Project "Save the Flea!" Winter beater: 2007 Civic 1.8L, 5-speed

[benphyr]

Originally Posted by mechman600

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do with this car. Subscribed!

Me too! What he said!

-benphyr

[MetroMPG]

Posting for future reference & posterity:

Technical Overview of Honda's new R18 i-VTEC Implementation

Now the R18A engine can truly be seen as a 'dual mode' engine with clear-cut normal driving and 'economy driving' modes.

[MetroMPG]

Picked up a good set of four used Michelin X-ice winter tires on steelies today for a great price (150).

They're a little taller than the OEM tire (205 65 16 instead of 55) but they fit with no clearance issues... and they'll drop my cruising RPM a tiny bit. Win win!

>>> Stock tire diameter is 24.87795275590551 inches.
>>> New tire diameter is 26.49212598425197 inches.
>>> When the vehicle speedometer indicates 80 KM/H.
>>> The vehicle speed is actually 85.2 KM/H.

Gearing change of 6.5%

So RPM @ 80 km/h / 50 mph goes from ~2200 to 2057.

Now I just need to make up some smooth wheelcovers and we are good to go for the nasty season!

[Daox]

Cool, you got them.

Are you actually going to mod up some wheel covers?

[MetroMPG]

Yeah - I'll just make some coroplast discs and zip tie them on I think.

Note the gearing change (probably was editing my post when you replied)? It's more than I thought it would be. Worth doing a speed vs. MPG test, I think.

Ride height is up by just over an inch, so I'm also motivated to extend the stock air dam down a couple of inches (coro again).

[benphyr]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

... It's actually a little rough around the edges...

...headlight (both of which are sandblasted/cloudy)...

I am in Hamilton Ontario and also have a Civic with one headlight that is cloudy. Quite likely I will be in your area in the next month or so. Would you like to get one of those kits together and go nuts on polishing headlights together? (Then I can pick your brain and experience on eco driving too, meet you in person, drool on the flea...)

Alternatively, if anyone wants to chime in on a better/cheaper way to un-cloudy headlight lenses, please let me know.

-Benphyr

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by benphyr

... Alternatively, if anyone wants to chime in on a better/cheaper way to un-cloudy headlight lenses, please let me know....

Daox and darcane recently discussed this. Here is one of the best posts in that exchange: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post439540

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by benphyr

likely I will be in your area in the next month or so.

Let me know when you're going to be around!

I think these lights are beyond simple polishing... I'm sure it'll improve them, but they're pretty pitted. I'll probably try polishing one first (since I already have stuff to do that). But I suspect I'll have to do the wet sanding method for best results.

[benphyr]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Let me know when you're going to be around!

I think these lights are beyond simple polishing... I'm sure it'll improve them, but they're pretty pitted. I'll probably try polishing one first (since I already have stuff to do that). But I suspect I'll have to do the wet sanding method for best results.

I've never done either method but the one replacement light I have after an accident is cloudy. I'll have to check whether it is due to physical debris or just polishable.

Do you mind me sponging off you for the "already have the stuff" for anything that is non-consumable? We'll have to pick the weather appropriately though. We want to go from cloudy to clear, not variable cloudy, overcast, foggy, or ...

[MetroMPG]

Not at all - I don't have anything special though - was just going to try rubbing compound / polishing compound with a variable speed hand drill as the buffer. I'll probably do a test area before you come so we'll know how well that works.