Honda Car Forum

Hi,
I recently got a Honda Civic 2000, Value package with 58000 miles on it. I
paid $8000 for it. The car is made in Canada. Clean history.
Did I pay too much?

Also, I had a 1991 Toyota Camry, V6. Obviously, I am feeling the lack of
power. Anything can be done to increase the power especially the low end
torque? I find the engine whirrs a lot compared to my older car while
starting. But, my gas mileage has increased two folds!
Thanks
SB

If your engine is hard to start, it may be because
you need a new fuel filter. Also, on my civic,
it takes a few extra cranks if my gas tank is
less than half full. This is due to the time
it takes for the fuel pump to prime the fuel line.
When the tank is less full, I guess it takes longer
to prime the fuel line.

Only thing I could think of to legitimately
increase horsepower would be a supercharger,
fairly involved and expensive. And would wear
out your engine faster.

Your just gonna have to get used to paying less
for fuel...

t

disallow wrote:
> If your engine is hard to start, it may be because
> you need a new fuel filter. Also, on my civic,
> it takes a few extra cranks if my gas tank is
> less than half full. This is due to the time
> it takes for the fuel pump to prime the fuel line.
> When the tank is less full, I guess it takes longer
> to prime the fuel line.
>
> Only thing I could think of to legitimately
> increase horsepower would be a supercharger,
> fairly involved and expensive.

in my experience, most drivers that are used to v6's & v8's are scared
to death of high revs & won't take the honda 4-banger up to high enough
revs for it to start to be useful. hondas red line at 6.5k rpm for the
basics & 7k, 7.5k, 8k etc depending on the model of sportier engine.
you got to be within roughly 2000 rpm or less of the red to see the
action on these things. to the o.p., be confident that these engines
can take higher revs reliably & for many, many miles - get used to using
them if you need more power. you can't over-rev it because the engine
computer won't let you.

> And would wear
> out your engine faster.
>
> Your just gonna have to get used to paying less
> for fuel...
>
> t
>

"Subhabrata Bhattacharyya" <sb4st@virginia.edu> wrote in message
news:d0aquc$ap8$1@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU...
>
> Hi,
> I recently got a Honda Civic 2000, Value package with 58000 miles on it.
I
> paid $8000 for it. The car is made in Canada. Clean history.
> Did I pay too much?

That's about the going rate.

>
> Also, I had a 1991 Toyota Camry, V6. Obviously, I am feeling the lack of
> power. Anything can be done to increase the power especially the low end
> torque? I find the engine whirrs a lot compared to my older car while
> starting.

If it's a standard tranny, lighter rims with a smaller radius 195/50/15
tires would help.

Instead of focusing on the car's weakness, you could focus on it's strength,
which is it's handling prowess. Better tires, springs and shocks would
return drastic improvements.(I'm running on Pro-Kit and Tokico)

The automatic tranny has shorter gearing and initial take-off is more then
adequate for a 1.6L engine. The stock exhaust system does a great job at
preserving initial power. You'd be hard pressed to find another 1.6L that
has as much initial take-off power (that's not using forced induction).

>But, my gas mileage has increased two folds!

When equipped with an automatic tranny, the newer 2005 Civic would return
better mileage then the older 2000 model.

Pars
98 Civic Hatch & 2000 Civic EX

> Thanks
> SB
>
>

Subhabrata Bhattacharyya wrote:
> Hi,
> I recently got a Honda Civic 2000, Value package with 58000 miles on it. I
> paid $8000 for it. The car is made in Canada. Clean history.
> Did I pay too much?
>
> Also, I had a 1991 Toyota Camry, V6. Obviously, I am feeling the lack of
> power. Anything can be done to increase the power especially the low end
> torque? I find the engine whirrs a lot compared to my older car while
> starting. But, my gas mileage has increased two folds!
> Thanks
> SB
>
-------------------------

Before starting, wait until the LAMP CHECK is finished before starting
(see manual) this gives the fuel pump a couple seconds to build pressure
first. Plugged fuel filter only manifests under engine load (read:
climbing hills / strong headwind on highway)

'Curly'

Hey curly,

Not that I am questioning your expertise, but
isn't this a symptom of the same problem? IE If
the fuel pump can't keep up because the fuel
filter is restricting flow, wouldn't it be
apparent under 'high flow' as well as at startup?

Just wondering.

t

disallow wrote:
> If your engine is hard to start, it may be because
> you need a new fuel filter. Also, on my civic,
> it takes a few extra cranks if my gas tank is
> less than half full. This is due to the time
> it takes for the fuel pump to prime the fuel line.
> When the ta s less full, I guess it takes longer
> to prime the fuel line.
>
> Only thing I could think of to legitimately
> increase horsepower would be a supercharger,
> fairly involved and expensive. And would wear
> out your engine faster.
>
> Your just gonna have to get used to paying less
> for fuel...
>
> t


you have a right clue why my car does not start on first
crack. I have had to crack at second or third crack to
start the car if the car has been parked for while. But always
the car start on first crack if I car is parked for a short
time.

Is fuel filter change a hard work? There is a pressurizing
work for replacing fuel filter right?

| Anything can be done to increase the power
Honda fits only short branch ( 4 into 1 pipe ), cheap & heavy cast iron
* for its engines <2.2 litre, even a F22A's *'s twin pipes are short.
Result is lower though adequate torque @ low rpm ( as during buyers'
test drives ), but very low ( <½ as much ) torque & mpg @ high ( >
3000 ) rpm, this differece rises with rpm.
http://circletrack.com/techarticles/73598
My local-made 4-2-1 * [i] uses aluminised mild steel [ii] 13 kg < my
F20A's original * [iii] has longer twin pipes than a F22A's * [iv] twin
pipes's interior have 60% more cross section area than original *'s
single pipe's.
In 6-02 I saw a new Civic vtec 1.6 litre engine with very short * : a
waste of vtec ( no way is torque / mpg esp @ high rpm maximised ).
Many car makers ( incl Nissan in Sunny 130Y, Hyundai in Sonata 2.4,
Proton in Waja 1.8 ) save on *, because 99.9% buyers don't test drive
on highways, or know / experienced a difference between short & long
branch *.

| especially the low end torque?
If windows' motors have a relay, see my post on 6-2-05.

disallow wrote:
> Hey curly,
>
> Not that I am questioning your expertise, but
> isn't this a symptom of the same problem? IE If
> the fuel pump can't keep up because the fuel
> filter is restricting flow, wouldn't it be
> apparent under 'high flow' as well as at startup?
>
> Just wondering.


------------------

Good question. I think it's worth asking. Looking at his mileage and
age, and the fact that he's not saying anything about high-speed or
hesitation problems, I'd guess that the fuel filter would be ruled out,
and, since the injectors can only fire once per cylinder / compression
stroke, his Civic uses just the tiniest bit of fuel to start it.

Fuel filter shows it's bad when you can't pass anything, and can't climb
your own driveway.:-(

Seeing his last post clarifies a bit too, since he says it's OK if it
sits a short while, but gives more trouble after a long sit. He might
have a sticking / dribbling injector thats flooding the engine as it
bleeds his fuel rail pressure. It might also be some goofy flaw with the
EGR or something that one of our _real_ experts knows something about.

'Curly'

That is a fair price.

http://www.trackspeedracing.com
Honda and Acura Drag Racing Parts Specialist