My Civic modding thread (2000 Civic Dx Coupe)

[pletby]

Hey Gang, thought I'd post what I'm doing to my car in case it can benefit anyone else looking to boost FE. I'm not going to be OCD about it, but will post pics and describe what I've done. I've copied what others have already done, and if I come up with something new it's probably just different materials that I just happened to have on hand.

Since I've already done most of the mods that I intend to do on this car I'll list them now.

Tires 45 psi:
Easy enough, bit harsher ride but improvements in FE right off the hop

Kill switch:
Little harder to accomplish but major improvements in FE. I bought this car just for this mod when my old Contour died.

Synthetic oil:
Changed back due to engine noise (high mileage engine)

On Board Charging System:
Installed a Genius 7A Charger

Battery Blanket:
I live where it gets REALLY cold in the winter. This keeps my battery performing at it's best by warming it 20C above ambient. Disconnected when the snow melts.

1000 Watt Circulating Tank Heater:
As an assist to my block heater, this warms the coolant and in turn the engine block.

2 Timers:
One to turn on my block heaters, one to turn on the cabin heater mounted in the back of the car. This way they are only on for a few hours before I start the car and that's it. I did it this way so I only need one cord to plug in the car. It's a bit more complicated on board to make it simple day to day.

Grille block upper and lower:
Major difference in warm up time in the winter. I hear it boosts FE too. Most people around here use them to help the engine warm the cabin faster. Used Coroplast backed with small wood blocks to achieve a flush fit on lower. Looks like car has teeth when removed ha ha. Upper just screwed on. Plan on replacing screws with stainless as they've all rusted.

House receptical installed in grille to plug in car (Use at own risk!) (Toaster modification):
Needed a nice flush mount way to plug in the car. My extension cord has a male plug on each end, so here's the dangerous part: I always plug in the car first, then into the house and unplug the house end first before the car. If I don't then I'm holding exposed live wires in my hand, so please just don't do this.

Voltmeter to monitor battery:
Important on long commute in severe weather like I am prone to do every day. Got a cheap plug into cig lighter unit from Canadian Tire.

Trunk located deep cycle AGM battery. Stock battery delete:
Old car batt died due to EOC abuse. Replaced with a battery meant for a real charge and discharge cycle. Ran 1Gua welding wire from stock positive wire through firewall on passenger side below battery tray through plastic rocker cover and behind interior plastic, then over fender into trunk. Found a place behind spare tire the battery basically is wedged into. Made a plywood trunk deck with a cutout for the battery that serves as a mount as stock mount ended up snapping. Picked up a heavy guage negative cable that's attached to frame bolt in trunk.

Front air dam from vinyl siding:
Just finished installing last night. Garden edging really hard to find right now (Who gardens in September says Home Improvement big box stores? Dummies.) so I used vinyl siding I had on hand. Had to paint black so we'll see how the colour holds up.

Side skirts from Vinyl gutter like CaliforniaCivic's:
Just like the title. Used small screws to hold it on and painted black. See his mods for more info.


To do:
Wheel skirts (just like a Cadillac ha ha)
Fuse for remote batt

Ok, that's it for now will post pics shortly.

[Baltothewolf]

Can't wait to see pics! Glad to see another civic getting some loooove

[California98Civic]

Subscribed. I put my deep cycle batt in the stock position, ran wires through firewall to 25 amp charger partially under and behind the driver seat. The plug for the charger rest on the floor by my left foot, always pluged into a Kill-a-Watt. I plug into the killawatt by opening the door and running the extension cord, a somewhat heavy one, in front of the driver mirror. I close the door. It mildly crimps the cord, and has flattened it over time a little. But my charging is completely sealed against weather and engine heat.

[MetroMPG]

Nice list.

Good isolation/grommet where the positive battery wire goes through the firewall??

[pletby]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Nice list.

Good isolation/grommet where the positive battery wire goes through the firewall??

Absolutely, it goes through a large stock grommet location where some other large wires go through. I just had to cut a slit in the rubber to make room. I made it just large enough that it required about as much force as I could generate to push through. Nice and weather tight. Stock battery tray back in place now so will make something nice for the positive wire connection on top of that. Right now It's just through bolted to the stock battery post connection and enclosed in a plastic box for safety.

[pletby]

Here's how I fashioned the grille block using coroplast and some vinyl I had kicking around. The vinyl strips were capping to cover screw positions on a window unit.

Tiny wooden blocks were a bit of a pain to cut, but easy to install.

Painted ordinary screws to match, but after a few years they've rusted badly so will replace with stainless. If you don't live where salt is on the road to melt ice this might not be necessary.

Used a piece of wire with a 90 degree bend to secure a sliding vent cover so I could set it at any degree of open/closed. Just pull wire up, slide, then push wire back into corrugations.

In the final product you can see I could have used another coat of paint. I'll save that for Mk II to be in production later this year.

Notes: Plate interferes with the opening a bit. Might relocate plate. Coroplast takes hits from road grit in the summer, but perforates in the depths of winter through the first layer. Over time this is becoming an issue. Still after 2 years it looks not too bad.

[arz]

Was toying with how to do a slider to accomodate for the wide temp variations we get here. This is much simpler than what I was envisioning.

[pletby]

I made this after a failed attempt at using window film. When the weather cooled that stuff just shattered.

I didn't have enough coroplast to make the whole thing so made in two halves. Elections in town this month so I'll make another. ha ha!

This one I screwed directly into the plastic of the upper grille. Will use stainless here too. No perforations after 2 years. I think that's just because it's higher up and less prone to road grit spray on the highway.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by arz

Was toying with how to do a slider to accomodate for the wide temp variations we get here. This is much simpler than what I was envisioning.

Lately i have been wondering about putting the license plate on a slider. The US style plates are nearly the same height as the lower grill opening on these sixth gen civics.

[pletby]

Here I used vinyl siding I had on hand to fashion an air dam that's 2 1/2" lower than the bumper. Painted black. I have no idea how long it'll last, but it seems pretty strong with the curves. I've reefed on it and it's held fast. The bumper deflects more than the siding.

I put this on last night and can't wait to see how it affects FE.

In the last picture you can see the side skirts I installed last night too.

You'll notice damage on passenger front quarter panel from a fellow who tried to turn left through my car. Body shop in a few weeks so I'll pull off the skirts and air dam before I give it to them.