Hello from a US highway near you.

[travelingaaron]

It is funny, my plan was to drive around and write. I thought of myself as a writer of sorts. For some reason I never though the word "journalism". I was not sure what exactly I was going to write about, I just knew I wanted to write about what ever I was inspired to write about while traveling. That one word put it all into perspective for me.

And I came here just to find out how to get better gas mileage haha! I am very much enjoying that ecomodder is a community and not just some forum. Thank you all again for the warm welcome. I hope that I can bring a fresh perspective to this place and add to, not just take away.

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome to ecomodder. If you are ever around Lake Erie, look me up! I also rebuild Metro/Swift cars here at home. If you are having power and fuel economy issues, the first thing you need to do is perform a compression test. Here is the How To............
How To - Compression Test

I plan on traveling America when I retire

[travelingaaron]

I was not sure where I was going to start to figure this all out. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I read through the post and will be doing this in the next day or two. What would be the step(s) to take if my compression is low? I changed the spark plugs when I first got it to NGK iridiums hoping it would help. It has not.

[gone-ot]

...basically, two causes for "low-compression" in cylinders: (1) bad valve seating or (2) bad cylinder compression 'rings'.

...bad valves are easier to fix than bad cylinder rings, but neither are "easy" or "cheap."

[Johnny Mullet]

If you have a G10 1.0L 3 cylinder, then the main reason is burnt exhaust valves from lack of maintenance and/or retarded ignition timing. This would require a rebuild.........
1.0L Head Repair Guide

Don't worry, these cars are easy to rebuild and no need to remove the engine. The car will pay you back when you start getting 50+ MPG.

[travelingaaron]

I believe the car is still running the stock engine, I didn't think the suzuki's ever came with the 1L, i thought that was the GM clones. I have the 1.3 but I would be surprised if it had the power output of the 1L right now. Hopefully the 1.3's aren't a lot more difficult than the 1.0's.

[Johnny Mullet]

The 1.3L just adds one more cylinder. Let us know what you find with the compression test then we go from there.

[ex-x-fire]

Hi travelingaaron, do you camp out in your car? I know a guy who does that, so he can go see the places he always wanted to w/ out spending a fortune. Sounds fun, I would like to try that once.
Your swift is getting low mpg. Somethings not right. Check the vacuum hoses for cracks, I'm guessing it has 1 big injector (tbi), make sure the fuel spray is cone shaped w/ no big droplets of fuel. Check the ignition timing & make sure it advances when you rev it. Engine coolant temp is a big part of running efficient, if you temp gauge never get to the middle, always low or not moving, you could have a t-stat that is stuck open, never allowing the engine to reach the proper operating temp. Jack up each corner to see if a brake is dragging, causing low mpg. Good luck. Have fun.

[metroschultz]

Aaron, Darin.

You don't need to camp out when you make it to the Beach.
I have a spare bedroom. You are welcome to use it when you are here. My wife is good with me having people over, so no worry of bloodshed.
I have had other guys stay while we worked on their car problems.

I have thought of doing just what you propose. I can't, too many responsibilities here now. If something happens though...........

[travelingaaron]

ex-x-fire - I have not had to camp out in my car yet. My father was in the military and we moved around every few years for the first 18 years of my life. I have friends and family spread out all across the country. Until the weather warms up I will make sure I am at someones house. I would freeze to death if I tried sleeping in my car these days ha ha. Once it warms up I will probably do a lot more camping, not necessarily in my car. Thank you for all of the helpful suggestions.

metroshultz - your offer just keeps getting better and better. I am very thankful that I am able to travel the way I can, I know how many people are not able to for various reasons. It was not until recently that I was able to. 1 divorce and my time being up in the military suddenly left me very free to do what ever I wanted. I would regret it the rest of my life if I did not take advantage while I can.