Greetings from Indonesia

[Midi_Amp]

Hi all,

My name is Michael and I'm from Jakarta, Indonesia. I recently purchased Honda Brio automatic and I would like to squeeze every liter of fuel using this car. I've been stalking ecomodder for a few years, but since I drove a hulking MPV before, it's only now I have the tool to be a real eco driver... As far as automatic cars goes anyway...

Would like to opt for a manual Brio but frankly, with an average driving speed of 20 KpH and about 50-60% idling (traffic jam), manual is out of the question.

So here I am, looking for some expert advice, soft modification, hard modification, or maybe just information why this is that to be more eco friendly with my daily ride.

As always, coming from a third world country, please pardon my jumbled grammar

[deejaaa]

do not sit in traffic with engine on.

[niky]

I'd check to see what gear oil Honda Indonesia is using in the Brio.

We get the 1.3, which uses the same five speed auto as the Fit... not a great transmission for economy. I don't know what auto you get with your engine choices.

Very short car. Very tiny wheels. Could benefit from a small upgrade in tire size to something with less rolling resistance.

I like the Brio, would have got it in manual... very frisky little car... but I understand what you mean about traffic in this region... absolutely horrible.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

You could eventually try to improve the mileage in your MPV, either modding it or just changing some of your driving techniques. Anyway, in heavy city traffic, eventually a slight increase in fuel consumption pays off due to the longer lasting of a torque converter compared to a handful of clutch packs.

BTW I like the way your country deals with drug smugglers

[deejaaa]

Originally Posted by niky

...... but I understand what you mean about traffic in this region... absolutely horrible.

i've only seen it in shows. can you take some video?

[Midi_Amp]

Originally Posted by niky

I'd check to see what gear oil Honda Indonesia is using in the Brio.

We get the 1.3, which uses the same five speed auto as the Fit... not a great transmission for economy. I don't know what auto you get with your engine choices.

Hi Niky, we have the same 5 speed auto, Honda just slowly reintroducing the CVT back to its lineup after the whole mess (90% failure rate) of first gen Jazz CVT. I prefer the CVT myself but since I'm one of the victim of failed CVT pack of the first gen Jazz, kind of scary driving a CVT again.

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

BTW I like the way your country deals with drug smugglers

I hope you're being sarcastic, as it's a very debated topic here. I for one opposed it. When a foreigner got executed but a local drug boss got caught, got preferential treatment, can still control drug making operation behind bars, got caught again and still live is beyond me. If the system isn't so corrupt I might agreed with death sentence, but when money is still above law (and God for the religious), justice is the one who got murdered.

Originally Posted by deejaaa

i've only seen it in shows. can you take some video?

You want to see a 16 Kilometer 2 hours crawl? Traffic isn't bad, for my part of the world it's more of stunted infrastructure growth than crazy driving antics. Sure there are bikers careening left and right and disregarding stop lights, but main culprit is overburdened roads and corrupt policemen... Almost zero citation since you can skip traffic violations with as little as US$0.4 for bikers and US$2 for car drivers.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Midi_Amp

Honda just slowly reintroducing the CVT back to its lineup after the whole mess (90% failure rate) of first gen Jazz CVT.

I remember the 1st-gen Honda Fit (as we know it in Brazil) had the CVT, and its lack of responsiveness was often criticized. The 2nd-gen had a 5-speed automatic, and Honda's excuse for that move was the CVT wouldn't be suitable for the flexfuel engines used here, but the 3rd-gen reintroduced the CVT.

I hope you're being sarcastic, as it's a very debated topic here. I for one opposed it.

I wasn't being sarcastic, drug-related issues became so critical in Brazil that I've seen the death penalty as the only effective measure to deal with that. Too bad it wasn't applied during the military regime...


Anyway, the Brio is still not available back here, but is scheduled to be introduced locally. Is yours a hatchback or a sedan?

[Midi_Amp]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I remember the 1st-gen Honda Fit (as we know it in Brazil) had the CVT, and its lack of responsiveness was often criticized. The 2nd-gen had a 5-speed automatic, and Honda's excuse for that move was the CVT wouldn't be suitable for the flexfuel engines used here, but the 3rd-gen reintroduced the CVT.

Anyway, the Brio is still not available back here, but is scheduled to be introduced locally. Is yours a hatchback or a sedan?

Our CVT had 90% failure rate due to wrong gear fluid used when the car was sold... So much for Asian competence... The new Honda CVT has torque converter and proper maintenance service bulletin.

My Brio is the hatchback version since sedan carries a hefty premium tax in my country. It's a very fun car... Not so much fun to fit into my garage (car is too darn low, need to maneuver the car carefully), but driving above 20-30 KpH it's a blast... At slow speed the gearbox ratio is as the same as the 1.3L, so you can feel the gearbox wants to shift up but not enough torque. Oh, I fail to mention we have the 1.2L 5AT/5MT Brio hatch. The Brio MPV or lovingly called Mobilio has the 1.5L CVT/5MT option. Really wished the Brio got CVT but kind of scared...

Also, for some stupid reason (another Asian competence?) My top of the line Brio fails to have underbody panel like its cheaper variants... How can a top of the line car is missing a feature?

[MetroMPG]

Underbody aero panels may not matter if your typical driving is stop & crawl!

Did you happen to try out the manual? I ask only because its competitor the Mirage has literally the lightest, easiest to use clutch I have ever driven. I tell people that even hardcore city driving is hardly a reason to pass it up. But we don't get the Brio here, so I don't know about its clutch.

Does the car come with a fuel economy computer? Tracking the numbers in your daily commute and per tank is the first step. Up the tire pressure, and as deejaaa says, minimize idling as much as possible (though that may be a challenge... I imagine it's a little warmer in Jakarta than I'm used to, and A/C doesn't operate with the engine off).

Welcome to the forum! Make a garage entry and start a fuel log.

Darin

[niky]

Originally Posted by Midi_Amp

Hi Niky, we have the same 5 speed auto, Honda just slowly reintroducing the CVT back to its lineup after the whole mess (90% failure rate) of first gen Jazz CVT. I prefer the CVT myself but since I'm one of the victim of failed CVT pack of the first gen Jazz, kind of scary driving a CVT again.

Same issue. Same solution... TSB to correct the dealer practice of using ATF instead of CVTF... though our failure rates aren't quite as high, it was a big black eye to the brand here.

The new one seems more durable... and the CVT+TC combo is definitely better than the five-speed AT the Brio inherited from the previous generation Jazz/Fit.

-

Perhaps if you go for a flexible front air dam, the lack of the underbody panel won't be so bad.

Typically, with small cars in our traffic, every little bit of driveline drag counts... auto transmission... air-conditioner... I usually experiment to see how high (temperature-wise) I can set the thermostat while still not sweating like a pig. Has a big effect in traffic, though it can be distracting fiddling with it so much.