Thanks for the link but I don't think thats it. The one I'm refering to talks about the position of the rotor when cylinder one is at TDC. i haven't been able to find it again.... yet

you mean position of the pulley?

LOL, and me running around on my 215/50/13s, shame on me. But I use the wider tire in my spirited driving events at the autocross as well as my daily commute. It helps me corner...at the event and on the streets, lol. Tire pressure is the key though. I'm running a minimum of 48psi in all the tires during my daily commutes, and on days that I have autocross events, I run it up to about 51psi.


Definitely check your timing to make sure it's spot on.

The upshift indicator (as Honda calls it) reads the MAP sensor, TPS sensor, and rpm signal to determine the best upshift timing.

The Rotor trick is really only good for making sure you have the spark plug wires in the proper order. The rotor contact area is wide enough for a 15° timing spread and isn't great for telling if the timing belt is set correctly. Best thing to do is:

• Take off valve cover
• Take off upper timing belt cover
• Take out the spark plug closest to the timing belt cover (#1 spark plug)
• Gently place a long thin screwdriver into the combustion chamber through the spark plug hole
• Rotate the crank pulley counter-clockwise until the single slash mark lines up with the TDC mark on the lower timing belt cover (Watch the screwdriver to help notice when the cylinder is at TDC)
• Check the camshaft pulley to make sure the "TOP" is at the top, and the angled mark on the lower left of the cam pulley is pointing at the plastic indicator on the inside upper timing cover.

With my 94 VX having over 336K miles on it....on a flat road and about 10% throttle, I will be in 5th gear by the time my speedo reads 30MPH. And that is with the upshift indicator illuminating to tell me to upshift as well. So when your VX is running right the same should hold true for you on a flat surface.

Hope some of this helps you out, dogncatboy.

I recently changed all of my vacuum lines with new 1/8th inch fuel line (bought fuel line by accident). But I found out that the fuel line fits more snug than the vacuum line and resists collapsing better. Vacuum line is cheap, and definitely worth the 1 hour (at most) it takes to replace every bit of it under the hood.

Thanks for the info TomO! I will check it out this weekend. How much fuel line did you need to swap out the rubber? I may as well do that while I'm at it.

So you think the shift light issue is all in my head? I'm gonna start a notebook to see if my correlation is way off or spot on. I have a hard time believing that my mileage is consistent with and without the light. Me thinks there is something else failing here.

I had to buy a 25 ft. roll of the vacuum line, but that only cost me $7. Usually at an autoparts store, it's around $1 per foot or less. I think I've used less than 7 ft. of it for my car.

i should rephrase. tire width should depend on the type of driving you do. if you do not plan on banging around winding roads to maintain speed while going down hill, lower resistance is better.;) so i assume you race street mod? i used to when i had my hatch... the memories. anyway, why not pick up r compounds for the track and get something better for fuel economy for the daily commute?

this is interesting particularly with the models that have the shift light...

My shift light is wack.. I think it because I'm running the wrong tranny.. My 89 hatch is set up with the vx engine and a dx trans..

I need to find a cable HF trans. :(

Do I need to get a new valve cover gasket? I like to be able to put it back together once I'm done.:) I was looking at the manual and it seems that actual replacement might be outside my comfort zone. If its off I think I might need to take it to a mechanic to get it fixed right.

You do need to pull up on the Valve cover a little to get the upper timing belt cover off of the cam gear, but you might be able to get away with just tightening the cover back down without replacing the gasket (I know I did once, but the gasket was brand new at the time). The gasket is easy to replace, no trick to it at all. Just use a little gasket adhesive to make it stay stuck to the valve cover, and make sure no oil or gasket residue is left where it seals onto the head. Most importanly, don't tighten the valve cover down too tight (my rule is to only use a 1/4 in. drive ratchet) or you will break or strip the studs holding it down. The sparkplug hole gaskets are a pain, but with some time and a hammer, they can be done by anyone.

Dogncatboy - The valve cover gasket is reusable as long as it is wiped clean of oil and has no tears or cracks in it. Using a 1/4" ratchet is a good idea for tightening the valve cover bolts. I don't remember the exact torque spec for those bolts, but I do remember that it is in in./pounds, not ft./lbs. Best to under tighten, have a small leak, then slightly tighten more until the leak stops.

thisisntjared - I don't run r compounds on my Enkei conpe 8s because they are super light (ever so slightly lighter than the VX alloys), wider, and (in my opinion) look nicer than the VX alloys. I run a 215/50/13 on them because most other tire sizes available in a 13" are too skinny and tall. They aren't recommended to be mounted on as wide a rim as the Enkei is. Besides all that, it's my own little form over function nicety that I have on my car. The kicker is, they actually have quite the function as well. ;)