Seriously! My 1994 Honda Civic DX Build Thread!

[JJMunoz]

Originally Posted by Sulfuric

WOW, you're really dedicated.
I've been wondering about this for nearly everyone I've seen with mods like underbody paneling, rear wheel skirts, etc...

How are those screws attached? Did you drill straight into the car's frame? I want to redo my rear wheel skirts but make them more secure this time...how can I attach them?

I drilled into the car for just about everything. haha

- 7/64" drill bit
- Air Drill
- Boxes of sheet metal screws from Lowes
- Aluminum Tape to go over the screws that stay permanently.
- 1/4" socket on 1/4" rachet
- Coroplast
- Boxcutter

There's like 20 screws in each one. I probably could have used less, but it's more than secure that way. haha
I also aluminum taped and painted over the screws which I won't be removing for rear wheel service.
I remove the bottom 7 screws on each side and fold up a crease in the coroplast to service the rear wheels.
I drilled through the fenders and the plastic with the 7/64" drill bit before twisting in the screws.

Originally Posted by daqcivic

Seriously impressed, especially the basjoos-style nose cone.

I've got a 92 DX sedan, so you're a great comparison. What's your commute like? I'm wondering not just about %city/hwy, but also topography and congestion, since these are the killers for me. My commute is 10mi each way, about 50city/50hwy, very heavy and unpredictable 2-lane city traffic, lots of lights, and a few considerable hills--plus a 220lb passenger, which makes a difference on such a light car. I've been getting high 40s on mostly commuting miles during the warmer weather, using P&G, EOC, DWL, all the usual techniques, but I can't crack 50 except on long hwy trips.

I have a few aero suggestions for you, which I could better describe if I take some updated pics: (1) increase the effectiveness of the rad intake by ducting the opening all the way to the face of the rad so you can make the intake smaller (not so big a deal in winter); (2) modify your tire deflectors by placing them further inward and pigeon-toeing them to face airflow as it bows out approaching the front underbody (as you have them they're deflecting air further out from the sides of the car than necessary); (3) add to the undertray between the axles, from the frame rails on either side of the exhaust tunnel to the rocker panel covers; (4) add a large rear undertray piece from the fuel tank to the bumper cover, extending it past the bumper several inches (the angle is nearly perfect for minimizing wake area while maintaining attached flow). This last mod has helped my hwy coasting distances more than any other.

One last question: do you P&G on the hwy, and if so, what's your technique?

My normal commute to work is also about 10 mi. each way.
The commute is:

- Approx. 25% hwy, 75% city.
- Full/half tank of gas
- 1 Person, myself. 160 lbs.
- Fairly predictable light to medium traffic. Predictable maybe 70% of the time.
- The highway portion is up and down a hill (bridge).
- 7 traffic lights.
Employing P&G and EOC, driving only this route with the car, I averaged 57.11 mpg.

I kind of take the engine off thing to the ump-teenth degree, though. I shut the engine off whenever I can in addition to pulse and glide while still generally maintaining traffic speed. Since I have a DX, I don't have a tach. I never go more than half throttle. I shift in this manner: 1-2@15 mph, 2-3@25 mph, 3-4@35 mph, 4-5@45mph. I don't have any instrumentation yet, so I kind of feel for and watch the speedo to get into the throttle range where I apply the least throttle with moderate acceleration.

I've yet to actually go on any long highway trips with little city mileage. I have a week off from my night job this week, so I'm thinking about taking one this week though!

Thanks for the advice though! I'm planning on building a boattail for the civic soon. I need to get a garage to use for a while though. I don't have one and I've been doing a lot of this stuff in the street.

And yeah, definitely P&G on the highway. Like I said, I shut the engine off whenever I can. Not only at lights, but on every hill, every slow down, and with P&G.

What's this DWL you mentioned?

[JJMunoz]

Btw, I'm pretty jealous you live in Portland. I hear it's beautiful there.

[Wonderboy]

I bet Portland is even worse than where I live for hypermiling though. Central Jersey or anywhere that flat at night is a playground; I eeked out some pretty fierce numbers while working down in that area last month. Welcome to EM and great work - this really is serious business. This is great news for team honda, but also motivation for me to try harder. Got spare time on Nov 1 to take a crack at beating Chang Ho's CRX at the AMEC run? Want to go toe to toe with a 98 EX coupe?

Again, really nice work.

Will

[daqcivic]

Originally Posted by JJMunoz

My normal commute to work is also about 10 mi. each way.
The commute is:

- Approx. 25% hwy, 75% city.
- Full/half tank of gas
- 1 Person, myself. 160 lbs.
- Fairly predictable light to medium traffic. Predictable maybe 70% of the time.
- The highway portion is up and down a hill (bridge).
- 7 traffic lights.
Employing P&G and EOC, driving only this route with the car, I averaged 57.11 mpg.

I kind of take the engine off thing to the ump-teenth degree, though. I shut the engine off whenever I can in addition to pulse and glide while still generally maintaining traffic speed. Since I have a DX, I don't have a tach. I never go more than half throttle. I shift in this manner: 1-2@15 mph, 2-3@25 mph, 3-4@35 mph, 4-5@45mph. I don't have any instrumentation yet, so I kind of feel for and watch the speedo to get into the throttle range where I apply the least throttle with moderate acceleration.

I've yet to actually go on any long highway trips with little city mileage. I have a week off from my night job this week, so I'm thinking about taking one this week though!

Thanks for the advice though! I'm planning on building a boattail for the civic soon. I need to get a garage to use for a while though. I don't have one and I've been doing a lot of this stuff in the street.

And yeah, definitely P&G on the highway. Like I said, I shut the engine off whenever I can. Not only at lights, but on every hill, every slow down, and with P&G.

What's this DWL you mentioned?

Thanks for the detailed response! So rare, it seems to me. Truthfully I'm a little jealous and POed that you get such great FE on a comparable commute! I too don't have a tach or any other instrumentation, and your technique is similar to mine it seems. My commute is maybe worse; more hwy but I have 12 lights and heavier traffic, and people really don't tolerate leaving gaps here. I wish I could have more ideal conditions to see what I'm capable of!

I've had to stop EOCing because sometimes my car won't start back up for a minute or so, and I've been caught blocking traffic when the light turns green a few times. I definitely can't risk it on the hwy anymore. I wonder also about compromising the engine longevity that way too from spinning it back up over and over without constant oil supply, and I can't afford to kill the engine, which has 211K on it.

I'm extremely interested to see what you can get with pure hwy miles; I've got mid-50s before at 65mph with a passenger. With a boattail and optimized undertray you should be approaching basjoos territory as far as aero, and since our cars are nearly identical in shape it will be very instructive for me. Keep it coming! Alas, I'm too bashful to do the nosecone or full kammback, plus I have limited parts supplies, and I'm stuck with 195/60 R14 tires. I'm still working on completing the undertray and rear deck extension, though.

The DWL I mentioned is just keeping the throttle steady, especially over hills and such, anticipating ahead instead of gunning it uphill. Also, often people apply more throttle in coasting than is needed, so they're always slightly accelerating and then backing off at points. Usually it's less optimal than P&G, but in traffic it's often the only option.

Oh, I would recommend dropping your shift points a little. I've crunched the RPM/MPH numbers in all the gears, and tested a lot, and with light to moderate throttle the engine will do fine shifting to 2nd at 8-10mph, 3rd at 20, 4th at 30, and 5th at 45 (or closer to 40 if you're just going to maintain speed).

NB: Portland is a great city, just not designed for efficient traffic flow! And people drive like idiots, but that's true most everywhere.

[FSUspectra]

Wow, you've done some neat work on your car! I have a newer car and am certainly afraid to be drilling tons of holes into the body!

Wifey might disown me!

[Cd]

What ever happened with this project ?

[HyperMileQC]

I'm seriously impressed of this nice workmanship! Great job, the nose is nice, cool spats and wheel skirts. I subscribe.

Looking forward for other mods

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EDIT : Didn't see it was a 2009 thread... but still good job

[JJMunoz]

Hey! I'm still around and still hypermiling! haha
Ive actually done some more things to it as of recent; removed some and added some.
I'm way more busy than I used to be 2 years ago though, as well.
When I get a minute, I'll post some pictures and info about what I've been doing!

Thanks!

[Cd]

I'm not sure how much it would help over a standard flat grille block, but i must admit i like the look of your front end. It has a Mad Max look to it - especially the raised fasteners that make it look bolted on.
Nice job rounding the corners of it too.
I suppose the asymetrical look of the licence off center doesnt bother you though eh ?

The nose makes me think of the Charger Daytona

[Cd]

I'm very interested in how much of an improvement that you saw from the flat grille block versus the extended nose, since i see they both have the same size opening for the airflow.
It's too bad an A-B-A test couldn't have been done.