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?

 

For the most part, i have not seen many hondas with ground issues, just the one that connects the battery to the core support, and that was because the person just yanked on the battery without disconnecting the cable. As far as changing the terminals goes, thats really up to you, but if its something you're comfortable doing, then why not upgrade. Motor mounts i wouldn't touch unless you have an issue with them, and i would keep the o2 sensor unless you are throwing a code.

 

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.

 

I wouldnt worry about yor motor mounts untill you can start noticing them going out..for example the motor starts moving more when ideling, youll feel a rougher ride, in examples of motor mounst breaking your hear clunking or in a case of a car I nought could feel hitting the firewall under accereration...honda motor mounts last a long tine..do a cap rotor, tranny flush and normal maintanance itll last quite a w

 

Yea, I figured there's no need to replace them until they actually break, which none of them are. I'm pretty sure the Honda mounts do last a long time because my friend's Accord with 220k is still on the original mounts and they're still holding up strong.

I'll start looking around at different types of battery terminals and see which ones I like best. I'm pretty sure that once I switch to the Optima I'll switch the terminals since more than likely they'll be too worn out to fit properly on the new battery.

The O2 sensors I'll wait on until summer. Since it's winter right now the car isn't getting the best gas mileage that it can, so I can't really tell for sure how good it's doing. I know for a fact that I should be seeing 35+ MPG out of this manual D16Y7 coupe. Once I get to summer I can at least then gauge how badly they need to be replaced.

 

d16? that belongs in rhe civic section...I just ahve happened to have owned 3 civics. But see the the truth or the matter is just accords are cooler you dont need to replace the O2 sensors untill they frag..you'd de wasting your moneyt if you did...same with the motor mounts///my experiance with honda motors is STOCK there reequier the minimum of maintance to keep in good proper running coundition