Will an induction kit make my micra less economical?

[CMF_offie]

Hi there,

Might be a stupid question and excuse my 3 posts in 1 hour, but by fitting an induction kit and getting more power, am I going to be making the micra spew more fumes and drink fuel faster?

Offie.

 

[CMF_frank2]

offie

a cone filter on the throttle body is compromised by hot air and you can end up with less power!
a cold air fed kit will usually give more top end, mine did! but i prefered it with the resonator tube grafted back on.
any changes you make to the mixture,will be auto corrected by the ecu in theory!

frank

 

[CMF_offie]

Right i see...

but the question still remains; by doing any of this, will the car become less economical?

offie

 

[CMF_frank2]

offie

if you fit a filter that allows more air in, the ecu should tell the injectors to sqirt more fuel in to suit!.
so if you use that extra top end power, your mpg will probably go down,but if you drive as you did before i would say your mpg would be the same

 

[CMF_offie]

Ah right.. i'm not going to be going crazy, i just want to look after my car and make it last as long as possible.

it's probably not worth my while if i'm not going to be going mad on the revs then...

 

[CMF_frank2]

offie

tyre pressures will affect your economy, what pressure are you running ?

frank

 

[CMF_Brendon]

i would not worry about economy., you will hardly notice it. and its a micra a 1.3L it is still very economical. by seeing what your worried about dont ever ever by a rotary.

 

[CMF_offie]

Actually, my micra is a 998cc. Hah!

My tyre pressures are set above the recommended amount for 2 people (I think off the top of my head, the front ones are 32PSI and the rear ones are 27 or 29 PSI).

Should I make them harder? I am only doing deliveries and driving on tarmac all the time afterall.. no off road antics in the micra... ;-)

 

[CMF_frank2]

offie

i run 40 psi (a bit high i know but thats my preference!)

 

[CMF_offie]

aren't I going to blow the tyres!? I don't know if they can stand that....

 

[CMF_david (2)]

I run mine at 40psi as well...seems to run fine.

 

[CMF_offie]

Oh right.. isn't that overloading the tyres? I've read a few articles now about getting them "just right" and that doing them too much will make them puff out more at the bases and make braking/cornering a bit harder.

Also, is it true I should do all the tyres the same pressure?

 

[CMF_sarge3uk]

over inflating tyres means you get more wear in the middle braking becomes less.im a mechanic and i see this everday jus stick to the recomended tyre pressures or if not just put 30 psi in all way round

 

[CMF_mipcar]

I have always run my Micras with the standard 165/70/13 tyres at 40 PSI.
Wear is even, less tyre squirm on cornering, no abnormal wear at all.
HOWEVER you WILL get worse braking and to some degree conering performance on wet roads or loose surfaces. Nothing severe but something to be aware of.

Mychael

 

[CMF_frank2]

were getting a bit off topic i know but, i,m not so sure about the braking issue, are 135 tyres dangerous and 185 not?,my 165/55/13 tyres on ally wheels have a perfect wear spread at 40 psi(18 months working as a tyre fitter i saw 90% of tyres with bald edges on one or both sides but plenty of tread in the middle)
i would,nt advise anyone what pressures to run, "I" prefer the sharp/ light steering, low rolling resistance and wear rate with my tyres/rims at 40 psi!

 

[CMF_mipcar]

Well running a tyre at 40psi as opposed to say 28psi you are going to reduce the contact area of rubber to road. I have found it does make a difference in wet/slippery conditions but overall I've found the gains to be more then then shortcomings. So I always run 40 psi.

As to size relating to handling it's a selection of variables. There will be an optimum tyre size for a vehicles weight, use, geometry etc.

For instance on gravel roads and loose surfaces I could always travel quicker with my standard Micra sized tyres then my mate could with his Micra with 14's and wide tyres.

Too large a tyre on a light car like the Micra and you reduce the surface weight over area of tyre and make it more prone to sitting on top of loose surfaces and aquaplaning in the wet.
This is a very generalised description of course as there will be other variables like rubber compound and tread pattern etc.

Mychael