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Boulder City, NV Car Consumer Discussions

Re: First Chevy Metro [ayejay]

by zaken1 on Fri Oct 10 17:23:21 PDT 2008

Welcome to the club!!! Gas mileage will vary greatly, depending on the ambient air temperature, the length of your trips, the mechanical condition and state of tune of the engine, and the restraint with which you drive. That said; my experience has been that 32 mpg city is at the very low end of the expected range. But I would not expect your car to get 50 mpg in city driving under any condition; particularly when using today's fuel blends. My 1990 5 speed got 48 mpg in city when tuned perfectly, and got 55 mpg highway. The newer Metros will not do quite that well. If your city driving consists of trips that are mostly shorter than 5 miles; you will be lucky to ever get over 40 mpg. And in the winter, it will probably be even worse. I will give you one piece of advice; which is distilled from 16 years of professional experience with these cars. ANY modifications which increase HP will REDUCE your gas mileage. You can have mileage or power; but not both at the same time. The so called "computer chips" being sold for Metros are not really computer chips. They do not go into the computer, like a real chip does. These items are only connected to the inlet air temperature sensor. All they can do is to fool the computer into thinking that the incoming air is colder than it really is; so the computer will then richen up the mixture. But the last thing that a Metro needs is a richer fuel mixture. They are already set too rich, in order to make them less sensitive to poor fuel or going out of tune. And that is very likely why your car only gets 32 mpg in the city. If you want to spend $400-600 on dyno tuning; a qualified shop might be able to tweak the computer to optimize your air/fuel mixture; but that is by no means a certainty. Metros are the most sensitive engine I have EVER seen; and they are designed so that many engine controls have overlapping effects. Because of this design; just about any modification that is made to improve these engines under a certain condition will make it run worse in some other area. So my advice is to NOT MODIFY IT AT ALL!!! What you can do to improve the mileage is to first make sure the car is absolutely stock, and then tune it properly. The most critical area is the exhaust system. The catalytic converter and all the stock mufflers must be present, and must all be of the original design, and there can be no leaks anywhere in the system. Any muffler which has been changed, removed, or is at all different than the stock part can be expected to ruin the mileage. This goes for both aftermarket performance parts and stock type parts made by a manufacturer other than Chevy. The pipe diameter must also not be altered. I cannot stress this strongly enough!!! Once you are sure the exhaust system is in perfect, stock condition; check to see that the original design air cleaner housing and all the rubber connecting ducts are still there. Remove and inspect the air filter element. You should be able to see enough sunlight pass through the element, so that the shadow of your hand should be easily visible when you place it over the filter. If you can't see that shadow, then replace the air filter element. At the mileage now on the car, I would also replace the timing belt. In my experience, NGK spark plugs have never worked well in that engine. Because of their popularity, that is very likely the brand that is now in the car. I would only use either Autolite #AP63, or Bosch Fusion #4506. If you want to go custom, you can use an Autolite #AP5503 or Champion truck plug #4430. Both of these plugs are improved designs; which are still similar in heat range to the AP63, but these plugs take a 5/8" socket, while the stock plug takes a 13/16" socket. Be sure to set the plug gap to.044" (but do not try to gap the Bosch Fusion plug) and apply a light coating of anti seize thread lubricant to the plug threads before installation. Check the ignition timing with a timing light; following the procedure printed on the emission label that is on the underside of the hood. If you do all that, come back and post how you now feel about the car. I'll give you information about correcting the fuel mixture at that time. IMHO, I would not use Slick 50 in an engine that is in good mechanical condition. There is a different additive called Tufoil which does not contain a carrier oil; and thus is not likely to create problems due to chemical incompatibility with your existing oil. I've used it in my Metro for over 200,000 miles; and the engine still shows no loss of compression or power. Joel

Result of 60 mph on vacation

by euphonium on Mon Aug 25 11:43:05 PDT 2008

Start Miles 86746 Gallons AMPG Baker, OR 87093 12.1 28.67 Ogden, UT 87535 14.9 29.66 Steamboat 87924 14.1 27.58 Leadville 88256 13.1 25.34 (includes Boulder city driving) Durango 88625 13.0 28.38 Grnd Juntn 88979 13.2 26.81 Tremonton 89340 12.3 29.34 Baker, OR 89734 12.5 31.52 ’95 T Bird LX, 4.6L V8, AT, AC, Cruising Speed 60 MPH. (Used CC) Still driving on Baker gas since arrival @ home last Saturday. Less stress than cruising @ 75 and better viewing of the areas traveled. Colorado is high in more than altitude. :) :)

Re: 1999 Honda Accord --> 211k miles [mary36]

by euphonium on Sun Aug 24 21:48:04 PDT 2008

$1500 is worth not having to pour out Thousands for a replacement depreciating asset. While in Boulder, CO on vacation after descending Rocky Mt. N.P. our 95 T Bird required two new front rotors, pads, rear rotors were turned, + new pads, but the major unexpected expense was having to replace the heater core. The core was only $99, but the labor was very high due to having to remove the front bucket seat and pull back the dash board to get to the core. Had we traded it on the spot for a late Mustang, they wouldn't give much as is. Were we to sell it to a friend back home, we'd have to fix it first, so after doing the repairs, why not drive it ourselves. It's a 4.6 V8 and at 60 mph we got 31.5 mpg between Tremonton, UT and Baker City, OR. Mileage on the car = 113,657. :) :)

10,000 mile report

by coloradocraig on Sat Apr 26 06:16:08 PDT 2008

Just turned 10,000 miles on my 07 FIT sport manual. Most driving done in conservative style in Boulder/Longmont area of Colorado. Overall average since day one has been 38.0 mpg. Worst tank was 34.0 mpg during winter with Ethanol laced gas and lots of city driving. Best tank was 46.8 mpg during an extended summer trip in the mountains. Love the car!!

Re: Road trip coming up [brainlessbozo]

by p0926 on Fri Nov 02 13:27:59 PDT 2007

IRT sight-seeing suggestions... Vegas and Hoover Dam in NV, the Grand Canyon in AZ, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef and Arches Natl Parks in southern UT. Then take I-70 east thru Vail & Breckenridge and then drive thru Rocky Mtn Natl Park (assuming the road is open). Leaving RMNP you'll go thru Boulder. Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak are only a little over an hour south of Denver and worth the visit. Once past the Rockies, there's not a lot of to see. I-80 thru Nebraska is the longer route but a less boring drive than I-70 (the stretch from Denver to Kansas City is unbelievably monotonous). Either vehicle should handle the trip with no problems. The Audi will give you a nicer quieter ride with somewhat better mpg while the Forester will haul more stuff and give you slightly more peace of mind that you can handle whatever Mother Nature sends your way. Of course the Forester also expands your ability to take the road less traveled :) As for driving 3000 miles with a 2-month old?!?!? No thanks!!!!!!!! :P -Frank

Re: Rough Idle [edonis]

by zaken1 on Fri Oct 12 17:31:32 PDT 2007

Considering that the "rough idle" message you responded to was originally posted in October of 2005, I don't think it's likely you'll get a reply from him now. I also have a 3 cyl Metro, which ran well, but idled very roughly, at the time I bought it. The previous owner seemed to think it had always run like that. I've now had that car for 15 years, and have found that the idle quality is very much affected by the brand and type of spark plug being used, and also by the adjustment of the air bypass screw in the throttle body. My Metro does not run well with NGK plugs. Because they're so popular, I've tried many different gap styles and heat ranges of NGKs, but none of them work as well as either Autolites, Champions, AC, or Bosch. The best all around plug has been the Autolite #63. (Yes, I know that is one heat range colder than the book recommends; but my engine runs and idles best with a slightly cooler plug.) My engine has excellent compression, and is not used for many short trips, so the plugs stay clean. For a car that gets more short trip driving, I'd probably use an AC #R42CXLS, which is the stock recommendation. Another excellent choice would be a Champion Truck plug; either #4430 or #4434. The #4430 is slightly less projected, and would do better on the highway; the #4434 would do better in city driving. Both of the Champion numbers mentioned here require a 5/8" plug socket, while the Autolite and the AC numbers I listed take the 13/16" socket that was standard for the Metro. But those plugs are otherwise completely interchangeable. And I make sure the gap is set to .043". Contrary to popular myth, most plugs do not come with their gap preset for your engine. A given plug will often be used in many different engine types, which do not all use the same gap. Since the Metro has an aluminum cylinder head, it is also very important to apply a light coating of "anti-seize compound" to the plug threads before installation. That will minimize the chance that the plug will bond itself to the head from corrosion. Otherwise, the next time the plug is removed, it might take the aluminum threads from the head out along with it. And that can create a major problem. But back to the issue of rough idling; once the proper plug is in the engine, and the motor is fully warmed up, readjusting the air bypass screw can make a big difference in idle quality. But be aware; THE IDLE BYPASS SCREW IS A VERY SENSITIVE ADJUSTMENT. Because of this, it is not recommended to try adjusting it unless you are experienced with adjusting fuel mixtures. Sometimes just 1/16 turn can make a big difference, but other times it may be 1 or 2 full turns off. And, of course, there can be no vacuum leaks in any hoses, and the ignition timing must be set correctly. I hope this helps. Joel