19bonestock88's 07 "Malibu Eco" build

[19bonestock88]

I'm already aware of that, but the engine is already damaged from a spark plug disassembling inside cyl 1, the car is rusting in a couple places, and it does have 157k... I figure it's not long for this world anyway...

[19bonestock88]

Well, the round K&N filter didn't work out, as it was way too big to even fit inside the air box, and wouldn't have clamped onto the inside of the lid like I had originally thought... However, I felt the urge to modify something and noticed the side of the airbox closest to the engine was warm, so I drilled some holes there, in hopes of pulling in some warm air...

I also smoothed out the inlet of the tube inside the airbox lid, figuring that turbulence in the air right before the MAF could give inaccurate readings... I'm also in the process of making a non-accordioned intake tube, with the PCV inlet deleted to keep the oil deposits out... When it's finished, I'll probably clean my TB too, as the plate is covered in sludge from the PCV feeding oil vapors to the engine...

[19bonestock88]

So, I finished the intake on my Malibu... Here's the stock one removed... I already attached the PCV breather...


You can see here where the PCV was depositing oil on the inside of the intake... I didn't photograph my TB, but it was pretty nasty... I didn't remove it, but wiped it off...



... And here's the finished(ish) intake... I cut about 3/4" off the 45* elbow to make fitment easier... All together, one 90, one 45, and one 6" straight piece... I used the clamp from the stock intake on the TB end of the intake, the 3" plastic was a slip fit on the TB anyway, and used a 3" silicone coupler on the MAF end of the intake...


And so far, no CEL! Mileage also seems to be up, but I need more data before I make any claim... However, in the past two days, I've been setting records for UG indicated mileage on both of the trips I usually make...

[19bonestock88]

Some data I've acquired after installing my home made intake...

Engine load is just slightly down at cruise(43-45%), meaning that on flat ground, I can cruise at 50mph, at an instant reading of 50.0mpg or more, or 46-50mpg at 55mph...

Hills can be managed with less throttle, or a further distance maintained while still in overdrive, TC locked status...

On my usual work commute, I've been consistently averaging ~42mpg indicated since the intake install, in sixty degree weather..

... And on my benchmark trip, from Flatwoods to home(on WV-4 and CR-23), I averaged a record shattering 53.4mpg indicated, in 93 degree weather...

I now find myself accidentally going too fast in places I used to be fine cruising at 50/55mph, and nailing the ever smaller throttle angle at cruise is getting difficult...

If the car weren't drive by wire, I would be seriously considering a hand throttle by now...

[Ecky]

Congrats, those are some astounding numbers for a Malibu.

[me and my metro]

The Eco-tec name really means economy. Your 07 should have variable cam timing. I am running early stuff, 02 L series Saturns.

[19bonestock88]

The L61 never had variable valve timing, that was the 09-up LAP... It was 2.2 liters, but had VVT and other stuff from the LE5...

However, in 07 they got coil on plug ignition, and a different reluctor wheel on the crank...

Keep in mind that my UG is still reporting around 10% optimistic... I never bothered recalibrating it, because of the time it would take to zero its odometer...

[19bonestock88]

So, given the posts of some owners of similar transmissions about being flat towed safely, and info from the service advisor at the local GM dealership, I've tried coasting with the engine stopped... Other than the brakes and steering taking much more effort, the car is still manageable, but I haven't got any useful info about gains from switching to full-on EOC, yet...

However, if full-on EOC is safe, then I need to figure out a way to kill the engine without turning the switch off... Maybe running a kill switch to the injector fuse?normally closed momentary switch, and an inline fuse? Run the wire to a safe place in the cabin, and mount the switch as cleanly as possible...

The reason for the switch is that during that moment when I have the key in the ACC position, I'm pretty certain that the odometer stops recording mileage...the UG, however, never stops recording...

[Ecky]

You're absolutely right. I used an injector kill switch on my Insight for a long time, just as you've outlined, because by turning the key off, none of the computers record anything for a brief time.

[19bonestock88]

What connector did you use to tap into the fuse panel for the wires? I don't wanna just shove wire in there, and possibly short out my injector circuit... A good junkyard source for such a momentary switch?