Geo Metro 3 cyl, Auto better than 40MPG?

[Lance]

Hey gang,

I've got an angle on a 93 Metro 1L for a good price, but it has an Auto tranny. According to Fueleconomy.gov they are rated at only 40 mpg for the highway.

Someone selling a similar unit was trying to tell me that he was getting ~45 mpg. Because of the price AND if I can do close to 45 mpg regularly, I'll probably buy this more recent one.

I need the best mpg bang for the buck and have been shooting for a manual 3cyl. Which are rated at ~50 mpg. My job mandates my driving 215-260 miles a day M-F.

Does anyone have or know if the 1 liter Automatic transmission Metros do any better than 40 mpg? This, either via stock or simple modification? Keep in mind that this is in Phoenix which is 97% flat. Hence, why maybe the guy, with the beat up Metro, was getting ~45 mpg.

I am hoping that if any one has any insight as to if they do better than the .Gov website rating and/or if they know any cheap, simple mods to get the mpg to regularly achieve about 45 mpg. Plus, anyone know what my mpg will drop to when running the A/C for same vehicle?

Thanks
P.S Went to fill up my tank at an Am/Pm couple of days ago, they were lowering the price to $2.11/gal. Somebody fat-fingered and I filled my tank at $1.11/gal. Now, THAT'S fuel economy for ya. The good guys win one for once.

[SVOboy]

Well, anyone can beat EPA, hopefully, but if you can't find a manual, just go for the auto and convert it. If you're really stuck, it's worth the effort, though I often wish I had just waited for a stick crx and not had to do the conversion.

How much is the auto selling for?

[Kraig]

A guy at work has a Metro convertible with an automatic, the best he's gotten out of it is 36 mpg. My Festiva 5 speed does much better.... my best is 53.8 mpg, my worst is 44 mpg. Manual trannys rule for mpg!

[XFi]

Don't even bother with the auto if you are into FE. It is only a three speed and you will not be happy with it on the highway. Over 40mpg may be possible on the highway keeping your speed around 50mph. If you drive the usual traffic flow 55-65mph or even 70mph depending, your fuel economy will be lousy.

I have had 'many a metro' 5spds and autos. With the automatic In cold weather with normal driving you will average around 30mpg. Warm weather you will get around 35mpg (maybe 1-2 more without the a/c). Higher will be possible with driving techniques, but why not wait and coin up a few hundred more for a 5spd. The 5spd will give you 40-45mpg without a problem. With driving techniques you will be into the 50s.

PS-EPA ratings for the metros are HARD to beat.

[MetroMPG]

What XFi said.

BTW - AC kills the fuel economy on these tiny engines. Have a look at the giant 5-tank canyon in GeoMetry's gas log for summer driving when he started using the AC:

http://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/54

[Lance]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I was having a hard time believing that the Auto would get much passed the EPA's 40 mpg rating, but was hoping. Then, with the needed A/C and the usual 70-80 mph freeway speeds here. At 40 mpg, I might as well go with a Tercel. There, you get the dependability, same mpg, and better performance/HP.

I am just getting so sick of shelling out this money for this route job.

Here in Phx, the Metro's go so quick. Either have the money now, or it's gone in a couple of days. Tough to find a good deal. They see you coming when it comes to the Metros.

[Lance]

Oh, the guys selling it for $800-900. I haven't seen it. He says it's from an ol' lady here in town. Maybe so. A lot of retirees here, as you know.

Currently, he's waiting to get it back from the mechanic. For what, I don't know.

[MetroMPG]

Another one to watch for is the 4-cylinder Swift. Reliability of these cars isn't a problem, from my experience.

I also found the same thing though: if you want the car you have to pretty much agree to buy it over the phone or it's gone.

Maybe you should be looking for a diesel car for the amount of driving and the speeds you do.

[larryg]

For what it's worth my 2001 swift gets very near 40mpg (the last several long trips have been at 39 -40 with really no special driving techniques) at highway speeds with the 4 cyl / auto config. The only mods i have made are a high flow converter and i bumped the tire pressure to 40 psi- I have recently tried acetone in the gas at about 2 oz per tank and it looks like it was good for a few mpg. I want to run a few more tanks to get a good average.

[Lance]

What's the deal with acetone?? That's a new one for me.... It won't fry your catalytic converter?

[zpiloto]

Originally Posted by Lance

What's the deal with acetone?? That's a new one for me.... It won't fry your catalytic converter?

Do a search. There is quite a bit on that topic.

[larryg]

Most things i read say it should be harmless to the cat, in fact it will will help to keep things in the fuel system clean. a lot of people think 1-3 oz per 10 gal will increase mpg. My first tank (2oz mix) gave me 35.5MPG in mixed driving (about 50/50 highway and city) which is a couple of mpg better than i usually do . I have a couple of 300 mile highway trips this week and will report back on the results.

[larryg]

about 285 miles with a little local driving at each end and about 15 min of bumper to bumper at the tappen zee bridge. used 2 oz of acetone but only got 39.15 MPG outbound leg was in the dark and it was below freezing for most of the trip - tomorrow should be a little better - we'll see how that goes-

[Lance]

From what I have found, via Google, adding Acetone is bogus. From lower BTU values, to it's more common use of paint stripper eating away an engine's gaskets and seals creates enough doubt for myself to avoid using it.

[larryg]

trip 2. used 2 tanks of gas, first had a lot of traffic and some city driving - 37.68 mpg. for the second tank, i tried to drive the car for the best gas mileage. (held it to 55, almost all highway, slow acceleration,) got 44.24mpg (my all time best for this car). My car is the late model, so it weighs more and has a 16valve 4cyl. My guess is that the early 3 cyl car driven carefully, might really get better than 45mpg- by the way the last two tanks were without acetone so i really didn't see any real difference in mpg with the stuff.

[MetroMPG]

Hey larryg, you should do a thread in the "introduce yourself" forum and tell us a bit about yourself.

And do a garage entry for your car. It'd be useful to have as a reference for people considering what you've got.

That is, if you're planning to stick around