hello.
 

I am new here to the forum. I am from Mims, Florida (in between cocoa beach and daytona) hence the name, unfortunately I don't have a metro :( Instead I have the gas guzzling 96 F150 XLT with an un needed 5.8L V8 and auto trans (gets 10 in the city 16 on the highway). In fact, the whole vehicle is unnecessary, which is why I'm looking to buy a geo metro. I am only 17 years of age, but I have become obsessed with FE. My mother always tells me I go too slow when I should be going fast, and too fast when I should be going slow. here is a link to the metro I have found http://westpalmbeach.craigslist.org/car/576319301.html

any mod suggestions for the metro?
-Ryan

Welcome to the site! FE is a much better habit to have than drugs, so mention that to your mother (unless you're addicted to both), ;).

Hey, sounds like a plan.. that seems kinda high for a metro, but it is a convertible which would be nice...maybe not nice for mpg, but nice.
I think the metro xfi hatchback is the one that is the king of mpg, but i am not a metro pro.

someone will be here soon to school us. ;)

welcome!

frank

Hey Ryan -

Sounds like you're developing the right technique. :D

As for that convertible - if you want hardcore MPG in a Metro, Frank's right - go for an XFi. The convertible is a bit heavier, has worse aerodynamics, and has shorter gearing (to handle the above), so they don't get quite the MPG the hatchbacks can.

But if you like the idea of top down driving, don't worry about it. It'll still beat the pants off the pickup!

If I was looking for a car at your age, I would stick with something simple and commen that is reasonably cheap, I say this partly because almost everyone ends up screwing up a car in their first few years of driving, even if it's not exactly your fult (rearended and so on) the skills on how to avoid people who are out to run in to you are not honed compleatly yet, and metro convertables are pretty hard to find from what I've seen.

yeah, I've been looking all over ebay and craigslist for an Xfi, which is my ideal metro, but I still have not come across one. That convertible is the only manual I've been able to find in florida. And I'm not worried about the maintenance due to the fact that my dad has been an ASE certified master mechanic for 20 years. a fantasy I have is to either convert it to an EV, or put a diesel kubota tractor engine in one :)
thanks for the insight

You're in good luck with that car - I understand the Metros are seriously prone to rust; I doubt if it gets exposed to much salt in FL, unless you're close to the coast? So there's that.

Another thing: if you wanted to fab up your own custom fastback roof, something with some taper to it and a sharp cutoff instead of the radius typical of the usual Metro, you could do that and attach it at the same mounting points as the convertible top. So there's that. The 'vert may have more weight, but most of us agree on this site that while weight reduction is good, drag reduction is better.