My new Daihatsu Charade kei car

[blueflame]

Sorry to skite, as kei cars are as rare as hens teeth over your way...I have just purchased a 2004 5 door Daihatsu Charade with only 39,000km from an elderly couple
Its a 3cylinder 1000cc 58bhp 5 speed with a super long intake manifold to boost low end torque, no vvt on my model, and has very low emissions as has a catalytic converter. CD 0.31 weight 740kg.

Some spec pages here:2003 Daihatsu Charade SL technical specifications and data - 5 door 1 litre (989 cc) S3 58.8 PS - Carfolio.com car specifications pages

First calculation I got 4.4l/100km with much a/c and 100km/hr (65mph)

Next calculation it returned 4l/100km. I ran 50psi from the moment I took possession.

I hope to consistently get around 3.2l/100km @50mph (around 70mpgUS) after installing a kill switch and modifying the front grill area.

I have some questions about fooling the ecu, an area I know nothing about.

Overall I'm happy with it except in handles poorly on the bumpy twisty roads going out to the beaches near me. Very, very narrow car with a high roof....creates an uneasy and unpredictable response. The engine response with the extra long intake manifold is great for hypermiling. 4th and 5th gears are very long to so no need to modify ratios for economy, already done.

I'm looking into an alloy wheel with a greater offset or spacer, and fitting stiffer walled 165's instead of the 155 tires (I realise thats not a ecomodder thing to do but I'm spoilt for handling after years with Citroen and Peugeot). Hopefully this mod to wheels will mitigate the poor handling and cornering.

My first Daihatsu and so much cheaper to buy than a Honda or Toyota

[Bicycle Bob]

Congratulations! Can you lads access used cars and scooters from Japan there, too? As for improving your handling, I'd check a tuner's site for your model. My old Morris Minor used to corner on 3 wheels at rather low g, but it was very sweet and forgiving, which is the prescription for safe fun.

[blueflame]

Thanks, yes, most cars sold here are second hand imported from Japan. usually around 4/5 years old when they arrive here.

Didnt know they had Morry Minors over your way? The track and height is superior to my Charade, all the earlier model charades had better handling too.

In Malaysia they are called Perodua Viva and are really popular to tune, kei car racing at the Sepang circuit is quite big as Malay motor sport goes. Funnily, Malaysia made the Citroen AX, badged as a Proton. I had many of these Citroen AX's.

I just wish new millennium bubble cars had lower roofs and wider tracks, handling has gone backwards in favour of hedgehog looks, upright seating and parking benefits. Interior volume is huge though. Great for a young family in the city, and not so great for crazy nutters fanging through the mountains, on their way for a surf.

[Dust]

As the owner of a kei-car, your car isn't technically a kei-car. Your body may conform, but your engine is too big(<=660cc). I know therea are a few tuning sites, like daihard, or daiclub, or k2oc(malaysian) that you may want to check out.

[Frank Lee]

I'd suspect adding a sway bar to the heaviest end, or maybe both ends of the car would help your sway situation, possibly better than changing wheels and tires. If the bar(s) work well enough maybe you could save the expense of changing the wheels and tires. And if you can spare the ground clearance, lowering really does help add stability too.

[blueflame]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I'd suspect adding a sway bar to the heaviest end, or maybe both ends of the car would help your sway situation, possibly better than changing wheels and tires. If the bar(s) work well enough maybe you could save the expense of changing the wheels and tires. And if you can spare the ground clearance, lowering really does help add stability too.

The revisions to my 2004 model as published 2006:

"Daihatsu’s revised Charade city car is now on sale, offering improved handling and greater comfort.

Standard equipment now includes air-conditioning, the interior trim is new and the front seats have been lengthened by 30 mm for improved support.

Also new is the front grille and bumper, while the suspension has been thoroughly revised with a front anti-roll bar and retuned dampers to reduce body roll and sharpen handling.

To further improve the Charade’s strong braking performance, the front discs are now ventilated.

As before, the anti-lock brakes (ABS) incorporate electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) which optimises braking force according to the weight distribution of passengers and luggage.

The Charade remains the UK’s most economical petrol-engined five-door with a CO2 reading of 114 g/km. This qualifies it for a £40 Road Fund Licence for 12 months.

Fuel economy is also exceptional at 68.9 mpg Extra Urban for the manual which also boasts a top speed of almost 100 mph."


Buying those suspension parts that newer models are fitted with sounds easier than it may work out in NZ. Prolly too easy, and cheap as chips for someone visiting Malaysia.

I might just take my digi camera down to the Daihatsu new car dealership and take some pictures of the underside. Should attract some attention! Great advice thanks

[AJI]

Nice choice on the Charade I've always liked Daihatsus, they're pretty good with their small cars. I'd love to get a Copen. Those are available as Kei and non-Kei variants in the UK - they sold the sub-660cc turbocharged version for a few years and then replaced it with a 1.3, which actually gets better economy.

You're probably better off with a non-kei actually as you'll spend less time thrashing it to get anywhere.

[werner]

Great car!
I own the same model, it is called a Daihatsu Cuore over here in The Netherlands. Mine is a 2005 model, very basic without power steering, electric windows and AC. But weight is therefore even less, only 695 kg. And CO2 output is 109 g/km. I bought it new with 12 inch wheels with 145/80/12 tires, which were handling probably even worse than your 13" wheels. Recently I replaced them with 14 inch wheels with 155/65/14 tires, which is a big improvement in handling! Fuel consumption seems to have improved also, but I haven't driven enough yet to be sure about that.

Other modifications I have made so far are a grill block, scan gauge, removed the passenger side mirror and replaced the outside antenna for an interior one. I am running with a tire pressure of 3.0 bar (45 psi). Next on my list is installing a kill switch, have you already completed yours? If you do, I would like to know how you did it and what the result is!

[gone-ot]

+1 on Frank Lee's sway-bars recommendation...lightweight and they work!

[Arragonis]

I had a Daewoo Matiz for just over a year and had similar problems with very poor handling and zero grip - not fun on the steep, wet, cobbled streets of Edinburgh centre.

Honest John review seems to confirm the handling issues with the Charade - puts it down to narrow tyres.

After coming from a Peugeot or a Citroen you aren't likely to be able to match those for handling and ride in most other small cars. I suspect lowering will just affect the ride quality with only a marginal benefit. Another aspevct is the narrow track which means that you rock from side to side a lot more than in a wider car, and the short wheelbase makes pitching a lot worse than it could be.

The original Mini was only 10ft long and my namesake (<--- him in the photo) got someone to make an interlinked front and rear suspension to try and mitigate the effect.