Engine Swap in Honda del Sol? - Fuelly Forums

Click here to see important news regarding the aCar App

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 10-09-2007, 11:57 AM   #1
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Country: United States
Engine Swap in Honda del Sol?

Hi,

I've been considering buying a del Sol for fuel economy reasons. I've located a nice one, relatively low mileage, last model year built (97), manual, in good shape, and even the right color, but it doesn't have the smallest engine with the best gas mileage. Since I don't know anything about this stuff, I was wondering if it would be feasible to buy this and at some point in the future swap out the engine for a more fuel efficient type. Is this possible? If so, how much of a hassle would it be on this car? Is it insane to contemplate?

Thanks from a newbie!
__________________

raincity99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 12:05 PM   #2
Registered Member
 
GasSavers_Minger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 98
Country: United States
Sounds reasonable to me - I don't know much, but I know that its very possible...
__________________

__________________

Quote:
Originally Posted by theclencher View Post
P.S. I must be a wierdo as I think just because a guy can afford to do something, doesn't mean he should. I can afford to buy 100 gallons of gas several times a month, pour it on the ground, light it (or not)... but I don't think I should.
GasSavers_Minger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 12:14 PM   #3
Registered Member
 
omgwtfbyobbq's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,516
Country: United States
Engine efficiency is related more the load/effective displacement than actual displacement. By this I mean that engine efficiency is mostly a function how much the cylinder fills with air, aka engine load. A 1.5L engine w/ a final gear ratio of .66bar is equivalent to a 1L engine with a final gear ratio of 1.

Ehm, I'm guessing this is probably as clear as mud, so lemme put it this way. Gearing is as, if not more important for engine efficiency, than engine displacement is, for most engines out there.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by FormulaTwo
I think if i could get that type of FE i would have no problem driving a dildo shaped car.
omgwtfbyobbq is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 01:09 PM   #4
*shrug*
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,195
Country: United States
You could do it, we had one guy doing great stuff with a del sol s back in the day before he sold it....

What model are you looking at?

PS: Welcome to the site.
SVOboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 01:53 PM   #5
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Country: United States
Thanks for the welcome. The model appears to be the basic S, which should have the best mileage of the models offered in 1997. From the little research I've done it seems that some del Sols of previous years had 1.5 liter engines that got better mileage. It appears that the car has been well taken care of, but it hasn't had a timing belt change yet, so that's probably needed soon.
raincity99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 01:54 PM   #6
*shrug*
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,195
Country: United States
As long as it's a stick, it should do pretty well.

I've also heard good things about the mileage on the 1.6 d16y4? Is it 4? I forget the engine code in my old age...

Anyway, go for it.
SVOboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 03:19 PM   #7
Registered Member
 
Danronian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 652
Country: United States
A swap into a del sol would be very very easy. But if you switch the tranny out for a VX one (bolt-in affair), that will probably get your very good gas mileage right away.
__________________


On the never-ending quest for better gas mileage...
Danronian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 03:44 PM   #8
Supporting Member
 
cfg83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,779
Country: United States
Danronian -

Quote:
Originally Posted by Danronian View Post
A swap into a del sol would be very very easy. But if you switch the tranny out for a VX one (bolt-in affair), that will probably get your very good gas mileage right away.
That's cool. I didn't know the VX tranny was bolt-in compatible. Hrmmmm, but the VX was the same generation as the Del-Sol, so that makes sense.

CarloSW2
__________________
Old School SW2 EPA ... New School Civic EPA :

What's your EPA MPG? https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectYear.jsp
cfg83 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2007, 04:11 PM   #9
|V3|2D
 
thisisntjared's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,186
Country: United States
Send a message via AIM to thisisntjared
Quote:
Originally Posted by SVOboy View Post
As long as it's a stick, it should do pretty well.

I've also heard good things about the mileage on the 1.6 d16y4? Is it 4? I forget the engine code in my old age...

Anyway, go for it.
d16y7. the efficiency difference between the d16y7 and the d15b7 is not enough to justify not buying the car or doing that kind of swap.

i would say that the difference in fuel economy can be overcome just by the condition of a newer motor.

anyway, the del sol doesnt get better fuel economy than any other civic with the same motor, however it is more fun to drive and feels more like a sports car in the stock form.

the delsol si and delsol vtec are the models that have noticeably different fuel economy, but my civic has the same motor that the delsol vtec has and i still get over 30mpg regularly(while keeping up with traffic).
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83 View Post
Danronian -



That's cool. I didn't know the VX tranny was bolt-in compatible. Hrmmmm, but the VX was the same generation as the Del-Sol, so that makes sense.

CarloSW2
a delsol really is just a 2 seat civic when you take the body panels off.

the best mod for fuel economy for a del sol s would be a tranny swap(hx tranny is best). a similarly geared tranny swap would do soooo much more than a motor swap.
__________________
don't waste your time or time will waste you
thisisntjared is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2007, 08:08 AM   #10
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Country: United States
How would swapping out the tranny for an hx affect the acceleration/speed characteristics of the car? I'm not looking for performance in this thing (except for fuel economy performance). I am just wondering as I don't understand how this stuff works.

Thanks for all the good info!
__________________

raincity99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
First fillup? Papachristou Fuelly Web Support and Community News 1 09-04-2012 07:12 AM
Total Liters recon9 Fuelly Web Support and Community News 2 09-17-2009 09:07 PM
Incorrect Milage Calcuatlion PatM Fuelly Web Support and Community News 4 07-17-2009 07:21 PM
Currency Support Stonewolf Fuelly Web Support and Community News 2 08-23-2008 02:18 AM
How far do you drive daily? OdieTurbo General Fuel Topics 56 03-31-2007 01:49 AM

» Fuelly iOS Apps
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:16 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.