I have a 96 4 door with a d16y7 (non-vtec) 100% stock, including the in-dash tape player
I want to keep the car stock and I am getting great gas mileage, but was curious if I could get even better mileage since I put on close to 500 miles a week.
Sounds silly, but any chipping I could get done to increase MPG? Or replacing the injectors with smaller ones? Maybe an ECU from a CX or VX? I know I would be slower, but it's a DD so I can deal with it


Thanks!

 

I know this may be a noobish question, but I'm hoping to get some good input? Anyone got any ideas?

 

do a tune up first, that will help. Usually getting a better flowing intake will give you a mpg or two as well. I don't know anything about chipping or ecu swaps for mpg, so maybe someone else can chime in on that...

 

There are lots of things that you can do to get better gas mileage. Increase the psi in your tires, for example my 00 hatch i am going for gas milage as well and i am running 56psi in all my tires. make sure all of your ignition parts are in good working order, get new cap, rotor, plugs, wires, you could advance your timing a tiny bit. remove any unnecessary weight from your car. SLOW DOWN that has been the biggest thing for me and also you might want to try a few other websites like cleanmpg.com

Ima member there and there are tons of helpful people there. Also one little tool that i use that is a great help is a scangaugeII . Theres a ton of info on that piece of equipment on cleanmpg.com

Good Luck

 

another good place to look is at http://www.gassavers.org

 

A little aerodynamics can always go a ways. Not downforce aero, but just aero for smoother traveling through the air. You can look into getting a full underbody aero plate made for the underside of your car. As the underbody of most cars are rather rough due to the underworkings, covering these with a smooth piece can improve the aerodynamics of the car, which can give a pretty good gas mileage increase at freeway speeds. Lowering the car I would suspect could have similar positive effects, because it is reducing the vehicle's aerodynamic profile.

Sidenote: Attention to vital heat dispersion areas and moving suspension components should be payed however.

EDIT: I've been to the site mentioned above, they'll have all sorts of weird little things you can do to increase your gas mileage. Good reference.


Modified by BlackoutVTi at 7:04 PM 3/20/2008

 

Awesome thanks a lot everyone! that helped me out a whole lot
I dont think I'll go as far as getting aero pieces for under the car because I want the car to look as normal and low profile as possible and I don't don't plan on spending that much money on that car.
I really appreciate all the input and thanks for your help

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pumafeet10 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Increase the psi in your tires, for example my 00 hatch i am going for gas milage as well and i am running 56psi in all my tires.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

all that does is give the vehicle a rougher ride, promotes horrible tire wear and less contact area with the ground. there's a reason why ase recommends 32-35psi in passenger vehicles. i doubt the increase in mpg is even noticeable.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pumafeet10 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There are lots of things that you can do to get better gas mileage. Increase the psi in your tires, for example my 00 hatch i am going for gas milage as well and i am running 56psi in all my tires.

Good Luck </TD></TR></TABLE>

That is not such a good idea. Chances are you are wearing down the centre of your tire a lot quicker than the rest of the tire meaning you will have to replace them sooner. Also that pressure is probably higher than the maximum allowable pressure for that tire. That can be quite dangerous. Lastly, it will probably decrease your wet traction causing more dangerous. However, keeping your tires probably inflated is a good way to save on fuel.

The biggest thing you can do change your diving habits. Slow acceleration, slow stops, going 65 instead of 80....etc. Remember the first nut you should work on is the one behind the wheel

 

sory guys but you are wrong on the tires pressure. The ride is really not rougher at all, its a civic anyway. I promotes better wear and more even since there is less deflection, and variation in the tire so that it wears more evenly. If you want to check out the psi issue look at any of the websites previously mentioned and there are individuals, many infact that are getting &gt;80k on factory tires on prius' and the tires are rated for 60k at most. Also those people have not had any problems with uneven wear and actually with that kind of pressure the tires wear more evenly not necessitating rotation.

Traction is not hindered at all, Its spring time here for me and i can hit a sharp left hander on my way home from work every night and even lately we have a had a few torential down pours and the car sticks like glue , no problems at all.

Please use the resources of cleanmpg.com and gassavers.org as they will show what kind of results you can get

 

Get some stock 13" wheels and tires and keep them at a good pressure. I run 40 psi in mine. Less rolling resistance and lighter weight than 14s or 15s. Keep in mind that you shouldn't drive like a madman since you'll have less rubber on the road. Get it tuned up- spark plugs, cap, rotor, wires, get a K&N drop in air filter, new o2 sensor (may be expensive), oil change. Clean out the trash from your car, empty the trunk. Less weight the engine has to move. Drive 65MPH max and accelerate slowly. If it is a stick shift, try to shift earlier in the RPM range to the next higher gear... like upshift at 3k. Drive in the highet gear possible. When stopping, throw it in neutral and coast to a stop, coast downhill.

After all of that, then you can go to silly extremes like ripping out the A/C, lightweight battery, stripping the car out, carbon fiber hood, trunk and fenders, plexiglass windows. Any gas savings would be out the window though.


Modified by D50boy at 2:05 PM 3/23/2008

 

anyone running 80psi in a tire is a moron. it is flat out dangerous. and it's is bad advice. are professional tire manufactures giving this advice? or random commuters?

 

Get a good flowing intake, gut the cat, convert to obd1 and retune with crome or the like. I remember Joseph Davis either doing, or talking about someone who had leaned out their fuel map at the freeway cruising load point and got something like 55mpg.

The stock fuel map is pretty safely rich where you'll have some room to work. You could always do the intake, gut cat, and get an afc to lean it out, but you'll want to have a wideband hooked up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Commiecircusbear &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Awesome thanks a lot everyone! that helped me out a whole lot
I dont think I'll go as far as getting aero pieces for under the car because I want the car to look as normal and low profile as possible and I don't don't plan on spending that much money on that car.
I really appreciate all the input and thanks for your help </TD></TR></TABLE>

Pickup a 92-95 CX/VX Transmission, bolts right on, and the Gearing is MUCH wider than your trans, I was netting 42-44mpg with my CX back when it was stock.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JohnnySpade &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do a tune up first, that will help. Usually getting a better flowing intake will give you a mpg or two as well. I don't know anything about chipping or ecu swaps for mpg, so maybe someone else can chime in on that...</TD></TR></TABLE>

you want to restrict your air flow into the engine as much as possible. more air equals more fuel. get it? the stock configuration is by far the best solution for a DD. As far as chipping the ECU, it can be done. You will need to lean out all your tables, don't do this yourself. Get a pro

Running more PSI in the tires will be dangerous if the tires are not in good shape to begin with. If they are new, you will get away with running 2-4 psi higher than recommended. I always run the recommended psi because a blow out is not a fun thing.

I have a 90 CRX DX that gets 44 mpg on the highway. I achieve this with a retro fitted cruise control. You want to set cruise as soon as you can. Once you get to cruise speed (25 mph), set your cruise. Then increase your speed with the cruise control RESUME/ACCEL button. Doing this alone in town will give you 1-5 mpg increase. Act like there is an egg between your foot and the pedal. When you see a green light thats been green for a while, take your foot off the gas and get it out of gear and coast (MT ONLY). Try to keep your momentum going.

Any market items that say they yield better gas mileage are all BS. Nothing that you put in your tank will increase your mileage, it may clean your engine but it will not make your gas SUPER GAS. All after market performance parts will destroy your MPG. I hope I've touched all the bases and not pissed to many people off. Good luck with your quest

 

Carbon Fiber / Fiber Glass Parts?...
Personally Dont Like The Look.. But It Decreases Weight & Strain On The Motor..

 

Increase the psi in your tires, for example my 00 hatch i am going for gas milage as well and i am running 56psi in all my tires.


WHAT ????? Max psi rating of 44 and your running 56 ?!?!! kiss the middle of your tires goodbye

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1badteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
When you see a green light thats been green for a while, take your foot off the gas and get it out of gear and coast (MT ONLY).


</TD></TR></TABLE>

FYI: In gear vac. cruising uses less gas than idle out of gear cruising.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stealthmode62 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

FYI: In gear vac. cruising uses less gas than idle out of gear cruising. </TD></TR></TABLE>

just going off of what gassavers.org says.

 

+1 on the scangaugeII tool. You'll get the biggest gains from modifying your driving habits.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by instructor74 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">another good place to look is at http://www.gassavers.org</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

ok well you are entitled to your opinion and thats fine , but from my research and dd experience my car tires and fuel economy or doing quite well. If you want to get exceptional mileage there are some things that might seem crazy but work quite well , and like i said before go on cleanmpg.com see what i am talking about. Oh and you think pushing tires is so crazy look at all of the other stuff people do to cars that were really never imagined to be made fast and well if you think its crazy don't do it.

 

Buy Low Rolling Resistance tire such as Sumitomo HTR 200 and jack up the tire pressure to 45 psi. also you should get an alignment every so often.

use 5w-20 motor oil.

do a tune-up. spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor, valve adjustment, fuel filter, and pcv valve.

always use the correct octane which is 87 in your case.

lose weight.

 

also something that i noticed which might not be something you want to do but you are on honda-tech so, maybe think about lowering your car, that inturn lowers your area for drag, lower to the ground means less air passing under your turbulent car and more over and around

 

to add:

lighter wheels (HX/VX, panasports, LM8's, etc)

coasting to stoplights (among other driving habits - windows up/ac off)

resist the urge to go past 3000 rpm ( )

interfooler, those fuel magnets, and turbinator (jk)