Geo Metro 3 cylinder engine experience

[Otto]

Anybody here with Geo Metro (Suzuki) 3 cylinder experience, particularly if turbocharged?

If so, please post your comments about this engine--how efficient, reliable, etc..

[wikityler]

Check out teamswift.net, and geometroforum.com.

[Ryland]

the 3 cylender never came with a turbo, only the 4 cylender suzukie swift gti or si or whatever it was did.

[almightybmw]

Originally Posted by Ryland

the 3 cylender never came with a turbo, only the 4 cylender suzukie swift gti or si or whatever it was did.

really? hmmm.. I coulda swore it did, as my brother used a 3cyl 1L TC motor for the clean snowmobile challenge 5-6 years ago, could have sworn it was from a metro. hmmm. Curious where it came from now, as the 100ftlbs across the board was a pretty neat design, powerful little motor.

[Coyote X]

Turbo 3 cyl sprint was offered up till 88 or so. They were pretty good little cars and the turbo really didn't hurt the reliability unless the person using it upped the boost to some really high number.

Pretty much all 3 cylinders seem to be needing a rebuild around 175k miles so once you hit 150k it is time to start thinking of taking a day or two to re-ring it and put new exhaust valves in. The transmissions seem to not have a standard life, it is mainly dependent on how they are driven so it might need new synchros or a clutch but normally they hold up a really long time if driven normally. A lot of it comes down to the engine just really doesn't have enough power to strain anything. Rust however can kill the car way before the drivetrain ever needs work and that is probably why 90% of them are junked.

As far as being efficent, they get good mileage because they are little and make real good power at the bottom end. So while most small engines like spinning at 6000 to make power the G10 is happy at 2500 and making good power. Combined with a car that can take advantage of that type of engine you can get some pretty impressive numbers out of these little cars.

[Johnny Mullet]

I agree with the above posts. At around 150K if the engine was not serviced regularly, it's time for rings and exhaust valves. I bought a 1998 Metro that was only needing exhaust valves, but after fixing that I had other issues like.......

Exhaust fell off
Transmission burnt up (no oil in it)
Frame Rot
etc.

After I got all the bugs worked out, I now have a very reliable car that starts up every time no matter how cold it is outside.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by almightybmw

really? hmmm.. I coulda swore it did, as my brother used a 3cyl 1L TC motor for the clean snowmobile challenge 5-6 years ago, could have sworn it was from a metro. hmmm. Curious where it came from now, as the 100ftlbs across the board was a pretty neat design, powerful little motor.

Do you think I could talk to your brother about this engine? My interest is for use in a homebuilt airplane, so anybody like him with hands-on experience would have invaluable insights.

The fact that it has a factory turbo helps a whole lot, as plumbing and compatibility issues were already sorted out by factory experts.

That it has good low end grunt is also wonderful from an airplane perspective, keeping revs low and propeller tip speeds subsonic.

Any further advice or insights much appreciated!

[MetroMPG]

I believe the turbo-3's were still available in the Canadian market (Firefly Turbos) up until the new body style ('95).

[almightybmw]

Originally Posted by Otto

Do you think I could talk to your brother about this engine? My interest is for use in a homebuilt airplane, so anybody like him with hands-on experience would have invaluable insights.

The fact that it has a factory turbo helps a whole lot, as plumbing and compatibility issues were already sorted out by factory experts.

That it has good low end grunt is also wonderful from an airplane perspective, keeping revs low and propeller tip speeds subsonic.

Any further advice or insights much appreciated!

You'll have to search junkyards now, as that was.....2000? It was a while ago, while I was in high school. high school was 7 years ago....my how time flies. I wouldn't mind finding one of those turbo sprints now, I'm sure I could enjoy it driving around town.

[ZeroFuel]

Originally Posted by Otto

Do you think I could talk to your brother about this engine? My interest is for use in a homebuilt airplane, so anybody like him with hands-on experience would have invaluable insights.

The fact that it has a factory turbo helps a whole lot, as plumbing and compatibility issues were already sorted out by factory experts.

That it has good low end grunt is also wonderful from an airplane perspective, keeping revs low and propeller tip speeds subsonic.

Any further advice or insights much appreciated!

Check out this site if your thinking of an aviation application.

I spoke to this fellow on another project & he is very knowledgeable.

Raven Rotorcraft & Redrives : Geo Metro Suzuki Aircraft Engine Conversion : Ultralight & Rotocraft