A little opinion for the Optra's behemoth gas comsumption

[batang_raon14]

Hello to everyone!

I'm a noob and as early as now I'd like to ask an apology in case this opinion of mine would tend to be foolish or plain dull.

As many might be guessing right now, yup, I'm one of "fortunate" optra owners in terms of overall performance of the car. The indicated problems in some posts here at the forums, luckily, I have not experienced after driving my car for 35000 km. now.

Service was nice and pulido naman yung mga check-ups. And if GM's service center would be compared to Citimotors Makati (Yes, I know it's like comparing an apple to an orange, but, it's just an example), my thumbs up would be for GM. Not to mention the weird problems arising part by part after you bring your Mitsubishi unit to Citimotors.

Anyways, going to the point. I've read about some gas consumption theories, and share ko lang po sana itong nanotice kong difference with my Mitsubishi MX 2003 CVT Lancer and Chevrolet Optra 1.6 M/T's engine. Yup, impractical comparison again but this is just how I see it, being an owner of both vehicles.

Nahalata ko lang po kasi na may air intake modding tong Lancer ko while the Optra doesn't (both are complete stock). I know it's a bit absurd, pero pano po kaya kung palagyan ang Optra ng ganun? I'm pretty sure it will help in better air intake, di po ba?

Eto po ung pics:



Then, kung aprubado po ito... ang sunod na tanong eh.... san kaya pwede ipagawa ito??? Nagtanong na po kasi ako sa Evangelista and unfortunately di nila alam kalikutin ung makina ng sasakyan kesyo US made daw. Casa di ko pa nachecheck.

Would really appreciate all your opinions on this. It COULD be a solution to my dilemma with this vehicle's gas consumption problem. Thanks po!

[nugundam93]

they're just playing safe. kayang palitan ng filter yan sir, try niyo po dumaan sa fusion R sa may e. rodriguez :D

[batang_raon14]

they're just playing safe. kayang palitan ng filter yan sir, try niyo po dumaan sa fusion R sa may e. rodriguez :D

Sir ano po exact address ng Fusion R? At sure po ba na pwede po talagang lagyan ang Optra ng ganun?

[nugundam93]

pwede po lagyan yan. kung walang compatible sa OEM mounts, pwede naman pasadya.

san po ba kayo manggagaling? if you know the area ng tomas morato crossing to e. rodriguez, near sila. if you're from morato heading to e.rod, turn left to e.rod and about 100m or so, makikita mo sila sa right side.

[batang_raon14]

Manggagaling po ako sir from Ortigas. So far no clue pa po ako sa E. Rod. Dinadaanan ko lang po kasi pag papuntang Fairview eh kaya di ko pa po alam pasikot-sikot. Pero sige po sir try ko pong hanapin! Tnx po.

Ang follow-up question nga lang po e sapat na po kaya ung hangin na makakapasok sa area na un ng makina provided stock grill ang gamit ng Optra ko? Sa Lancer ko po kasi ok na ung stock grill eh.

[niky]

Can't imagine... konting pics naman ng Optra bay, pls.

Most cars with a high front-mounted air-intake have the intake shape molded into the hood, so I don't know how much good it'll do on the Optra or if it will fit.

If the Optra box is anything like the Sentra box (Box near engine, then tube down to front bumper, right?) just get a cone and shield assembly.

And I'd be really interested in how much difference this could make in consumption. One thing you can also do is view the brand new Optra wagon units at the casa and take some engine bay pics to see if there are any physical differences in the intake or exhaust tracts to see what else you can do.

[mazdamazda]

hmmm... if you feel like experimenting... why not a do a custom CAI (cold air intake) for the optra? just make sure that you include there an ABV (air bypass valve) should you encounter a little flood. am pretty sure that fusion r can handle that kind of project.

[konde]

gaano po ba kalakas consumption ng 1.6L na optra?

[niky]

Just look around... maraming threads tungkol dito... AFAIK, MT is so/so, AT is... well...

[batang_raon14]

so far, at very gentle driving, I could get an average of 8-9km/liter in mixed city and highway. Pure highway nakaabot akong 11km/liter. City driving? Ewan, kahit anong hinhin 5-7km/liter lang talaga. Mostly ung 7km/liter is tuwing off ang aircon at open windows lang.

Pag kaskasang pagmamaneho... well, you just don't wanna do that unless you are really in a hurry. Manghihinayang ka talaga sa gas.

Kakakontak ko pa lang po sa Fusion R and nagpa-appointment ako by 4th week of March. Yup, maxado pang matagal pero plain reason eh para siguradong di ako mabibitin sa budget pag nastart na ang experiment ko. Mahirap ang nabibitin lalo na ako na atat ng masolve tong problemang to sa sasakyan ko.

Nagresearch rin ako sa automotive news dito and may ibang nagsabi computer reprogramming daw sa North Edsa ay isa sa solution. Pumunta ako dun, asked if it's true, ang sagot sa akin wala pa raw announcement yung main nila regarding sa reprogramming. May iba naman na nagsabi pinalagyan lang daw ng Jet intake umokey na. Medyo di naman ako kampante sa pagkalegit nun. So, maybe kelangan ngang maginvestigate muna ako. Bukas daan ako GM, check ko kung pwede kunan ng pics ung engine ng mga bago nilang units.

[nugundam93]

let us know bro how it goes after your visit to fusion R. :D

[batang_raon14]

*mazdamazda

ok nga rin po ung opinion nyo. kaya siguro tamang-tama lang na 4th week of March pa ko punta dun. =D

*nugundam93

wag po kayo mag-alala sir. update ko po talaga 'tong thread na 'to pag ma-actual test ko na ung unit after experimenting. abangan nyo na lang po. Alam kong malabo-labong magawan ng paraan consumption nito pero it would certainly be worth the try. =D

hehe... nakakailang naka-ilang posts na mga nagrereply sa thread na 'to pero ung nagsimula 5 posts pa lang. =D

[batang_raon14]

*niky

bossing post po ako ng pics pag nakuhanan ko na po pareho (unit ko at unit sa casa). hiniram po kasi ng kapatid ko ung digicam eh. Pakiantay na lang po. :D

[afrasay]

haven't seen the optra's air intake setup yet but from the looks of it the intake hose of the mitsu could suck in water when your in a bumper/headlight high flood.

one question: is the intake of optra obstructed by any object in the engine bay?

[mazdamazda]

to note... nung nagpa quote ako before kay fusion r ng custom CAI, around 12K yata lahat lahat (including the ABV). but that was YEARS ago.

[Bravoexo]

Increasing Air Intake also increases Fuel consumption since the ECU maintains a fuel to air mix. Doesn't it?

[niky]

Nope... depends on the car. On many cars, Intake and Exhaust tracts are very... errh... makitid, and they choke engine breathing. So you're using as much gas for less power.

Minor mods, intake, headers and the like, actually increase fuel efficiency by freeing up power... but it's a double-edged sword... go too big in the intake or exhaust, and your fuel-efficiency will divebomb.

AFAIK, the Mitsu air intake is just right and most new cars are like that. Basically, if your headlights start going under, your intake is still above water.

On some cars like the GA16 Sentra and the Optra , the intake is just behind or below the headlights, which means they are very vulnerable to floods. Don't ask me how I know this... I'm still traumatized by the fact...

*raon: Good luck! Sayang wala pang re-flash, but I think GM-Chevy should offer it for free to all Optra owners once they get their hands on the data.... grabe, didn't know the MT had a similar "drinking" problem to the AT... you're really lucky that it's MT...

[batang_raon14]

Okay, it's been a while and I am now ready to post my feedback regarding the matter at hand.

I went to Mahle Autoparts yesterday to inquire about their Cold Air Intake or Performance Air Intake setups and the first question the owner asked me was "Why?", I told him that I was thinking that maybe if I put the mentioned performance parts on my Optra, it would at least get a better air/gas intake ratio compared to what it has now. Then he asked if he could check my car, gave him the keys and we took it for a stroll (I just dropped by the gas station before I went to the shop to add 6 liters to my almost empty fuel tank and reset the km reading to zero). I let him drive and he drove it on an average speed of at least 40km/hour (village driving). After some turns, the low fuel indicator finally lit and so we returned to the shop (yup, we didnt go first to the gas station, we went back directly to the shop).

We computed the gas mileage and we just got 5km/liter! Considering that we were just running on a low 40km/hour most of the time! So, after we parked the vehicle in front of his shop, I asked him, "So will changing to a cold air intake improve this at least?"

His answer? NO. After asking him why, he told me that installing a CAI on an Optra would cause lesser gas mileage than what it's already doing. He already had several Optra clients that opted for a CAI installation but got worse results than they were already having. So, he advised me instead to contact Mr. Antonio Castillo, an Optra 1.8 driver who, he claimed, had solved the issue. He only has the man's E-mail address, and I took it, hoping it's still active.

So I mailed Mr. Castillo regarding my inquiry and shared my problem with him. After about 8 hours, I got a reply from him! Lucky! And here's what he replied:

Dear Mr. Galang,

No apologies needed. Yes I am an optra 1.8LT user and yes my comp box (both engine and trans) were reprogrammed by chevynorth edsa. They installed the singapore program. At the same time, I also also changed my spark plugs to BOSH PLATIN +4 (bought in binondo at 2.2K). I am also using Shell Velocity. The improvement in overall engine performance was fantastic, both power, consumption and engine noise.

I have a colleague with a 1.6 Optra and was having the same problem as you are. I suggested to her to bring her car to chevy northedsa. She did and reprogramming was done and her plugs were changed to a higher rating (hotter) bosch double tip (suggested by Mr. Pascual, national service manager of chevy phils). She is now very happy with the engine performance of her Optra. She claims lask week when I spoke to her that she is now hitting 9-10kms per liter city driving with the same driving habits and engine power was markedly increased!

I guess it will be worth the trip if this will also happen to your car. Just tell them that we exchanged notes and you can drop my name with them. Chevy north has the singapore program now.

Tony Castillo

I hope this will be of help to you.

After receiving this reply, I became more open in the fact that the computer box of the Optra is the real culprit in its gas guzzling vice. I called Chevy North Edsa regarding the matter, talked to the names mentioned, and said that they do provide reprogramming for the compbox. Unfortunately though, it's not like I have no time to go there, but it's more like I don't have the money to go there. I asked if there would be a charge for my car which already exceeded the 30k Free PMS, and he said there might be, especially if I opt to change my spark plugs and all.

Why? After saving 20k expecting I would install a CAI on my car, 5 days afterwards (a day after I went to Mahle Autoparts), my uncle got sick and for being off sea for already 4 months (He's a seaman), he's out of cash. So I shouldered his medical expenses, and now only 800 remained on the budget alloted for the CAI.

I have done much of my researching, the only thing I am now waiting is to earn enough (again) to bring my car to Chevy North Edsa for the reprogramming and spark plug replacement. I am really expecting to be able to bring my research to use.

Credit goes to Mr. Castillo and Mr. Jason of Mahle Autoparts for all the info they have provided.

For the other Optra users reading this thread, I hope you could use this info and relay yourself to Chevy North Edsa for a reprogramming so that some of us could at least get better gas mileage in their cars sooner than I could earn enough to bring my own unit there.

Post your feedbacks here regarding the matter! More power to tsikot and to all you guys enjoying their rides! God bless to all of you!

[nugundam93]

what a great update!

good luck sir and shempre, you sow what you reap. you helped out a family member in need muna, so it isn't wasted. you'll get to have the budget sooner than you think. :D

[batang_raon14]

tnx sir! Pinakamalapit ko po kasing uncle yun, nung bata po kasi ako pag may kelangan ako, sya ung laging andun. Kaya nung siya naman nangailangan, ako naman tumulong. Kaya ok lang magipon uli. Matagal na akong sanay magipon muna bago makagasta. =D