New horse in the stable
 

Monday I picked up a 2000 Mazda Prot?g? ES. 1.8, 5sp, 98k miles, black, all options but sunroof and ABS. Just under $6000 out the door. Pictures forthcoming.

This is going to be my 'new' daily driver. I ordered a ScanGaugeII as soon as I got home so I can monitor real time FE. I wanted something with more spunk than my '95 Metro, but I still want to at least beat EPA FE ratings. I want to lower it about an inch with Mazdaspeed springs (among other suspension upgrades) and look at an underbody tray for reduced drag.

The Metro will become my girlfriend's daily driver. It's getting a new engine soon, along with a lot of new front end parts. It's got 137k on it, and a lot of parts are original (including the clutch), so I might as well do them all at once. I'll be keeping track of the FE on the Metro post-new engine. My goal with it is 55mpg. Should be doable with a few mods like an economy cam and grille block and such, especially since it already gives me a consistent 47mpg in mixed driving.

well least you got a 5speed and no abs. should be fun.

Pics have been up uploaded.

https://www.gassavers.org/garage/view/684

Congratulations on the new arrival! At 98K it's just getting broken in real good. I predict that with your attention to FE driving that 50+ mpg could be possible.

55mpg on that metro should be easily attained, assuming its a 1.0 manual?

My last tank I averaged at 53.84mpg and that is with practically no modding. I actually expect about 55 this tank now that I have practiced better techniques on my commutes. All that on a 120k beat to hell original engine..

You really think I can pull 50mpg out of the Prot?g??

It is a 1.0 manual, yes. I'm definitely confident I can get 55mpg out of it. It's getting pretty crappy mileage right now, below 40. The engine is just worn out and the #2 spark plug is fouling often. Along with the upcoming new engine, I'm considering a swap to the 4-cyl tranny with the 3.79 final drive. Should be good for several more MPGs.

I drove a '97 Saturn SL with a 1.9L 5-speed and was getting consistent upper 50's when I drove it carefully. Your Protege's 1.8 seems like it should give similar FE.

Yes, Darin wrote up an article about the 1.0 to 1.3 tranny swap, very good read. If your buying both of these new, might as well buy that combination..

I'll certainly give it my best shot.

I was thinking about going with the 3.52 tranny like he did, but I don't want to deal with an inaccurate speedometer. I could change tire sizes, but the required 165/65-13 is a very unusual size. I'm only aware of one brand that even makes a tire in that size. I don't want to risk not being able to get tires in the future. So, I'll go with the 3.79 and call it good.