New 2007 civic sedan
 

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and love the idea of eco modding. I have always got a great joy out of pushing the limits of economy. recently I got rid of my 2005 Honda Civic coupe and got a 8th gen sedan. I'de like to start by saying wow can I tell a difference in noise sound and drag! I just ran my first tank and roughly got 32 mpg (it should be higher as I am teaching my wife to drive a manual so a lot of stoping and going ) but that being said I was proud of the numbers as a starting point. I'm thinking my first mods with be (besides increasing tire pressure) is the Hybrid underbody panels and deck lid spoiler if I find them at a obtainable price... I'm also dying for a scan gauge! hope to make great friends and eco allies here!

Welcome!

I've been driving the same car (with manual transmission too) since last fall, and it's decently fuel efficient.

I'm seeing ~50 mpg US with mine in spring temperatures, but most of my driving is on the open road at moderate speeds. Also, I've added a bunch of mods to mine (link below). MPG was lower in the depths of winter, of course.

A Scangauge or equivalent is absolutely your best first step. (Actually your best first step was getting the manual trans! Congrats on that.)

FYI: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...7-a-30111.html

Also for fun: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...dan-31498.html

I'm VERY pleased with the Civic. It's responsive & comfortable and feels very refined compared to what I'm used to driving. But coming from a Metro/Firefly, that describes just about every car. :)

Welcome to the site! It's a fun place.

I would maintain that marrying someone willing to learn a manual is the best first step.

Good point!

And PS: don't spend money on the OEM undertray panels. Some thin ABS plastic or coroplast sheets will give you more coverage for much less money, if you're handy.

I'd go full belly pan if I were keeping mine.

Metro thanks for the advice I have to say this civic feels like it cuts threw the wind surprisingly, and like you said such a joy to drive I've always loved manual. I was itching so bad last night that I found a 20% of coupon at advanced auto parts and picked up my scan gauge today did a rural/ highway run avg mpg at 43mpg, I'm very pleased. I'm pretty handy ( I actually remodel houses) and can't wait to do a underbody panel. What do you think of the civic hybrid spoiler, I'm thinking of buying the cheap easy clone? I feel they must of put it there for a reason! Can't find any solid info. O and Charlie I couldn't be prouder of my wife for getting into it and even learning some hyper tips from me

Yes, the rear spoiler helps a very small amount. You'll probably never earn back your investment on anything that costs more than a few bucks, if that's your goal. I made one out of coroplast & duct tape that was part of my "15 mods test". If I wanted a permanent one, I'd shape one out of foam.

Also FYI: my ScanGauge waspretty optimistic until I got it calibrated: Turns out it was over-reporting MPG by 11%.

I thought it seemed high it did drop today into the 38ish range. Also figured the spoiler wasn't gonna return in money, I just love being efficient and like to tinker! I had just one more quest for you, How much difference did you see with the bigger wheels, That was a genius thought my man!