The beginnings of Eco modding. (What car should I get?)

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

What's her major complain about the Golf?

The first would be no A/C. That option was never part of this car, so it's not like I can just change out the compressor or something.

The second would be the looks and leaky sunroof. It needs paint and rust repair like a car rescued from the Titanic. (Well, maybe not that bad, but the paint is falling off of every part of the vehicle.) The interior is shot too. We got seat covers though. The roof liner came down because of the leaky sunroof. Then we took it to a place that does car interiors for cheap in Mexico. BIG MISTAKE! First they broke all sorts of things like the little clips that hold the sun visors. They also didn't bolt down the sunroof and guess what happened as soon as I hit the highway. Mind you I had just got the sunroof working and not leaking. Well now it's all bent out of shape and leaks worse than ever. Not to mention it is very noisy. I've tried bending it back, but a lot of little brackets and stuff broke on it so it will never work again unless I get a used one to replace it.

That and I can't seem to get door handles to keep working. The aftermarket stuff lasts a week and then stops working. Right now 2 doors aren't working again. Same with CV joints. They seem to last only a year at best. Had one go out and thought it was the transmission because the boots were fine. But the balls inside the CV joint came apart and the shaft was spinning in the boot.

[freebeard]

It starts to add up. According to NADA, and in my ZIP area, a 2008 Dodge Magnum 500 V6 SXT AWD (w/ alloy wheels w/o leather) ranges from $2300 to $6225.

https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2008...SXT-AWD/Values

The reason I like them is the roofline follows Thee Holy Template. It's a full-size wagon, personally I'd go for something more compact; like a Volvo C30

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_C30



The cabin has a lot of taper in plan.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I also like the design of the C30, plus its parts interchangeability with the 2nd-gen Focus made in Argentina would make it easier to mantain here in Brazil but maybe not there stateside, and I don't remember if the Argentinian-made Focus has made its way into Mexico for the parts to be sourced. Plus I'm not sure if a 2-door ride would serve the OP right.

[freebeard]

I used to pedal past one on my way to work. For OP I suggested the Magnum 500 four-door.

[Isaac Zackary]

Well, I now have a 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid. I got 41.0mpg going the speed limit (75mpg) with the A/C on the whole time for the past 1,500 miles.

[MetroMPG]

Congrats!!!

Nerd alert: You're going to have tons of fun driving that thing. At least I do whenever I get the chance to drive a Toyota hybrid (the only other style of hybrid I've had much seat time in is Honda's IMA system, and I don't like it nearly as much.)

How much experience do you have with ye olde Synergy Drive?

What mods are you going to do?

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Congrats!!!

Nerd alert: You're going to have tons of fun driving that thing. At least I do whenever I get the chance to drive a Toyota hybrid (the only other style of hybrid I've had much seat time in is Honda's IMA system, and I don't like it nearly as much.)

How much experience do you have with ye olde Synergy Drive?

What mods are you going to do?

I have about 1,500 miles of highway experience thus far (basically from the place I bought it to my brother-in-law's house to my house.) But that's it! Any suggestions would be helpful. I do a lot of highway/mountain driving.

One thing I really like so far about the Avalon is the shifter. I noticed that the battery filled up really quickly going down a mountain pass. But the shifter gives me 6 selections of engine braking. I can go down 8% grades without using the brakes. Nice! Overall, I love how it drives!

I would really, really, really like to increase the battery capacity somehow and make it a plug-in hybrid. Even if the engine starts a bunch, if I could increase my mpg to, let's say 60mpg, that would be awesome! A bigger battery could absorb the energy I normally bleed off braking going down mountains and be used to go up the next mountain. However, I don't want to spend a fortune doing this but I also don't want to do a hack job either. I see that there's a company called Enginer that makes plug-in hybrid conversion kits. But they're not cheap by any means. Still, very tempting.

But first things first, I want to install a engine block heater first. If I could figure a way to install a heat tank system like on the Gen 2 Prii, that would be awesome! Something else I'd like would be to find a way to heat the battery up to normal temperatures during the winter. Wheel skirts and radiator shutters would be nice too. I guess I need to get ahold of a Toyota Dealer to find out what block heater is available, although a 1,500W circulating heater would be best in my opinion. I'd have to figure out where to install it though.

Other than that I want to figure out how to maintain the car very, very well. The longer the car lasts, the better. I see the owner's manual says to tighten the chasis and suspension nuts and bolts every so often to the recommended torque specifications. But I don't know what those specifications are and they aren't in the manual. I'm contemplating a transmission flush, brake flush, and a radiator flush some time soon. Also I don't know how often the timing belt should be replaced. It would be nice to rack up some 700,000 miles or so like I did in my ol' Golf.

A CNG conversion would also be tempting, especially if I could fill from home natural gas at around $1.75 per gallon equivalent. However, there's quite a few obstacles that I'd have to overcome. Maybe someday, but I'd rather tackle a bigger traction battery first.

[Isaac Zackary]

Toyota Avalon Thread

Well I'm through with choosing a car. So I'll be over in this other thread for now. Thanks for all the help!

[hayden55]

Find the max engine off speed and start throwing it into neutral and pulsing and gliding. My prius is rated for 51 but if I do a 5-10 minute trip through town and stay under 45 and do a lot of eoc I can get up to 75mpg sometimes. 60s on average. 50s if im in a hurry. Too bad Toyota hybrids get awful highway mileage. Going the speed limit and trying to get 48 is 100% impossible in my car.