first place!