1999 Chevy Metro 1.0L 5spd ecomodding thread

[Daox]

The vacuum gauge only really helps me that much because the SG was so jumpy with the Metro. Every other car I've had has worked fine with the SG and the LOD gauge. The MAP gauge worked on the Metro, but it was just too jumpy to get a good accurate reading on it. The vacuum gauge fixes that for me.

Something else I should just try quick to see how it works is add a small can (to act as an accumulator of sorts) where the vacuum gauge is currently hooked up. Disconnect the vacuum gauge and see if the can smooths out the MAP reading on the SG. That might be a much easier route to go actually.

[Daox]

Another day, another good commute. Today I got 67.9 mpg to work, 20F ambient. I had lots of opportunities to coast on this trip. I think that helped as well as my latest mod. Yes, its a grill block, a quick and dirty one.

Its really nothing fancy, and I'm not even sure how long it'll last. I had some cardboard and zip ties kicking around.




I couldn't find an easy way to flush mount it to the front of the grill (mk2 will have that), so I just cut it and zip tied it to the back. It pretty much blocks the entire lower grill opening. The upper is still open.







All buttoned up in daylight ready for this morning's commute.





I noticed in one spot today that it seemed to coast a bit farther, which is quite good considering the temperature. Warm up time didn't seem to be effected too much sadly. Adding an upper grill block will help that I'd imagine.

[OG VX]

Gets the job done! Nice work and those are some great numbers!

[redneck]

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I run a 70% lower grill block year round without any problems. However, I found that I cannot block the gap between the bumper and hood as the temp. goes critical in short time. I have a red LED mounted in the dash, wired inline with the radiator cooling fan to tell me how often the fan has to kick in to lower temperature.


Also.


Do you have a engine blanket ???

A piece of corrugated cardboard cut to the full inside dimensions of the engine bay and laid on top should help warmup times. It's primary job however, is to retain heat in the engine bay when making multiple short trips in the same day. This helps to keep the engine out of open loop enrichment.


(credit to Frank Lee for cardboard blanket)

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[jcp123]

Never thought about a blanket for the engine...that could be handy.

I'd need a lower engine cover for any of that to matter though LOL

[Daox]

I do not have an engine blanket, or anything else like that.

Cold commute in this morning, 17F. I managed a hair under 61 mpg this morning.

[Daox]

I should also follow up saying that the synchromesh is doing an amazing job of not getting super thick in cold temps. It felt almost the same at the beginning and end of my commute today in the 17F weather. I'm impressed.

[Daox]

I filled up Friday on the way home from work for the first time to measure mileage. It was only a half tank and I'm quite sure it was a short fill (gas gauge doesn't read totally full). The SG said I should be in the low 50s, but I also used it while troubleshooting the Civic issues, so that threw it off. So, I think I'm just going to combine its data with the next fill when I get to that. I had 223.5 miles, 3.04 gallons for 73.5 mpg.

Today was a very nice commute considering it was only 7F out. Thankfully, the Metro was garage kept over the weekend, and the garage was 24F. So, it started out a fair amount warmer. But, traffic was light and I was able to get some good coasts in. The SG showed me 65.6 mpg in to work this morning, and I even got up to 180F by the time I got to work (yay grill block). No real heat was used except leaving the vent on fresh air, hot heat setting, and putting it on defrost.

[MetroMPG]

73 mpg!

Yeah, yeah, short fill, blah blah. That's why you should go more than one click.

Remind me: do you have a block heater to install? What's next on your list for this car?

[redneck]

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I can fill my 1994 Geo within a few ounces every time. I just fill it till I can see it in the neck above the spring loaded anti-syphon door.

Works for me consistently .




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