Hi all,

I just bought my first Honda Del Sol and I like driving it. It is 1997 automatic SI

I live in Saskatoon/ Canada which is known for harsh winter. Can get to -40 here.

How does a del sol handle winter? I wonder if I should invest in Winter tires now since this car is light. Any body drive del sol without winter tires.

Also

I am getting 10.5L/100k which I think is low for a del sol from what I read. Anybody cant tell me if this true? How does this car do for gas economy in harsh winter conditions?

Thanks

A

 

It will handle roughly the same in snow (or anything for that matter) as a '92 - '95 Civic since that's what it's based on. I'd invest in winter tires for anything, light or not.

As for the fuel mileage, it wont be great. Fuel mileage in the winter decreases for numerous reasons (winter gas with more ethanol, more idling, increased warmup, greater rolling resistance pushing snow, etc) The automatic trans doesn't help anything either, both for the mileage and winter driving, and the fact that it's a del sol, which is a bit heavier than a civic hurts the mileage again.

10.5km/L works out to a little over 22MPG US or 26.9 imperial MPG. Which honestly is terrible. That's just marginally better than a fuel sized half ton.

 

 

Thanks very much for the info. What should I expect from my Del Sol for Mileage? how far is my car from being efficient?

I am buying a kit "ACCEL HST1 Super Tune-Up Kit" to do some tuning and wonder if this would make a difference? The kit Includes spark plug wires, distributor caps and rotors.
I am looking for spark plugs but not sure which ones to buy (don't know the ones that would fit?)

Thanks again
A

 

Accel makes horrible parts. Don't get that kit. Get yourself some good, OEM wires, cap, and rotor. Get NGK plugs. PZFR6F-11, or ZFR5F-11.

 

for best fuel economy do a NGK Spark Plug Laser Platium or Iridium 9, they are the best, and do NGK spark plug wires too. Change your fuel filter to K&N. They are washable so that is great. Of course make sure your oil is a good color, dont let it be dark or your engine will have alot of gunk build up. and make sure you have good tire pressure too. if you have low tire pressure, it makes the car work more than it suppose to.
My friend has a del sol and he gets about 35 to 40 miles to the gallon. but of course he is a standard and he shifts at 2000 RPM but it should be that much of a difference from a AUTO.

 

Even with the autotragic if everything is tuned up and in good running order you should be getting about 30-35 mpg. I think that's like 13-15 kpl. Definitely look into some new OEM parts like have been suggested. Also check your O2 sensors as well.

 

Yep. The only thing I'd use other than genuine Honda wires are blue NGKs (which incidentally can be purchased from Canadian Tire most of the time) I have yet to see an aftermarket cap and rotor that's worth buying.

 

Expect right around 37MPG in the summer, that's using imperial gallons if it's running right.

 

I get about 24-27 driving in the city and back and forth too CT on the weekends... with new plugs and wires with a automatic transmission, I don't really ride hard on the car either. Maybe new fuel filter time?

 

You should get around 28 city 35 highway, not sure what that is in imperial though.
NGK or Nippon Denso, don't fall short on those things.