94 Civic VX - Not great MPG

[paulhale]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

yes. if you have a 170 or 180* thermostat, it would be beneficial to install a 195 one.

The Water Wetter visibly makes the car run cooler though. Could this make an MPG difference?

[add|ct]

I'd stick with OEM 180, quite frankly.

Instead:

Drain the water wetter, get in there plain old Honda Genuine type II(pre-mixed) or some Amsoil concentrate(then dillute to a 50/50 mix with distilled water). Lean burning creates more heat, I wouldn't mess with the thermostat if you are running colder now with Water Wetter. You want to run at operating temp designed by the manufacturer, unless there are exceptions and a person with any app decides to do it for sane reasons(you live where its never above 90 degrees ambient temp outside, for example, and never performed extended oil change intervals in such a climate thus needing A/c etc etc)...

Otherwise, good advice from ben.

180 is stock on the VX for thermostat.

[theholycow]

It sounds to me like your thermostat is failing. A coolant additive shouldn't affect the actual temperature your vehicle runs at; at most it should improve heat transfer efficiency of your coolant, making your thermostat flow less to keep your temperature up.

[paulhale]

Originally Posted by benfrogg

55psi rear (20psi above sidewall) and 65psi front (13psi above sidewall).
B

That seems high. Isn't that going to stress out my tires?

[paulhale]

Originally Posted by paulhale

That seems high. Isn't that going to stress out my tires?

I just checked my tire. The MAX PRESSURE is listed as 51 psi.

[theholycow]

I generally don't advise exceeding the maximum pressure marked on the tire. While it won't cause the tire to fail, it could expose you to liability in a crash if your insurance company thinks you made the car unsafe.

There's a link in my sig to my thread about tire pressure. Buried in loads of excess thoughts and ramblings there are links to information showing that it's safe to exceed the maximum. Namely, it is recommended that you exceed the maximum when operating at high speed on the autobhan, and that police cars at one training facility are inflated to 150psi because of the special maneuvers they do.

Long before you reach any pressure that could cause a blowout you'll have terrible handling, awfully harsh ride, and severe center wear.

I do recommend going right up to the maximum and backing it off a little if it causes ride or handling concerns. For me it always makes handling and tread life better while affecting ride so little that I can't detect it.

[add|ct]

^...but he drives a go-kart of a car. Which vehicles have you had your experiences in?

I do agree with your general approach there, though. Another reason why I must get some tires that can ride higher than the MAX 36 PSI I currently have on the fronts! It's killing my mileage!

The question is, go back to 165/70/R13 or stay with 175/70/R13 if I can achieve 51 MAX rated PSI on either?

[paulhale]

Ok, I officially suck at cars. I just checked my tires. They were at 25 psi and 27 psi in the front, and 15 psi and 20 psi in the front. I have spent so much time and money under the hood, that I neglected to monitor a simple thing like tire pressure. I'm used to heavier cars to where losing 10 psi is visible. Even the 15 psi tire didn't look any different than a properly inflated one. Jeez.

Originally Posted by theholycow

I do recommend going right up to the maximum and backing it off a little if it causes ride or handling concerns. For me it always makes handling and tread life better while affecting ride so little that I can't detect it.

I just borrowed the tire pump from my office here and brought all four tires up to 45 psi (per the gauge on the pump). I will buy a good gauge and check them again, and will probably bring them up closer to the max.

[add|ct]

Okay, report back with MPG changes and...don't sweat it! Lesson learned.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by add|ct

^...but he drives a go-kart of a car. Which vehicles have you had your experiences in?

Yup, I was thinking that too; but the tires are also much smaller. My lightest vehicle was reportedly 2600 pounds and had 205/55-16 tires. A VX is reportedly 2200 pounds...but those tires are tiny!

Originally Posted by paulhale

Ok, I officially suck at cars. I just checked my tires. They were at 25 psi and 27 psi in the front, and 15 psi and 20 psi in the front. I have spent so much time and money under the hood, that I neglected to monitor a simple thing like tire pressure. I'm used to heavier cars to where losing 10 psi is visible. Even the 15 psi tire didn't look any different than a properly inflated one. Jeez.

Yikes! That not only will take a chunk out of your MPG but puts you at a major risk for explosive tire failure (if you do any highway driving) and probably made handling pretty sloppy.

That reminds me I haven't checked mine in a while...I have one that gets down to 15psi before I notice it if I don't check.