Honda Accord 1999-2000 Type R tips please,...

[GasSavers_Mack]

Hi,
I am new to both this forum and driving. I am using my brothers old car, Honda Accord Type R 1999-2000. The following link shows a small pic of the car i found on the internet:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review109837.html

Mine's exactly the same, even the color. Its got about 153K on it and I heard that its a gas guzzler. The last time i filled the tank, i set that led thing to zero, probably i will have some idea about the mileage when i am done with the tank. Any reasonable tips would be helpful guyz.

FYI, I live in Al Ain, U.A.E.

Thanks

[theholycow]

Welcome to the forum.

If you are new to driving, now is not the time to pay too much attention to saving fuel. You should give all your attention to the road until you have 50,000 miles of practice, IMO.

For now, you can:
- Make sure the tires are well-inflated; you may even experiment with exceeding Honda's requirement (but don't exceed the tire's maximum, which is marked on the tire itself).
- Don't idle unnecessarily. When you're waiting for someone to come out of Burger King, shut it off.
- Keep your speed down. This will not only save gas, but it's safer, and it will save you from getting speeding tickets that could result in your new license getting revoked or your insurance getting even more expensive (I don't know how licensing and insurance are set up in U.A.E.).

If it's got a manual transmission:
- Don't cruise in a lower gear than necessary.
- Shift at lower RPM.

[GasSavers_Mack]

Thanks for the reply.

Two questions:
- Being a old car, i heard its recommended to leave it running for a minute or two before actually driving. Is it correct?
- Being an automatic car, when the rpm goes up, does releasing and pressing back again the accelerator changes the gear,....

I got all the tyres changed and filled them up with nitrogen.

[theholycow]

I would recommend idling for 10-30 seconds before driving if the car hasn't been driven since yesterday. Then, drive extra gently for the first five minutes.

If you've driven it recently, just wait 2-5 seconds and then drive away.

As for the automatic question, yes you can induce gear changes by manipulating the accelerator. I do that in my automatic. It seems to help. Also, don't be too gentle; automatics seem to be more efficient if you don't accelerate too slowly. You can experiment with different acceleration strategies to find what is most efficient for you.

Filling tires with nitrogen is a waste of money. Air is already 78% nitrogen; if, as nitrogen fill marketers claim, non-nitrogen gases seep through the tire, then all you have to do is keep the tire inflated and eventually it will only contain nitrogen anyway.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Personally, on all of my vehicles (all of them are old) I start the vehicle, wait a few seconds for the oil pressure to come up, then shift into gear, and I wait until the transmission fully engages before releasing the brake and driving away. I believe extended idling wastes fuel and is pointless.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by Mack

Mine's exactly the same, even the color. Its got about 153K on it and I heard that its a gas guzzler.

i have a 97, but it has the 2.2 and auto trans. i'm getting more than 30 mpg, but i drive mostly hwy miles.

[Philip1]

I have both an auto and a manual I drive each totally differently. the auto I zip to 40 or so (overdrive engages at 40) but the manual I ease up to speed shifting at 2500 and keep the throttle at a minimum. zipping to OD speed in an auto gets the slippage over with quickly and into lock up where they are efficient.

[GasSavers_Mack]

@theholycow: I try to get rid of the first gear asap too. As for Nitrogen, I actually agree with you. Its just that some of my friends were constantly nagging about it, so I said what the hell. The only real benefit i see in nitrogen is that, I heard, it keeps the tyres cool and its dam HOT in U.A.E, especially Al Ain.


@bowtieguy: Fortunately or unfortunately, my work place is about a 10-15 minute drive, in the city (signals, round abouts and a speed limit of 60 km/h i-e about 37m/h)


My manager also told me to get my mirrors tinted, so the car doesn't heat up. The poor A.C is not able to cool the car during the afternoon.

[trollbait]

My manager also told me to get my mirrors tinted, so the car doesn't heat up. The poor A.C is not able to cool the car during the afternoon.

Mirrors tinted? Is that windows tinted with mirror tint? Tinting the windows does help keep the interior cool. Those sunshades that you put up on the windshield while parked also help.

Nitrogen doesn't keep the tires cool. It's been dried though. Taking out the water vapor reduces the pressure increase as the tire heats up. So a set of nitrogen tires will keep closer to their filled pressure, and likely remain even across the set as they heat and cool down.

The lack of vapor may even extend tire and wheel life to a small degree. It's not worth what some shops charge, but a few here include it free when you buy tires off them.

[i-DSi]

Hi Mack,
Most fuel saving tips are given, and as Holy Cow says: be carefull the first 10k miles.
Just want to say you your car looks great! Really impressive. I can't remember we ever had an Accord TypeR in Europe.
It's a car from the era where Honda was still a synonime for 'sport'.
Good luck with it!!
EDIT: googled a bit, and found out that in 2001 there was also a European Accord TypeR. I never saw one.