I bought a 1997 Honda Civic HX

[mswehx]

I just turned 381,200 on my 97 HX ,I run full syn valv 5w20 engine and transmission ,still have original clutch and all ball joints ,car runs great,ngk plugs ,and check the egr ports under the fuel rail they plug up with carbon and affect gas mpg,i clean mine every 100k. I change oil evey 7500 like the book says and timming belt 100k. Great car

Originally Posted by Titanium

I bought a 1997 Honda Civic HX that has a manual transmission from the original owner two days ago. The car is 100% stock, in very good condition and it runs great. This car has 167,000 miles on it.

When I buy a car with higher miles I like to change the engine oil, manual transmission oil, antifreeze, fuel filter, give the car a tuneup with new spark plugs and anything else it needs before I start driving it. I was thinking of using Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30 synthetic motor oil with a Mobile 1 extended performance oil filter on this car. I'm planning on driving this car over 400,000 miles...

I was reading the owners manual on recommended fluids and spark plugs for this car. Of course the manual says to use Honda fluids from the dealer.

What brands and types of fluids are you guy's using in your Honda HX's?

What spark plugs are you guy's using?

[Titanium]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Hey there, Titanium,

I'll second what Some Other Dave wrote - top gear at the lowest speed possible should give the best FE. However you might not want to do your commute at about 45 mph, which is approx the functional bottom speed for 5th in my HX. 40 mph works, but I'm not sure I'd want to do that long term. So, see below for some thoughts re. achieving Lean Burn in the HX. In my car, lean burn is usually available between about 61 to high 70's mph in top gear. Excellent for highway running.

For the HX I really recommend a ScanGauge 2 (or later??) with one of the X-Gauge optional gauges set for a Lean Burn indicator (LB). I might have posted the how-to for that earlier in this thread, but I can send it by private message if you ask. Net mpg increase from LB versus regular air:fuel ratio is somewhere between 10-15% so there's a real gain in knowing when you've gotten it into LB, from the gauge readout.

My car is kinda finicky about going into LB. I've written and talked with others who have HXs, and one guy with a Gen. 1 Insight which also has Lean Burn, and their cars aren't as finicky as mine. My point is, I can't say "put it at x rpm and don't stomp on it, and you'll be in Lean Burn". In my experience, it's not that simple - I wish it were.

You also want an MPGuino to read actual fuel consumption. About $50, but it's truly a do-it-yourself project. Well worth the effort though.

Mods? You get to choose, truly. Have a look at my car's page here:
Details: Lean Burn Civic - 1997 Honda Civic HX Fuel Economy - EcoModder.com
You can see the sequence I did the mods - easier stuff first. I keep putting off some rear wheel skirts. I plan to go down only about half way so I won't need to bow them out. I mentioned it because it should be relatively quick + easy.

And have a look at California98Civic's DX. Not a lean burn car but he's doing very well with it:
Details: Black and Green - 1998 Honda Civic DX Coupe Fuel Economy - EcoModder.com

Thanks for the info Brucepick. I'm very happy with the HX stock, but I need to improve the MPG by my driving habits a little. I'm driving the car 75 mph on the way to work just because everyone on the freeway is driving 70 to 80 mph on my commute.

[Titanium]

Originally Posted by mswehx

I just turned 381,200 on my 97 HX ,I run full syn valv 5w20 engine and transmission ,still have original clutch and all ball joints ,car runs great,ngk plugs ,and check the egr ports under the fuel rail they plug up with carbon and affect gas mpg,i clean mine every 100k. I change oil evey 7500 like the book says and timming belt 100k. Great car

Thanks for the tip on the egr ports under the fuel rail. How do you clean them?

381,200 on the original clutch? WOW! These Honda's last a long time as long as you maintenance the car properly and do not abuse the car. I baby mine.

[Dgreen78]

Originally Posted by Titanium

Thanks for the tip on the egr ports under the fuel rail. How do you clean them?

I would post a link but I dont have enough posts. Just google "hx egr cleaning" Their is a great DIY from tegger dot com. I just did this and it cleared up my CE light They were PLUGGED! I chose not to replace the gaskets as they looked good to me and the one behind the rail is a metal plate ($50 @ dealer ouch!) And when you pull the rail up just make sure the injectors dont come out of the rail and you wont have to replace the o-rings. Just check for leaks when you are all done with the job!

[cbaber]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Hey there, Titanium,

I'll second what Some Other Dave wrote - top gear at the lowest speed possible should give the best FE. However you might not want to do your commute at about 45 mph, which is approx the functional bottom speed for 5th in my HX. 40 mph works, but I'm not sure I'd want to do that long term. So, see below for some thoughts re. achieving Lean Burn in the HX. In my car, lean burn is usually available between about 61 to high 70's mph in top gear. Excellent for highway running.

For the HX I really recommend a ScanGauge 2 (or later??) with one of the X-Gauge optional gauges set for a Lean Burn indicator (LB). I might have posted the how-to for that earlier in this thread, but I can send it by private message if you ask. Net mpg increase from LB versus regular air:fuel ratio is somewhere between 10-15% so there's a real gain in knowing when you've gotten it into LB, from the gauge readout.

My car is kinda finicky about going into LB. I've written and talked with others who have HXs, and one guy with a Gen. 1 Insight which also has Lean Burn, and their cars aren't as finicky as mine. My point is, I can't say "put it at x rpm and don't stomp on it, and you'll be in Lean Burn". In my experience, it's not that simple - I wish it were.

You also want an MPGuino to read actual fuel consumption. About $50, but it's truly a do-it-yourself project. Well worth the effort though.

Mods? You get to choose, truly. Have a look at my car's page here:
Details: Lean Burn Civic - 1997 Honda Civic HX Fuel Economy - EcoModder.com
You can see the sequence I did the mods - easier stuff first. I keep putting off some rear wheel skirts. I plan to go down only about half way so I won't need to bow them out. I mentioned it because it should be relatively quick + easy.

And have a look at California98Civic's DX. Not a lean burn car but he's doing very well with it:
Details: Black and Green - 1998 Honda Civic DX Coupe Fuel Economy - EcoModder.com

I noticed on your cars profile that you want to add a spoiler? Are you talking a custom one or the OEM civic spoiler? Right now I have the original spoiler on my HX and was considering taking it off to reduce drag. I cannot find good info about whether or not these spoilers help or hurt with drag. Some have said it directs air in a way that reduces turbulance. Others say its purley cosmetic and just creates more drag. I am just curious if you have come accross some evidence that the spoiler actually helps.

[Dgreen78]

Is their any recommendation to a front spoiler/ air dam for the 96-00 Civic?

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by cbaber

I noticed on your cars profile that you want to add a spoiler? Are you talking a custom one or the OEM civic spoiler? Right now I have the original spoiler on my HX and was considering taking it off to reduce drag. I cannot find good info about whether or not these spoilers help or hurt with drag. Some have said it directs air in a way that reduces turbulence. Others say its purely cosmetic and just creates more drag. I am just curious if you have come across some evidence that the spoiler actually helps.

See my thread:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...vic+deck+coupe

Still in the middle of this project. Kind of on hold for the winter, just too darn cold out to be fiddling with it.

Sorry I cant' pass judgement on the Civic spoiler. Post a pic if you can. And read about spoilers in the Aerodynamics subforum. Search there on "Bonneville spoiler"; that's one good thread in addition to mine.

[Xhifer]

I just turned 150k miles and it is burning very little oil. About half a quart every 2-3k miles. I'm using pennzoil 5w30 fully sync

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by Xhifer

I just turned 150k miles and it is burning very little oil. About half a quart every 2-3k miles. I'm using pennzoil 5w30 fully sync

Mine burned lots of oil, about 2.3 to a full quart per 1000 miles. I had to check it every couple hundred miles to avoid losing too much. Only a half quart between the top and bottom dipstick marks on these cars, FYI.

A cylinder head job reduced it somewhat. Then I noticed the tranny housing was all covered in slimy oil on the outside. Aha moment. Oil likely leaking out the rear main seal. So I started using Barr's rear main seal leak remedy/sealer. It's very thick stuff, kinda like the old "Motor Honey". I'm now running 15W-40 Rotella, with the Barr's stuff and right now about 10 oz. Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) also in the mix. Oil consumption is now reduced to a much more reasonable amount, maybe 4 oz in the last 600 miles. Getting over 50 mpg too, so the thickish oil isn't keeping me from getting good mpg.

For one oil change I tried the less expensive Barr's oil seal treatment in the oil. Not "rear main seal", a general oil seal treatment. Not helpful in my car's case. Went back to the "Rear Main Seal" treatment and was helped again.

[ever_green]

high mileage oil like valvoline maxlife and castrol gtx hm helped my old corolla oil burner a lot. So Give that a try.