Civic computer questions

[ben98gs]

Anyone know of a place/site that can tell me what is going on in the stock tuning/ECU of my '95 Civic DX?

Main things I am wondering are:

Will an injector kill switch be better for EOC then just turning the key off and back forward? I saw a decrease in FE when I tried to EOC and was wondering if the ECU went back into open loop for a set amount of time even though the car might be up to operating temps thus negating completely the gains I got from the EOC (for a short period of time).

Related to above, is there a way to use a kill switch to stop at lights and restart the car with a push button start possibly and not have the ECU "reset" or go into open loop if that is what was causing my decrease in FE as outlined above?

What happens when you shift to early and lug a bit. At what lowest point/rpm can you shift to to prevent any pitfalls from "lugging" (like the car might seem to be lugging but the car/ECU does not "see" it and change anything).


That said, are there any type of products like a ScanGuage or even a laptop program/cable that you can somehow use to tap into the computer readings on an OBDI car?

[theholycow]

You probably can't lug it, only make it growl a little. Lugging is sounds like explosions under the hood. It's difficult or impossible to do on computer-controlled cars. I think there's a link in my sig about it.

[ben98gs]

Gotcha... I always thought of it as when you shift to early and the car seems to hesitate under the load until you get to a higher rpm and it smooths out. But I have never driven anything NOT computer controlled, so have never experienced true "lugging" then.

So if I shift "too early" and to the point where the car shudders under load, does it hurt my fuel ecomony or not really? Did not know if the car might see it as a misfire or knock and add fuel.

[theholycow]

I don't recommend shifting so low that it's groaning/growling/shuddering; that's probably going to increase wear a little, but it's not going to destroy stuff like lugging would. I don't know for sure if it reduces fuel economy but I suspect that it does - after all, you're wasting a bunch of energy on vibrations or shuddering.

I shift right at the edge of that point, which has provided the best FE for me in repeated experiments. If I misjudge it I don't worry too much, I just go with it and the growling clears up momentarily. You should of course try various patterns and see what works best for you, as I'm sure you already have.

[ben98gs]

Originally Posted by theholycow

I shift right at the edge of that point, which has provided the best FE for me in repeated experiments. If I misjudge it I don't worry too much, I just go with it and the growling clears up momentarily. You should of course try various patterns and see what works best for you, as I'm sure you already have.

It's not like I am "trying" to shift that low... Just sometime while rolling/coasting and deciding what gear to be in, I guess to high.

In the middle of testing right now... That is part of the reason I asked. I really need to get my tachometer installed in the car, but have been waiting until I can find a dash clock at the junkyard so I can install it at the same time and not have to tear the dash apart again.

[ben98gs]

Anyone have anything about the other questions?