Team-BHP - 1st Gen Honda City Owners - Problems Areas, Fuel Efficiency and more

Quote:

Originally Posted by fieroid (Post 3698445)

Nope it wont. Only affects the closed loop function. Yet the Honda ECU is pretty intelligent to handle the fuelling courtesy a very reliable MAP sensor.
\We have seen steady fuelling in cars even without an O2 sensor.
So that should not affect economy. There are other reasons to it!

I agree. Mine is a 1.3 L. I've been driving with a non working O2 sensor since 5 years. It makes absolutely no difference.
City FE is 15. And highways is 18. I don't use the AC much. Top speed is a steady 160. Emissions are so negligible it's like a Prius.

I had the Engine scanned and the yellow light is only due to the O2 sensor. My sharp eyed kid noticed it a couple of times. I told my kid it's to show that the engine is running. :D

Importance of manual wheel alignment for your OHC - sublime as PG Wodehouse

I used to get my wheels aligned at one of the computerized centers in town. I always came away feeling that the car is not much improved.
I have a background in mechanical and computer fields. So I know how useless computers are. :)

So recently one of my friends told me of an old timer in Blr. They do it manually.

Things I discovered:
---------------------
The OHC rear wheels too need to be aligned. I'm positive the earlier guys never did that. I believe the TATA Indica's and some Mahindra vehicles too have this feature.

You also need to remove and realign the steering wheel. Especially if your car is older than 5 years. More details below.

How it's done:
---------------
The doing part is quite normal. The car is placed over the underground bay. Toe in and camber are adjusted.
Only thing is the mechanic sees how much it's off and fixes it. Not the computer. That's the crux. Your (mechanic's actually) eyes are super accurate.

The rear wheels are adjusted only for alignment. Camber is permanently fixed.

What is Camber: Stand in front of a tyre. It can be leaning to left or right.

What is Alignment: Stand in front of two tires. They can be pointed towards each other slightly. Or away slightly. That is to say, if you allow them to roll, they'll either meet or diverge.

Side note: nascar vehicles have the setting done so that the car will naturally veer left.

Your car will have certain manufacturer values that need to be set each time.

Now the best part:
--------------------
Once the tightening and adjusting is done, the vehicle is driven a short 5-6 feet distance as described next. The mechanic accelerates and brakes hard repeatedly.

Why? It's because your vehicles tire would have been compressed into one position while adjusting the first time. So though the setting values are correct, when the tires become free, the settings may change slightly. It's checked and readjusted if required.
This is the final tune up of the alignment process.

An example is putting on a pair of gloves. If you just pull them over your stiff hand, it's difficult. Wiggle your fingers and it's easier.

That's a terrible example. I hope you understand though.

Or think this way. At a basic level what is being aligned is not the tire. It's the wheel rims.

After the beautiful alignment, the steering is sometimes off center. Meaning it won't point straight with the wheels. Very minor. A degree or two.
So next is removing the central nut of the steering, pulling it out, putting it back in the next groove.

While you're there, get the headlamps aligned as well. It's a 10 min job.

One more thing is to Check if there are leaks in the power steering. You can notice this only by going below the car.

I tell you man, driving a car with perfect alignment and balancing is a sublime experience. In particular, the OHC's since they are so much in sync with your body frequency.

That's it.

It was done at Basha wheel alignment. It's in Indiranagar in bangalore. Behind the BDA bus depot.

Note:
I have no affiliation with them nor any commercial relationship.
Please use your own judgement and discretion whether to use their services. It's your wish. I'm sharing what worked for me. Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowser (Post 4004069)

Whenever I slot my VTEC into reverse I hear and feel a grinding sound during the gear change. It happens a lot and rarely slots into gear smoothly. I noticed if I rev the engine a tiny bit before engaging reverse the grinding noise is reduced. This doesn't happen for any other gear, only reverse.

Any idea what's causing this?

This usually happens during cold start.

It's very normal since the transmission needs to be warm before the gears slot in place smoothly. Something very known with OHCs at least! When you revv the engine (to warm it) the gearing is better.:thumbs up

If you think it's a little too much effort to engage reverse then please have the transmission fluid checked as well.

Hi all,
Today I noticed the rubber gasket just before the air filter was cracked. To remove it I had to remove the intake pipe. The one with 2 screws at its base. See photo.

I got distracted and had to go someplace urgently. I didn't notice any difference in power.

But wait.

At one point the road cleared and I picked up speed. Suddenly I hear a low growl from somewhere. I looked around to see which car or bike is making that great sound.

Then my tube light switches on. I realized that the lion gargling sound was my car.

It's only above 2000 rpm. So I can happily cruise near traffic cops and the car is quite as a cat.

Above 2000 rpm is happiness. Imagine lions gargling and tigers joining them later. Sophisticated ones. So there's no spitting! That's the sound.

I think I'll leave it without that pipe section for a while and enjoy the sound.

I haven't been on to a highway to see its impact on performance. I suspect it'll be a placebo type performance improvement. Perhaps I'll try this weekend.

So yeah. Cheap thrills. Free.

Cheap glass cleaner:

I've used commercial windshield cleaners for a while. I looked at its chemical contents. Nothing was space age like.

So I tried putting two spoons vinegar in a mug of water and cleaning the glass.

Sparkling and shiny glass is the result. It seems to remove small bugs and spattered objects better than the commercial ones.

I used it on on all the other windows too.

I'm happy with it.

Cheap car shine:

Also, to get a low cost polish effect try this.
Wash your car the usual way first. Allow it to dry.

Mix 50 ml each (one syrup bottle is 100 ml) of dish washing fluid and hair conditioner in the ratio 1:1.
Add this to 5 liters (quarter bucket) of water
Wipe down your car with a microfiber cloth dipped in this

Note: I should inform you that my car is a 15 years old, type II City, made of titanium and tank grade steel. I'm not responsible if these techniques melt or vaporize your brand new car. Tell GTO. :D

It will need only 1% manual effort by you when compared to wax polishing to get the same brilliant effect as a shop detailed car.

I'd say this is the equivalent of your liquid shoe polish. A full polish with the brush and a cake of polish is best. Sometimes 2nd best is okay. :)

If your friends ask, don't use the word "cheap". Call it as "NASA enhanced cleaner/polish"

Quote:

Originally Posted by hangover (Post 4030459)

[b]
Note: I should inform you that my car is a 15 years old, type II City, made of titanium and tank grade steel. I'm not responsible if these techniques melt or vaporize your brand new car. Tell GTO. :D

If your friends ask, don't use the word "cheap". Call it as "NASA enhanced cleaner/polish"

lol: With another member soon to join the VTEC party, this thread is going to keep me occupied and i'm reading posts in reverse order.:uncontrol

Quote:

Originally Posted by hangover (Post 3654528)

For guys in Bangalore, you may consider another service center called as Bharath Auto Garage.

Its not recognized by any official company but they do a brilliant job at tinkering, painting and replacing complex parts. I've seen guys getting their latest models fixed here.

Recently I got my Honda Type II fixed after a nasty rear end collision left it as in the attached image.

No point in claiming insurance as it as the parts are mostly plastic and my car is quite old.

But I got it fixed by these guys in 2 days. It looks as good as new. A used left rear section of bumper was sourced and all the rest of it was fixed and painted. The whole excercise costed me 10k.

It checks all the marks for a good repair shop. Fancy Reception Area (none), customer care follow up (none), cleanliness (none), credit cards accepted (none; just cash), technical knowledge (top notch), quality of work (brilliant).

Here are the directions. The auto garage is exactly opposite to the supermarket below.

https://goo.gl/maps/p4xrb

Pains to see the damage but glad to know a repair center that does a thorough job. Thanks for sharing.

Moderator's Note: Back to back posts merged. Please use the multi-quote option (QUOTE+) while quoting and responding to multiple posts together.

Thanks!

Referring to my post #1867, you may remember that I had removed the air intake pipe of my air filter. I was planning to replace the joining rubber gasket and then decided to drive without that pipe as I liked that sound.

Yesterday we had a bundh in Blr. Traffic was sporadic within the city and zero on highways. I decided to test out my car.

I had mentioned that the "nice" sound emerges at >2000 rpm. It is actually dependent on how much you open the throttle, the butterfly valve thing.

So I tanked up with power petrol (currently only Rs.2/- more than regular) and headed out to old madras road.

I had got my wheels aligned last week and had replaced all four tires a month back (more on this in the post script). I spent one hour painfully removing the small stones that get embedded in your tires with a pair of nose pliers and headed out.

I know GTO and the mods. are poor in maths. I will mention the numbers in miles per hour. You, the reader of course got A+ in math. :)

Top speed as indicated by the speedometer was 109 mph.

A normal (as from the company) 1.3L type II does not go above 100 mph even if it is well maintained with a motivated driver on a cordoned off track. 90mph is usually it's normal top end.

Naturally I was thrilled. And the howl of the engine. Oh man that's like the scream of a black hole swallowing a white dwarf star and Genesis right inside your bonnet.

There is more.

On my way back I came across a beemer and a C type something. These were probably on the Tirupathi-Blr return trip. They were clipping at a decent pace as the roads were empty.

I downshifted next to them, gave them a disdainful look and eased past them Usain Bolt in a Stuka dive bomber. They must have had a coronary.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZ504TGDpE

P.S.: My car came with tube based tires. I wanted to install tubeless ones. We checked the wheel rims. There was no rust or bends in the rims.

The tire mechanic said I would have to put on new steel or mag alloys. I read up a bit on tubeless tires how they fit/grip on to rims.

I took the risk and put in tubeless ones. No problems since then whatsoever. The tire pressure has not come down in one month.

That is the news for today folks. Happy driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaandBaaz (Post 3556991)

I have a Heather Mist Vtec and yes we all love the OHC. It still is a stunner, lookwise as well as performance wise.

As for the fuel efficiency, I am getting same figures as to what you are getting. 11-12 in city. Haven't done highway runs since a long time. And I also dont think coasting can help increase your FE. I always feel that it can ruin your gear box.

Hey BHPian From Pune

I have recently shifted to Pune and I own a V tec same color as yours. I needed some help regarding some mechanical issues and also if some one can do a piston pressure test on the machine.
Could you suggest me someone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya (Post 4145316)

Friends,

My father owns a 1.3 Ltr City Exi. He bought the car way back in 2001 & has 43,000 clicks on the clock so far.

The car is in a pristine condition & has given us flawless service so far.
This car is only taken out for long intercity trips as he has a Wagon -R for the local short distance commutes (in addition to the Gypsy King that was bought last year).

I would like to know what kind of oil/air filters are you guys using. Please mention the brand /part number. I would like to carry a few equivalents of Bosch/Wix variety from here on my next trip home.

Thank you for your help.

You can easily get air and oil filters at the authorised service center. These routine parts should always be available at reasonable price.

Does anyone have original Honda door sill City nameplates installed on their OHC? I recently imported a set all the way from Australia and would like to see if they match with the original.