Ecomodding my winter beater: a unicorn no-rust (*) 2000 Chevrolet Metro 1.0 5-spd

[MetroMPG]

Speaking of which...

I was passed by a Leaf on the highway a couple of weeks ago. YKYAEM when...

[MetroMPG]

I've been going a bit nuts with weight reduction lately.

I keep reading comments about how unbearable a car is to drive when you gut the interior...

Which just makes me wonder, "OK, HOW UNBEARABLE??"

I've got everything out behind the driver's seat (and behind where the passenger seat used to be).

I think I'm going to pull the anti-roll bars too. Lowering the car reduced roll noticeably. Maybe pulling the bars will soften up the ride enough that I can lower it even more and not get too harsh.

[19bonestock88]

I’d leave the sway bars on... they help cornering a lot, and the weight could come out elsewhere

[cr45]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I've been going a bit nuts with weight reduction lately.

I keep reading comments about how unbearable a car is to drive when you gut the interior...

Which just makes me wonder, "OK, HOW UNBEARABLE??"

I've got everything out behind the driver's seat (and behind where the passenger seat used to be).

I think I'm going to pull the anti-roll bars too. Lowering the car reduced roll noticeably. Maybe pulling the bars will soften up the ride enough that I can lower it even more and not get too harsh.

As you have reduced the weight considerably in the rear maybe you could start out by removing only the rear ant-roll bar.

I have been puzzled by North American Mitsubishi Mirage drivers complaining about the lack of anti-roll bar. I personally have no issues with my European 2014 Mirage handling. Then it occurred to me that they have a load of extra weight in both bumpers compared to European spec cars. Someone should have a go at removing this extra weight.

[RedDevil]

I vote for removing the sway bars, even if the cornering suffers; it should help economy because it lets the wheels ride bumps and holes with less resistance.

If the ride does not please you after all you could reattach them (assuming this mod is reversible).

[MetroMPG]

It'll be reversible.

[MetroMPG]

Simplify, and add worse handling??



I'll pull off the front one and go for a spin this evening. I'm curious to see how different it feels.

I pulled these off the ForkenSwift too, in the interest of weight savings. That car was also lowered, but due to having 520 lbs of batteries in it!

[Frank Lee]

It will be just fine with at least the rear bar delete. If there is to be a remaining bar I'd think you'd want it on the heavy end- the front. My Metro never had a rear bar.

None of my Tempos ever had a rear bar; sway tuning was done with the front bar. I experimented with three different strength bars on two different Tempos and found:
on the 'Coupe, which is lowered which means the springs are slightly stiffer, a heavier bar than stock only added ride harshness without any discernable cornering advantage on the street; on an a/t Tempo, which gets a heavier bar stock because the a/t puts more weight up front, I put a lighter m/t bar in and enjoy a noticeably smoother Cadillac ride.

[MetroMPG]

I think I'll pull the front bar and evaluate: if I find the ride/handling has gotten too Cadillacky, I'm going to shorten the springs a bit more. Plan B would be to put a bar back on.

I don't remember being upset about the handling of the ForkenSwift, post bar-ectomy. And it was on stock springs. But I didn't usually throw that thing into any high speed curves. The car rarely went 25 mph.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by cr45

I have been puzzled by North American Mitsubishi Mirage drivers complaining about the lack of anti-roll bar.

Even I was pretty surprised at how much body roll there was in the 2014 Mirage I drove. Unquestionably the roll-iest modern car I've driven. (Upside: Cadillac ride in a subcompact package!) I would definitely modify/change springs and/or add a stabilizer bar if I had a '14 or '15.

Its suspension was calibrated for the developing world, where it's built and sells best: so its Thai ower could drive a basket of eggs across his freshly plowed field on the way to market (to borrow a legend). The 2017+ is noticeably more "normal" -- they tweaked the suspension & steering for North America (and Europe, I assume).

More than a few of the initial UK/Euro reviews said similar things.