KLZE MX-3 vs Honda Civic/KLZE fuel economy

[highflyin250x]

Hey i am new here and thought i would ask you guys what you think.
I have a civic with a swap now and was thinking about selling it to get something with some more torque. A good friend of mine has a mx3 with a KLZE and we have raced a couple times and his car is pretty quick. I usually take him off the line being 200lbs lighter and having an LSD, but he takes the lead by the time i am midway through my third gear. I have driven in it some and i like how smooth it is and how the torque comes in early. Main problem is i have this little thing where i think that daily driver cars need to get 30mpg. My friend running his stock gs trans and the right computer for the KLZE says he is getting 27-29mpg during normal driving. He has bolt-ons, headers, exhaust, underdrive pulley, and an intake. Is this normal? Most other figures i can find seem to be lower, 23-25mpg.

I know this is an mx3 forum, but what do you guys think generally of the mx3 vs civics? As it stands my little 1.6 can hold its own against the 2.5, i can get cheap parts and have lots of options, but everyone has one. I do get 33mpg average though.

[SmoothMX3]

Are you sure it's a ZE? - Are you sure, there is a motor in his car?
Undoubtly, you have some good stuff done to your Y8.
Get rid of the Civic and get the mx-3.

[highflyin250x]

Yes i am sure he has a ze swap. I helped him a little with it.
My car now is a 93 civic coupe with a b16 swap. Skunk2 stage 2 cams, header and full 2.5 inch exhaust, AEM intake and chipped ECU. Decent race, my LSD helped a lot on takeoff.

One night in the mx-3, we smoked a 06 WRX with exhaust and a BOV two races in a row with different drivers each race in the WRX. We were racing to fill up the others tank and they ran away complaining about their clutch. I don't think we should have beat them as bad as we did, probably crappy drivers. They looked pretty young.

Whats the average mpg of a mx-3 with a KLZE swap and all the bolt-ons? I would think the mx-6 trans would have taller gears for better fuel economy?

[2RotorsNaDream]

I'm assuming you got a B16, those things are really weak. Out here in NYC those are the new singles, hold no weight and get laughed at. I'd keep the Civic and swap in a K24, H2B, or G22, as sad as it is to go against the MX-3. It will run circles around the KLZE MX-3 and still get 30+mpg. I used to only get about 22-24mpg with my KLZE when driving it easy, and for the performance and size of the car that mileage is terrible nowadays. The only advantage the MX-3 has over the Civic with a similar sized engine is that it is unique and it wouldn't get stolen like a Civic. To me thats worth dealing with the slower times and worse gas mileage.

[Nd4SpdSe]

For what I've calculated, I've average about 32-34mpg on the highway, I couldn't get less than 30 unless I probably made that my goal, but it didn't matter now hard I ran her, she was good on gas

My buddy just picked up a K20 Civic this weekend, and for what the previous owner said, it sounds like it'll average about 30-32mpg

[highflyin250x]

I wish i had the money for a k20 swap, but those things are expensive not to mention the mounts, wiring, axles and other things to make it fit. Those swaps are fast though, and when tuned good with just basic bolt-ons i have heard total averages in the mid 30's mpg making at least 210whp.

Still want some more solid figures on mx-3's with KLZE swaps though.
Is there already a thread that i have missed where people say their mods and driving style and mpg?

[neli_nael]

i get about 20 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, no bolt ons besides cai.

[projectzemx3]

honduh is known for fuel efficiency and reliability, and it is also known that bigger engines with more pistons are subject to worse gas mileage. your gas mileage will be worse with the 2.5. but with the 2.5 you wont have to wait until 9000 rpm before you feel like your actually going somewhere.

you drive that 1.6 out of the vtak range then your fuel mileage will be alot better then a v6.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Still want some more solid figures on mx-3's with KLZE swaps though.
Is there already a thread that i have missed where people say their mods and driving style and mpg?

Many many many threads.
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[boosted_bullet]

hhmmm...

maybe another advantage is you can go faster for cheaper with an mx-3

[SmoothMX3]

Yea... Some of you say to keep the civic and do this or that swap. If you know anything about Honda's, you know their swap's are rediculously overpriced. Just compare a ze hp and tq and the price, then do the same for a K or H swap... my point exactly.

[projectzemx3]

hhmmm...

maybe another advantage is you can go faster for cheaper with an mx-3

yeah this is very true, plus you get a lot of "what the f---? did that mazda just beat me?"

and will someone mention the sound??

ok i will. a ze makes this amazing exhaust note. it sounds like a formula one car, not some raspy 4 banger civic.

[highflyin250x]

Thanks for the links.
I do really like the smoothness and the sound of the KLZE, but i still am unsure of the fuel economy numbers... they seem to be all over the place. Not a big pool of numbers and most people don't list mods so i don't even know what i am dealing with with the numbers.
What do you guys consider the best daily driver set-up to be? What tranny, ecu, chip tire wheels sizes, mods...ect.Taking into consideration getting good power and fuel economy.
My buddy with the mx-3 has a mega squirt system that he has not installed yet, i know a well tuned engine should be more efficient and powerful.

[fowljesse]

I have what's basically a KLDE built to ZE specs, or, a KLZE with DE heads, intake cams, and IM. I'm making about 210-220HP, and get about 33 HWY MPG. If you swap a DE TRanni, or just the final drive, you'd do even better. There's alot of threads here, and on Probetalk about how to build Tranni's that could bring the MX-3 to over 180MPH. With tall gearing like that, you could get maybe 37MPG with a ZE.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Well, just to say, my buddy traded straight up his '98 Lexus GS400 with winter tires (no rims) and his stereo system for a '96 Civic with just the K20 and a paint job....

There's alot of threads here, and on Probetalk about how to build Tranni's that could bring the MX-3 to over 180MPH. With tall gearing like that, you could get maybe 37MPG with a ZE.

I'd bet that if you rev too low on the highway, you're milleage will go down. What also affects milleage is where you are in the powerband of the motor. Yoda I believe posted that he fowled his plugs with a long 5th gear from a 323GTX. Our motors are designed to rev high, same as most japanese engines do. If you look at the Viper, with the massive V10, it can still get 30mpg because it's a torque monster down low, so it literally coasts on the highway. That's not the case with ours...reason why we get 30mpg even tho we're at 4000rpm, cause that's our peak torque...

Also look into why cylinder deactivation improve milleage, it's because the fewer cylinders working harder is actually creating a more efficient combustion.