OG Wagon

Update 10/17/2014: Eibach Sportline Springs

After a month long search for quality used springs at a great price, I drove up to Lexington, NC on Saturday morning and picked up a set of used Eibach Sportline Springs.

The springs came bolted up to OEM shocks that were in fair condition. I went ahead and installed them them as-is, as I really didn’t want to fool with renting a spring compressor. Removal of the shocks and suspension bolts was a breeze on my car. I’m very fortunate to have such a clean chassis to work with.

The finished drop came out to be a solid 1.80” front and 1.70” rear. I’m very happy with the stance. Two finger gap in front; 2 ½ finger gap in the rear. The ride is good, though I think I’ll end up renting a spring compressor in the near future and pairing the springs with my OEM shocks, as the OEM shocks that were on my car are in better condition and are newer than the OEM shocks that the springs came with.

I picked everything up for $75, and sold my OEM mudflaps on Ebay for a $50 profit. So, the springs ended up costing about $25 + some gas and Saturday morning sleep.

While in the area, I lucked out and picked up a sweet head unit at a Lexington Salvage yard for an absolute steal. Online specs say it should have an amber light-up option. More on that in a future post...







Thanks for EcoTuning in!

Caoboy

Now it's a proper race...err..fuel economy oriented Honda!

Stance looks a lot better now. Did you end up shaving the front air dam or leaving it? I'm assuming leaving it would help the MPG more and just let the driveways shave it for you.

OG Wagon

Haha! Thank you. I ended up leaving the front dam as-is, for now. It could probably use a 1" shave, but we'll see.

OG Wagon

Update 11/23: Lil' bit of I.C.E - Part One

So, after working a good bit on the mechanics and aero, and being that I spend about 3 hours in my Civic each workday, I figured it was time to make some upgrades in the audio department. When I say "upgrades", I mean from the stock headunit and the one working speaker in the car (right rear). It was a mighty little speaker though!

I have been on the hunt for a clean, practical headunit that was about 5-10 years old, had a lot of power potential, wasn't junk, looked sharp, and (most importantly, really) had an Amber light up at night, to match the rest of the dash.

While on my trip to Lexington, NC last weekend, I stopped at Lexington Auto Salvage to pick up a rip-free seat. Turned out to not be rip-free, and the wrong color. Nice. BUT, they gave me a very sweet deal on this JVC KD-LH910 head unit. It came out of a 97 TL, so it even had the correct aftermarket wiring harness and single din metal cage. Plays CD's, has an SD slot behind the panel, detachable faceplate. Even has the ability to add an aux-in with a $5 eBay piece. Sub-in connection. Multi-color light up options. Very cool! Only problem, the silver as it came from the factory was a bit too light, and I wanted it to match the dash properly. So, I soldered all the aftermarket connections, got those ready, and painted the trim piece and face plate to match the dash. Came out great, I think!











Let it dry in the sun at work on a deep-dish Little Ceasers box. Ghettoo!!! But, I had to paint at work during my lunch break, as it has been below freezing over here in NC every morning/evening this week.



Finished and installed:







..and my favorite shots.

BOOM





Moving on, decided to put some speakers back in the front doors, as the OEM paper cones had fallen off by the time I purchased the vehicle. Yes, they physically fell off the magnets/bases.

Here's what I picked up. Only the best for my ride: Dual brand...from WalMart. It's the number one brand for families with two kids, on single-income, survey's say.



Back when I refurbished the door cards, I removed the speakers and saved them, as I wanted to re-use their OEM connectors when adding aftermarket speakers.

First I drilled off the wiring connectors from the old factory speaker...shells.









The old factory stuff, high quality, 30W's, wowza!



Here's where 30W's goes...



The new Dual-goodness!



In the car now and sounding great. Next up is the rear speakers, which I plan to replace later today, if time allows. 6.5's for the rear, Dual as well. Yeah baby!

Plans in the immediate future to continue in the I.C.E. department:

- Install Avital 3100 alarm with keyless entry door-pulls
- Stealth kill switch
- Bass Tube or small sub box in the rear
- Build new floor for rear of hatch, carpeted, w/ holders for sub/tube, a tool kit, first aid, a quart of oil, and groceries/gear.

Also, this is a completely (seemingly) ridiculous "upgrade", but as an avid coffee fan driving a car with very-less-than-stellar cupholders, this is a huge bonus. Been looking for the perfect coffee mug that fits the small EG cupholder design. Found this at WalMart last night for $4. I'll put the label pics for other CX/VX owners here on the site. It's a perfect, no-hassle fit in our EG cupholders, and holds coffee warm for 3 hours.









To finish up this post, here's a couple pics of my spark plugs. All of them look like this. Can any plug readers out there diagnose? Any clues here to possible power loss of late (other than cold weather)? The fuel pump was bad, I'm pretty sure. Do these pics indicate an extended lean condition, by chance?





Found this at Wally as well. Worth the expense, for those running ethanol fuel? About $21.



Thanks for EcoTuning in!

OG Wagon

Update 11/28: Stealth Exhaust + Red "H" Centercaps + Photoshoot

Hello all, thanks for all of the tire-talk. Good stuff. I took care of some exterior items today, and then did a photo shoot. The ugly exhaust tip has been getting to me.

There she is, all ugly and stuff...Like an eel trying to escape.




Eww...




Cut it down with a cut-off wheel, grinded it a bit, painted it with this stuff...






Fixed.



While I was at it, I jacked the car up, sprayed oven degreaser all over, hosed off, let it dry, then painted everything black with Walmart flat-back $.99 paint. Turned out...black.





I then took some OEM Milano Red touch-up paint that I had left over from O'Riley's, and used it to paint the "H"'s on the center caps of the VX wheels. Came out nice, I think. Give's it that "Type R" look, on a type-me budget.

I'll be back with a photo shoot post soon. I have to edit the pics. Red H's will be included therein.

Thanks for EcoTuning in!

OG Wagon

First Official Photo Shoot: 173,000 miles on Odometer




























As always, thanks for EcoTuning in!

Little_Nolan

iTrader: (3)

This is one of the best threads on HT... great work, it looks great! Keep it up, I am interested to see how this thing progresses.

Please keep us updated.

OG Wagon

Thanks so much good sir! No real updates to give on the car at this point. Thankfully, I came to a bit of a plateau-point just before cold weather hit here in NC last week. At this point, I've just been relaxing on the build and enjoying the car. It drives very smooth, even on the OEM shocks. Insulation is great. Very quite and enjoyable ride, especially with the addition of a fully-functioning audio system.

I'm excited to begin the next phase of this build. I'll be casting vision in a future post very soon. Until then, I'm just driving the heck out of this thing with a super-big smile on my face.

Caoboy

How is your gas mileage now that it's 'winter' time? Mine went down a little bit due to the engine having to run for longer to heat up and stay heated...one downside to a Hybrid.

OG Wagon

My mileage has been decent of late. I'm trying to hang as close to 55mpg as I can over a tank. Despite quite a few 60 mpg+ trips, tank averages for the last few fill ups have been around 53.5 mpg.

A big dynamic affecting things is that we have been using the Civic to get the family around in on the weekends, saving us a load of money versus using our F150 that get's about 14 mpg So, family-hauling has pulled the mileage down considerably. I'd say, winter weather so far, has caused a (natural) decline of about 6-7 mpg. Of course, it will get colder!

Thanks

conor97hx

Awesome build man. I've been slowly getting into hypermiling in my HX ever since I hit the 500 mark on a tank. Love these kinds of mods.

OG Wagon

Thanks so much bro, I appreciate the kind words. Got flipped-off last week, and a redneck with a push-bar truck tried to make use of it this morning. Thankfully, he kept it to just flashing his highs over and over again.

So, it's good to get a word of affirmation

I feel like the same "guy" is just following me along, harassing me daily...only he's in a new truck (always a truck) each time. He's a redneck white male, 45, and mad at life. I'm an easy target, and he wants to LET ME KNOW I'm the reason for all of his troubles.

Hopefully this post will take the thread to two stars...

conor97hx

Haha yeah that's always funny. I get that a lot especially since mine is pretty low and I take my time around the dips and bumps and stuff.

My other car only gets 6mpg...so I its good to save money every now and then on gas.

Caoboy

My favorite is when that happens and the reason you are driving slower than the speed limit is there is a car in front of you, but because you are in an eco type car, you are the target of their frustration.

Or when you're actually going 65mph in the 'slow lane' and the guy gets behind you to try to pass somebody else...and is angry that you are driving the speed limit.

OG Wagon

So true on both fronts.

dopesk8er87

Love this build!!! I think the the people who are harassing you while driving are the type of people who harass all Honda drivers lol. . . .

OG Wagon

Thank you sir! I appreciate the feedback.

You may be right. I also think there is some of that "Let's clip-off the Prius" mentality mixed in as well.

I think envy is one of the most costly human emotions. We all suffer from it, in some form, at some time. I the case of my travel-escapades, I think these people are mad they are stuck with an in-efficient vehicle, and are taking out that anger they have from their pain at the pump (cause it does suck, been there!) on anyone else who is getting a good eco-run in their own cars. I think that envy manifests itself in lots of ways, but one way is riding another persons bumper, (or anyone else who is making them feel frustrated; rather than addressing the REAL source of their frustration), and trying to make that person feel as miserable as they currently feel.

Ultimately, people need Jesus. Loving Jesus and coming to know Him more each day is what brings forth the process of sanctification. Only then can we throw our thoughts/pains/feelings on the Father and begin to gain more peace in our life. A great by-product of this process is that we begin to stop loading others with our own internal anger and emotions. Or, at the least, as His Holy Spirit begins to guide us, we become more aware of the instances when we do force our internal anger onto others without just cause. As we begin to bring more of our pain and issues to the Father, he gives us His peace, a peace that the scriptures say "transcends all understanding" (Phil 4:7). As we do this more and more, we begin to trust in Him more. He's is then our first "go-to", not the person driving slower than you in traffic, or the next door neighbor with her silly dog, or your ex-girlfriend, or your brother you aren't looking forward to seeing at Christmas dinner tomorrow, etc... Just like Jesus tore the veil, he tears down strong holds like envy, and every other thing in our lives that does not align with His will. That is, if we allow him to do His work in us. There are plenty of Christians who believe in Christ, but don't truly know, walk, and have an inner-relationship with the Father, and allow him to truly iron things out in their heart. It's these people that, unfortunately, bare a false witness to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, and the freedom only He can bring. Their false-witness turns many a heart to stone in regard to accepting the Christian faith. Perhaps even some hearts connected to eyes reading this...

(Mod's, go ahead and shut the thread down if you must, lol!)

Merry Christmas all!

ONEcam

iTrader: (1)

Amen my fellow brother!

B(eighteen)C

do you have pictures of how exactly you mounted that piece that cover the front of thr bumper/grill?

OG Wagon

Sorry, but it's quite possibly the ONLY progress pic I didn't take so far in the build thread.

But, it was very simple. I cut strips of the exact same material used to make the block. Strips were about 1.5" wide x 5.5" tall. I then poked holes in them to match the holes on the front panel and used long screws with nuts + washers to bolt the outer panel to the inner strips, thus sandwiching around the OEM grille face. Does that make sense? This set up holds very well, as the material is actually quite stout, and was much easier than cutting the strips out of metal. I used scissors and/or snips for the entire process. Being a drummer, I use my cut-off wheel as little as is possible. I need my fingers

OG Wagon

Update- 1/24/2015: Comprehensive "Stage Two" Plans

Hello all, I haven’t updated the thread in a while, as life has really had me by the horns of late. I work in the financial industry and we have been in the midst of our end-of-year + tax season heat. I wanted to post this morning to gather together all of my thoughts/vision for finishing up what I will refer to as the second stage of my build. I plan to start in late February and finish up with all goals of this stage by the end of this summer. Essentially, the project would be “done” at that point. A third (possible) later stage could include a VX engine + tranny rebuild, a full wire tuck (no shave), an extensive restoration/upgrade to the cars suspension, and maybe even some solar/alternator delete stuff. Who knows. But all that is a big “if”, so I’ll see how I feel after Stage Two is done. Ok, I'll get on with it...

Plans for Stage Two of Build:

Eco Goals:
Break 75 mpg for a best trip
Sustain 68 mpg at peak of summer
Sustain 58 mpg in winter

Security:
- Avital 3100 alarm install w/ DEI door actuators for keyless entry

Mechanical :
- Replace front pads and rotors
- New shoes in rear + adjust e-brake cable
- Super Blue race brake fluid
- Paint calipers and rotor hubs black
- NGK spark plug wires
- 94-95 Civic VX “VTEC-E” valve cover
- Wrinkle Black paint on VC with “E” painted green
- New VC gasket
- Possible NRG battery and PJDM battery tray
- General clean up in Engine bay, possible spot-paint to a few faded areas
- Anodized black washers throughout engine bay

Exterior:
- Fresh Milano Red Paint (exterior only)
- The Donkey CRX rear-end replica aero + Kammback spoiler
- All rear-end aero/spoiler panels wrapped with CF Vinyl
- All panels secured by M6 nutserts using anodized black washers and SS bolts
- Smooth under-body paneling; black coroplast
- Wrap Grill and Fog guards with CF Vinyl to match
- Smooth wheel covers; hydro-dipped w/ a CF pattern
- Custom “Civic VX - Special Eco Project”
- I will likely do so CF vinyl work on the roof; many ideas, undecided on which
- Eco-Modder large front windshield banner
- Fix windshield washer nozzles (lines pinched; need replacement lines and OEM clips)
- Wire flashing lights on 65 + mpg sign; run wiring through center tail light w/ grommet
- Custom “Civic VX - Special Ego Project” vinyl decals for rear hatch and smooth wheel covers
- Custom “SOHC VTEC-E : with Lean Burn Technology” vinyl decals for lower door; will be an attempt to mimic the graphics/design of Honda’s “DOHC VTEC” door decals found on some JDM SiR models.
- 35% window tint
- Possible OEM hood bra (hood only); for longer trips
- Possible JDM thin side moldings

Interior:
- Custom Eco-Modder shift **** by member Doak; w/ integrated injector kill switch
- Cable Hand throttle
- Intermittent wiper arm and computer install
- Driver seat: have professionally re-upholstered or find matching CL replacement
- Stainless Steel foot pedals (Mugen-style or EK9-style; undecided)
- (Interior) Windshield-mounted antenna
- Leather-look steering wheel wrap with Green stitching
- Paint center “H” on OEM wheel eco-green
- Paint center “E” on custom shift **** eco-green
- Green-stitched shift boot
- Quick disconnect from oscillating fan (for when my sweet-thang rides along)
- Dash mount for cell-phone; may integrate into pointless air vent in center of console.
- Aux-In line for Ipod
- Create a better cup-holder system (possible EK hatch cupholder/dash retro-fit)
- False-floor for rear of hatch; wrapped with speaker-box carpet
- Small sub-woofer for hatch, along with holders for oil and goods, etc..

That's it for now. Thanks for eco-tuning in!

OG Wagon

Update 2/1: Eco-Modder Custom Shift ****(s) by Daox

Hello all. As many of you are aware, EM member and board Moderator Daox has been working to create some parts for our cars using his 3-D printer. His discussion thread on the matter can be found here. I was a bit stuck on which route to go with a custom shift **** on the car, and I was also at a cross-roads with deciding how I wanted to do a kill switch. So, when I saw that he was planning to make a custom **** with the EM logo, plus an integrated kill switch, I jumped on board as fast as I could. The result is in this post. Daox has been an absolute pleasure to work with! He sent me a finished **** within a week. As with any proto-type, the **** ended up having some issues working for me on arrival.

- The thread hole to screw **** onto shifting post was too shallow (not deep enough to get all the way down my shift post)
- Screws sent to bolt the two halves of the **** were a bit too long; need to get some shorter ones (see pic below for gap when fully tightened)
- I felt the overall size of the **** was just a bit too small for my tastes.

I wrote him about these issues. He re-designed some things, and he got another one in the mail for me pronto. He enlarged the size a good bit, and the new sizing (IMHO) is perfect! Nice resting grip for a full-sized male hand, and the kill switch button is perfectly placed for ergonomic comfort with my thumb (was a bit of a backward reach for me with the original, smaller-sized, ****).

If you've been following my thread, you know that I paint way too much. AND, as with past posts, I couldn't resist getting some color on this thing...

Here's some pics!

Left: Original Model ; Right: Special OG-Spec Edition!





Here's my natural grip position with Daox's original (smaller) model:



..and here's my natural grip position with the OG-Spec edition. Perfect!



This pic shows why I need some shorter screws. The screws here are fully turned down/seated:



Here's some pictures of the "guts":







..and a lil' paintin' never hurt anybody



All done and ready to go:



Up next, I'll get the wiring done for the switch, and get some smaller screws, so I can get this thing in the car. I also have some plans for the shift boot. Last, but not least, I'll need to get the kill switch wired up to the OEM injector box.

Until next time, thanks for eco-tuning in!

markspan6243

interesting build, would look better if either the screws were black on the front bumper/ side skirts, or if you molded everything together with fiberglass, bondo ect...

OG Wagon

Agreed on the black bolts. I've planned to hit each of the bolt heads up with some black touch up paint after the paint job and other exterior work is completed this spring.

OG Wagon

Update: 2/6/2015 - Tire Woes + 0W oil + EG6 Corners + EM Banner + Cardboard + New Phone

Hello all. A bit of an update to give on the thread.

I ran over a screw on the highway a couple weeks back. It was the front left tire. Luckily, I was able to get to a safe spot and perform some tire surgery. Took the tire to Discount Tire and the patched and plugged it for free, mounted and balanced the tire. My favorite tire company, for reasons such as these. They always treat me well.







Also, switched out to Mobil 1 0w-20 oil. Despite having an older and slightly worn engine, the Ow oil has netted me about a 2 mpg gain, according to my MPGuino, versus the 5W-30 Mobil oil that I ran previously in similar weather. I can feel the difference in my foot as well. The car is operating much more smoothly at cruising speeds. Super smoothe, actually. Now, for acceleration/torque, I believe I have lost a bit of power. My assumption is that the slightly worn rings are not sealing as well with the lighter weight oil. It's OK for my build/goals though, as my emphasis here is not on power, but on getting up to speed and coasting with the least effort possible. I'm not (at this point) worried about negative ramifications to the engine. I've been running it about 4 weeks now with no issues/ill side effects. Got my 5-gallon jug at Wally World for about $22. Give it a shot!



What do we have here?!






Ordered some EG6-replica corners off of Ebay. Came all the way from Latvia, and took about 2 weeks to arrive. They are Depo brand, a name I have come to trust. My first corners from ealier in the thread (Vision brand) did not look the true part. These are "legit" EG6 replicas, in that their IS indeed an amber reflector built into the inner housing, and that their is a black outline to the peremiter of the corner underneath the lense. My vision corners did not have the black outline, and ended up looking very cheap.






Fellow EcoModder Victor (vrmouseyd15b) shipped me back a tool I lended him, and was kind enough to send me an EcoModder vinyl banner. It will go on the front windshield very soon. Not only will it help with spreading the word about "Eco", but it will also act as a barrier against sun-glare, since I don't have sun visors in the car anymore





Also, I picked up a VERY large piece of cardboard at my part-time job. So, my mock-ups for the DonkeyCRX rear-end aero may begin this weekend


Finally, you may noticed a difference in the quality of the first few pics on this post versus the last. I was due for an "upgrade" and snagged an iPhone 6 Plus. Yes sir! I love it, and the camera is "dope".


Until next time, thanks for EcoTuning in!