Greetings from New Mexico

[lotec]

Hi-- Just wanted to compliment you on the awesome web site! Kudos to your no-baloney, experimental mindset!!

I found this site after several months of lurking on Honda-Tech. I had just bought my 90 CRX hf(175k miles then).I was realizing that 90% of the info there was "dual use technology" (performance/mileage)--then I latched onto Matt's/SVOboy's series of posts on H-T on the D15Z1 engine, and started my research.I have already done a few things with the CRX- Nokian NRT2 LRR tires, VX wheels, WAI, some front end scoop and radiator blocks (I use pop rivets and Coroplast - the corrugated plastic that campaign signs are made of-available for cheap at art supply stores).Metrompg is giving me all kinds of ideas in the aero arena.I also indexed the spark plugs,went to a lightweight Hawker gel battery,new O2 sensor, and Mobil 1 0W20 synthetic oil. I'm experimenting with acetone 1 fl.0z./ 10 gal for the last few tanks.I've been recording MPG vs mods for about 19 months now on an Excel spreadsheet.So far, 64 mpg is best can do summer highway mileage (heavy drafting!), I started out at 45-49 mpg on my normal commute cycle.I now get mid 50's in very cold weather, 57-60 in summer.
I'm working on putting new seals and a couple of new sensors on my used JDM VTEC-e D15B, and fabricating my wiring harness adapter, so Matt,SVOboy and Dax's posts are really coming in handy.
In summary, I grew up with the idea that "hot rods are built, not bought", and I really appreciate the grassroots, can-do approach here!

[SVOboy]

Wow, I got mentioned. Weee.

So you did the full d15z1 swap eh? What transmission are you using with it?

How much did you pay for the vx rims? I want some too. Do you have you radiator completely blocked?

How did you index the plugs? Bought a lot and then returned the ones you didn't use?

Post up your excel spreadsheet, I want to see.

You're an inspiration. I'm getting ready to do a high compression ratio d15z1 head swap.

Nice car, by the way, what color?

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by lotec

Hi-- Just wanted to compliment you on the awesome web site! Kudos to your no-baloney, experimental mindset!!

that's exactly why i'm here too.

i think we need keep each other honest by being appropriately skeptical of each others' claims when they are made with little effort to control the "tests - or at the very least without disclaimers acknowledging the limitations of claims made.

it's sometimes tough to be diplomatic while calling "bullsh&%" on somebody. you don't want to sour the vibe too much and make it personal. but the fact is, it drags the quality of the site down when folks start talking nonsense and they get away with it!

welcome to the site! you've got some fantastic numbers. please post your mpg details and start using the gas log. nothing like a little friendly competition to spur us all on!

[Matt Timion]

welcome, and thanks for the compliment on the site.

Part of this site is designed to be rather simply. I figure there is no need for flashy graphics everywhere and wasted bandwidth. I'd rather get to the meat of the topic. That explains why the garage and gaslog look like they were put together by a 4th grader just learning how to program (they DO teach that now adays to 4th graders, right?) For me function is so much more important than how it looks.

In a perfect world this site would grow very large in the next year or so, but I'm realizing that because of the nature of the site it might not grow at all. I'm okay with that, as long as we continue to have quality posts.

If the site does grow we will have less strictness and fewer people will be calling "bull****" on each other. I guess that's okay though. You get out of this site what you put into it.

And honestly, I don't want people here that think you can triple your fuel economy by disolving an aspirin in your gas tank.

Understanding the scientific method is crucial if you ask me.

Anyway, welcome welcome... and I hope to see plenty of you in the future.

[lotec]

So you did the full d15z1 swap eh? What transmission are you using with it?

How much did you pay for the vx rims? I want some too. Do you have you radiator completely blocked?

How did you index the plugs? Bought a lot and then returned the ones you didn't use?
Post up your excel spreadsheet, I want to see.

You're an inspiration. I'm getting ready to do a high compression ratio d15z1 head swap.

Nice car, by the way, what color?

Haven't done the swap yet-- I am putting seals and gaskets, timing belt, water pump and a new clutch plate in before I put in the D15Z1.I'm going to use the stock HF tranny- minor repairs, external seals, throwout bearing, etc.It still works perfectly.

I bought the VX rims on Ebay for about $180 plus shipping.They are only about 9 lbs. That's lighter than anything under $1000/set.When I mounted the Nokian tires, the combo weighed 19.5 lbs, vs the stock steel/ big O legacy tires at 30 lbs.I really noticed the unsprung weight difference in handling on bumpy corners and acceleration in first gear.

Actually, I kind of improvised on the spark pug indexing.I discovered that you can uniformly thin out the washers while they are still on the plug by using a Dremel and a small abrasive cutoff wheel.If you hold the cutoff wheel at the right angle, you can get the washer spinning, and the material removal is pretty uniform. I got lucky on 3 of 4 plugs, and modded the 4th.It did not take much material to get it oriented right, at the right torque setting.I hope the heat transfer to the plug and the protrusion of the plug won't change too much.I pointed the open end of the gap towards the intake valve on my 8 valve HF engine.I don't know if that's optimum, but the web consensus seems to be that way.I had a scrap HF head i used to figure out the exact angle to point the plug. On the Honda Insight, they have each cylinder marked A,B, or C.There are 3 configurations of plugs, also marked A,B,or C. you are supposed to buy individual plugs to correspond to the cylinder.If Honda thinks indexing is worthwhile, it probably is.I am curious to see which way they point the gap on the Insight.

My car is Frost White. A few minor door dings, but pretty straight.I don't think it's in quite as nice a condition as yours, from the pictures.

Are you doing a full mini-me and OBD1 conversion with your head,or DPFI and stock intake mani/ECU? I was thinking about staying with stock mani's and D15Z1 long block as a fallback position.Also, are you doing the Somender Singh grooving on it?

[SVOboy]

I bought the VX rims on Ebay for about $180 plus shipping.

Yikes, I've got a lead on some for 160 shipped, but I ain't got the coin for it.

I'll prolly just buy a bunch of plugs and return the ones I don't want.

I don't think it's in quite as nice a condition as yours, from the pictures.

I want to, but I'm planning on testing it on my current head first to see how it works out. Do you have any particular insight on it?

Thanks, I wanna pop a dent or two and wax it soon, prolly wax before I knock out the dents.

Are you doing a full mini-me and OBD1 conversion with your head,or DPFI and stock intake mani/ECU?

I plan on doing obd1 and MPFI before the mini-me, I've got almost all the stuff already.

Also, are you doing the Somender Singh grooving on it?

[kickflipjr]

vx rims are 9 pounds! I want some. Are they 14" 4 x 100

[SVOboy]

13" 4 x 100

There are actually some miata rims that size around that weight, even less, also. I'll find some nice links and start a wheel weight thread.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by kickflipjr

vx rims are 9 pounds! I want some. Are they 14" 4 x 100

if you want HX rims (11.75 lbs - 14" 4x100) let me know. Ihave a spare set I'm dying to get rid of.

[JanGeo]

Hey I indexed the Geo plugs 12 years ago and before that my Moto Morini and my BMW R100S - you got it right you point the gap towards the intake valve the idea being to start the flame towards the coolest place in the combustion chamber and the hotter spots will burn completely all by themselves. What you should notice is a very even idle and no sputtering - although that only happens these days with carbs. I indexed my plugs with some brass shims a friend in a machine shop cut out for me at different thicknesses. Good luck swapping out new plugs - I think you will find that they are all made the same.

The rims you guys are talking about are going to fit on my xB too if the offset is right although I am looking for some 15" x 5.5-6 wide 4x100 with a 40 offset but I think the steel wheels are pretty light. A 9 lbs Mag sounds great though. TireRack has some that I like for $65 each but I think something a little lighter would be better . . . need to check the steel rims to see what they weigh first to get a reference.