Hello everyone! 2004 Toyota Matrix
 

I have no clue where to begin in terms of learning about modding, but I thought I'd follow the automated "welcome" message and introduce myself here!

What I'm looking to mod is a 2004 Toyota Matrix, but one I get the hang of it, I want to do it to my other vehicles as well. I own a 1994 Toyota Corolla, and a 1989 Chevy G20 hightop van. I'd LOVE to mod that to squeeze a little more MPG out of its already guzzling set up.

I'm a professional drummer by trade, but like to do other things on the side.

It's weird, I have ALWAYS drove like an "ecomodder" my whole life, but I just learned that the term even existed today. I guess it found me?

Both vehicles being pre-95, you can do virtually anything to them. BTW which mods are you considering? Is the Corolla manual or automatic?

Oh the High Top van. I had an aunt and uncle that had one back in the day...good Lord have mercy on the fuel gauge! It is TBI fuel injected though, and that system is super easy to work on and can respond very well to some modifications. Good luck from another Newb!

Welcome to the site TheWiredWorld.

I had a 2003 Matrix a few years back. I really enjoyed that car. It was a 5 speed manual. My wife was the primary driver with me as a secondary. We averaged almost 36 mpg over the time we had it which was almost 70k miles.

My fuel log is here: 2003 Toyota Matrix Gas Mileage (Daox's Matrix) - EcoModder.com
My build thread for that car is here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...read-1890.html

Hope that helps you start out. Good luck, and keep us updated on your progress. :thumbup:

http://www.tercelreference.com/downloads/Matrix.jpg

Thanks so much! I'm gonna start reading about that. I honestly have no clue really what "ecomodding" even entails - I got the driving half down, I just want to know physically what to do.

I just recently bought this one (and it is definitely a used vehicle), but the gas mileage on it is pretty horrendous, so I need to find out what's wrong with it. to my calculations, I'm getting roughly 21 MPG.

I take it yours is automatic?

Even for an automatic, 21MPG seems too low for a Matrix.

Unless ALL your driving is 100% congested urban, you should be getting something around 27-29 mpg at least (I've got 2004 Pontiac Vibe with 1.8L auto and 2009 Pontiac Vibe with 1.8L auto...both Toyota's with GM logo's).

If it's still down after the next time you fill it up, take it out just to see what it can get under near ideal conditions.
About a decade ago I did a run on a newish stock 04 vibe(auto) that was in for a mileage concern, iirc I got 42 or 44mpg out of it. Kept it at 50-55mph on about a 40mi run, no ac, with only a couple stops, and had ran the car enough to get the coolant up to temp before the initial fill.
Customer was saying he was getting around 20 also, he admitted that he mostly drove in town, but since the old epa sticker said it was suppose to get something near 30mpg in town, it was my job to figure out what's wrong.

Wheel alignment could be off. Just a guess.
The last time I took my Mustang to the local Ford dealer for service, one of the service managers recommended a front-end alignment due to uneven wear on the front tires. After correcting the mis-alignment, my fuel economy improved slightly (~1%), and the car tracks straighter. YMMV.
21 MPG for a 1.8 liter seems really low, even with an automatic.