Newbie girl with '92 Honda VX Hatchback looking to maximize MPG

[leety]

Hey I just picked up a one-owner 1992 Honda Civic VX Hatchback. 100% of service done at Honda Santa Monica. 163,00 miles. Rebuilt trans, fresh valve job. Good news is it's rust free Cali car, unmolested, all stock, bad news it it's in need of some general care. I'll take care of the basics first and then start working on the gas mileage improvement.

Just added pix of the new/old Ecovox.

[Chrysler kid]

Welcome aboard! Sounds like a great project

[Daox]

Welcome to the site. The VX is a great little car that can pull out some great mpg.

[elhigh]

Welcome!

You are one of the very few females on EM.

Great find on an unmodified VX, they're a vanishing breed. Good luck with it.

[Lovemy92vx]

Michelle in Denver here. I also bought a 92 VX. Found it on eBay, flew to NC and drove it back. It has 267000 miles on it and has gotten as high as 47 mpg 2/3 city highway, 1/3 city. It has also dropped to a mere 39 the past two fill ups.
My mechanic is thinking thermostat or distributor since it also would not re-start at a drive through. Obviously I avoid idling.
The engine is being gently cleaned and I'm changing the oil every 2,000 miles.
It had a recent tune up, has new tires set for current weather conditions.

I've been using regular gas (10% ethanol), from the same Shell station.
Until the past cold snap, the weather was mild with little wind.
Anything you can suggest to be more consistent? What might explain this?
I Also have a 97 HX and have some widely (-5, 6) varying mpgs

[Lovemy92vx]

Sorry for the length of that post. Again, I am new...have had VX since September.

[elhigh]

That post was not too long.

So far I don't think I've seen a post that I considered "too long" unless it was someone selling 100% Unicorn Oil.

Or Free Energy. Oy.

[bluesteel93]

Whats wrong with free energy and unicorn oil? Works wonders for me...

Welcome to the site Leety! I'm also new to the site and just bought a 94 CA version VX. Not sure if you already know or not, but definitely check out the thread on converting it to the 49-state federal lean burn version. In fact someone on this site is selling everything you need to convert a CA car to a fed version right now. Might be able to piece it together yourself for cheaper though.

Good luck with the car

[Baltothewolf]

Wow, a Female EM? I honestly didn't know we had any Ladies.

[leety]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm looking forward to a long fun adventure with my new/old VX. Today differed maintenance and long needed repairs, tomorrow the world!!