Quote:
Originally Posted by Formula413
Neil,
Based on my experience driving an xA (you read my review) I think this would be a great mod for FE. However I wonder if using a much taller final drive like a 3.5x would make the car overly sluggish from a standing start due to the 1.5's relative lack of low end torque. Maybe you should test drive an '04 Echo with a 5 speed to get a feel for it before committing to the swap. Also keep in mind that your car is about 300 lbs heavier than the Echo.
|
My buddy had an 04 Echo hatchback and it seemed to have lots of grunt in 1st and 2nd. We towed about 800-900lbs of fishing boat and trailer and even on the boat launch it did ok. Wind up a little wheelspin and up it went.
At 60mph steady it posted some pretty high mpg numbers on my scangauge, 54-60mpg if I recall right.
Anyways if you find a hatchback to try you might end up just trading in your xA for it...