HX user here

[air]

Hey

Just figured I would check in.

I am a college student studying Engineering, and I was a automotive tech through highschool and so far in college to pay for my hobbies.

I have a 96 HX I bought 3 years ago with 180,000 miles on it. I searched specifically for the HX for the lean-burn mode while still having more luxury than the average VX model, plus I think the coupes look much better.

I drive normal speeds (even speed a bit). My other car is a ls1 swapped 240sx nissan that I take to HPDE and timeattack events, and Im sure yall will all choke when I tell you it gets about 6mpg the way I drive it. I did DD that car for a year or so, but the low, loud, no AC lifestyle was getting old as I grew up, and I needed a reliable, cheap DD so I can save money for more go-fast parts for the race car. Enter Rhonda.

I have put about 60k on her so far, as I had a internship in SC where I drove 400mi each way once a week. Rhonda did great throughout this whole deal, getting 40 mpg or so while running 80+ down the highway with the AC blasting.

So far I have added a Ultragauge and Cruise Control, since the HX did not get that as an option. I took the parts from a EX and factory installed them. I grabbed a SI leather wrapped steering wheel since the factory rubber one was kinda grody from the previous owner. I also added sound deadening foam and duramat. I got 2 yards of foam and 4 yards of duramat and added them all throughout the interior and trunk. These made a HUGE difference in the way the car sounds while driving. My car is noticeably quieter than other stock civics.

Here is the best pic I have of her. I put the E30 bottle caps on for giggles, they have v710 kuhmo autox slicks on them. Car handles awesome with them by the way. Her normal Shoes are the factory HX alloys.

Wolnt let me post a link till I have 5 posts..
sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/457967_1743187665022_851958465_o.jpg

I have been reading some of the threads on the VX vs HX lean burn as well as the federal vs cali ecus.

Hopefully I can contribute to this discussion. I have a federal car, and I sorta determined the lean burn's paramaters through trial as I have driven the car.


80MPH is the top limit for lean burn. Not sure if it is a RPM or mph cutoff, might have to swap the tranny to determine that for sure.

My car can hit lean burn as low as 2000 rpm even. Not sure why people are having trouble with entering lean burn that low. Seems that 1900 rpm is the bottom limit, and even then it takes a really delicate throttle foot.

Most of the time (20% tps or more) it kicks out at 2000 rpm.

Max TPS is 33 normally, but I have hit 35% occasionally if the engine load is low.


On another note, I saw that some people were questioning if the VX ecu could run a HX. I have a obd2-obd1 conversion harness in my garage, so if I can track down a federal VX ecu I would be willing to try it in my car to see the effects. I also would like to try to further understand how the ecu controls LB mode, and possibly see if it is modifiable. I have no idea of how the honda world tunes (i have seen the obd2-obd1 guys use crome), but I do have a fair amount of tuning experience with HPtuners and GM factory PCM's.

I also saw the HX with VX car someone made, and wondered if the taller gearing was actually helpful. Is there a calculation one can do to determine if running 4th gear around town is more efficient than 5th gear? In 5th, I have to go 50-55 to get enough RPM with stock gearing to hit lean burn, which is about perfect for my driving style. With the vx final drive, I would definitley have to stay in 4th if I was to hit lean burn. Highway mileage would be better I assume, but staying in lean burn might be hard going up hills since with the current gearing I have to be 70mph or so in order to maintain speed easily within the constraints of LB.

on that note, the factory EX cruise control does well, even with lean burn. I think it limits max throttle input to about 40%, so it hardly ever kicks out of LB on the highway. It does seem to have trouble maintaining speed compared to a EX (my roommate has one). It sorta maintains a 10mph range of speeds, which I consider acceptable. I have a previous leg injury that makes it difficult to hold my leg in one spot on long highway trips, which is why I retrofitted it to my car.

I know I have rambled on a bit, so Thanks for reading and hope to get to know some of you guys better as I explore the limits of my DD further than I have already.

[California98Civic]

You will want to read this thread if you missed it. Guy seems to know as much or more about tuning the HX lean burn ecu as anyone on this site.