Project MPG

[Jecht]

Okay, since I will need a DD after I sell the Jetta, I'm looking to get a cheap hatchback to modify for the best gas mileage possible. I'm not necessarily doing this to save money, but rather to make a statement to other drivers (as well as advertise my website I'm working on about environmental issues lol). I will take pictures and explain how everything affects the mileage.

I have one problem first: Which car should I buy to do this to? I'm leaning towards an EF Civic hatch. These sort of modifications can be done to practically any car, but I would prefer a lightweight small displacement hatchback that I can fit my bike inside.

I posted this a couple days ago, but I got a database error when I posted it and the thread was messed up. If the mods don't mind, please delete the messed up thread. lol

[81911SC]

Nobody cares, fa.ggot.

[JR VQ 30 de]

i say ef

[Jecht]

Nobody cares, fa.ggot.

If you don't care, gtfo then.

[greasemunkey]

Nobody cares, fa.ggot.

lolol. if you ride your bike you get infinite mpg!

[81911SC]

lol, it was a joke.

[allmotoronly]

what do you mean by cheap??? what is your price range?

[greasemunkey]

I say the eg chassis with the 1.5L in it, strip it if your trying to prove a point, no cat helps too...IMO I think the coupe version is more arow dynamic

[Homer Simpson]

I say the eg chassis with the 1.5L in it, strip it if your trying to prove a point, no cat helps too...IMO I think the coupe version is more aerodynamics

fixed for you dude

[JITB]

Festiva already does 32 city, and 45 hwy..stock


ther are alot of metro projects on the road..

and we dont need anymore gutted catless dinky ef's driving around..lol


Festiva it is!

[greasemunkey]

lol, thanks dud

[Homer Simpson]

i'd pick ef...
btw

[greasemunkey]

Festiva already does 32 city, and 45 hwy..stock


ther are alot of metro projects on the road..

and we dont need anymore gutted catless dinky eg's driving around..lol


Festiva it is!

Fixed dud

[Jecht]

what do you mean by cheap??? what is your price range?

Cheap as in less than $1800.

What I am planning to do:
-keep up with the basic maintenance
-remove the rear seats, remove any sound deadening under the carpet, and the carpet the back of the car where the seats were
-smaller/lighter wheels, increase tire pressure
-reducing drag - remove passenger mirror, remove the front lip/trim the bumper, create underbody panels to smooth the bottom
-power mods - anything that can increase the HP without needing more fuel improves the gas mileage - so a cheap intake, underdrive pulley, etc.
-legal window tint to decrease the need to use the A/C and further stress the engine

This won't be a barebone, torn apart, catless car. Removing the catalytic converter increases emissions, so that isn't even going to be considered.

[aaronfelipe]

If you have a little more money, I would go with an EP3. Get one off the auction for 6k and it will most likely have around 80k miles. That way, you don't have to worry about rebuilding of major engine work. It's less likely to get stolen.

[greasemunkey]

Cheap as in less than $1800.

What I am planning to do:
-keep up with the basic maintenance
-remove the rear seats, remove any sound deadening under the carpet, and the carpet the back of the car where the seats were
-smaller/lighter wheels, increase tire pressure
-reducing drag - remove passenger mirror, remove the front lip/trim the bumper, create underbody panels to smooth the bottom
-power mods - anything that can increase the HP without needing more fuel improves the gas mileage - so a cheap intake, underdrive pulley, etc.

if your buying anything that old, it would helpt to jack the thing up, pressure wash and scrub everything off of underneath it. im doing that on the trans am I posted up and its honest to god losing 30Ibs or more

[JITB]

323
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/739111527.html

[Jecht]

if your buying anything that old, it would helpt to jack the thing up, pressure wash and scrub everything off of underneath it. im doing that on the trans am I posted up and its honest to god losing 30Ibs or more

That should be something everyone does when they first buy a car. I've even pressure washed seats and carpet before.

[aaronfelipe]

Cheap as in less than $1800.

What I am planning to do:
-keep up with the basic maintenance
-remove the rear seats, remove any sound deadening under the carpet, and the carpet the back of the car where the seats were
-smaller/lighter wheels, increase tire pressure
-reducing drag - remove passenger mirror, remove the front lip/trim the bumper, create underbody panels to smooth the bottom
-power mods - anything that can increase the HP without needing more fuel improves the gas mileage - so a cheap intake, underdrive pulley, etc.
-legal window tint to decrease the need to use the A/C and further stress the engine

This won't be a barebone, torn apart, catless car. Removing the catalytic converter increases emissions, so that isn't even going to be considered.

NVM, I just saw your price.

[JITB]

That should be something everyone does when they first buy a car. I've even pressure washed seats and carpet before.

lol i havent done it to my car but maybe i should.. i have alot of free time..

[KevinT707]

I respect you for doing this, props for you homie. +1 Environmental issues is definitely an important subject.

[allmotoronly]

Cheap as in less than $1800.

What I am planning to do:
-keep up with the basic maintenance
-remove the rear seats, remove any sound deadening under the carpet, and the carpet the back of the car where the seats were
-smaller/lighter wheels, increase tire pressure
-reducing drag - remove passenger mirror, remove the front lip/trim the bumper, create underbody panels to smooth the bottom
-power mods - anything that can increase the HP without needing more fuel improves the gas mileage - so a cheap intake, underdrive pulley, etc.
-legal window tint to decrease the need to use the A/C and further stress the engine

This won't be a barebone, torn apart, catless car. Removing the catalytic converter increases emissions, so that isn't even going to be considered.

another idea would be to replace the wheel bearings, especially if the car has high miles. That would also help reduce rolling resistance. You could also make some panels to cover the rear wheel opening (like the honda insight) to reduce aerodynamic drag. like this lolol

[allmotoronly]

you could also consider replacing a few of the body panels with fiberglass panels (front quarter panels, hood maybe).

[Jecht]

another idea would be to replace the wheel bearings, especially if the car has high miles. That would also help reduce rolling resistance. You could also make some panels to cover the rear wheel opening (like the honda insight) to reduce aerodynamic drag. like this lolol

Both good ideas. I especially like the rear wheel coverings, that would definitely help. Bearings fit into the maintenance. lol

[greasemunkey]

you know your gonna end up throwing a b-series in it when your done when you realize it weighs 1500Ibs lol, g/l with it though...you can also roll the fenders inward if you want to be anal about drag coef.

[Ronsam2006]

Take spare tire out and put in a plug kit.

[B_Hoov]

might be selling my hatch...looking to sell for right around your price range, ONLY mod is skunk 2 pro S coil-overs and accord lip on the front. it has 13x5 honda/enkie turbines on 175/70/13 and is cambered out (guess that helps mpg's since not much of a 175 series tire is touching the ground) and somehow there not wearing real bad...like i can't tell and i have put probably 1500mi on them. here is a pic from yesterday, both front fenders are wavy, and i have a pass side door to replace the crinkled up one, no pass side mirror already, has ac and works fine, the bumper filler is torn but i have a good one to put on, i have an 11 gallon tank and im averaging about 500-550mi per tank of gas, thats city and hwy

[silversol]

i have been doing a project like this for a while mine is a 94 civic cx. i see alot of good and bad advice in this thread. here are a few tips i have been using i get between 41-43 city driving!

1. slow the **** down!

2. dont remove the cat! back press helps with fuel economy a bit!

3 . take the big wheels off. i have 13 inch vx wheels with 165 series tires the weight around 10 lbs with tires!

4 . dont floor it drive like there is a egg under the gas pedal. goes with number one its better to down shift then to floor it.

5. increase tire psi i run 50psi in all 4 make the ride a little bumpy but helps big time with fuel economy and coasting down hills!

6. keep it well maintained lighter weight oil helps a bit. i would not put cold air intake one it. if anything you want the opposite a hot air intake i have the inlet on my stock intake turned aroud toward the radiator. this will hurt power but will help with mpg

7. high temp termastat

8.grill block but cut a few small hole for the radiator but rember the hoter you car run the car safely will help your mpg .

9. dont run the a/c

10. i would recomend a crx hf model!

[silversol]

also here is a forum and a post about "hypermiling" hope this helps!
http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=7781

[greasemunkey]

my bro has an 89 hatch that runs pretty reliable from what I know. he wants like 400 I think, no major damage, he just wants it out of his place...its slow as piss(I drove it)lol so that should help...its stock and 5-spd

[B_Hoov]

thats a damn good price!

[OTG Signs]

My MPG plan:

$50 and like new.

[DecoyOctopus]

thats a good idea. BUT THE tire pressure thing inst it unsafe to run extra high psi?

[redrumracer]

my mpg and environmental solution, is to buy a 71 nova and build a 383 sbc for it, but ill have an overdrive transmission to lower the rpms at cruise and ill go with fuel injection so i get a lil more power...... i mean mpg. but more power to ya.

[allen8603]

crx with dual point injection. i get 45mpg
i get 31mpg in my h23vtec del sol

[speedminded]

might be selling my hatch...looking to sell for right around your price range, ONLY mod is skunk 2 pro S coil-overs and accord lip on the front. it has 13x5 honda/enkie turbines on 175/70/13 and is cambered out (guess that helps mpg's since not much of a 175 series tire is touching the ground) and somehow there not wearing real bad...like i can't tell and i have put probably 1500mi on them. here is a pic from yesterday, both front fenders are wavy, and i have a pass side door to replace the crinkled up one, no pass side mirror already, has ac and works fine, the bumper filler is torn but i have a good one to put on, i have an 11 gallon tank and im averaging about 500-550mi per tank of gas, thats city and hwy

45-50mpg average?

The tank should he 11.9 gallons (45L) but that's still 42mpg.

[Jecht]

thats a good idea. BUT THE tire pressure thing inst it unsafe to run extra high psi?

Well you run the tires at the highest PSI you can run safely. Tires usually have a max PSI rating; you can pump them up to 8-5psi below the limit (to compensate for temperature change).

As per the hot engine = more efficient, I'm not going to go that far. I can eke more miles out of the car in different ways. It does work, but it puts a lot more stress on the engine, which can be a problem. Especially in an older used car.

My MPG plan:

$50 and like new.

I already bike to work and nearby places. The only problem is that my commute to KSU is a 50 mile round trip.

my mpg and environmental solution, is to buy a 71 nova and build a 383 sbc for it, but ill have an overdrive transmission to lower the rpms at cruise and ill go with fuel injection so i get a lil more power...... i mean mpg. but more power to ya.

It will put your wallet on a diet and still won't be very efficient.

[redrumracer]

It will put your wallet on a diet and still won't be very efficient.

yea but i think we both can agree that a car like that is not going to be about being efficient, and it wont be too much of a drain, not going to be a dd, even if it was going to be a dd. its all about the grin factor.

[bigdare23]

I would source a 1st gen CRX HF (good luck finding one of those). Also, listen to silversol.

[kfzemx3]

Ford Festiva FTW