I bought another Geo Metro

[honestabe]

You've been around long enough to know that "tons of people do it without issues" isn't a good arguement

I drove the piss out of my mom's geo and it only fluctuated a few MPG's no matter how I drove it. So it was more fun to drive it hard and in comfort (max tire pressure rode like shit).

Yes but until I see something bad happen, I'm not changing a thing. I know how to control a car when it's out of control. Hell, I run about 20 psi below the max (max is 50 psi) in the Supra for traction. With the tires overinflated I gained about 4 MPG actually, and with as much as I drive that adds up very, very fast. Even with the tires at 43 psi in my Geo it still rides very comfortably and I didn't notice any ride quality difference between 38 psi and 43 psi.

 

[shaeff]

Yes but until I see something bad happen, I'm not changing a thing. I know how to control a car when it's out of control. Hell, I run about 20 psi below the max (max is 50 psi) in the Supra for traction. With the tires overinflated I gained about 4 MPG actually, and with as much as I drive that adds up very, very fast. Even with the tires at 43 psi in my Geo it still rides very comfortably and I didn't notice any ride quality difference between 38 psi and 43 psi.

Hmmm. 50psi is just the max on the tire. Just because you CAN put 50psi in it doesn't mean you're supposed to. I've NEVER had ANY of my tires filled to the max, and usually run around 30-32psi or there about. You gotta keep in mind that as a tire contacts the ground/rotates, it heats up and that drives the temperature of the air inside the tire up, which causes your overall tire pressure to be more than what you originally put in. That's why the track guys always start a little on the soft side, so that during the tire's operating temperature it will be at their ideal tire pressure. Running 50psi in ANY street car tires isn't the best idea. I can't think of any cars (not trucks with load range D+ tires) that run that high of a pressure.

 

[RazoE]

my xBs rubber band tires say 51 psi..I thought it was incredibly high as well, but as thin as the sidewalls are, there's no big room for error

 

[zurud]

Drifters and autocrossers pump their tires to 100psi all day. I can't beleieve its still carburated.

 

[honestabe]

It's not carb'd, I looked again.

 

[shaeff]

Drifters and autocrossers pump their tires to 100psi all day.

Autocrossers? You're on crack. LOL. Auto-x guys are looking for traction. They DEFLATE their tires a few PSI so that when the tires are hot they are at the proper temperature for whatever surface they're on, or attain the best grip. The more you inflate a tire, the less grip you're going to have. Same goes with deflating. There is a happy medium where maximum grip is achieved. It is NOWHERE near 100psi.

Drifters, yeah maybe they overinflate a bit, but I highly doubt they're putting 100psi in their tires. With that much extra pressure, combined with the heat from the tires expanding the air, I suspect they'd be blowing tires left and right. Most of the "drifters" run stretched tires (narrow tires on wide wheels) so the sidewall gets stiff as fuck. That alone, along with even "proper" tire pressure will make the car slide easier.


And the first thing I thought when I read your post was:

"People play Russian Roulette, too, so that must be a good idea."

Follow the masses!

 

[suprahero]

Shaeff, I are an autocrosser, and I do's run almost 90psi of air/ water in my tires. The water keeps the air cooler so that it want enflate as much during mine runs.

 

[GrimJack]

I find the water drops to the bottom of the tire and adds extra grip due to the extra weight pressing down on the tread. Even better, on hard turns it keeps the tire from rolling off the bead. Best thing evar.

Next race I'm going to try going from 2 quarts of water per tire to 2 gallons per tire, that should work even better.

Have you heard anything about filling the tire with Helium to prevent foaming? I'd like to try that, but I haven't found any place that has anything but Nitrogen compressors here.

 

[honestabe]

So I have put on over 21k miles on my Geo in the 9 months I've owned it, and have started to do some FE (fuel efficiency) mods. First up, the corplast grill block-off panel. It's cut into 2 pieces, with the drivers side that can be removed for when it gets hot. Next is my Home Depot garden edging front air dam that cost me a whopping $15 ($5 for the screws, $10 for the edging), and finally my pizza pan hubcaps which I recently got from mjspiess and just finished installing a couple minutes ago (total investment, $28). I drilled and tapped the steelies for 2 1/4-20 bolts and installed metal valve stem extenders (I really wish I could have found shorter metal versions) so that I can add air pressure without having to remove the pizza pan. Next up will be rear wheel skirts, and I just need some cardboard for mock-up, 2 hinges, and some coroplast to build them. I already picked up the metal frame rail for the bottom support along with 2 clasp locks that will allow me to unclip the metal frame and hinge upward the cover for easy wheel access in case of a flat tire.

 

[RazoE]

pizza pan hubcaps..?

interesting mod, but hey as long as it works, no..?


is there anything you can do to cover the headlights? They seem to be some big ass air-pockets..

 

[xzeror]

is there anything you can do to cover the headlights? They seem to be some big ass air-pockets..

+1

 

[honestabe]

pizza pan hubcaps..?

interesting mod, but hey as long as it works, no..?


is there anything you can do to cover the headlights? They seem to be some big ass air-pockets..

They're basically these http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Spun-Aluminum-Disc-Wheel-Covers,4637.html hubcaps but at 1/4 the cost. Both are made from a sheet of alumimum, although I will probably be painting mine black to make them blend in better. And yes it does work to improve FE, especially with propper sized tires (current tires bulge out and are size 175/70 while the factory size is 155/80). People see 1-4 MPG gains with pizza pan hubcaps. As for covering the headlights to make them sealed, testing has been done by fellow ecomodders and the result is that they really don't do squat for improving FE and they will yellow over time. But if I really cared I could always create a cover using 3M 2-sided foam tape and thin lexan.

 

[Poodles]

or upgrade to the later model lights that work better anyway.

 

[honestabe]

Sorry Sean, the newer style headlights may look better but have less light output, not more.

 

[Poodles]

Incorrect, larger reflector and better lense, but as they're plastic they yellow when not taken care of leading to lower output.

 

[honestabe]

Touche. The trick is to keep the lenses from yellowing (ie polishing them from time to time).

 

[tekdeus]

Mythbusters did a test and found that running 40psi tire pressure instead of 35psi gained them 6% in fuel economy, and 50psi gained 7%. 40psi seems like a good sweet spot for a solid MPG increase.

 

[honestabe]

As has MetroMPG, a Geo Metro ecomodder that gets killer mileage. Here's his testing with tire pressure.

http://www.metrompg.com/posts/tire-pressure-rolling-resistance.htm

And here is more of his ecomodding tests and results.

www.metrompg.com

The ideal tire pressure all depends on the vehicle, tires, and how much weight the vehicle is carrying. For my Metro I run 45 psi in my tires. Mind you my Metro's usual weight is about 2000 lbs as it drives down the road. Different tires have different ratings. The current tires on my Metro have a max pressure rating of 36 psi, and I have been running them at 45 psi for the last 15000 miles, including a good chunk of those miles at 60 MPH (35-45 MPH is the ideal speed for FE I my Metro).

 

[Poodles]

The reason plastic headlights yellow is because the clear plastic they use is UV sensitive (and can oxidize as well). To protect them, they apply a coating that protects them from UV and stops them from oxidizing. Get a rock chip, and it's like getting a chip in your paint, you lose the protection.

Apply a film like the 3M rockguard stuff and you won't have that issue.

 

[honestabe]

I just replaced the hatch struts, had to use a stripped screw extractor on all 4 screws since GM is retarded. Like a good Supra owner I have bins of extra hardware laying around so I replaced the retarded phillips screws with 10mm bolts. Now my hatch stays up and takes a good amount of effort to close it