GAS MILEAGE WHAT TO DO?

[theman53]

Sister had a 98 civic with the auto. Best it ever got was 33mpg, usually 28mpg, but occasionally worse. The 33 was a 1200 mile trip all freeway. It was gutless until 3200 rpm then it wasn't really powerful. There was a plastic piece on the heater box that selected the hot/cold that broke. You have to get a new one as every one in the JY was the same or cracked and ready. It was something like 600.00 just for that part. And it doesn't handle any better than my mk2 with busted up stuff. Every part I have ever seen for a Honda is more than the comparable part for VW. Tires will be more if running stock sizes. I would think the only pro to a honda is the aftermarket. But if you are looking for economical and not suped up then that shouldn't matter.

[gribur]

This Honda is very plain, power nothing, all manual.  It is not falling apart yet.  I think the po took good care of it. it has the usual rear well rust on both sides and rust on bottom of drivers door. other then that the body is rust free.  I hate rust and am wondering if i keep it whether to fix the rust or drive her to the ground.  I am very intrigued by the golf TD. It is almost like I have to finish putting her back together.  I have never driven a diesel so it is something i want to experience. i am just not sure about how it feels acceleration and cruising wise.  I like both cars, we do a lot of travelling mostly 200km trips but the rest of the time it is booting around the town doing errands etc.  I love tools , collection is growing and working on cars is a passion for me so having to maintain something is not an issue.  I just want the one that i can maybe make go a little faster and the one that will requir e less time at the tanks.  i know those two fast and less time at the tank dont go together but i mean i like to tweak things and i want the power /quickness of the line or for passing just to have it for when i want it.  I know neither is a powerhouse for sure but i want the one with most easily workable potential at the least cost also.  a lot of info here but i am trying to explain how i would use either one.
cheers guys, i thank you for the help.

[ShoulderMan]

You say that the golf only needs 4 parts to get running. What are the parts and cost, (is the engine and trans already in the car) vs the honda cost that is ready to drive.
  Out of the two, I beleive that you will get better milage with the golf, and, down the road if you really like the golf,  it only takes an afternoon to serch on the boards to find out how you can add a but load of fuel from your IP to your turbo to make her scream past the lil honda and still get 30 mpg, and you can still get 40-45 with the same car if you keep your foot out of it. All of that, and it will cost you nothing but your time and paitence.  Just make sure you have your boost guage and pyro guage if your gonna start dumping in the fuel. You can melt your engine quick.

  Other than that, they are both old, both will need parts, and in the end... if you ever decide to sell, youll get more money for your old diesel making 45mpg (id even go so far as to say. weather or not it is running)  than you will get for the honda that made 40mpg when it was new.
I would also think that you would burn more fuel shifting in the honda, as the longer you wait to shift, up to ... 6000rpms vs the 3-4K in the golf.

 I dont know about you, But I seem to drive gassers differently than the diesels, they just have a different feel to them, and shifting at 7K is alot funner than shifting at 2200rpm. The exhaust note and engine reving gets the heart pumping, more so in a high performance I-6 or v8.    But when your limited, and you know it, its easy to keep of the throttle, or just stay behind the person that seems to be going even slower than you.   but when you have the ability, ... why not. 

[gribur]

i agree with everything you have said.  I only need rad fans, tranny mount, alternator and most expensive, downpipe, i say that as i would get the techtonic 2.5 for longevity and to keep EGT's down.  once i have that i have everthing and about another car and a half worth of bumpers, interior etc. 

[R.O.R-2.0]

i, personally, like driving torque..

thats something hondas dont make.

the bolts on my VW take more torque than a honda even makes! lol..

i really dont like how hondas power curves are..

[ShoulderMan]

Another up side to the vw, is that you will probably pay less for plates/sticker, insurance, and you shouldent have to worry about anyone stealing your car, or scratching your paint, or running in to it. They usually dont want to damage thier car by hitting yours... plus. its made out of steel, not plastics.

[Rabbit79]

My girlfriend had a 95 Civic EX, probably pretty similar to what you're looking at. It had a manual and did about 35mpg on the highway. It was very reliable. In the 10 or 12 years that she had it, it didn't have any major problems. On the flip side when I did have to wrench on it I hated working on that thing. Everything is packed in so tight you have to take half the car apart to get at what you want. You had to jack it up just to change oil. She finally got so tired of me ***ing about it that she bought me a set of those ramps to drive it up on. (That may be common on newer cars though, most of everything I own is 25+ years old, and sits up off the ground a little higher). Other than that I have to say it was a pretty good car.

[R.O.R-2.0]

replace an alternator on a honda some time.. you will never wanna own another one..

hondas eat thru wheel bearings too..

[mystery3]

It's made out of steel, not plastics.

I think the OP is talking about a mk3 so cheesy plastic bits on the interiors of both vehicles.

[gribur]

yep, its a MK3 Golf 1.9l AAZ TD.  I am happy to hear that The AAZ is an engine that can possibly have a few tweaks and turn into something fun.  It just seems weird 75HP, the Honda has something like 107 and its slow, i just cant imagine driving a 75HP car.   

[Vincent Waldon]

Someone once said "we buy horsepower, but we drive torque."  

1998 Honda Civic engine reaches its maximum torque of 103 ft-lbs at 4500 RPM.

The AAZ engine (stock) reaches its maximum torque of 107 ft-lbs at 2500 RPM.

IMHO I'm gonna have more fun driving the AAZ, 'cause I spend way more time in the vicinity of 2500 RPM than I do in the vicinity of 4500 RPM.  

[gribur]

i suppose your right, i guess the torque is going to get you going quicker at a lower rpm.  Plus I guess it will be more of a kick when you take off.  Its so funny always thinking about torque and horsepower when on the average day you just go to work,the corner store etc, when none of it matters.

[RabbitJockey]

i will say, my 81 jetta td would always get atleast 40mpg no matter how much i thrashed on it, where as the honda i am sure can get over 40mpg, but its not going to do it if you drive in any kind of spirited way.  but at the same time fuel for in the honda is going to be cheaper than for in the diesel.  i'm sure the aaz will be much more fun to drive how ever, and more tunable with out really spending money u can just crank up the boost.  its really a preference thing tho, the diesel will consistently get awesome mileage, the honda will have cheaper fuel, and probably will be cheaper to drive fuel wise, they are both easy and cheap to get parts for tho.

[Wayland]

No contest for me. Vw diesels all the way. Any probs with the Honda and you're almost for sure going to have to take it in to a shop for service, whereas almost any problem with the VW diesel can be fixed by you, with simple tools. The Honda will only burn gas, whereas with the Vw diesel you have the option, if you choose, or if an emergency arises,  of using various different fuels, often free or cheaper than diesel. I guess it all depends on how you feel about Japanese vs. German cars. Personally, I can't drive a Japanese car. Also, by careful tuning of the AAZ in my 93 Passat, I've got it up to 46 mpg US over several tanks, mixed driving, so you should definitely get better mileage than the Honda.

[gribur]

i agree. I dont feel right about driving a japanese car, something about german engineering that says solid and well made.  The AAZ i have has now been sitting for about a year in my possesion and god knows how long with the PO, i know it start as we quickly started it when first got it, but not sure other than that.  I am assuming the gas mileage is going to also depend on engine maintenance.  I am going to finish the golf and decide at that point which to go with i think.  Any suggestions on what to do when engine is reinstalled to get it as clean as possible internally without taking it apart?  I am going to drain all fluids and replace, but anything else other then that?  I guess all i need to do now is try to find the last few bits to get it running and go from there.