milkmanLCA

hey all, i have a 99 civic ex auto and get roughly 32 mpg... i want to better this number. is there a place here where you talk about bettering mpg by reducing drag or what not. i did some searches and did not find what im looking for, any help will be appreciated

milkmanLCA

bump for info

Linked

learn stick

300whpej

is 32mpg city, highway, or combined? either way, your not doing bad really. a basic tune up might get you back over 35mpg but i doubt you'll see 40 or anything like that.

civiclx1988

your about as good as your gonna get with an auto learn to drive stick slap a hx motor in a crx and you got yourself on hell of a commuter.....

milkmanLCA

i think we are all under the assumption i cannot drive stick. i can. i just prefer a daily driver with ac and auto. car is healthy, that is not the concern.

im looking for tips to reduce drag basically

BrandonR

Turn that A/C off. That will reduce up to 30% drag by itself. -Later, BR

milkmanLCA

i was looking more into aerodynamics drag... such as hub caps or a belly pan or something that will reduce the aero drag... but thanks

Linked

well mantain your basic tuneup items

spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor
scheduled oil changes
air filters/ fuel filters
pcv valve
good fuel pressure
no CELs
proper tire pressure
perfect wheel alignment

and some tips for driving to help mpg:

if going any faster than about 50-60, roll up windows and turn on ac, or crack them
dont accelerate too fast
when coming to a stop ahead COAST the car if you have the distance to (no throttle+moving car = 0 fuel being burned)

maybe google for some other things

300whpej

there isnt much you can do really to reduce the drag that will be worthwhile imo. i mean you could always swap in a non vtec motor, if your looking for more mpg's, but again, not worthwhile. my old d15 got over 400 miles to tank if i stayed off the gas and cruised/coasted a lot

D Griff

My buddy got a big sheet of really thin aluminum and cut it to the shape around the inside of his rear bumper up to the rear axle or so with cut outs for the toe hook, exhaust, etc. This was on a EJ6 sedan. You couldn't see it at all and it seemed to help his gas mileage some. He experimented a lot with intakes and some small weight reduction things (that wouldn't affect comfort/drivability for him or his passengers). He got mid 40s all time. He's just obsessed with gas mileage. It was pretty cool though. I wish I had a picture of his under car "baffle" thing, he said it got him 3ish mpg I think. He also drove like a granny though.

milkmanLCA

dgriff, thanks this is the kind of info im looking for

i had a 94 eg8 5speed for a few years and the best i got was 46 mpg. it had no ac from the factory. it averagely got 36-38 mpg

my car is def maintained to a T. i give it new plugs, filter, oil, everything the manual calls for when it calls for. its not the health of the motor, but i remember reading about a crx that got something stupid like 85 mpg just for its drag reduction and weight reduction. i dont want to tape up the hood lines and such but i was wondering if there were other things. i figured more would do it i guess

chewyv

So increasing cr is what your looking for?
Those side moldings on the car has to go. Take em off and mold on new ones that will be flat dead on to the body.
Rear of the hood needs to be raised up. This makes sure air flows on over the car without any obstruction.
Basic civic diet. Panels, carpet, light weight wheels, skinny tires and lalala
Lower the car
If you have a sun/moon roof than get rid of it and replace with dry carbon.
Make sure your front end is flushed or use honda tape.
Increase length of the car with a flat drag spoiler.
Buy diffusers for rear end and relocate gas tank. Cell in trunk.

BlackDeuceCoupe

As far as aerodynamics are concerned, here is the world's fastest CiViC:
Basically, you block off every hole on the front-end, except the radiator. This car has 728 HP @ 29 psi. On a street ride, you can probably block off the radiator too, unless you live in Arizona.

Get rid of your rear view mirrors (might be illegal in your state), and run Moon-style hub caps.

You also need an air dam - a Type-R lip should do the deed.

What you cannot see, in the pic, is a full belly plate underneath - bumper-to-bumper.

I digress...

I gotta be the world champ for B16 mileage - lifetime average of 40+ MPG.

What I do is mix acetone with my fuel (2 oz per 10 gallons), and I run 43/41psi (front/rear) in my tires.

And, I don't drive fast, unless I'm racing someone...

BlackDeuceCoupe

Have you visited ECOModder?

I'm a member over there too. That's where I maintain My Fuel Log.

You might pick up some good tips...

AGENT_47

FREE- remove the rear seat, spare tire , jack etc. That'll free up some weight, if no one ever rides in your backseat take it out


My spare sat unused in my car for 17 years, so I took it out it was flat anyways

Do you have steelies stock rims? Get some lightweight ones get some stock OEM del sol/fit aluminum rims or motegi tracklite 2 's Rota, Enkei RPF1, konig featherlites, etc.


Here's a civic hatch that's been eco-modded

http://www.aerocivic.com/

apexi_rsx

5spd dx transmission is the only way to increase your mileage. im sure u could lean the motor out some because stock these cars do run alil rich but u cant do nothing without a piggyback safc or chipped ecu. and make sure u have a wideband.

eundaddy

agent 47 has given you the most promising solution. reducing weight will increase mpg in the city more than an aerodynamics kit. reducing weight, however will NOT increase much highway mpg.

you should watch a mythbusters episode on mpg and dirty car.

if you are in fact doing a lot of highway miles, just about any aerodynamics kit will keep the front wheels on the ground better. you could slap on a diffuser or go to home depot and cover your entire undershield with something. you could also remove your side view mirrors.

there really isnt any economical solution to this fuel economy issue. a motor swap, manual tranny, fabrication of a full functional diffuser... too much head ache.

milkmanLCA

thanks for the info so far, im going to check into that site and into a some of the things said above, i appreciate it

brucepick

Aero improvements that reduce drag def help mpg at even 40 mph and more. Kits that make downforce will cost you power - that energy comes from somewhere; it's not free. Downforce is nice for control but doesn't help mpg.

A smooth belly pan is a good idea; I found this thread because I want to build one but don't know exactly how yet.

Definitely go to ecomodder.com. See forums, under that see Aerodynamics. Also see the EcoModding Central forum; I think that's where there's a list of the top 65 mods for mpg. Belly pan is definitely in there.

A fuel economy gauge is good. ScanGauge is great if your car is OBDII (aka '96 or later). Otherwise, you can use a MPGuino, but it's more of a do it yourself project. The SG plugs into your OBDII port.

Charisma

Hot air intake, really.

bluebomber

iTrader: (2)

OP, read this for some more info:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/road-racing-autocross-time-attack-19/flat-undertrays-civic-integra-2854103/

Kista20

look into michelin grren-x they are supposed to be low rolling resistance tires.

185/65/14 - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

thumper64

Frying pan lid wheel covers, lower the car, get/make a lip/ air dam, belly pan,

For the motor, the only expensive part would be upping the compression. Higher compression burns the fuel better since the flame front travels faster. I'm not an expert, but if someone knows more, they could chime in. Maybe a 1.5 liter block, 10:1 compression, 8 valve head, VX intake manifold, and use a wide band O2 sensor to tune the motor a little leaner.

Ironically, I was getting about 32 mixed on my hatch with a GSR motor and trans while having fun...which was better than my sedan with a D15. These are known to get good gas mileage, but it's a bigger motor and has shorter gearing

If you could manually control the transmission...like keep it from downshifting or manually upshift, it could help. Some sort of way to switch between letting it be auto on it's own or be able to interfere.

p nut

The stock steelies are HEAVY! Get some HX rims and 185/65/14 tires.

Be careful on those hypermiling sites. Some practices are very dangerous. I got banned from cleanmpg because I stood up to those idiots that pulse and glide in traffic. This is a practice of gassing it, turning off the car and coasting. The driver can go from 60mph to 20mph, back up to 60mph over and over again. Yeah, real smart to do in traffic or do it period, to save a few pennies.

Which brings me to the next point---the cost of these mods will take a while to make up in fuel savings. Some, several years. Take that into consideration.