OG's VX Build: HyperMile Driving with some JDM Styling

[Chrysler kid]

Liking factory honda d series engines is like a foot fetish.

The honda crowd just asks what swap you're going to put in it, and the general population just thinks you're poor and trying to pinch every penny and can't afford a nicer car.

Ecomodding is a fine balance between mechanical effecienCy and a driver sport. I throughly enjoy the cheap weekend projects and endless hours of fun cleaning and planning

but the tech crowd would rather pull a rare engine out to replace with a run of the mill crv.motor

I kind of fit in the middle. I was oogling a 1986 chrysler caravan with 28,000 miles on it that came in the shop today. No one gave it a second glance but I was definitely getting a rush from the plush blue interior and immaculate condition of the car. No one gave a **** till I made a point that they would never ever see another van like this in their lives, not because it's rare but no one keeps them up

[OG VX]

Update 4/25/15: Milano Red Paint Finish to Rear-End Aero + Front Aero pieces Installed


Back with more aero work updates, and final Milano Red paint.


First, completed a new set of brackets for the wiper cowl. Cut them from pre-drilled stock bar.










The completed brackets were then painted with Rustoleum Hammered paint, then hand-dipped in (liquid) Plasti-Dip before being hung to drip-dry. The effort here was to help prevent scrathing and noises against the body.









Came out nice.






Up next, fabricated some small reflector stripsfor the Kammback. Riveted those on.














Next, mocking up the paint scheme on paper.





Bought some thin tape on Ebay to help with masking off the contoured lines.






Set up to work







Taping took a couple of hours. Weather was great though!














Once that was done, spent about 2 hours sanding and masking (man, I hate masking!).







Then, sprayed a thick layer of RustOLeum auto filler:







Then a light coat of Milano Red went on. Duplicolor Perfect Match paint from Autozone:






Base fully sprayed (3 good coats)







After a good thick coat of VHT High Gloss Engine Enamel (had a great spray tip, so went with the Engine Enamel, plust chip prevention):





Started removing the tape:






Finished/Assembled pics in a few hours on the next post.


Until then, thank YOU for ecoTuning in!

[OG VX]

Update 4/25/15 (part II): The OG VX Aero Package (Assembled Pics)













































...and rear diffuser close-ups, as requested by a member on an earlier post:









Now, I can sleep at night. Too many late nights getting this together of late. Tired!

I'll come back and share results. Also, it should be noted that already, some of the painting strokes you see in the (still curing) paint have faded out, and the seriously warped wiper cowl is starting to sit a good bit more straight, thanks to some wind pressure on the way in this morning.

As always, thank YOU for ecoTuning in!

[BabyDiesel]

The paint job on your aero mods is incredible, OG VX!

Your Civic looks phenomenal and is an inspiration to us all!

[Daox]

Wow... that looks GREAT!

[AbramWagner]

Wow beautiful!

[elhigh]

Super work.

[OG VX]

All, thanks for the support! I can't wrap my head around the near-instant mileage gains. I'll await the pump numbers before calling them official and really believing them.

However, at this point, it looks like a 4 mpg gain! In combo with having the grille and fog blocks in place, I'm showing 63-68 mpg commutes in rush hour traffic, which is a huge jump for me.

The car also feels a ton more stable at speed. I'm driving the a couple of fingers at 6 o-clock and a huge smile on my face.

Finally, while not a numerical improvement, I've had quite a few people come up showing interest and wanting to know more. So knowledge of hypermiling and eco-modding is spreading a bit faster in NC now!

[OG VX]

Hello all, figured I'd come in with a quick check-in. Been a while since I posted to the thread. Life has been crazy of late, but I can't complain at all, completely blessed. Here's some life upates, all relevant in some way, to this project:

- Start new job on Monday, much more flexible hours. Comes with a work truck and gas card. I also, now, just have one job, and not two. Project Relevancy: Now I can do more work on the Civic, and have a bit more time (and energy!) to do so.

- We started groundbreaking on our home Monday. Project Relevancy: I have 4 more months to work in my current (covered garageport) space. After that, may not have access to this space. So, got to get this project done!

- New baby girl on the way, due 10/2015. Project Relevancy: got to get this project done!

- While washing my car the other day, my son decided to join me...with a sanding sponge. Project Relevancy: Filed insurance claim, getting me a new paint job within the next few weeks! Thanks son!

Thanks for all of your support EM'ers!

[Cd]

Nnnnice ! Love the look.

I was wondering about that bra on the front. I wonder how much drag it is producing.

Any plans to add gap fillers around the front wheels ?