'98 Chevy Metro

[TooMuchGlass]

I was thinking it was a problem with me letting out the clutch too fast. I'll keep working on it.

Another question- is it cool to pull up my e-brake to the first click so that my running lights go off? Will that help with mpg?

[TooMuchGlass]

Hey all,

I've got some good, and some bad. I'm hoping the good will help with the bad.

Good- I'm going to buy a Scangauge-e today.
Bad- both times I have tried to put gas in the tank of the Metro, the pump has acted strangely, cutting off before it is done filling up. The first time, I just filled it up to about 7/8ths full. The next time, I kept pumping and got it very full.
How much gas should the tank hold? Hopefully the SG-e will help with letting me know when I need to stop pumping the gas.

Thanks all.

[MetroMPG]

It's a 10.3 US gallon tank.

The SG, once calibrated, will tell you how much fuel you've burned, but you need to be able to completely fill the tank to calibrate it. Chicken, meet egg.

[TooMuchGlass]

Scangauge got it's maiden voyage today! 2 in town trips about 10 miles each yielded a trip average of 42.2 and 41.2! I'm feeling good bout that considering stop lights and tires with ~33 PSI. And two passengers.

So can I pull up the e brake to the first click without hurting fuel economy? Does anyone have experience with that?

[2000mc]

if your ebrake is well adjusted, then you might get some brake drag

if i was concerned about doing this on my own vehicle, i would just wire in a secondary / manual brake switch switch. in parallel with the brake switch if its normally open, or in series if the brake switch is normally closed

imo - i do think the running lights help you be seen. accidents aside, if you have to hit the brakes slightly more often because of people pulling out in front of you, that will really eat into the 25watt or so savings

[kir_kenix]

My buddy at work drives a 99 metro and he said he just pulled a fuse to kill the daytime running lights. Same thing on my s10 did it for me.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by TooMuchGlass

So can I pull up the e brake to the first click without hurting fuel economy? Does anyone have experience with that?

That not just decreases fuel economy but also wears the rear brake pads faster. I don't remember who told me that it eventually can also wear more the clutch, altough it's only perceived in a longer term.

[TooMuchGlass]

Ok cool, thanks guys.
I don't want to yank the fuse because I want to have the lights available to me should I need them. Wiring in a secondary switch is something I have ZERO experience with, so I may get around to trying that eventually. But I think there are other mods that have bigger benefits and are easier to complete, like:

Pump up tires
Back seat delete
Passenger mirror delete

[MetroMPG]

You could easily check the 1st click/brake drag issue: jack up each rear corner and spin the tire with the hand brake off & on. Any drag will be apparent. An older car with more miles/brake wear is probably OK to use the 1-click method.

But I agree it's a safety issue, and wouldn't want to disable them (fuse). I selectively use my DRL's during the day depending on driving environment.

I wired another on/off switch inline with my '98 Firefly/Metro handbrake switch. If you pull the plastic surround off you'll see it in there and may be able to figure it out.

[kir_kenix]

I'm 99% certain that you can disconnect the drl fuse independently of all other lights and operation. I worked at a gm dealership and the drl "safety option" is an RPO (regular production option) that can be requested out of any new car...i believe the code for ordering a new car without drl's is RPO T62 or possibly T68 (I forget now). We ordered alot of vehicles for police and utility companies that did not want drl's. GM may have changed the coding or policy in the last 8 years...i have no idea.
On my truck the drl's can be safely eliminated by pulling fuse #15 (you have to monkey with a small module if it came with stock fog lights as they are tied together). Your Metro likely has a fuse labled "DRL", "safe driving lights", or is located in a small module behind the glove box (may be wired into a small box above the brake pedal where it is spliced in...like the first Gen Aveos)