electriczipper

Hello, I'm new to Hondas, and this site. I've a 90 prelude si with a pgmfi 2 liter engine, and I'm wondering about all the options available for maximizing the fuel economy of this fun to drive vehicle. I've been working with the search part of this forum and I've not had much success so far. All help greatly appreciated! EZ

what_the...

In general:
Optimize your tire pressure
granny shift
conserve momentum (no quick starts or stops)

__________________

Type-S Swap.

electriczipper

Thanks, I appreciate your help.
Anybody have anything to add, like maybe this might be able to be programed, a chip added, or something? I don't know anything about hondas and that is why I'm here.
Thank you!
EZ

redseven

nope that pretty much is it. Also make sure your basic tune up stuff is in order ( spark plugs, air filter, etc....) You want to make sure that your car is running as efficiently as possible. Our cars have pretty good fuel economy already. Adding more power means you will burn fuel...

pyro_maniac55

tie a balloon to your lead foot to lighten it up a bit

__________________


this is my cockpit

electriczipper

What year is your cockpit? Looks fine.

electriczipper

I was afraid of that. Some other makes need more power to burn less, and I was hoping the 90 prelude was one of them that could be upgraded on that front without sacrificing fuel economy. Oh well, on to the next search and possibly new thread. Or dare I ask here? Anyone have any suggestions on the most fuel conscious fair weather tires?

Thank you!
EZ

jfh0922

yeah, you're going to want to roll on 12 or 13 inch wheels, the skinnier the better. maybe just go to the junkyard and buy 4 donut tires. yeah that should do it.

but yeah, in all seriousness, just pick the skinniest tire that your rim allows. this is why cars like the toyota prius and civic hybrid (and my old 91 "gas crisis" civic) all have wicked skinny tires. skinny tires = less contact friction. It's like how lance armstrong doesn't win the tour de france with big knobby mountain bike tires... too much friction.

However... skinner tires and less friction also means less grip in cornering. tire choice for skidpad performance and tire choice for mileage are pretty much at odds with each other.

sorry it's not a very high tech "here is the loophole to have it both ways" kind of answer but that's pretty much just the way it is with fuel mileage performance. It's all kind of the same for any car.

__________________

Cars + Girls = The Meaning of Life

electriczipper

Thank you!

SonUp

You could check out a condensator (search), also, if your engine is tight use the best synthetic oil possible, have the fuel system checked fuel injectors cleaned, correct tire pressure, and the normal driving tips, keep speed steady if you can, stop and go robs much more MPG than a steady cruising speed. Hope that helps.

Wil'slude

Drive within 60m/h range

Tee-Dot

Make sure your wife/girlfriend isn't a fatty.

__________________

electriczipper

Condensator? I'll check it out, Thanks.

Secondary hiway speed? Oh boy, but if that is what I'm doomed too until I can upgrade then I'll try .

What? You mean there are still non-obese women out there? Where? oh ya, they're hidden behind the big ones.

MSUlrich5

i have been getting 25-29 mpg on my boosted b20a5 setup. it dialed in pretty well... i wouldn't see why you wouldnt be able to have someone tune the ECU. since its a 90, it should be obd1, correct? if so you can get a chipped po6 ecu and have someone street tune it, however that is going to be your most costly upgrade. anything else like the spark plugs, wires, dist. cap/rotor, filters all around etc. maybe throw a little fuel injector cleaner in there too!

__________________

electriczipper

Thank you for all that. Now I gotta figure out all of what you said.

Your ride looks good in red. I noticed your tires and wheels, are they oversized, or did you lower your car? I ask because I've wondered if an inch taller(over stock) tire/wheel combo would help on gas milage with the Interstate speed limits being higher now than when the car was made.

Thanks!

MSUlrich5

umm im not sure if it will help it or not. its a 15'' rim on 205/55/15 size tire. and it is lowered a good amount.. something like 3'' in the front. i thought you wanted the smallest/skinniest tire possible, but i could be wrong.

__________________

electriczipper

For around town stock tire height is good, and narrower probably better. Now that the interstate highway speeds have increased back to 70 mph, the 90 prelude turns better than 4 K rpms on the tack at 78 mph and 3.6 K rpms at 70 mph. I am hoping that a tire and/or wheel combination that is one inch or more taller, not wider, and maybe narrower, would help with gas milage at interstate speeds. I do at the least a 50 city/50 interstate split with my driving, probably more on the interstate. I'm thinking that the engine is turning more rpms than necessary and eating the gas. This is where your info on tuning it could/should/maybe help it handle the taller tires for hopefully better mpg overall. I'd like to turn less than 3.5 K rpms on the tack at 75 mph, if it can be done with an increase in or the same fuel efficiency over all with both city and interstate driving. I'm needing tires in a few months and am trying hopefully to find out if this will help in advance of the expense.

Thanks,

what_the...

MSUlrich5 - your car is tits.

And to electric zipper - you can improve performance while increasing mpg. Add some higher compression pistons and you'll be able to make more power on les fuel. Also - it's small, but lowering the vehicle reduces the relative coefficient of friction; meaning you get better mpg on the freeway at relatively higher speeds.

The motor I run is an 11:1 JDM H22, and I routinely get 31mpg just driving to and from work 5 days a week. And i get the benefit of 20 extra hp!

__________________

Type-S Swap.

MSUlrich5

hahah thanks man, maybe i'll post up in the members ride area.

__________________

LeeMeador

I had a 90 Prelude with the b21 engine. It always got around 29-30 mpg on the highway whether I was going 60 or 90 mph. BTW that 29 is the gas. That engine always used oil, say 1 qt per 1500 miles. I could see the smoke when I was getting on the freeway.

In the city, it would drop down to 26 but I never did do 100% city miles.

I bought it in 96 with 60K miles and sold it in 2004 with 240K miles. Mileage never changed much.

(I did get 120K to a set of Michelins one time but a headlight went out twice a year.)

Maybe the burning oil helped the mileage.