19bonestock88's 2004 Saturn "Ion Green Line" build...
 

So, I figured I'd start a new thread to track the build of my new daily driver... It's just a 2004 Saturn Ion-1 with the L61 and F23 trans, about as basic as they were built... My plans are to clean up the aerodynamics to begin with and work on lean burn at cruise, and see where that gets me as far as mileage... A full Redline suspension/brakes swap is planned in the foreseeable future, and later on, a rebuilt, high compression L61 and Cobalt XFE trans should be swapped in, with possible hybridization, like what GM done with the Vue Green Line... Goals are to hit 50mpg with this car and keep it as a useful daily driver...

Congrats on the new wheels. Why did you get rid of the Altima for the Ion?

The transmission was failing in the Altima, so I sold it while I could, and since I have lots of Ion parts lying around, I wanted another Ion... Plus, they get some pretty killer mileage, as reflected by my first tank and it's still being 99.9% stock

Grabbed some data with my UG... 12.5% throttle holds 55mph(2000 RPM) and 11.4% holds 50mph... Today, at those speeds, instant reading were in the mid forties, and in the same trip I used to drive to work, I averaged 44.8mpg indicated one way and 42.8mpg indicated the other way... The car's still 99% stock, with my only Eco-mod being an upper grille block

Still is stock, and my second tank returned 38.4mpg with more diligent hypermiling and more frequent EOC

What's your MAP or vacuum at those conditions?

I don't know MAP or vac readings, but 55mph is around 30% load depending on temp and whether or not I'm using AC

If 30% load is less than about 7 PSI MAP (I suspect it is), then you would benefit from a taller final drive ratio.

I agree, and oddly enough, so does GM... The stock F23 final drive is 3.84 and they used a 3.63 in the Cobalt XFE... I'd love to end up with one of se gearboxes...

So, guys, here's my car(I've finally got some pics)
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...sc5dqptqn.jpeg
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...slojmudxo.jpeg

It's just a base model, but it's in decent shape... The upper grille is blocked in those pics, but it's not plainly visible...