introducing... MPGmonger
 

greetings fellow mpg hounds! this is my first post as i just found this board a frew days ago. saving gas was

just something i've always done, and i was sure there were others as obsessive as i out there. I've always had

small economy cars and have loathed big gas guzzling suv's. The recent, now dying thankfully, suv craze infuriated

me, especially the hummer. Now that economy cars are making a comeback (somewhat) more people are thinking

economy, especially in this bad economy. i always say that the big fuel crisis of the seventies should have kept

going and we should have learned a lesso from it, but instead, after the "crisis" was over, cars reverted back to

pre seveties gas mileage. WHY? why did that happen? for those of you old enought to remember, that crisis is

what spawned "economy cars", mainly from japanese and european makers then of course american makers (yech!)

followed suit. then along came the suv craze. here's a grand - idea lets make cars that get even worse gas

mileage! lets see how much MORE we can wreck our planet! yeah great! If only every one were gas savers like

us, we could solve a lot of probelms. Cause let's face - cars aren't helping our planet, no matter how much gas

we save, it's a fact. and yet big oil doesn't care because they have the power to change it but don't. they want

to sell you more oil regardless of the consequences. yep big oil loved the suv craze.

So, sorry for my politically tinged rant, i just want people to know where i stand with this whole thing becuase

being efficient in my use of energy is important to me. not just in driving but in everyday living. saving and

efficiently using gas saves money, but there's also the ecological side of it and that's the best reason to save

gas IMO. of course every one wants to save money and that's just one benefit from it among others.

I stumbled upon this site in my search for a new(er) car. i was driving a 91 CRX that got 40 mpg highway and

it was great, but alas, it's getting extremely old, so i bought a 97 civic hatchback dx for $2900 w 120/k. i

wanted a cx but that was a tall order. i haven't gone throuigh a full tank yet but i've driven over 120 miles

highway and haven't even past 1/4 empty yet!! I'll let you all know what i' getting for mpg after a few refills.

so i have a few questions for anyone who can answer or perhaps direct me to the right threads. most of my

gas saving has been done through economy driving constant tire pressure at 40psi, realtively good maintenance, and

infrequent oil changes. but i want to go a step further and see if i can jack this baby into the 50's mpg, at

least on the highway, if possible. my question is - as far as minor modifications where do i start? and what

about these chip mods i've read about, do they really get you better mpg and more hp without repercussions? and

question 2 - hondas are quite popular especially civics and civic hatchbacks are far less common especially now

since haonda stopped making civic hatchbacks in econmy (cx) and base (dx) models and are now only making si

hatchbacks which arent very good on gas (BTW what happened to honda? they used to make the best economy

cars and that's what was their mainstay and claim to fame. their hybrids aren't that good in comparioson to prius

IMHO). because of this, these car's are much sought after by car thieves because they're so popular to modify

for "tuners" with all of these after market racing parts and engine swaps and such and apparently the cx (see

above) is THE most sought after model since it's lighter. So my new pride and joy is a target - in fact, i walked

out to my car last night and noticed some suspicious activity. i think someone was scoping out my car and i 've

only had it for a week. the question is - what's the most reliable security measures? i don't care much for

alarms and i already have autolock, which is like the club, but it goes around a pedal, and might i add, this has

saved my crx from getting stolen 3x! i've been looking into these tire boots. some are 3 and $400, but there are

cheaper ones, and probably less effective. I'd pay 3 or 400 if i knew they we're foolproof.

Im looking forward to hearing from other gas savers and hopefully help aswell as get help saving more gas!

MPGmonger

welcome to the forum. I used to have a CRX too, got right around 40mpg. Sounds like you got a good deal on the hatch - they should get similar mileage as the CRX. Add it to your garage and start a gas log, helps you track your mileage easily.

As for anti-theft devices, I've heard very good things about Autolock as well. Remember though, if a thief wants to take your car, they will take it. The best protection would be to park it in a locked and secure garage, add an alarm w/led (visual deterrent), and maybe add the autolock as well.

https://causeforalarm.thecarthing.com...6/version6.EG/

Alarms are the way to go. But you can't just slap some cheapo alarm in there with your standard under-dash install and expect that to work on a Honda.

Clutch and brake pedal locks really aren't that effective on their own. If you do some searching of online forums you'll find many people who have had their clutch pedal/brake pedal cut. Thieves also know how to make a tool that easily snaps any Club-like device. Someone was arrested in front of my g/f's house with one! The alpha-lock tire locking device is useless because you can easily remove the rim. Parking enforcement boots work great but for the price you could get a GPS tracking system like the Viper 210V.

The most important thing about an alarm is that it essentially sets a time limit for the thief. W/out that screaming siren drawing attention, particularly the second and third time it goes off, the thief has an unlimited time span by which he can get past ANYTHING. Unfortunately, in most instances the thief can quickly silence the alarm by getting to the siren or to the brain itself. That is why you will want to click on that link I posted. I'm not selling a product. It's an in depth Honda Civic security DIY.

I've heard Smith & Wesson makes a pretty good theft deterrent. If you don't like that one try a Colt or Ruger system.