So, the wife has a 2007 Saturn VUE, now I drive her 1997 Civic LX automatic. The brown car- my beloved 1992 Accord, got traded in. I left a note in the coin holder in the dash and a couple weeks later a guy from the pik-a-part called me saying he found my note. I've regretted it since signing it over. It was a great mix of economy, room, and adequate performance. Now- about that Civic...

With only 108hp and the slushbox, it's gutless. I suppose it'd be adequate with a manual, but I don't have one and the slushbox was just rebuilt so swapping is a no-go. While I average 30mpg on my commute (25 miles one way, being split 50/50 of 55mph backroads with a couple stop lights and highway)

I've decided since I can't pass anything this side of 50cc motor scooters on the two laner, why not modify it to take advantage of its supposed strengths- fuel economy (I got between 29-34mpg in the '92 Accord... I'm not impressed with Civic getting me in the 30-34mpg range).

So- I found some black plastic about the same thickness and structure as heavy cardboard, and plan on making a grille blocker out of it for the lower portion. I plan on leaving the 'upper' grille unblocked so it gets at least some airflow. If it runs warmer than usual I'll just grille block the drivers side to keep temperatures in check.(ac condensor, the AC is long dead on this thing so I won't use it).

That aside, is there a way I can get the automatic to shift sooner? It will not shift under around 2500rpm, and doesn't like the engine to run at or below 2000rpm. For Jeeps there's wiring diagrams and guides to manually shift the slushboxes.

check it out: http://articles.jeepforum.com/XJ_AW4_TCU_Shift_Mod

Is there a way to do this with the Civic? Best fuel economy is normally found at the lowest engine speeds WITHOUT lugging the engine (lugging=very bad, obviously).

Also is there a way to lock the torque converter? Knowing that the TC clutches are not made for high torque, I think they'll be okay with me accelerating gently (keep in mind I'm shooting for MPGs, not performance. Of course, if I need to stop or accelerate quickly for whatever reason, I can flip the switch to 'unlock' and have the TC behave like it does stock)

Any suggestions? Any ideas? Any thoughts? Any wiring gurus with ideas and know-how?
Thanks,
Matt

 

Nope. Nope. And nope. You're pretty much stuck.

 

Replace:

-Plugs
-Wires
-Cap
-Rotor
-Fuel filter

-Check tire condition/pressure
-Keep all fluids clean/full

As far as a mod. I'd go with a CAI or SRI as it improves air flow. My 98 EX improved by 2-3mpg average after that. The transmission should already have a lock up torque converter.

 

Power or economy. You may improve one but you will sacrifice the other.

 

locking up the torque converter earlier will just make it's lack of torque that much more obvious (if you engage it at idle it will stall out the motor ) it's used to drop the rpm when at a steady cruise and the tranny shift calibration is already for economy not performance

 

Swap for the 3 stage vtec -e head

if I remember its a y5? head? but it gives you the best economy possible.

I hear it is better flowing and gives better combustion characteristics.

Im sure you could probably get all the parts to do that cheap since no one ever wants to buy the economical vtec heads.

Also I can't remember where I saw it but look on google for "crx ecomodder" this guy swapped a 3 stage vtec motor in his and does nothing but mods for gas milage and is averaging like 70 mpg or something.

 

And unless you do the swap RIGHT which INCLUDES the correct P2J? ECU (which is where most people try to skip out on) it will never work properly.

 

OP if I were in your shoes - looking for better fuel economy - I would do an
auto > manual conversion.

But, it will take a while to make up the difference in cost with the improved
fuel economy, unless you can source the conversion parts for cheap.

 

You're right- most of the time.

Direct fuel injection (it was in production in aircraft engines in world war 2) is about the only thing that's come along that improves both power and fuel economy.

And anything that reduces pumping losses increases power (less power is used to run the engine) and economy (less fuel is needed as less power is needed).

My idea is that since the D-engines really aren't going to make good power outside of turbos or giggle juice, I figure I may as well do what I can to increase economy. Screw power. That's what motorcycles are for Gotta love those old Honda SOHC 4 bikes.

I'll see if I can scrape up a wiring diagram for the transmission and torque converter... any help with links or PDFs would be great as well.

 

So that said, thinking of going the pure economy route, you could get a chipped ECU and tune it in the same manner-tune the MAP to run extremely lean. What you're getting into now is called hypermilling. There's a site dedicated to it.

 

I looked it up...and I found someone who --maybe its a different person though, and they had more then just a stage 3 head. Lower rolling resistant tires, weight reduction, different alternator, 6 lb racing battery , etc etc etc along with the vtec motor/vx trans 5 speed/and correct ECU etc.

The costs associated though would be years of gas mileage away to break even, I mean conservatively your looking at 3-4k worth of additional mods (plus the cost of the crx-since our civics arent 1800lbs and from the factory with 35-40 mpg) Good running 96-00 civics can do 34 mpg on the highway. With small mods and hypermilling you could see 40's. To get any higher your spending 1500 on a swap to Vtec E, then tires, then this, then that etc. A 10 mpg per gallon would work out to a a $10 savings everytime you fill the tank? Over the course of a year your looking at $500 in savings (assuming weekly fill ups)

Unless gas hits 5/gal and OP drives constantly - or he plans on keeping the car 12-15 years, the cost outweighs the benefits, unless its a strictly enviro standpoint.

 

I have a 1999 Civic which is the same drivetrain as yours.
The transmission locks up the torque converter at about 52MPH to 55MPH and higher in 4th gear and about 66MPH in 3rd gear (if gear selector is in '3' position).

An easy way to get it to shift quicker is to ease off the gas, it'll shift, then press on it again. You can control the transmission pretty well using that technique, except in cases where the 'grade logic' (new for the 6th gen Civics vs 5th gen) is active, in which you briefly switch to neutral then to drive again and it's back to normal.

In the summer, combo of city and mostly highway, I can get 33MPG, and about 36.5MPG if I am doing a highway trip at 60MPH.

In town in the winter, around 27MPG. Winter mostly highway, some city, about 30-31MPG.
I don't hypermile, I just try to coast to stops and keep the transmission in it's efficiency zone unless I feel like gunning it.

It's not that slow of a car, but it does get slower if passengers come with.

 

I feel for you in this car, I wouldn't have wasted money on having the transmission rebuilt, I would have gone manual, I had a 98 like this, the gutless green turd, I still have my 86 Accord, and after driving that for years, I cant below how bad the civic was for a car that much newer, the loss of torque and less displacement was obvious, even my 81 civic seemed to have more guts then the 98, I guess it being a lightweight car and having a manual helped, much more fun though, I was very disappointed in the turd, everything broke, one thing after another, and when the transmission finally died, I sold it for what I could get , I dont miss it much

 

you could always do the craigslist build like I am doing on my 98 4 door lx.

I was able to do my manual swap in my 98 dx for $50 but with that being said I also lucked out and found a guy on cl who gave me a free vx trans and shift linkage cause he said I was saving him a trip to the junk yard. and I also had parts from my brothers car but still, with enough hunting you can find almost everything you need used for less than $400. save money on labor and diy. then sell the rebuilt auto for around $400 and you break even.

I crashed the dx and put the vx trans into my lx. deleted my a/c cause my compressor was whinny and I made a custom exhaust using a free 2000 ex header and a 98 gsr exhaust and modified the oem muffler. ngk plugs, wires, new honda cap and rotor, new drop in filter new fuel filter, sea foam, injector cleaning, new wheel bearings, lighter 14" wheels with taller lighter tires an lowered tastefully and I am getting 35-38 mpg and I am not b/s'n.

I have spent less than $500 on the mods listed and I am seeing a major return on the money being that I drive a lot. I am also doing weight reduction around the entire car but tastefully. trimming off things behind panels, soon to have a manual rack from a dx, shaving the carpet insulation, gutting the trunk, removing sound deadening and un-used brackets from the engine bay.

it just takes actual hands on work but it is all very possible to do for little to no money.
you can remove close to 100lbs from the car by removing all a/c related parts and you can resell everything for the system to someone who is retrofitting an a/c system.

also make sure all of your suspension components are in good working order and you have a good alignment. also slightly over-inflating the tires helps as well. just don't exceed the max on the tire which is usually 20 psi more than factory recommendation.

but by far the best gas saving tip there is would have to be throttle control. if you learn how to drive like a hyper miler you could make up a good 2-4mpg. coast in neutral as often as possible. and no you will not damage the trans by putting it in neutral while driving.

also go to local meets and make friends with anyone who is actually doing hands on work on their cars. most guys will be willing to help with any major jobs for nothing more than beer and you would be very surprised to find that the guy with the horizon gray 92 integra just happens to have a basement full of parts he would like to get rid of.

have fun and if you want any help or ideas let me know i'll be glad to help

 

ecomodder.com

 

Did you keep the automatic transmission fluid and other fluids clean? Maybe you just got a lemon auto Civic. I have 230,000 on mine with zero repairs, just gaskets, belts, the usual.
The 5th and 6th gen Civics and 1990s Accords are the most reliable years IMO. Civics with the early CVTs (HX trim) weren't reliable though but their slushbox autos were. CVTs and ignition switches and RTA bushings but the latter 2 got updated part#s.