New to it all! '94 Civic LX
 

Hi all,

I was introduced to hypermiling a few years ago by a friend with an eco-modded Civic. I've been big into the euro turbo scene with multiple turbo Audi 5-cyls and Saab turbos. Now I'm finally switching gears (pun intended) to eco modding. I just bought my '94 civic LX sedan to get started. It has 217k miles and is extremely clean. Right now, I'm in the process of getting everything back to square one. The only thing left to do is replace the rusted out exhaust. Anyone have any suggestions on that.

Also, I found the EPA mileage to be 29/36 on edmunds.com. I tried fueleconomy.gov but they don't delineate the different trim levels for this car so I didn't know what numbers to pick. Does that sound right?

My goals for this car and this whole quest are to see how efficient I can get. I'm not doing it because I need to save money or because of a political or environmental cause, but because it's a new challenge. I've had cars with over 400hp and tried my hand at autocross. This will be something totally different.

Any suggestions for first mods? I'm thinking of installing a vacuum gauge as this car is OBD1. Anything else to do first off?:)

Welcome to the site. Tire pressure is your friend, though I am sure you have done that already. For an OBD1 car, you might consider an MPGuino for instrumentation, instant MPG feedback is one of the most helpful tools to start with. Good luck!

Modifications that will be most effective:

1. Tire pressure to sidewall max
2. Instrumentation
3. Power steering delete
4. VX/CX transmission swap

And of course adjusting your driving habits is a big part too. Highway speed at 60 and below is ideal. Our members have huge success with techniques like pulse and glide if you want to get into that.

Thanks for all the helpful tips! I haven't done tire pressures yet so I'll do that first. Everything is stock spec now.

Also, how do you get that white badge in your signature with your info in it?

I believe you have to be more than 20% over EPA average on your fuel log for it to show up. I lost my green wrench (hangs head in shame).

Welcome!! Great car to start with. Read up on engine off coasting (eoc) using a kill switch. When my 93 lx was in stock trim I achieved a couple 50mpg tanks with eoc.

Start looking at some simple aero mods to start as well. Grill block, mudflap delete, air dam, belly pans.

I had the same problem when I got my civic.

I think (but am not sure)
the highest mileage is the CX (economy hatch), DX/LX hatc, Then the coupe, then the sedan, then the EX.

The VX has it's own page.

As far as mods go, MPGuino. taps the speed sensor, and injector pulses. Had one in my 95 dx it worked great.

a kill switch is helpfull for engine off coasting and pulse and glide.

Using fully inflated tires, mpguino, and the kill switch I was able to constantly get over 50mpg.

I've read up a bit on EOC but still am hesitant to do much of it. I usually reserve it for when I turn onto my street on my way home or am on approach to a parking spot. I have been doing a lot of coasting at idle though as well as a fair amount of pulse & glide idling. Still haven't inflated my tires above stock spec and was able to achieve 38.75 mpg on an all city run of about 40 miles doing my standard (SHORT) commute and regular errands.

As far as a vacuum gauge goes, is one vac line as good as another for this on this car? I'm going to try to tap one on the intake manifold to get the most accurate reading.

For those of you that have done a kill switch, where do you mount it and what wires do you use? Does the engine stay off as long as you hold the button or do you have to cycle the ignition/drop the clutch to get it to start again?

I mounted my kill switch (normally closed spring loaded push button) on the shifter, as it makes doing a coast as easy as pushing the clutch and pulling the gear lever out of gear, whilst also pushing the button. The engine won't restart unless you hit the key or bump start it (just dropping the clutch feels kind of hard on things). The link in my previous post has a good set up wiring wise for a 5th gen.

Hey welcome to the forums!
EOC is something I honestly didn't fully understand until recently. You never dump the clutch, you just let it out partway for a moment and push it back in quickly.
At this point, you're coasting with the clutch in, and the engine is restarted.
Then you rev-match with your gas pedal to get up to the RPM's, and let the clutch back out. There should be absolutely no jolting of any kind when you do this. Hope this helps!

~Matt

I have been "bump" or "roll" or "kiss" statrting the engine in EOC routines for a couple years now, and I still have my original clutch, the one installed at the factory in 1998 and now with 209,000 miles on it. Start modestly. Pick a gear two gears above the one you would choose for your speed. You just want to "kiss" touch the clutch pads to the flywheel. When done at its best, you barely notice the moment of contact at all and the engine just floats to life. But often, you might feel it slightly, and that is not the end of the world either.

Just be conservative in your experiments, and if it does not feel right, don't do it.

It's better if you love the driving you have to do, so don't sweat it.

Cheers,
james

You only need to feel the clutch just barely "grab" for the engine to restart, then you can push the clutch back in.

Try driving barefeet on your clutch foot to get better feedback from the clutch.

Thank you all for your input! I'll try this. I also pumped my tires up to their max pressure of 44psi (was at 30) so hopefully I'll break 40 in the city!

Start cutting weight: Golf once a month? Get that bag outta there! (for example)

Modifications:
Upper grille block
Lower grille block
Belly pan
Remove mirrors
Kammback/Boattail

After all the other suggestions. Tires, instruments, those basics will do wonders. And the kill switch has been by far my best modification. I save gas, and get to hear my engine start more often...win win!