Team Honda Thread

[brucepick]

Bump starting from coasting in neutral -

Clutch down, put shifter in top gear, regardless of road speed.
Using a quick up-down foot motion, spin engine just a bit, then push it back down.
Reaches idle after about 1/2 second.
Then put in proper gear for your road speed.

My 5th gear synchro is a bit temperamental so I often bump it in fourth.
You want high gear because you need low rpms spin to start the engine. No lurching that way.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Nice little car! The MPGuino is a good idea, and so is a vacuum gauge on your dash...
My favorite totally free and easy mod: I have run my tires at 60psi for more than a year, so does PaleCivic (I got it from him)...
Do you ever cut the engine while coasting in neutral? When I first tried bump starting at 40mph--using brucepick's description--I was amazed.

Agreed on all points, though I haven't used a vacuum gauge myself. Love my MPGuino. I use the ScanGauge for the other engine data like engine temp.

I'm also a member of the hi-psi fan club. That's all I had better say about that!

[WD40]

I placed a 40 watt solar panel inside the back of my VX to maintain the battery at a good level.
Then I placed a 120mm power supply fan over the existing flapper vent in the back.
The fan can be setup to run 100% off the solar panel or thru the car battery assisted by the solar panel.
I set it up manually right now to run off the solar panel so if there is enough power the fan starts up on its own.
So far it seems pretty effective at maintaining a cooler car.
The solar panel seemed to have given me a large boost in tank 108, my personal best tank of 65.43 mpg, but tank 109 dropped again so it was only marginally better.
I still want to add an alt kill switch, however my VX is built for Canada so there is no ELD which seems to be required if I am to follow the examples from others.
Canada requires DRL's so that would eliminate the low power demands that the ELD would govern.
I unplugged the alt multi wire plug but didn't notice a change in volts at the battery, then I removed the alt belt and drove for about 45 mins before the battery voltage was way down.
I would eventually like to have a system like brucepick's but I need to figure my alt out first.

[brucepick]

WD40,

I know I'm being dense, but where is the rear flapper vent?

The solar cell connected is directly to the battery without using some kind of voltage controller, right? Does it sometimes send more than 15V to the battery?

[WD40]

brucepick:
The vent in the VX is located inside in the back rear drivers side, its a small louvered opening in the molded plastic wheel well covering.
In behind that is the flapper vent that flaps opens to under the rear bumper so when you slam the door the extra pressure has a place to go.
The solar panel has a controller thats used for the battery, but if you unplug the solar panel from the controller then plug in the fan, its all the power it can muster.. last time I checked it was 27 volts at 2 amps, tho it slows with any clouds or trees passing, the fan seems happy.

[PaleMelanesian]

Cool! Our own club discussion thread.

Yeah, I'm running 60 psi. I've gone higher but been lazy in keeping it up, so it's down to 60 right now.

I just replaced my CV axles so I'm no longer pop-pop'ing around corners.

[Gasoline Fumes]

I guess this is a good place to brag about my 70 MPG tank!

Is there much benefit over 50 PSI? That's where I have my tires.

I need to do more aero stuff and install my CRX HF trans for a 1000 RPM drop in cruising RPM.

I was amazed when I broke the 50 MPG barrier in this car. I thought that was about as good as it could get. I say that with every record tank. I don't mind being wrong.

[basjoos]

Since my job ended in Dec, I no longer have the 52 mile (each way) commutes into the NC mountains and have been doing mostly shorter trips of about 20 miles into town, so I'm not have to gas up very often. Most trips get about 70 to 80 mpg.

[MetroMPG]

Seems the group thread is a hit - good idea, Bruce!

Team Metro is ahead of us at 52.26 mpg.

I have a conflict of interest here, being a member of that team too. The good news for Team Honda though is I'm driving the Insight during the warm months, when it can get spectacular MPG, and the Firefly (Metro ) in the cold ones, when it doesn't.

I don't fill up the Insight a whole lot (I don't commute). My next fill will probably be later this month or very early August. The good news is I think it's going to be my best tank so far: 93.5 mpg showing on the OEM computer @ 700 miles (no promises). ~1/3 tank remaining.

I still have a bunch of other mods I want to do to the car, but too many other things on the go, it seems. They're on the list!

Originally Posted by blackcivic96

I apologize as well, my last tank was horrible. Sorry but I can only tolerate 100+F for so many days

Tried a beaded seat cover yet? You might be surprised how much more comfortable it is with the air gap they provide. I call mine "my air conditioning" - it goes in the car for maybe 6 weeks of the year.

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

I guess this is a good place to brag about my 70 MPG tank!

Wow! That's a huge jump. Congrats!

Is there much benefit over 50 PSI? That's where I have my tires.

I generally don't go above 55. Diminishing returns aren't worth the increasingly harsh ride ... and the reduced grip on loose surfaces (I do drive on gravel roads from time to time - though lift-off oversteer can be fun ).

FYI: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post265379

I need to do more aero stuff and install my CRX HF trans for a 1000 RPM drop in cruising RPM.

Oooo!

[pletby]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Nice little car! The MPGuino is a good idea, and so is a vacuum gauge on your dash. Using it, you could practice the "driving with load" ("DWL") technique. DWL, pulse and glide, and EOC are the secret to maximal hypermiling a manual transmission. These gauges would pay for themselves quickly. Did you do any of these with your old car?

My favorite totally free and easy mod: I have run my tires at 60psi for more than a year, so does PaleCivic (I got it from him). You'll have to make your own judgment as to safety, but in my personal opinion tire technology long ago put most issues to rest. I recently talked-over my mods with a Bonneville record holder, who casually told me he routinely runs tires at 80psi. Mythbusters episode 153 showed that increasing tire pressure will, in fact, increase MPG. It works, it's free, and you'll get longer glides!

Do you ever cut the engine while coasting in neutral? When I first tried bump starting at 40mph--using brucepick's description--I was amazed.

Learning Pulse and glide and EOC. I've got a loose grasp of driving with load, but have no topography to speak of here on the prairies, so I only really get to use it on bridges and over/underpasses. I have no instrumentation yet that works with this car.

Battery is wimpy, needs a good cleaning and a solid charge tonight. I haven't been able to cut engine at lights due to wimpiness so I've been just creeping up to the reds and bumping at silly slow speeds to idle if I have to stop. On a good morning I can get through 20 km of city driving with only stopping twice. We don't have freeways. Afternoon is stupid with traffic. Much stopping.

I just bumped the tire pressure up to 44 from: get this: 30 front and 20 back! It's still technically my boss's car so I'm not going higher than that for now, but wow, he must not have checked for a long time. I just got 55mpg today on this last tank so imagine where I can go with some real time feedback and these tires that aren't marshmallows now.