BCsmart

potential new 06 smart car owner

317 posts in this topic

No more clunking sound!! Now just time to start the 170km daily round trip with this beast of a car! 

 

 

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On 3/24/2018 at 0:13 AM, BCsmart said:

So went in to crappy tire quickly today. Looked at a couple diesel fuel additives, looks like you are putting in a small amount when some of you add to every 2nd tank?

 

The 1L bottle seems to do quite a large amount of fuel, just need to add it in small amounts...my brain thought you were all spending $12-15 on each bottle for every 2nd fuel up which to me seemed costly but now reading the label on the bottle I see that all you were do was adding a very small amount, is that true?

 

i open the cap and poke a hole in the seal....then just use it as a squirter to squirt some in and avoid the funnel

 

i dont measure it ..i probably use too much but it wont hurt anything

 

i buy the kleen flo at TSC store when its on sale at $4.50

Edited by LooseLugNuts

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Not a bad idea LLN, Will have to get a jug of kleen flo or the other kind before I need to fuel up which could be tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning.

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gonna check in with petrolabs to see if they sell somewhere local as well. Or will have to order online or could wait till my next trip to the coast and stop in to get some

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well this is a cube box on wheels haha. wind on highway does push you all around, no relaxation while driving.

 

Had to fill up drove maybe 25km on 1 circle...got 310.5km to the tank. Hoping that improves obviously but still can barely put $20 in @128.9 for diesel. Have to go get some additive and try that to see if I can improve this mileage, wont make 2 days to work and back on a tank by the looks of it.

 

Driving speeds will range from 90-120 on the hwy all depends on traffic. Happy how it drives other than the bread box feeling, going to have to source different rims and find the max size tire that will fit on them to try and improve the handling. Gusts definitely push you  a couple feet on the road.

 

But hey, made it day 1 of the new work round trip, just need to see how the km to a tank goes on this one, next tank come the weekend should get some additive.

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Buddy you'll get better at keeping it on the right track in the winds over time, I also was all over the place for the first week or so, no I either do not feel it as much or am a better driver...lol.  I bet wider tires etc will hurt your economy, so beware, thin is key I bet!. I don't use top gear until I get the RPMs to 3000 in 5th as the economy is better to stay in 5th until that magic number hits, then I can switch it up but then I'm well over the speed limits on the back secondary roads so then there is another danger...lol. Policemen...lol. I have gotten far better using paddles also but still like the stick better..lol.  The ride will grow on you also, less of a breadbox feeling after a while.....you either tuffen up or something...but I don't notice it as much now.

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BCsmart ..... Smarts are as aerodynamic as a brick, :lol: so expecting good mileage out of them at triple digit speeds is merely wishful thinking.  Very high wind gusts can be unnerving but on calmer days it will be just fine.  As you get to know your car better, you will become more adept at minor corrections and will most likely not even notice it after a while .... except for the extremely windy gusts, of course.

 

Calmer winds also might produce slightly better mileage since you won't be fighting the car to stay in a straight line.  Drafting (not tailgating) large cube vans and tractor trailers can also help with fuel mileage. DISCLAIMER: This is NOT recommended .. If you chose to draft, make sure you stick the nose of your car into the truck driver's rear view once in a while so they know you are there.  Avoid the "mobile parking lots" (car carriers) and tankers .. They disturb the air behind them in a bad way and move the smart around a lot.

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The Smart will become sensitive to side wind when the front lower arm bushes wear out.

bushes.jpg

Rust killed mine.  There was not much left of the outer sleeves as you may appreciate from above photo.

New bushes are best sourced from your local Smart dealer.  Only £5 per bush so £20 in total.

 

Beware of aftermarket lower arms.  All those I have seen are poorly made and alter camber by a significant amount.

 

These bushes are pressed in.  I use a front bearing centre bolt, a nut to suit, short exhaust pipes and thick and large washers cut from 6 mm plate.

DSC03921.jpg

 

DSC03925.jpg

Tool can also be used to remove old bush provided it is still intact.

 

DSC03926.jpg

New bush ready to be pulled in.  Note grease is applied to outside of bush.

 

DSC03928.jpg

One bush is home, only three more to go.

 

DSC03929.jpg

 

Parts for the 450 are now getting surprisingly cheap.  I recently bought a dozen TRW ball joints for only £7.80 each postage included.

TRWballjoint.jpg

 

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killer deal on the ball jonts and they came with new hardware, which is a bonus.

 

For sure will take some time getting use to everything, still a fund drive just the wind makes you really need to hold on more so than usual

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My 450 Cabrio is surprisingly stable in side wind thanks to nearly brand new bushes, joints, springs and shocks all around. 

Mine has no rear sway bar. I removed that one about two years ago.  I have not noticed any change in the car’s handling. 

 

Benefits removing rear sway bar are:

 

1) Better traction grip on ice and snow. 

2) Less weight. 

3) Improved access to areas at front of engine and transmission, especially to intercooler air scoop. 

4) No more wear of rear sway bar bushes and drop links. 

5) Sway bar won’t rust no more because stored indoors in dry space. 

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Tolsen- Interesting about removing rear sway bar...never would have thought about that. I will have to look on fq101 or evilution about the removal, as I am sure it is on one of those sites.

 

Drove more modest speed today, especially to work I barely broke 100 I think. already at half way mark will lose that bubble halfway to work tomorrow at best.

 

I praise the people on here with a cdi that do highway commuting and get 500km or more to a tank, it looks like there is no chance in hell I get close to those numbers, which just means 3 fill ups a week instead of the 2 I was hoping for

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On 3/27/2018 at 8:03 PM, BCsmart said:

got 310.5km to the tank. Hoping that improves obviously but still can barely put $20 in @128.9 for diesel.

If you are only putting 15L in the tank you are a long way from empty.  With the tank good and full you should have close to 24L before the count down would hit 0L, still leaving almost 2L in the tank.

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I fill mine up untill I see the bubbles staying near the filler top.....no fuel but bubbles.....it takes plenty of stops and starts......and you can get another $1 or 2 in after the pump kicks itself off....depending upon the pump I guess...?

 

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put it in slow ...you should be able to get fuel right to the rim

 

if you go slow it doesnt foam up

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yup i fill up slow and get 2-3 $ more in after first click at least. Today was first time I had the 5L light come on down to 3L now going to fuel up when I head out shortly. will have to check trip odometer but this time it might be over 400km!?

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Will try bumping car when I go get fuel tonight. Think I will be at 2.5L left roughly at that point. So will try to remember receipt so I have a reference to go from

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421.7km travelled used 23.215L my horrible math and mpg calculator states that is 42.73 mpg, 5.51/ 100km

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that is 51.3 MPG (the US gallon is a joke, never worth mentioning).  That's equal to the worst fuel consumption I have ever had with my diesel smart - around that consumption at a steady 125-130 km/h into a headwind over an entire tank.  Monitor it for a few more tanks but if you are not driving flat out or only on short trips at low speeds, you will probably have some issue to resolve.  First guess would be a clogged air filter (highly likely), second guess is low tire pressure, from there we can brainstorm about what else it may be.

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Air filter is new. Driving was usually @ 95-110km/h. Briefly hit 120. Never any wind on the drive to work, was some wind on the one day driving home. I am also noticing more of a lag between shifts that I didnt noticed before or after the remap. I just sent Malone an email describing my concern with the more noticeable lag between shifts from 3-4 and 4-5 gear.

 

Not sure what they will say, I was told in an original email that I would be refunded if I was not happy, no idea if that would happen though. I don't want to pay for another remap to be done to the car. I trusted their tune based on the high recommendation from VW owners. Plus I could get it done local vs driving down to the coast.

 

Small difference in hp and trq between Malone and Flying Tiger reMap. Maybe I should have waited till I made a trip down their? Too late now though, unless I can get a refund then I would go get a different reMap.

 

Has anyone tuned their own car and played with the reMap? If the car had a bit more torque to do a bit better on hills I would be happier, but as it is now it does the job just have to drop a gear or lose 5-10km/h

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May need to try a fuel additive also I suppose. will have to be what I can get at local crappy tire though so kleen flo or diesel power I think it was called the grey bottle.

 

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OK.  The remap sounds like it may be the problem.  The Flying Tiger map improves all shifting times and also doesn't affect fuel consumption at all if you drive gently.  So the issues you mention (high consumption at low speeds, slower shifting) sound like the map is the problem.  My advice would be to get your money back.  The car should be producing a lot of soot burning that much fuel at 95-110.

 

Fuel additives will not help with a crap map so hit that one head on and go from there.  I suppose if you had a VW it might have been a good one but you don't, so the VW testimonials are meaningless.

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I email Malone, just have to see if they will respond. I don't have any black soot that us noticeable behind me when I drive.

 

If I get the $ back I will definitely try a different map out. Wonder if they can be easily customized slightly if you wanted by Eddie? Or if it is just a set reMap that is it

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I don't know why you'd want to customize his maps.  They're very good in all respects.

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