Acura Integra Owner Seeks to "Hypermile"

[rancidhooligan]

Greetings & Salutations.

I currently drive a 1990 Acura Integra GS with the stock B18A1 1.8L engine swapped for a high compression Japanese domestic market B20B 2.0L motor.

I purchased the car with the hopes of modifying the engine to go faster. I soon realized that this was a pointless endeavour because the car can already go at least 125 mph and I cannot think of any circumstance under which 125 mph is an acceptable speed to be travelling on the road, let alone having a need to go any faster than that (granted, it is quite fun.)

Eventually, I came to realize that tuner culture was sort of a symptom of Affluenza and really didn't have any purpose except bragging rights. The side effects, however, ugly cars and increased pollution among them, were things I didn't particularly want to participate in.

So here I am with a sport coupe that has a larger-than-stock displacement engine and is designed to go fast, rather than be efficient. I've decided to work on driving the car more efficiently and chronicle my "journey" from a mindset of "Go Speed Racer, Go," to one of hypermiling.

Before anyone asks, I want an Insight (or CR-Z) but I can't afford one. My Integra was $3,000 and I'm looking to possibly sell it and get a Prelude, Civic or CRX, all of which would get better mileage than my beloved Integra. I've been reading as much information as I can about driving for gas mileage but the breadth of information on this site far eclipses anything I've read anywhere else.

I probably won't post much, except in this thread regarding my "mileage mission" and maybe a question here or there that can't be answered by the search function of this forum. I've posted some stuff about this on an Integra forum where I am a member and a few people seem genuinely interested.

And please don't misunderstand, I love my Integra. It is by far the best car I've ever owned (the other two were a 1986 Honda Civic Si and a 1988 Honda Prelude 2.0S, in case anyone is interested) but what I want out of a car has changed. I'm sure the current economic climate has contributed to that but I'd like to think I would have come to this conclusion on my own.

That sad part is that I don't have the cool MPG-meter in my car, like you Insight owners, so I'll never be able to tell what my MPG is for a trip, only for a tank.

Here is some information about my car:
Current Mileage: 127,248 and halfway between 1-2/10ths*
Estimated EPA Fuel Mileage for 1990 Acura Integra GS (5-speed)** 24/28 mpg (City/Highway)
Fuel Capacity: 13.2 gallons

*Chassis mileage, the engine has approximately 70,000-80,000 miles on it.
**This is the listed EPA fuel mileage for a stock 1990 Acura Integra GS five-speed with a 1.8L B18A1. Please note that my Integra has had the stock engine swapped for a high compression JDM B20B.

[Dougie]

Check out www.cleanmpg.com for hints.

[b1shmu63]

Synthetic oil, tires and tire presure, cleaning out the trunk, timing lights, block heater, radiator block, hot air intake, adjusting the timing/fuel mixture, coasting , drafting.wheel alignment, platinum or iridium plugs, synthetic lube in the wheel bearings, making sure the brakes don't drag. for Vtec engines making sure to use the efficient valve range, to name a few.

Welcome to the forum. Some of the ideas put forward can be hazardous to your health and irritate other drivers. Without a mileage gauge it will be difficult to track how any particular mod helps.

[rancidhooligan]

Originally Posted by b1shmu63

for Vtec engines making sure to use the efficient valve range

Mine is non-VTEC, but that would certainly help.

Originally Posted by b1shmu63

Welcome to the forum. Some of the ideas put forward can be hazardous to your health and irritate other drivers. Without a mileage gauge it will be difficult to track how any particular mod helps.

Yeah. I've been putting the car in neutral and coasting to stops and slowly accelerating (someone said pretend like there's an egg between my foot and the pedal... good advice) but people haven't given me the finger or anything yet. What do you mean, "hazardous to your health"?

[b1shmu63]

What do you mean, "hazardous to your health"?

Some of the more "famous" hypermilers are known to take corners at scarry speeds to avoid braking, Timing lights (works fine untill someone is smoking through the intersction on the red at 90 degrees to you), Engine off coasting (works fine untill you are surprised and forget you have no engine or pump the brakes too often and loose brake assist and traction control), driving significantly below the speed limit (works fine untill someone gets frustrated looses their cool and sense of judgement), drafting asside from the obvious dangers of stopping reaction time, and lack of visibility, can also expose you to high levels of exhaust carcinogens.

I tend to practice my hypermiling on known roads with light or non existant traffic. When driving is demanding I defer to piloting my craft safely. Insights are too rare and valuable to waste on an unnescesary accidents. Besides I want to keep mine untill the gas savings have paid for the car!

[budomove]

ecomodder dot com is THE place to go, they are my buds, and you will learn a lot.

frank

[rancidhooligan]

Originally Posted by b1shmu63

Some of the more "famous" hypermilers are known to take corners at scarry speeds to avoid braking...

Ahh... I see. Well, I already take corners at "scary" speeds but that's because I have a lowered car and that's how I like to drive. As for drafting or "surfing," there's no way I'm going toe-to-toe with a big rig. I also never turn the engine off to coast for the very reasons you mentioned. I do what's reasonable to save gas but nothing too dangerous.

[chris22104]

Sell it! You can afford an insight if you watch for one daily. I picked up a second 2000 5 speed a week after I bought my first one (hadn't even gotten the first one at that point,) because I saw it listed here for sale. Bought it for $4500 with a newer battery (replaced by the dealer.) No accidents, no repaint, cold air, Florida car it whole life, and in very nice original condition, with new correct tires and new brakes! Just keep your eyes open! You can find one! People do list them on ebay with low "buy it now" prices, because they don't realise they are now selling for way over book price! Just be careful and ask all the right questions, and carfax it too. Good luck!

[archebald23]

you guys mentioned timing lights on hypermiling, I am not too familiar with the whole timing = better mileage concept, can someone enlighten me with this one? and what are your views with actron timing light, not quite familiar with this.

[Insightful Trekker]

"Timing" lights as in on a familar route with traffic lights, begin to notice their "timing" interval.

Conservation of momentum is a cardinal rule of hyper mileing.

HTH!