got my first car
 

Hey guys,

Got my first car on wednesday, a Citroen Ax. Cheap and chearful to say the least, it goes well and I'm happy with it. From all the digging I've been doing I found out that it has a Cd of .31, which I think it pretty good for a car designed in to 80's, and should be getting at least 50mpg (uk).

I've done 170 miles in the last few days, using less than half a tank (which I think is about 10 gallons), most of which was highway driving at 50-60. There was a fair amount of city driving though, so I'm curious to see what the efficiency is once I fill it up again.

Anyone got any idea's as to what mods I can do for it to help improve my FE? I'll go take a few pics soon to show you all.

Wilden

Sweet stuff, looking forward to seeing the car.

Check out the list of ecomods: 60+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

Here are the pics I promised, sorry it's a bit dark, took them just now and my flash is a little bit crappy.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...n/DSC_0043.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...n/DSC_0044.jpg

Wilden -

Cool car! It's got the Metro look to it. I like the spoilerette, the slight rear-wheel skirt, and the almost wheel-covers. It has all the subtle Citroen aero-cues.

CarloSW2

It does indeed!

I second this. It beat the pants off my First car. Ford Taurus SE(It was a V8 and the second last year that they put a V8 in the Taurus)

It had Cd of a concrete brick and an automatic trans.

The quick and easies for your car(depends on what you plan on using it for) look like seat deletes.

I'm not sure how difficult that might be or how often you use them. But if you rarely use them you should delete the back row to save weight and if you never carry passengers you could delete your passenger seat as well.

Other weight deletes like spare tire depend on, does anyone in your family own a wrecker service, if your tire did go flat how long would you have to wait before someone could bring the spare to you, would that be detrimental, things like that.

I think the main issue with deleting the back row of seats is that I won't have anywhere to store the pieces, which sucks a bit. Plus I'm likely to be ferrying my mates all over the place in it (uni student here). Also, as it doesn't have split rear seats I dont think its going to be very easy to remove as there isn't enough space in the car to turn it around to get it out of the boot.

I would consider removing the space tyre, but as I'm at uni, my parents and rest of the family are quite a way away so its not really an option. I've been thinking about an air-dam at the front, and possibly some wheel skirts at the back, but unfortunately I won't be able to do any of these until the summer. So its all planning for me now.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

Yeah I can relate to you on all of those. As to why I have not done them myself. same situation lol

I have 3 Citroen AX's
 

What model and year do you have?

I have 3 Citroen AX's

I just drive one most days. An AX10re.

I think the TRS use more fuel than RE models.

I've had 1000cc, 1100cc and 1360cc AX's but the 954cc is the most economical, at 45hp compared to 85hp single carb GT's or 100hp 2 carb GT's.

I have fitted 135/80x 13 tyres which have a bigger diameter. This raises all the gear ratios and improved economy. I run 60psi in the tyres. I use HAI. In Britain I would do the grill block but would recommend a temperature gauge first.

I'm consistently getting over 75mpg Imperal sometimes 80mpg.

Lots of engine off gliding and keeping the speed under 90km/hr.

Dont beleive some of the anglocentric froggy bashing stuff on the net.

I have had over 10 Citroen Ax's and am impressed with their reliability, just dont get in a smash up if you want to live.

Just remember to service them correctly especially coolant changes. Most cars die because they are killed.

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep that all in mind. I'm setting off on a 60 mile trip to my girlfriends tomorrow, gonna check the coolent levels and everything before I leave. I did the tyres a few days ago but am a bit wary of pumping them up to over what is recommended.

Congrats on the buy, Wilden. Is it fuel injected?

If so, I'd say the very first mod should be to get yourself an MPGuino so you have instant & average fuel consumption feedback. Everything else (technique & mods) is based on this.

Just got back from a quick holiday in italy, and done my second fill up, and therefore my first fuel log, which I will post soon. Managed to get 45mpg (us), which I'm pretty pleased with as I wasn't driving overly economical, just trying to get used to the car.

For my second fuel log I've pumped up the tyres a bit (5psi over the recommended for the car), and I have noticed a bit of a difference so far, I think. As for getting an MPGuino, I have no idea if the car is fuel injected, though I will probably do some digging this week as I'm going to have a bit of free time on my hands.

I did a little research and it looks like with a .96l displacement it's the 1995 Ax Elation 1.0i? If that's the case I believe the I is for injection but I'm having a hard time finding a good spec sheet for that car.

As I was typing I found more information, it looks like in 1993 all of the gas (petrol) versions of the citroen Ax were switched to fuel injection.

Citroen AX Site :: The AX Effect

I've been having difficulty with it too. You're spot on with the model though. The manual that comes with the car isnt much use either, there's nto alot of technical info in it, just all the simple stuff for maintenance and the like. Thanks for looking though.

I would imagine it's fuel injected, my N reg 1996 ax debut (base model) is fuel injected so your higher level model would have it.
Did a nice intro thread when i started posted on the forum about my one.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...1-0i-4485.html
My car doesn't look that nice now, needs a good wash/clay/machine polish and some rust repair on the bonnet lip and wheel arch.

I don't know if you plan to ecomod it but AXMonster is the only guy i've seen on this forum who has a modded ax, though i haven't seen him post on here for ages, might be worth trying to PM/email him.

If you do any mods post them up here, would love to read about it, i never have the spare cash to do any.
If you can get a MPGuino or similar installed, pm me and tell me how you did it, since the E-ODB (ODB-II with a different name) standard wasn't enforced on european cars till 2000 the AX doesn't have the port.

I am planning on doing a load of mods, have added them to the garage page so feel free to have a look, they were just the ones I could think of off the top of my head.
Going to go have a root around in the engine bay sometime this week, does anyone know what I need to be looking for to find out if I can install an MPGuino?

Yours is the injected 954cc 51hp engine. My non injected is 44hp. Your Elation could potentially be the most economical petrol AX.

In NZ we barely got the later injected models, with myself only ever seeing 2 of these advertised in years.

Damn, thats sucks. At least youve got one for yourself.

I'm not sure about it being the most economical Ax, it's only 4 speed which I'm sure doesnt help. I think the 1.1l had a 5 speed gearbox which would mean it should get better highway FE.

Yep, but if you dont go faster than 50mph the 4 speed with is mild cam, smaller valve diameter and smaller carb, at less than 50mph speeds is more economical.

I've had a 1.1trs and a 1.1tre and they have hugely different ratios. 5th in the 1.1tre was lower than 4th in the 10re(with larger tyres)...though 5th in the 1.1trs was taller

The 1liter motor also has higher compression and will only run properly on 98octane or higher whereas the 1.1liter up needs at least 95octane. I'm not sure about models made for the Japanese market