New guy w/ HX
 

whats up! my name is Jonathan. I am a total noob in the ecomodder world. I just got myself a nice clean 1999 civic HX 5 speed. Bone stock. Is this a good car for ecomodding? i sure hope so.

if you can give me any advice or anything that would be nice i really dont know what i have other than it has eco vtec and lean burn i think. no idea how to tell when its lean burning though!

so far i have felt a small performance gain at about 2500k but only sometimes i feel it.

oh wow i cant post pics yet haha thats dumb
ill get pics up soon.
:rolleyes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...pswt0jhluh.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psfzmvtyxl.jpg

This is my gas guzzzzler
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psdnkqbxse.jpg

Welcome to the site. The HX is a great car for mileage. You'll be able to do real well with it. Check out the hypermiling tips link up top as well as the modifications list for ideas on what you can do with it. I'd recommend getting your tires aired up and getting some form of instrumentation so you can see what kind of mileage you're getting with feedback on what you do.

hey thanks! what are my options as far as an instrument to monitor it. I dont use. I run tuner pro rt on my truck.

Scangauge, ultragauge, bluetooth OBDII adapter and a smart phone app. Those are the most popular, but there are others.

Hiho, Silver!

I bought an HX in October of 2,013 based on what I read on here and love the car! Honestly, one of the best modifications is Fumoto Valve | Qwik Valve™.

The HX (and EX) have aluminum pans. I think they are thicker than the steel ones, but they are only rated for 36 ft-lbs of torque, instead of 40, and oil change kids like to use impact instead of torque wrenches. When I changed my oil for the first time, there were aluminum threads on the steel plug, it would not tighten properly, and leaked, so I replaced the pan.

As far as instrumentation, MPGuino seems to be the best for the HX, because that car has lean burn, standard MPG gauges only estimate fuel use based on air flow, and lean burn uses less fuel, but more air, so other MPG gauges would show your economy dropping, instead of improving. The MPGuino is not something you can simply plug into your car, you need to build and install it, so I still do not have one. I originally went with UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center, $70, plus shipping ($7.85 for me), with a $9 rebate. Some users prefer ScanGauge MPG gauge: improve your fuel economy - EcoModder.com, which is $150 through this site, shipping included.

Many users download smartphone apps and purchase OBD-II bluetooth dongles. Here is the one I ordered: Amazon.com: BAFX Products - Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool - For check engine light & diagnostics - Android ONLY: Automotive

This is the cheapest one on Amazon: Amazon.com: V1.5 Super Mini ELM327 Bluetooth OBD2 OBD-II CAN-BUS Diagnostic Scanner Tool: Automotive

This is the mount that I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Smar...hone+car+mount

Torque is pretty popular. I use CaroO Pro (Blackbox & OBD), but I want a dash cam.

One last thing to know, many of us have needed to replace oxygen sensors, $400 from the dealership, and aftermarket ones do not work. Baltothewolf shared this http://www.amazon.com/NGK-24300-Oxyg...ef=mp_s_a_1_19 and said it was $120, but it was $143.10 when I checked in October, and $244 now. I bought one through NTK 24300, $175 plus four dollars to ship. It just arrived today. I have been trying to figure out the rest of my life, so I have not installed it yet, but it is extremely simple!

Welcome to the site, that's a clean hx you've got there. You should start out with basic maintenance like spark plugs wires cap and rotor and inspect the timing belt for wear

Make a garage entry to track mileage and mods!! :D

Thanks for the compliments! I will have to check out all those links, thank you.

Timing belt and water pump have less than 10k on them, i checked belt and it looks new.
I got started working on it today, so i went to the honda dealership for everything. I got full synthetic 5w30 honda oil & filter, MTF new formula, air filter and crush washers. I wanted a fuel filter but they were all out of stock.

The old man i got the car from i think only ever had the timing belt done and some light general things done at the dealer. Everything is honda down to the blue coolant and i plan on keeping it that way because my last rusty civic wasnt even a honda anymore, it was more like a duralast pos.

I guess ill make a build thread even though i don't plan on doing anything crazy.

I do have more questions: What are the best tires for MPG? doesn't some company make fuel saving tire tread design?

I think when its cold i can hear a faint exhaust leak so i must check that out soon. isn't it common for the manifold to crack on honda's?

what bluetooth obd2 thingy do you use for an iphone 6?

How did you figure you needed a new o2? Did it show a code?

Most of the exhaust manifold cracks occur around the primary oxygen sensor on the exhaust manifold around 180k miles regardless of vehicle. Cast iron seems to have a certain amount of heat cycles before they stress and crack.

My hx cracked at the o2 sensor and would only trigger a check engine light when the car was running and the hood was popped


You should also clean out the egr ports, there is a write up around here somewhere

I get "P1163 Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor 1 Slow Response."

Super Clean SilverHX! Congrats on the score!

Looks almost identical to Slambo (before I started messing with it). :)

Definitely go for the EGR clean. I saw a significant jump in MPGs.

Most fun mod I've made so far is the B&M short throw shifter & Energy Suspension poly shifter bushings. It's snick snick snick.

I'm real happy with Michelin Defenders.

I will also heavily recommend the Michelin Defender tires. They are low rolling resistance, super silent and have great ride.

Hey silver!
Sweet ride- just snagged my second HX recently also a Vogue Silver 99 5MT. :thumbup:
Very capable of astounding mpg's

I'm more of a "drive it" owner, keep it tuned up with the basics and enjoy what that car can offer. I've found that real hypermiling techniques give better results than the lean burn feature everybody squawks about, but as usual YMMV.
I am a ScanGauge XGauge fan but am just investigating the Torque Pro app via BT. I seem to recall seeing iPhone compatible in my research. Give it a search and see if it works for you??? If not, the ScanGauge has been my mainstay for nearly a decade. It works well for me.

To answer one of your questions in post #9: get a set of Michelin Defenders. These are a "low rolling resistane" or LRR tire (search sizes and brands of LRR tires on tirerack.com). Another great virtue of the Defenders is they have a long tread wear rating, making their slightly higher initial price a good value in a long lasting tire. And I found mine with a rebate, on tirerack.com.

Stock tire size was 185/65-14, but you can get about the same diameter and slighly better aero and rolling resistance by going with a narrower tire of about the same diameter, such as 175/70-14.

I get to test a lot of tires, doing what I do, but there aren't a ton of 185/65R14 LRR all-season choices. Haven't driven the Bridgestone B381, although the Ecopia's are solid. Goodyear FuelMax feels harsh in comparison to the Defenders.