...just bought a VX

[GasSavers_vxhatch]

My company is moving from downtown Washington DC to Northern VA. Since the commuter bus I ride into DC will no longer be viable option, I started looking for a pre-owned Civic to be my commuter. I like the styling of the 92-95 Civic hatchback and specifically sought that model. Thinking I wanted the SI, I proceeded to find a bunch of well used, high-millage cars with rear wheel arch rust that were selling for top dollar. Yesterday, I purchased a bone stock '92 Tahitian Blue Pearl VX hatchback that had spent most of its life in WA. It is clean and rust-free. In my search I drove an Integra LS, Integra GS-R, 95 Civic SI hatch and the 92 VX. With the VX, I was amazed at the fuel efficiency, in a car that was reasonably quick and fun to drive.

With an 80-mile/day round-trip commute, I am tickled to have ended up with a VX rather than an SI. I'll be spending time poking thru this forum to learn how to optimize FE on my VX. The previous owner warned that he typically saw (only) about 38 MPG from the VX. I know it could and should do much better...

Doug

[cafn8]

Congrats. 5th generation Civics are my favorite too. Kind of sad that it's getting harder to find a clean and unmolested one. You'll find a lot of VX owners on this forum and lots of information.

[GasSavers_TomO]

Welcome to the growing army of VX owners here! A good place to start reading up on VX issues/items/mods would be found in the VX info link in my signature.

I must say, I'm a bit jealous that there is another Tahitian Blue Pearl VX on here. Most of them are teal green, red or white. The blue ones, I thought, were rare, but everyone here seems to find them easily.

[Danronian]

Great find on the clean VX!

They are becoming difficult to find without being overpriced, modified, and beat in general.

Welcome to the forum!

Since you just bought the car, I would do some basic maintenance such as the timing belt/water pump/tensioner replacement, replace the spark plugs/wires/distributer cap/rotor/fuel filter/air filter, do a Seafoam treatment on the car, and do an oil change. After you do that, see what kind of MPG you can get out of the car with your driving style. It does take a little while to get used to the odd gearing and powerband of the VX, but once you get used to it, you should be getting around 50 MPG.

Any questions, just ask! Lots of VX owners here to give advice.

[GasSavers_vxhatch]

Thx all for the warm welcome & tips, the car has just over 100k and the original timing belt. The distributor failed on the previous owner, who replaced it in his driveway. He did all his own maintenance, in fact.

I dropped the car off for MD state inspection (which can be expensive to get thru) this morning. Once the car is tagged and titled, I'll start w/ pumping up the tires to max. rated, oil/filter change, air filter if needed and timing belt/water pump. The car has original wheels, but oversize tires 175/70/15, not sure of the brand. The only other significant non-stock aspect is that the car has additional metal foil backed sound insulation added to reduce cabin noise. I'm sure it added weight, but seems to work, and I'm gonna leave it alone.

Any significant FE benefit of synthetic motor oil and/or gear lube?

Doug

[Danronian]

Originally Posted by vxhatch

Any significant FE benefit of synthetic motor oil and/or gear lube?

Doug

It would cut down on friction, but I don't know if I would use it in the tranny. Honda D-series transmissions are notorious for having issues with the input shaft bearing, so it might not be the best idea for a 100k mile tranny (though I know some people on this forum use it). I would go with Honda MTF (which i believe is now a synthetic blend) which you can only get from the dealer. For the engine oil, I see no issue using synthetic as long as the motor doesn't burn or leak any oil.

[smccall]

Another VX owner added to the site. This is great. I just got mine and have to do all the things Danronian spoke about to get better mpgs.

[garyhgaryh]

Originally Posted by Danronian

It would cut down on friction, but I don't know if I would use it in the tranny. Honda D-series transmissions are notorious for having issues with the input shaft bearing, so it might not be the best idea for a 100k mile tranny (though I know some people on this forum use it). I would go with Honda MTF (which i believe is now a synthetic blend) which you can only get from the dealer. For the engine oil, I see no issue using synthetic as long as the motor doesn't burn or leak any oil.

My input shaft bearing went at 229k. Replace all the bearings (except the two on the shaft) and put regular engine oil in the tranny per the haynes manual.
Runs great.

I just got 59mpg on my VX, but noticed the car was tilted (passenger side was about two inches higher than the driver's side) at this gas station. I won't count this as one of my all time highs unless I get another reading like this when filling on a completely flat surface.

Anyways, I'm offtopic: welcome to the board!
I'm a satisified VX owner. I save about $300 month commuting in this car.
Gary

[cfg83]

vxhatch -

Welcome to GS! As you can see, lots of VX-ers to help you max out your MPG!

CarloSW2

[GasSavers_vxhatch]

Thanks everyone. The car is now inspected, tagged and titled. It's sitting on 155/80/15 Kumho tires on stock rims. Started on some slightly overdue PMS last night and pumped the tires up to max rated (42psi). Lean burn seems to be working as I when I push on the gas, I can feel a slight pause before the power comes on. I will start to track FE once I start to drive the car regularly.

Doug