Introducing George

[Daox]

That does not sound normal. When I let mine sit overnight I don't loose any bars, and you shouldn't either. Those bars are the high voltage pack, not even the 12V battery. I'd probably call up the dealer on that one.

[Arragonis]

I'll ask when I take George in for his paint issue.

Some other mod options. I'm converted to the idea of reducing electrical load on George as he has lower power so I'd like to use sidelights for visibility (as in being seen) rather than headlights when needed but the existing sidelights are very dim. Would something like these be OK as an upgrade ?



I'd rather avoid strip DRLs as they look a little boy racer for me

Secondly do Xenon bulbs use significantly more or less power than conventional Halogen for the extra light they make ? I suspect George's headlights are not the brightest.

EDIT - PS tyres now at 45PSI, may back down to 40 again as the ride is very harsh given the short wheel base. Handling and grip are fine in wet or dry weather.

[Arragonis]

Another discovery - DFCO does not occur if the RPM is under 1500. Hmm. So if I coast down a hill with the engine doing 2k then the SG2 registers 9999MPG.

EDIT - under that it is as if the engine is idling.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Secondly do Xenon bulbs use significantly more or less power than conventional Halogen for the extra light they make ?

Real Xenon lights draw less power.

The Halogen-lamps with a bit more Xn in them, I doubt it.

I suspect George's headlights are not the brightest.

If you don't use them all day, you could opt for Philips Extreme power or a similar Osram bulb.
Lots of light - Hägar is light-challenged as well with ordinary bulbs - but they are expensive, and at least the Philips bulb won't last that long.

[Sp`ange]

Originally Posted by morphector

Why would you use the parking brake on a car with an auto transmission???

the transmission is not a kickstand.

[Nerys]

is the MPG US or Imperial?

is that car available in the US at all? I wonder how hard it would be to transplant that engine to a geo metro. Wonder what kind of improvements we would see with it.

how heavy is the car?

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

I'll ask when I take George in for his paint issue.

Some other mod options. I'm converted to the idea of reducing electrical load on George as he has lower power so I'd like to use sidelights for visibility (as in being seen) rather than headlights when needed but the existing sidelights are very dim. Would something like these be OK as an upgrade ?



I'd rather avoid strip DRLs as they look a little boy racer for me

Secondly do Xenon bulbs use significantly more or less power than conventional Halogen for the extra light they make ? I suspect George's headlights are not the brightest.

EDIT - PS tyres now at 45PSI, may back down to 40 again as the ride is very harsh given the short wheel base. Handling and grip are fine in wet or dry weather.

The leds make a world of difference, ESPECIALLY inside the car. I have changed all my interiors and trunck lights over to LED.

WHat are the bulb types in your headlamps? d2s, 9005, 9006 etc???
single bulb w/ hi/lo
two bulbs, 1 hi, 1 lo?

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Nerys

is the MPG US or Imperial?

is that car available in the US at all? I wonder how hard it would be to transplant that engine to a geo metro. Wonder what kind of improvements we would see with it.

how heavy is the car?

To take these in order :

Not sure which MPG you are referring to. The figures in my graph and garage entry (as in "EPA" - actually similar ECE European figures) are always US MPG, the figures I post in my chat and I get from my SG2 tend to be Imperial. I do try to add Imp or US to specify - apologies if I have missed some.

Not available in the US as far as I know, it is a Europe and Asia only model - made in Eastern Europe (Czech Republic), but the engine / gearbox is available in the Yaris here. If you could get a Yaris motor into a Metro then this one would fit I assume. I have tapped before that I think this (or this kind of car - google Nissan Pixo and Suzuki Alto 2011) are the real modern "Metro" equivalents - simple, lightweight. It has the same safety rating (Euro N-Cap) as the Yaris - 4/5 Stars.

Weights and measures are in the garage entry - here. Kerb weight is 1962 lbs. The MPG figures are US MPG conversions from the equivalent ECE figures. Most European Ecomodders use this conversion here.

HTH.

EDIT - Note the red text. I think the Alto is the descendent of the original Swift, the current Swift is a larger model. Start there, it has a similar 998cc 3 pot with VVT - 68 hp.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by mcrews

The leds make a world of difference, ESPECIALLY inside the car. I have changed all my interiors and trunck lights over to LED.

WHat are the bulb types in your headlamps? d2s, 9005, 9006 etc???
single bulb w/ hi/lo
two bulbs, 1 hi, 1 lo?

The headlights are single bulb H4s. I have some xenon conversion bulbs but as Euromodder says they may not improve power usage but should improve lighting. I scored them for free (as in someone else paid ) but I also got the sidelight LEDs which I intend to use instead of DRLs.

The interior may get some "pimpin'" with LEDs later. One money saving aspect is that the interior light only works on the driver's door - which kind of makes sense I suppose - and there is no boot light. Mind you the boot is tiny - so these will be done with LEDs. The instrument lighting is not the best either.

[Arragonis]

My paint issue :



This is inside the rear wheel arch behind the rear wheel. It looks like the paint has been removed by something thrown up by the wheel. I'm not too worried as this is the inside of the plastic bumper. What annoyed me today was that I called into the dealer to ask about it and they suggested (without looking at the car) that this is a known issue and that the paint there is only a "light dusting" - it looks thicker than that to me. Also I checked with Toyota customer services by phone and they knew nothing about it. I sense a frustrating time getting this sorted...