Replaced Silicone Hose and Washed Air Filter

mileage = 79228

In my never ending quest to get my fuel mileage back over 30mpg, I washed the AEM DryFlow filter from my short ram intake. I also noticed that one of the silicone hoses I used as a replacement seems to get hot and weak when the engine is running. The vacuum of air seemed to suck the hose flat from the inside out. So I replaced the hose with a more sturdy black rubber hose. Hopefully there is no obstruction of air through the hose.

This is the second silicone hose I've removed. The first one was a hose that sprung a leak and sprayed coolant everywhere and now this hose that collapses under vacuum. I've learned my lesson silicone hoses have been nothing but trouble for me.

Broken Spark Plug Wire Repaired

3/10/07
mileage = 78639

The fuel mileage in my Civic had dropped from 30mpg to about 25mpg, so I finally checked around under the hood. The last thing that was done before the drop in fuel mileage was replacing the spark plugs and installing new tires/wheels. I took an ohmeter out to measure some resistance and I found out that one of the spark plug wires was broken. This forced me to get a new wireset that day. I ended up getting a Bosch wireset from Autozone for about $55. Ideally I would have got some NGK wiresets, but none of the stores carried them.

Fuel mileage went back up to 30mpg on the next tank of gas, but after that the mileage went down to 27mpg.

My First Oil Change

2/24/07
mileage = 78092

I did my first oil change and put some Mobil 1 Synthetic oil in the car. The biggest problem I had was removing the oil filter. An adjustable wrench that looks like a claw couldn't get the filter off, so I wouldn't recommend it. There isn't much room underneath the car, so I don't know what oil filter wrench works besides the cap style.

Apparently the filter I got from Honda is made by Fram. Everything I've read says Fram should be avoided at all costs.

Here are some notes about oil filters for 99 Honda Civics.

Oil Filters
Amsoil EAO020 $ 15.30 from official site, shipping not included
WIX 51334 $ 7.90 from amsoil, shipping not included
NAPA Gold FIL1334 $ 6.79 3.252",82.6 mm OD from official site, shipping not included
Mobil1 M1-104 $ 9.88 3.12" outer diameter (OD), advanced auto parts
PureOne PL14459 $ 5.88 from advance auto parts
Honda 15400-PLM-A02 (Fram) $ 8.99 Honda Dealership

Getting a GPS Navigator

Since the prices seem to have come down. I'm going to see how one of these GPS devices work.

Sylvania 9003CB Cool Blue Halogen Light Bulbs

My headlamps are really dim so I'm going to try these out.