96 thru ... Civic Hatch

[GasSavers_MFR]

I'm in Nova Scotia; right above you.

I'm going to look at a 92 hatch tonite, lol. Guess I'm not holding out... we'll see.

Thanks for the link.

[Cosworth]

I have a '99 DX with ~109k miles at the moment.

I average around 44mpg in the car (10/90 city/hwy). I don't use every technique in the hypermiling book, but I don't drive like an *** either.

I'd say mid-40mpg is very do-able if you drive smooth & if you don't drive faster than ~65mph. City mileage for me is probably mid-30mpg when I granny shift.

Great cars, I'm looking to buy another in the near future when my 4-car garage is built.

p.s. First "mod" that I would do to the car would be to buy a set of HX wheels. ~10lbs wheel and it surely beats heavy steelies.

[Cosworth]

Originally Posted by MFR

I'm going to look at a 92 hatch tonite, lol. Guess I'm not holding out... we'll see.

IMO, '96+ Civics would be a better buy in the long run. Typical '96-'00 DX hatch goes for around $5k. And, you're buying a lot "newer" car by doing so.

'92-'95 Civics have probably more parts available, but good luck finding a well-maintained 1-2 owner car.

Personally, I am extremely happy with my '99 DX, and ~44mpg is good enough. (Only if you can find a low mileage, bone-stock, 1-owner '92-'95 VX, will you actually make out better in the long run, IMO.)

[AK97CX]

I just ordered new headlights for my CX hatch.

$52 ea. with free shipping from carpartswarehouse.com

Going to put them in next weekend.

[FLAteam]

I don't see too many hypermilers with the 6th gen civic, so I'll put in my input too...I recently bought a 96 DX hatchback with an automatic (29/36 EPA). I'm averaging about 34 mpg mixed city and highway driving. I take it pretty fast on the highway (80+mph). My personal best was 36 mpg, going around 65-70 mph on steelies with pretty old tires. I recently got VX wheels and put some new 155/80/13's on them and consistently get 34mpg. I know its not as impressive as these guys, but my scangauge is on order and I'll (hopefully) join the 40+mpg club!

Oh yea, and if you want to get rid of the yellow on those headlights, use Mothers Mag and Aluminum metal polish. Its like $3/jar at Wal-Mart. Use just a dab and rub it in really well but make sure you don't get any on your paint.

...By the way, anyone here make some aero mods to their 6th gen hatch? I'm thinking of upper grill block and partial lower grill block (96-98)

[palemelanesian]

Your automatic can do better, but those speeds are killing your mileage. Mine has done 43mpg, loaded, with AC, and the cruise set at 65. Yours has better gear ratios, so the engine is running lower rpm on the highway.

Grille Block: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/z/Pal...sian/?tab=1000
I used a foam exercise mat, cut with a stanley knife. It press-fits right in. This time of year, I have 1/2 of it removed, but below 75 degrees, I keep the full block in place. I stuck little pieces into each of the holes in the upper grille. It looks stock, but there's no airflow.

I used a foam mat like this: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/1096861...Floor_Mats.jpg

[FLAteam]

Awesome pics, and a great idea for material.

It looks like your grill block is on the inside. How much did that affect your fuel economy? I'm considering putting my block outside.

It also says you've been getting 60mpg. Is this all thanks to the grill block and the 5W-20? I've also got my tire psi to about 55psi cold.

Finally, I'm getting a Scangauge soon, so what do you consider a "safe" running temperature for the engine?

[palemelanesian]

The mileage is mostly from driving technique. Read about pulse and glide, among other things. Look here, and at ecomodder, and at cleanmpg for more.

The grill block is sort of in between. It goes in from the front, but it's recessed a bit. I mainly use it for faster warmup. Most of my driving is 55 or less, so aero is not such a big deal. Over the course of my 11-mile commute, it lets the engine warm up about 30F more than fully open.

I haven't really noticed a difference with the oil, either from weight or synthetic. Controlled studies have shown 1-3% improvements, so I went ahead and did it.

I have 60psi in my tires. That does make a difference. 55 is not much different. It glides much farther this way, as I'm sure you've noticed.

I try to avoid the engine cooling fan, which comes on at 202-204F. I aim to keep temps below 200, then.

Congrats on the scangauge. Let it teach you, and you'll be gaining a lot of mileage.

[FLAteam]

Thanks for the help...I figured since you live in Texas, the temps get pretty high (probably higher than FL), so you've dealt with the engine temp issue (plus you're running a D16Y7, like me).

I'll try driving 55 or less this time on my 110 mile trip back home...it'll be nuts having all these people pass me for 2 hours, but I'll give it a shot. I've been practicing P&G but I guess my max speed should be 55 mph (as opposed to my normal 80).

[palemelanesian]

On the highway, I'll often use a pulse-and-glide range of 45-60 mph or 50-65 mph if traffic is heavy. There's a limit to what you can do with lots of others on the road.