A_Rotary_Guy

Well, after doing quite a bit of the tune up stuff on my girlfriend's D16Y7 I've got a few last questions here. On my RX-7 I used to have a lot of people recommend checking all of the engine grounds and cleaning them up, but from what I can tell Hondas don't seem to have the same problem with bad grounding locations as the RX-7's do. Is this true? I also plan on replacing the stock battery with a Optima Yellow Top once it goes out. Is there any reason to change the battery terminals to gold-plated ones? Lastly, when would you guys say is the time to purchase new motor mounts and new O2 sensors?

99 Civic EX

the battery terminals will be fine and i wouldn't touch the motor mounts or o2 sensors unless you really need to replace them. and personally i would just replace the battery with a DieHard battery or something from sears, no need for a yellow top if everythings stock

95vxtealhatch

I replaced my ground wires, becuase they were looking nasty. I felt like my sensors were reacting faster. Everything felt alot smoother honestly.

A_Rotary_Guy

I know after a while grounds can get corroded, but I haven't seen the same issues on the Civic that my RX-7 had. A lot of the grounds on the RX-7 were in lame places and weren't designed that well, but the ones on the Honda seem like they're away from places where they're going to corrode.

I know the stock terminals will work, but I wasn't sure if there was any reason to switch to the gold plated ones for better contacts. When I did the battery relocation on my RX-7 I used the gold-plated ones for a nicer look, wasn't sure if they really made much of a difference.

I didn't plan on replacing any of the motor mounts, but after seeing the mount near the belts when I had to removed I started thinking about replacing them. The rubber in the mount was pretty cracked and the mount was pretty damn thin. Wasn't sure if there was ever a need to replace them until they were completely broken.

I was thinking of changing the O2 sensor because I know after a while they get lots of carbon buildup on them and don't read correctly anymore and not always will they throw a code when they're bad. I was going to replace it with a NGK replacement since they're reasonably cheap.

99 Civic EX

stock honda grounds are in pretty good locations, and i don't think you'd notice a big difference with gold plated terminals, i'm not sure about the motor mounts since i can't actually see what yours look like, but mine are pretty used and abused but they still hold up well. as far as o2 sensors are concerned, have you noticed a horrible drop in gas mileage lately? if not, i'd say you're probably fine, if anything you can probably take em out and clean them up a little. the only reason i say don't replace them is that i've heard bad things about aftermarket o2 sensors failing prematurely and honda o2 sensors are kinda pricey, so unless you really need to replace them i would say skip it if they're working.

A_Rotary_Guy

Yea, I'm happy with where Honda placed their grounds at. They put them in locations where they're not likely to corrode or come loose.

The only reason I was thinking of changing the battery terminals was because I wanted to change styles to the thicker terminals that have the two bolts and strap to hold the cable in place. I've had better luck with those style than the crimp style ones like the OEM ones.

I haven't noticed a big drop in gas mileage, but I do know that when I changed the O2 sensor on my Cavalier I picked up like 3-4 MPG and the sensor wasn't throwing a code or anything. I know the Bosch and cheap aftermarket O2 sensors have some problems, but I used the NGK platinum tipped O2 sensor in my RX-7 and loved it. Worked perfect and was pretty cheap. I found both O2 sensors through NGK for 100 dollars brand new.

The motor mounts I'll probably just wait on until they actually break. I'm probably just thinking they seem loose and decayed because I'm not used to the soft mounts on the D16Y7. I know that usually they never break or wear out and most of the time the only reason they're replaced is for stiffer aftermarket ones which usually will cause more vibration in the chassis.