My 02 Civic Build

[Topdawg_135]

Hello everyone. I've been lurking around the site for a couple of years now and finally decided to share my work/plans.

First a little background story of why I have had to put my build on hold for a while. When I first started driving I was into the import race scene. Being young and stupid I installed some not so eco-minded parts and had a bad run in with the cops. Afterwords my parents tried to sell it only to end up keeping it and locking it away for 7 years.

Now that I'm out of college and working they have graciously decided to return it to me. I finally got a break from work and drove her back to Michigan a few weeks ago. Besides the fuel pump failing about 60 miles into the trip(lucky I brought all my spare parts) all went well the rest of the 1200 mile journey.

Since I've been back I've put a new bumper on it and am working on deleting the power steering and adding a block heater. My goal is to average 50mpg. My best so far has been about 38. Here is a little more about the car and my future plans for it.

2002 Honda Civic EX
manual trans
~73,000 miles

Current Ecomods
ScanGauge(Replaced this Ultra-guage)
Passenger Mirror Delete
Smaller Driver Mirror
Gutted Interior
Removed Pass and Rear Seats(installed as needed)
~13lb Driver Seat
LED Interior Lights
Fully Synthetic 5W20 Oil

Other Mods
4-2-1 Race Header
Tanabe 2.25" Cat-back Exhaust
RSX Type-S Muffler
Short-Ram Intake
Denso 255 lph Fuel Pump(replaced with OEM)
Koni Shocks/Struts
11" Front BBK
AEM Wideband A/F Gauge

Future Mods
Front Bumper Redesign
Upper Grill Block(Completed 5-28-13)
Lower Grill Block
Pass Mirror Delete Redesign(Completed 5-28-13)
Smaller Driver Mirror Redesign(Completed 5-28-13)
Smooth Wheel Covers(need to install)
Full Belly Pan
Killswitch
Lower Ride Height
Warm Air Intake
Power Steering Delete(Completed 4-14-13)
AC Delete(Completed 5-4-13)
Block Heater

Distant Future Mods:
Kammback
Actuating Grill Block
Sealed Panel Gaps
Lower Side Skirts
Rear Wheel Skirts
D17A6 swap
Sunroof Delete

I'll try and get some pics up later tonight of the car, upper grill block and the power steering delete.

All thoughts, comments and suggestions are welcome.

[MetroMPG]

So your parents put away a race car, and gave you back an eco-car. Funny how that turned out.

Looks like a pretty comprehensive list. 50 is do-able with that car - I'm sure you're familiar with some of the other modded Civics doing quite well around here.

You might want to consider some of its existing "performance" mods (e.g. header/exhaust). I'm far from an exhaust expert, but you'll find knowledgeable people who will argue that a system designed for high RPM/high flow may not be ideal for lower RPM efficiency.

Welcome to the forum!

[Piwoslaw]

It is good to see that you have turned over to our side of the Force, young padawan[restricted breathing]

[War_Wagon]

7 years of free storage? Man you are a lucky cat lol. My old man taught me how to power shift, but if I had ever got nabbed back in the old days he would have sold that thing to pay off my fines ha ha. The high flow exhaust reduces backpressure, which is what it's designed for. But that reduces torque. Torque is what gets you rolling from a stop, so for eco purposes, you want it. Especially if you do a lot of city driving. More torque = less RPMs to get rolling.

[Topdawg_135]

I've considered swapping back to the stock exhaust. Unfortunately the pipe was cut up to make another one. I know it wouldn't cost a lot to have a new one made but I feel that the money would be better spent on mods that have a greater impact on fuel economy. Has anyone quantified the % decrease in FE as it relates to exhaust ID? I think the stock was 2 1/4 inches so it's only 1/4 of a inch larger right now.

[Topdawg_135]

Sorry for all the dirt but NW Oklahoma is a dusty state with tornadic winds. I have plans to clean it this weekend.

[oil pan 4]

You should think about keeping the header.
My friend replace the cracked factory exhaust manifold ($250-$450 replacement costs) with a pacesetter 4 into 1 long tube set ($135) on his 4-cylinder toyota truck and saw no negitive impact on fuel economy.
I don't think keeping the header will hurt your fuel economy as much as switching it back to factory specs will hurt your wallet.

[Topdawg_135]

I'm about to finish the upper grill block in a couple of day and am wondering what color to paint it. I'm torn between black or color matched. I like the idea of color matching because it'll stand out, but I also like the black because it'll add some contrast.

[War_Wagon]

Hmmm, given your previous history with Johnny Law in that car, and the monster tach with shift light hanging off the dashboard, I'd go with whatever colour would attract the least amount of attention lol Though driving around with the shift light set at 2000 RPM would be a good way to get used to keeping your revs down.

[Topdawg_135]

Originally Posted by War_Wagon

Though driving around with the shift light set at 2000 RPM would be a good way to get used to keeping your revs down.

I've thought about it but I think I'm going to just pull the tach and move all the gauges around the instrument cluster elsewhere because right now I can only see 3/4 of my fuel gauge.