HCH II new person

[bear15]

Hi,

I am glad to be a new member of this forum. We have a 2006 civic hybrid with approx. 6,500 miles and have the goal of someday reaching 100 + MPG . Our best tank thus far has been 66.4 MPG on 11.3 gallons of gas.

We have 51 psi in the rear tires and 49 psi in the front tires. We just replaced the factory oil with Mobil1 0w-20 (3 qts. only instead of the 3.4 listed in manual) and replaced the air filter with a K&N.

We really enjoy driving this car. It is by far the best car I have owned and enjoyed driving. The current name we have for this car is "Silent OPEC Nightmare" which we feel is very fitting as gas prices are now beginnng to come back down some.

We have solar panels we would like to use to fully charge the battery when it is parked. Do you know how this can be done?

We were also considering covering the raditor now that we have cooler temps but do not have any data that would support a MPG improvement.
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[SVOboy]

Hey there! Welcome to the site.

Check out www.metrompg.com for some information on the grill block, it's not cold tested, but it is aero tested.

Anywho, good luck, don't forget to fill out a garage and gaslog.

[Matt Timion]

welcome bear!

You'll have to keep us up to date on the HCH. I seriously considered one when I bought the Honda Fit last month.

Anyway, glad to have you aboard. I'd love to see a HCH with some serious aero mods.

[MetroMPG]

Welcome....

Originally Posted by bear15

Hi,

We have solar panels we would like to use to fully charge the battery when it is parked. Do you know how this can be done?

For that, I'd direct you to look here:

http://www.99mpg.com/mikesinsight/

However you'll note that the charging is for a supplementary 48v pack that the owner installed in the car to power both his 5th wheel as well as feed his hybrid pack while under way. I don't believe he's feeding the hybrid pack directly.

[psyshack]

Hello bear... Welcome to gassavers

First get rid of the K&N. I put a new K&N laying in our 05 Accord. Then did some reseach and was appauled at how bad they filter.

As for the gril block on your car. Im now toying with the idea of gril blocks on my 06 R-18 Ex Sedan. I cant have my car looking like some experment went wrong. So the challenge is how to do it with taiste and function.

Ive installed a engine belly pan thus far.

Good luck
psy

[GasSavers_brick]

Originally Posted by psyshack

As for the gril block on your car. Im now toying with the idea of gril blocks on my 06 R-18 Ex Sedan. I cant have my car looking like some experment went wrong. So the challenge is how to do it with taiste and function.

Not to hijack the thread (welcome bear15!) but I have an idea rolling around in my head that might help with this. Basically, I'm thinking about creating an insert rather than something that would have to be fastened to the outside of the bumper cover. The idea is to form a part that fits neatly and snugly into the lower grill opening, preferably flush with the rest of the plastic. It would be ideal to fasten it from the back (zipties?) which would eliminate the need for glue, duct tape, or other signs of "frankencarism." Coroplast could come into play if a good way of fusing it can be found. But, another topic for another thread.

[MetroMPG]

Or you could do something like what I did: get a "bra" and close some of the factory holes with vinyl.

I actually made mine from scratch. It's not professional, but it's a heck of a lot better (and more durable) than cardboard & duct tape. Basically a rectangle of black vinyl the height & width of the face of the bumper.

Only problem: I took off my front licence plate to put it on, and now I can't find my plate

[bear15]

Thanks for the helpful information.

psyshack ~ Please let me know how your idea works out for the grill cover. I drive my car a short distance (2-3 miles) every morning at 7am bring it home and then out again later in the morning for longer trips over 40 miles.

I think the grill cover would be very helpful.

[psyshack]

bear

Ive been wanting to add the HCHII's belly pans,,, but havent done it yet. I added a DIY engine belly pan mainly because of the huge amount of dirt that ends up under the hood. And I wanted to protect the wonderful casted oilpan/lower bock. Beautiful casting IMO.

As for the grill covers.

I really think they would help the 8th gen Civics alot. Problem is how to make them and not get the ghetto look. I very much like the looks of my car and dont want to mess it up.

The upper one is easy. Cut and break the metal. Remove the chrome bar and the stupid huge ugly H. Lay the grill block in and rebolt and clip the chrome bar back in.

The bottom one will need to be english wheeled and clips/fastners put on the backside and secured to the grill thats there.

I want to leave about a 1/8th" gap around the blocks and finish. The upper would more than likely be painted black. The bottom Im thinking maybe a lazer etch with something like " Civic Hypermiler " and painted black. I have also thought about a decal treatment to the lower one.

I think alum. sheet or light gauge sheet metal would work great. I dont want any corplast on the front of my new Civic at all. No matter what you do to the stuff is still looks tacky IMO.

[Rstb88]

where did you find 0 weight oil at??? and have you noticed any improvements in quality or anything else linked to the oil change. i have been contemplating putting 0w-20 instead of the recommended 5w-30 but i don't know if I should.