Honda Civic Parts To Improve Your MPG

 Cars, Tuning  1 Response »
Nov 172011
 

2012 Honda Civic

The fuel efficiency of the 2012 Honda Civic is at the top of its class. While detractors have said many things about the Civic, its mpg rating has never been an issue. Still, it can be improved with a few relatively inexpensive items. Here are three aftermarket parts that will help you stretch your fuel dollar.

The least expensive item that you can possible buy to improve the mpg of your Honda Civic is a tire gauge. Sound ridiculous? Maybe, but over or under inflated tires have been proven to rob as much as 15% of a vehicle’s fuel efficiency. That can mean around five fewer miles per gallon in a typical Civic. Take into account the excessive wear on your tires and you can see how a $4 tire gauge could save you hundreds of dollars per year.

The next part is very simple as well. A new air filter allows increased air flow to the combustion chambers. By having more oxygen available, you Civic will use less fuel, the cylinders will fire more efficiently, and you can add another 5-10% fuel efficiency. These parts can cost about $10 each. There are performance filters from K&N and other companies that can be cleaned and reused for several years, saving you even more money.

Another way to improve fuel efficiency is to stabilize your Civic’s voltage system. A voltage tuning system offers several benefits including: low, mid, and high rev performance, increased horsepower, more torque, and throttle response all of which lead to better fuel economy through efficient throttle position sensing.

With an automatic transmission the 2012 Honda Civic is rated to get 28 mpg city and 39 mpg on the highway. You can add all of these parts for less than $350. Once they are in place, you could see your Civic’s mpg jump to 45 or higher on the highway. Spread those savings out over the lifetime of your car and you can see that the parts more than pay for themselves.

Honda Civic Parts To Ponder

 DIY Projects, Tuning  No Responses »
Oct 212011
 

Image credit: Vertical Doors, INC

The Honda Civic is one of the best known cars in North America. Styling may not set it apart from many cars, but its reputation for fuel efficiency, durability, and reliability have helped it stand out from most cars on the market today. It is also a favorite for tuners, backyard and professional alike. There are hundreds of Honda Civic parts that you can choose from to customize your car, but here are three that offer performance in several ways.

In a previous post, lowering kits were covered. They are great for additional handling and a faster take off by reducing squat on acceleration, but are limited when standing alone. Try adding a carbon fiber hood as well. These hoods offer a 50 lb weight reduction, which offers a faster 0-60 and a little extra at the top end. Seibon is probably the best known manufacturer, but Carbon Creations, and VIS Racing offer solid products as well. There are other weight reduction options, but a carbon fiber hood is an easy project for do-it-yourselfers at any level. While you are looking at a carbon hood, why not look into a replacement hatch or trunk lid for additional weight reduction?

This project is a little more involved and doesn’t really add anything other than a cool factor. Vertical doors for you Honda Civic will really help your ride stand out in a crowd. There can be some welding involved, but the basic parts are all included in the kit. Hey, if a Lambo can have them, why not your Honda Civic?

The next project should be designed to reduce the aerodynamic drag of your Honda Civic. Body kits are in order. Spoilers, replacement grilles, under bumper spoilers, the list goes on. Lowering the drag your car experiences can add top speed and offer improved handling.

If you make all of the changes mentioned in this post, you could see an additional 50 horsepower from your car, a shorter time in the quarter, and a faster mile. Additionally, your handling will improve, allowing you to perform better in slalom type events or just weaving through traffic. Good luck with your projects.

What To Look For In A Honda Civic Lowering Kit

 Parts, Tuning  1 Response »
Oct 162011
 

2012 Honda Civic

The Honda Civic has long been a a great project car for tuning. There are many places that you could start your project, but a lowering kit offers enhanced performance in handling and fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, not all Honda Civic lowering kits are created equally. Buying the wrong kit can have the disappointing effect of decreasing your car’s performance. Here are is the main point to look for in any kit before you purchase one.

The amount of travel that the lowering kit allows directly affects how much roll you experience in turns, thus affecting handling. The kit that you choose should only allow 1 inch of travel. Additional travel will cause your car to bottom out, anything less will not positively affect your car’s performance. After installing your lowering kit, you will need to have your car realigned. The lower center of gravity will throw off the suspension geometry of your car.

Keep in mind that a lowering kit will not completely optimize your Civic’s handling. In addition to lowering your car, you may want to consider adding front and rear sway bars, strut tower braces, or a two point under carriage brace. All of these parts are designed to help reduce squat during acceleration and roll turning a turn. None of these parts add noticeable weight to your car. One final part that can be overlooked is a larger set of tires. Adding one or two sizes to the standard tires can close any remaining gap between the tire and the wheel well of your Civic.

Adding a lowering kit to your Honda Civic is not a beginner level upgrade. Any time you change the suspension of your car, you can create a dangerous situation for yourself. Take care to have an expert install any of these parts. When you are finished you should be able to notice an additional 15% in fuel efficiency and a quicker time on the short track as well as any slalom type event. All of that and no one has mentioned weight reduction yet.

Performance Chip for your Honda Civic Si – only $89? for real?

 Tuning  12 Responses »
May 212008
 
Yup it seems to be for real! Oh no it doesn’t – Thank you Bill! (see his comment) as he rightly points out ‘if it is too good to be true, it is!’. I did a bunch of other searches for ‘Surge Engineering’ and come up with report after report after report of ‘scam’, ‘doesn’t work’ etc. some of them are as follows:

  • toyotanation
  • Pennocks Fiero Forum
  • AllFordMustangs
  • SmokinVette
  • MercedesBenzWorld

    • Whew…how could I have missed all that! (sorry folks, will dig deeper next time)

    Anyway, what this ‘thing’ does (according to a few of the posts above is:

    “these are typically just resistors that trick the ecu into thinking the temps from the iat sensor are cooler than they actually are, causing the ecu to dump more fuel. it’s basically like running the car in warm up mode or with a choke on.”

    (I leave the original post below and hang my head in shame)

    Have a look at the Surge Performance Chip (available from yourhotcar.com among other places). It claims to add up to 35 Horse Power (from 7-10% gain in power from stock) and 20+ Ft Lbs of torque.

    Like all good performance chips it is fully adjustable for either Horsepower or gas mileage by using a knob (yes a knob)

    From the yourhotcar website:

    Fully ADJUSTABLE performance chip designed for your vehicle. The Surge Module will not only compete with other higher priced Jet V-Chip, but will OUTPERFORM it. The
    Surge module is designed with the finest, most precise components
    available out there today. Giving you the option to fine tune it to
    your favorite setting. Our modules are designed to be used in any
    weather condition. Doesn’t matter if you live in the east or west
    coast, the module will still perform as advertised.     Step by step
    instructions will be included along with all necessary hardware to
    complete the installation. You don’t need to have any mechanic skills
    to complete the job. Takes no longer than 15 minutes.

    The Surge performance chip simply wires into the factory harness of the IAT sensor and just provides a new signal for your cars internal Electronic Control Unit (ECU – all modern cars have an ECU to electronically manage and monitor your vehicle’s performance, by default they are tuned to government regulations…which means that they are inefficient!) You could replace the ECU (at a cost in the $1,000′s). This performance chip negates the need to replace the ECU by giving the existing ECU an external controller.

    According to surge, it takes only 15-30 minutes to install and can easily be removed or re-installed at any time.

    I don’t know about you but this sounds like a mod for anybody!

    Pass people, pass!