hi all

[lunarhighway]

hi all
My name is Jan i'm a 25 years old webdesigner from belgium,
my car is a 1987 opel kadett E
I stumbled upon this forum after doing a websearch on FE and it's been really inspirational. Although i don't plan to do any radical mods to my car i have some ideas for small aerodynamic improvements that i'd like to put to the test. as well as maybe some other improvements. i also have some vague ideas about altering carburator air temperature...

i hope to find some more inspiration here

best wishes for the new year btw

[CO ZX2]

Jan, Welcome to GasSavers. The more you're around here, the more radical you will become. Just like the rest of us. Start small and when you see improvement you will want to do more. Are you living in Belgium now? How much does fuel cost there?

[zpiloto]

Welcome. Interesting car. Is that the original paint? it looks good for 20 years old and sleeping outside. No room in the garage because of all your bicycles If your roads are in good shape lose the mud flaps that will help a little. Look here http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=1088
for ideas. Don't forget to use your gaslog it's a good way to track progress of mods etc.

[MetroMPG]

Welcome Jan. I believe your car was sold here in Canada at one point, imported by General Motors and re-badged as a Pontiac LeMans.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I would highly advise agent putting a 1.6L carburator on your car as it's going to have larger venturis designed for a greater air flow, an air flow that your cars engine does not reach, the only time that you would notice any benifits to a larger carburator would be with high engine speeds (racing), as it would alow for slightly higher engine speeds, and slightly higher power, but such an engine would run very poorly at low engine speeds, possibly to the point of making the car not driveable at low speeds, or in trafic, and because of this poor running, your car is most likely going to use more gas.
what you can do is make sure that all parts of your air intake system are in good shape, there should be some flexable duct work, and hoses that air are drawen in thru, including one that draws air from around the exaust, this one, and the system that controles it is very important as it is the warm air intake, it makes sure that the air going in to the carburator is a consistant temputer (around 100F or 38C), and if there are leaks, or part of this system isn't working properly your car is going to run poorly, and use more gas as well.
aside from making sure that your carburator is clean, and working properly, I would leave it alone unless you have studied up on it extensivly, and would stick with things like partial grill block, full tire inflation, and making sure everything is in tip top shape.

[lunarhighway]

Hi all

thanks for the warm welcome!

first of all the fuel prices (sorry for european measures, but i didn't want to risk conversion errors)
i think fuel is quite expensive here, mostly due to high taxes:

• super 98 = 1.304?/L
• super 95 = 1.293?/L
• diesel = 1.029?/L
• LPG = 0.475?/L

the first 2 kinds are petrol and 98 and 95 stands for the octane level. my car uses 98 wich is recommended for the engine.
the car still has the original paint job, though i believe it did spend more time indoors before i acquired it about a year ago . the color is some kind of glossy metalic blue, it seems to hide dirt very well too yet i try to give it a regular cleaning.

the kadett e was quite a longlived model being in production from 1984 till 1993 and was indeed also sold as "Pontiac LeMans". later the model was picked up by daewoo "nexia". in 1985 the car was voted "car of the year" and received praise for its good aerodynamics. the only real downside to these cars is they tend to rust at the rear wheel wells...

as far as the carburator swap goes... it was more a matter of repair than an effort to improve the car... in fact the 2 carbs are alost identical.. the venturi is the same size but the fuel jets are slightly bigger now... they're should be interchangable so if my FE suffers to much i might revert to the original jets.
the fuel regulator screw was worn out on the old carb so despite running ok, it was difficult to adjust.
the car definately has more power now, so i'll see by how much my fuel consumption will chage (tank is almost empty so by the end of next week i should have a first result)... generally i agree that this mod will not improve the FE directely, but since the car is fairly heavy i imagine getting it up to speed faster might be an advantage...

i've kept a fuel log over the last year and although it's not very precise it gives a generally consistent picture.

i'm looking forward to exchage some more info & ideas in the appropriate threats

[onegammyleg]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

i think fuel is quite expensive here, mostly due to high taxes:

• super 98 = 1.304?/L
• super 95 = 1.293?/L
• diesel = 1.029?/L
• LPG = 0.475?/L

Hi Jan

Here in Finland your car is very popular, unfortunately they are often found in poor condition now days , likely from first car owners and the high costs of repairs here.
So when they get banged up , they stay that way.
Here also our gas is expensive , I believe (i dont buy it often) it is about 1.48 a liter at this time.

[Gary Palmer]

Welcome to gassavers!