XFI'd Pontiac Firefly LE ..Convertible!

[canhonkey]

Hi All,
I'm new to the board. For the longest time I was sacrificing fuel economy for power..but no more! Behold the '91 Firefly convertible LE(same as Metro) I picked up for the wife's commute for a mere 600 dollars! 170k kms & never winter driven.

This will be her "limited edition" Firefly XFI , I want to do the XFI cam swap that MetroMPG did, advance the timing by doing the sprocket mod, and switch to a different transmission with lower final drive. Not going to mess with the computers or remove any piston rings. I'm thinking a transmission off of a per 95 Metro/swift/firefly with 1.3L SOHC motor would do this trick with its 3.52 final drive? I think these convertible's have a much higher final drive..so its gotta go! Any idea where I could source a transmission or XFI Cam? So far..I've checked out car-part.com and sent a few emails to DeltaCam and 3 Tech who both have cams in stock. Ideally I'd like an OEM cam..

So far, I've got a fresh timing belt, wires, dist cap, rotor button, accessory belt to put on it once I get that XFI Cam. I've also just put a new set of nordic winter 13" tires, they're 185 tall so the speedo reads 100kph when she's actually going 110! I know they aren't low rolling resistance, but she drives a pretty sketchy part of the 401 hwy everyday, averaging 200kms/day out of a 5 day week back and for to university. On top of that, she has shifts at the hospital most times on weekends so she's putting 1000-1200kms on the car/week...so..economy is a priority right now....

So I figure, with the taller tires, Cam swap, advanced timing and much lower final drive tranny..she should be getting some much improved Mpg!? Looking forward to your suggestions



Ken

[MetroMPG]

Hi Ken -

Originally Posted by canhonkey

I'm thinking a transmission off of a per 95 Metro/swift/firefly with 1.3L SOHC motor would do this trick with its 3.52 final drive?

That's the one I used.

As for where to find one, I found mine sitting in a farmer's field... still attached to its 1993 Swift. Have you tried the local boneyards?

As for the cam, OEM might be tricky to find, given we didn't get the XFi model in Canada. There's also Mike (username "suprf1y" on teamswift.net) who does economy grinds from regular cams.

So I figure, with the taller tires, Cam swap, advanced timing and much lower final drive tranny..she should be getting some much improved Mpg!?

I'd say you'd be good for roughly a 10-12% improvement over stock fuel economy with those mods. FYI, these cars will not meet their (old) EPA / Transport Canada highway fuel economy ratings if driven over 100 km/h. And that's in good weather. Just a heads-up.

Welcome to the site!
Darin

[MetroMPG]

PS - have you been tracking fuel consumption so far? With an odometer correction factor?

[canhonkey]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

PS - have you been tracking fuel consumption so far? With an odometer correction factor?

Thanks Darin!

on our fill up we got 360 kms on 23L so with a 8% error that works out to 5.9L/100km..or 39 US MPG or 47 IMP MPG. But part of that was with winter and the other with warn all-seasons that were 165's. She'll be filling up again tommorrow for a more accurate reading, I'll be sure to post it.

I'll be calling around various scrap yards this week to locate a good tranny out of a 90-95.5 1.3L swift..looks like we'll be visiting family on the weekend of the 15th so I'll be able to pick one up anywhere between here and there. That should increase my odds! She averages 110-115 kph on the highway, thats why the lower fuel sipping final gear is so desirable right now! (She doesn't care about having to downshift on hills)

I'm also waiting to hear back from Mike about an econo cam.

I won't have quite as much invested into this Firefly XFi'd as "Coyote X" does, but hopefully similar results! (great build post btw)


Ken

[canhonkey]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

As for where to find one, I found mine sitting in a farmer's field... still attached to its 1993 Swift. Have you tried the local boneyards?

I found a 96+ Firefly sedan in town here, 4 cyl with 250k kms on it. The wrecker wants 175$+tax for the transmission. Just not sure if it'll bolt up? Or what the final drive would be in it?

I also found another one sitting on a shelf with 160k kms, off a 93 swift 1.3L SOHC for 150$, but no shifter linkage or torsion bar to go along with. That would fit though eh? From what I've read in other posts at least..sorry if I'm doubling questions here..just nervous when it comes to buying a used transmission.

Are they're any known issues with compatibility of axles and clutches when swapping these tranny's?

The wife filled up again today and eagerly called back with numbers. She got 351km(with correction) on 21.4L of fuel..which works out to 39 US MPG. Thats at an avg temperature of 5C and her humming along at 110-115kph with the taller 13" tires (185).

So my plan is still to pick up a 3.52 final drive tranny, and an econocam..also a block heater for the winter months. I priced out a econocam. 185$ shipped from 3tech and 128.50$ shipped from DeltaCam, sans sprocket mod...

Let me know your thoughts folks

Thanks,

Ken

[canhonkey]

Looking for some thumbs up/blessings from some people before I go ahead and buy an econo cam and also tranny out of a 93 Swift (1.3L SOHC)?! Will the tranny work? Econo cam worth the effort? Just want to know before I start handing out VISA numbers haah!

Filled up today, and got 43 US MPG! No changes, 44 psi in the tires but 1 or more tires are out of balance. Have to take it back to Canadian Tire on Saturday to make them fix their own error.

Thanks,


Ken