Terrible mpg's = new interest in old ideas.

[Christ]

LOL Mini's either come with runflat tires or FAF, depending on which dealer you go to.

They're recommended to be equipped with RunFlats, because there is no place for a spare. Many dealers (used) replace the tires with cheaper ones, and include a can or two of FAF.

[mhmitszach]

Well, Dad pulled the ac power for me today. I was about to do it but he just did it. Haha. So now I can use my defrost vent for heat, which I preferred.

Shift kit was a failure as far as I can tell. teamzx2.com forums always said resistor hot and my always stayed cold, so I'm assuming it didn't do anything. Going to try to just wire it straight in and see what that does.

It's shifting terribly in to the last gear. 45 mph and 2500 rpm where as on a good day about 41 and 2000 rpm.

Trying a different route to school that is about a mile further but I think I'll use less gas because I don't have to stop and go quite so many times. Going to compare for the next week and get some averages though.

I think I might pass on the block heater. It just seems like too much work to save that little bit on gas. The car is already at about 50-60 f in the garage.

Still have to remove upper resonator on air intake and replace that. But need another part or two. Try to do that tomorrow I suppose.

[mfor4x4]

This is what we use here as block heater as the inline ones don't seem to last as long as these do. This one takes the place of a frost plug or welsh plugs, it sits in the engine in the coolant that circulates inside your engine block. It doesn't circulate the coolant inside your cooling system but is very effective. I use this same one in all my vehicles and they work great, even at -40C and colder.

[bhazard]

Originally Posted by basslover911

Yea I used it on my car for about a year (didnt have $ to replace the tire; due to a nail puncture) and it held air fine and ran completley fine.

When I finally got the tire replaced nobody at the tire shop said anything at all. As if nothing had happened...

I personally love Fix-A-Flat, rather that than having the extra weight of the tire and jack; plus its muuuch easier to inject the foam than to change the whole tire!

Did you know that any tire shop can patch that nail hole for maybe $10 rather than buying a new tire?

Also they may not have said anything to you, but I can pretty well guarantee they were saying plenty when they pulled the tire from the rim.

[basslover911]

^^ Yes I know but when I first got to the car the tire was already deflated so even if I wanted to I could not have gotten to a tire shop.

And two, the nail was no in the middle but a little to the side where they say "oh, we cant fix it if its there."

I am not saying it was the smartest or best thing to do, but it just shows that FAF DOES work- and very well in my case.

[Tygen1]

Originally Posted by mhmitszach

Shift kit was a failure as far as I can tell. teamzx2.com forums always said resistor hot and my always stayed cold, so I'm assuming it didn't do anything. Going to try to just wire it straight in and see what that does.

It's shifting terribly in to the last gear. 45 mph and 2500 rpm where as on a good day about 41 and 2000 rpm.

Still have to remove upper resonator on air intake and replace that. But need another part or two. Try to do that tomorrow I suppose.

I'm chiming in a little late, but I just joined up. I am an active member on TeamZX2, going by the same screen name. The shift kit will not save you anything in gas. If it's not shifing into high gear when cold, then your trans is just a bit worn. I have about 50,000+ miles on my ATX and it shifts into high gear when cold around 45 and between 42-45 when warmed up. I installed the shift kit resistors into mine and it did not effect mpg's but did make it a bit more sporty to drive. The resistors should get real hot, maybe even melt stuff close to them
The upper resonator should not get you much of a gain by itselt, but it needs to be done.
The biggest single gain I got was the 5.6K ohm resistor in the IAT sensor, that got me about 3mpg. It doesn't work so good in the winter, so you might no see the change now, but do it like your life depends on it. It only cost 99cents and works so well for the ZX2.
If you haven't already, pull the Knock sensor, you won't see much of a gain below 3K rpm, but above that it will run so much harder. For my car it smoothed out the entire power band because it was randomly pulling timing.
Toss your stock muffler if you got the itch. It is quite a restriction. Any strait thru unit will liven things up. I put on a SVTF header and it really added some meat to the bottom of the power band, right were I want it for cruising in traffic.

[theunchosen]

If you are really looking for big gains. . .look up your local DMV laws. Check and see what your laws regarding sound output and emissions are. If your state laws do not say anything about emissions(whether or not you have to get your car tested or not) then. . .I would disconnect your catalytic converter, run a pipe thats equal to your exhaust pipes through the case(leave the case installed), and install either straight pipes no muffler or pipes and as low as a restrictive muffler as you can find. If there are no laws about engine volume buy pipes that run from your (I have 4) outputs togetheras early as possible(your current exhaust system is 4-2-1(four pipes into two pipes into one pipe into your catalytic converter)). If your state has noise restrictions then it is advantageous for you to insulate your engine bay further(think heat resistant foam in the gaps, foam on the underside of the hood and mylar, also if you were thinking aero mods for the underbelly those also will restrict noise to help you slip in under standards).

Simply removing the muffler boosts your chances to get pulled over if a police officer is having a bad day. Removing the structure however is not necessary. Remove the inards, wide diameter pipe and silencer can equal a higher flow muffler. Of course you will want to consider how much back pressure does the silencer create. Also The Honda dealer that services my fathers car put a pipe through his muffler instead of fixing it because its cheaper and thats what he decided. the effect was no real sound increase and a slight MPG increase(happened two weeks ago so data is not reliable(showed 1 mpg increase but could just have been elevation changes)).

In TN I'm only required to keep my vehicle sound volume down to less than 3 car lengths and there are not other restrictions regarding the above steps. It might look like a cat and muffler. . .but its not. it definitely does not look like a normal exhaust body.

[mhmitszach]

Originally Posted by Tygen1

I'm chiming in a little late, but I just joined up. I am an active member on TeamZX2, going by the same screen name. The shift kit will not save you anything in gas. If it's not shifing into high gear when cold, then your trans is just a bit worn. I have about 50,000+ miles on my ATX and it shifts into high gear when cold around 45 and between 42-45 when warmed up. I installed the shift kit resistors into mine and it did not effect mpg's but did make it a bit more sporty to drive. The resistors should get real hot, maybe even melt stuff close to them
The upper resonator should not get you much of a gain by itselt, but it needs to be done.
The biggest single gain I got was the 5.6K ohm resistor in the IAT sensor, that got me about 3mpg. It doesn't work so good in the winter, so you might no see the change now, but do it like your life depends on it. It only cost 99cents and works so well for the ZX2.
If you haven't already, pull the Knock sensor, you won't see much of a gain below 3K rpm, but above that it will run so much harder. For my car it smoothed out the entire power band because it was randomly pulling timing.
Toss your stock muffler if you got the itch. It is quite a restriction. Any strait thru unit will liven things up. I put on a SVTF header and it really added some meat to the bottom of the power band, right were I want it for cruising in traffic.

I think you've got the exact car as I do. Baby Blue too?

Yeah, I think I'm going to take out the shift kit. I just have the resistor in there alone now, not even getting hot. Perhaps I have the wrong wire? Oh well.

Yeah. My future plans are to pull the AC completely out for weight reduction. A better grill block. Partial under tray. And possibly rear wheel side skirts. I'm hoping that I will pull a 45 mpg without much effort and 50 mpg at least once.

I will eventually try the resistor. Although reading at teamzx2 it seemed that it was a hit or miss for a lot of people.

I've pulled the knock sensor. Didn't notice much. I never top 3k rpms any how.

The car feels a bit louder with the completed keman intake.

Well, replacing the stock muffler would be more money than I think it'd be worth.

[Tygen1]

Got any pictures of the Grill block? I'm thinking of doing that this weekend. The cold has been killing my mpg's and I need to gain a little back.
TeamZX2 has a great pcm chart showing which wires are which, it can be very difficult to find the correct wire, but it will work nicely when it's done right. Most say, and I'd agree with the 10 ohm resistor, it shifts like it should have from the factory, firmer...like it means it, vs. the sometimes long shifts that you'll get with out it. I'd encourage you to try again. Did you get the right part number of resistior? The big sand looking rectangular box?
If you gonna drop your A/C then you might as well get a manual rack while you are in there. It's not a difficult job and you can gain quite a bit.
I should be able to to better than 45mpg on the highway right now, my best single day commute was 43mpg with very little stop and go.... a very rare day around here. There are about three guys on TeamZX2 who've gone over 50mpg. None with aero mods, all motor and pcm mods. Mechanically, the Zetec seems to be pretty effcient for mpg stuff. To really get that last bit from the motor, you'll need a full header and exhaust. The stock exhaust pipe is 1-7/8", way to small for what we are doing, you'll need at least 2.25 to see any gain. Mine is 2.5 to the cat back, then 2.25 to the rear.
The hit and miss for the IAT resistor is silly. The guys who it was a miss on were not controlling the variables. Do it Might want to wait for temps above 70 degrees if you want to document the change though...
The knock sensor doesn't seem to effect everyones car the same. Mine would surge while cruising, and unplugging it stopped the surge. I cruise under 3K, but power over 3K was noticable.
Yep, the Keeman will make it sound a bit more throaty. I'd be interested to see how much, if any, that helps your mpg. I did mine way before I started tracking.

Keep at it, there's no reason you can't get a ZX2 over 50mpg.
For this coming year I am hoping to get some light wieght wheels, 9 lb vs. 18 lb stock steelies, manual rack (mines starting to get some wear and needs to be replaced anyhow), Sealed Ram Air, and Grill block, Home Depot Lip and mud flap delete may happen this weekend though. Keeping my A/C though, because it still works perfect after all these years. My goal is to be up to 40mpg average on my commute by summer time next year, which should get me close to 50mpg pure highway.

[mhmitszach]

Originally Posted by Tygen1

Got any pictures of the Grill block? I'm thinking of doing that this weekend. The cold has been killing my mpg's and I need to gain a little back.
TeamZX2 has a great pcm chart showing which wires are which, it can be very difficult to find the correct wire, but it will work nicely when it's done right. Most say, and I'd agree with the 10 ohm resistor, it shifts like it should have from the factory, firmer...like it means it, vs. the sometimes long shifts that you'll get with out it. I'd encourage you to try again. Did you get the right part number of resistior? The big sand looking rectangular box?
If you gonna drop your A/C then you might as well get a manual rack while you are in there. It's not a difficult job and you can gain quite a bit.
I should be able to to better than 45mpg on the highway right now, my best single day commute was 43mpg with very little stop and go.... a very rare day around here. There are about three guys on TeamZX2 who've gone over 50mpg. None with aero mods, all motor and pcm mods. Mechanically, the Zetec seems to be pretty effcient for mpg stuff. To really get that last bit from the motor, you'll need a full header and exhaust. The stock exhaust pipe is 1-7/8", way to small for what we are doing, you'll need at least 2.25 to see any gain. Mine is 2.5 to the cat back, then 2.25 to the rear.
The hit and miss for the IAT resistor is silly. The guys who it was a miss on were not controlling the variables. Do it Might want to wait for temps above 70 degrees if you want to document the change though...
The knock sensor doesn't seem to effect everyones car the same. Mine would surge while cruising, and unplugging it stopped the surge. I cruise under 3K, but power over 3K was noticable.
Yep, the Keeman will make it sound a bit more throaty. I'd be interested to see how much, if any, that helps your mpg. I did mine way before I started tracking.

Keep at it, there's no reason you can't get a ZX2 over 50mpg.
For this coming year I am hoping to get some light wieght wheels, 9 lb vs. 18 lb stock steelies, manual rack (mines starting to get some wear and needs to be replaced anyhow), Sealed Ram Air, and Grill block, Home Depot Lip and mud flap delete may happen this weekend though. Keeping my A/C though, because it still works perfect after all these years. My goal is to be up to 40mpg average on my commute by summer time next year, which should get me close to 50mpg pure highway.

Team up with these ideas.

I can't seem to find pcm chart...I do have the right resistor though.

Hm. Manual steering rack seems interesting. I'm trying to get this down to minimal parts in the engine bay now. I just don't know if it'd pay for itself. 50 bucks for about 50 pounds and 3-5 hp...don't know how much that would help with mpg.

Haha. I've been speeding up in my car just because it sounds that much louder without the upper resonator and I feel like it actually accelerates just a bit faster. But don't worry. I glide down so no lose or gain in trip mpg haha.

I was really considering powders udp. But at 75 bucks and the fact that I'd need an over drive pulley for the alternator doesn't really make it worth it.

I'll try to show my grill block. Needs redone. moorecomp did a really nice job on his though.