new owner of a 88 crx si

[pyramid_head]

Hello fellow gas savers. Ahh... finally a website i can relate to. i'm tired of those other boy-racer sites telling me that it's "gay" to think about mpg and so on. My name is Alex and i live in Los Angeles, CA. I would like to start my post by wishing all of you a happy new year ! I celebrated my new year by purchasing an 88 CRX si; a clean title car with everything in tact (with Si transmission and ecu, but no engine), no rust at all, and it includes sunroof. This car officially weighs in at 1843 pounds (weighed in at an auto-cross event) due to minor weight reduction performed by the previous owner.

Future mods will include:

EXTERIOR: more weight reduction (1500-1600 lbs), carbon fiber hood/fenders, paint because it's really in bad condition cosmetic-wise, light weight rims (hx, or spoon rims), no A/C.

Engine: OBD1 conversion harness, P07 ecu, D15Z1 engine with transmission, intake, possible mild headers, and a mild/light weight exhaust.

I'm in a mission to achieve 60-70mpg or even more if possible in my crx. If anyone has any advice, wisdom, comments, a how-to guide, know an even better engine/transmission/ecu combo, weight reduction methods and ideas for optimal mpg, feel free to leave me a message.

[Gary Palmer]

Welcome to Gas Saver's. So your minus an engine? What are you using currently to ramble around, until you get the CRX set up the way you'd like?

If your going to go for mileage, your going to need to either get an HX transmission, or make the modifications to put a CX transmission in, to replace the one already in the car. The HF is a cable unit, the CX has a hydraulic clutch, instead of a cable. The HF should bolt in, as is, the CX requires some adaptation, I believe. Good Luck.

[SVOboy]

I have yet to see someone put a hydro d tranny in a crx. I've heard a lot of talk, and maybe it's happened, but it's a pain, so go with the HF tranny.

Also, your best bet with the d15z1 is to go with the stock exhaust manifold. It is designed for the car very specifically and there's no sense messing with it.

Anyway, the z1 and hf combo is the best choice, and will give you the ability to make big numbers, but then it's a matter of how you drive and what your commute is.

Good luck and welcome.

[pyramid_head]

yeah... the commute here is awful sometimes (L.A. traffic sucks, but it's not as bad as N.Y.). I presently drive an 06 matrix xr auto. i bought the crx just to get my hands dirty, and the matrix is so heavy, it's not giving me the mpg i want. I've seen many crx's with hydro trannys (b16a, b18c, etc), but yes.. it is costly and difficult to wire i've heard. It might not be worth it in my case unless it gets more gas mileage than the HF, i just might consider it .

Also, i was considering swapping a JDM D15b 3 stage vtec (92-95 obd1 i believe). It's supposedly the steroid twin of the D15Z1, but i don't know the accurate fuel mileage for this engine since it's rated at 127HP/102Tq. Many of the boy racers in some sites recommended the engine to me since i'm concerned about mpg, but i was thinking if the D15b 3 stg vtec engine has more hp and tq, wouldn't it reduce the FE level? Many said it was capable of getting 55mpg hwy if driven right. Would anyone recommend this engine for fuel efficiency?

[SVOboy]

The 3 stage will not be as good as the z1, but it will approach it. Because it does endeavour to make power it is not a 100% FE machine like the z1 is.

The comment I made about the hydro transmissions was based on the fact that I don't think they make mounts for D series hydro trannies in CRXs. It's not bad with B, H, K, blah blah, but I don't think anyone makes a mount kit for D series. Not sure if thats changed in the last few months though.

[pyramid_head]

Thanks. I might as well get the bracket from a vx, weld it on the CRX, and somehow accommodate it. Luckily i know a certified welder. I'd just rather prefer the smoothness of a cx/vx hydro transmission. That, and it's also made for that engine. LOL. I don't know how i'm going to get away with this car when i'm finished. CA. DMV laws are such totalitarian dictators.

I'm pretty sure this swap has been done before with an HF transmission. i wonder how it shifts. FYI :

L3 88-91 HF 3.250 1.650 1.033 0.823 0.694 2.954 (3.250 Cali) 3.880

L3 88-91 Si 3.250 1.894 1.259 0.937 0.771 3.153 4.25

P20/A000 92-95 Civic CX/VX D15B8/D15Z1 3.250 1.761 1.066 0.853 0.702 3.153 3.250

hmmm.... 3 trannys to chose from...

[pyramid_head]

oh... lol... it's obvious why i can't chose the L3 Si tranny... so two trans. to chose from.... L3 Hf, or the P20/A000. anyone know which one will give me a better FE level with these specs posted?

[SVOboy]

Go with the HF, I like mine,

I just don't think the VX tranny is worth the money, and you'll be revving higher anyway.

[Matt Timion]

I second what SVOBoy said. Putting a VX Transmission in there will cost loads of money, time, and will actually give you worse MPG in the end compared to a CA version CRX HF.

BTW, you can get a JDM D15b (d15z1 equivilant) delievered to your door for $350 in SoCal. www.nippon-motors.com.

[pyramid_head]

Weird... how can the P20/A000 tranny (92-95) made for the D15z1 engine (92-95vx) give you worse mpg than the Hf tranny (L3) made for the D15z? Beats me, but yes. What i do agree is that it will take much more time and money to install the P20 hydro vx tranny. thanks for snapping me out of my dream.

The D15b.... is that the j-spec stg 3 engine, or is that the 62 hp engine?