L1's Garage

The Commodore platform was discontinued here in Australia in 2017 along with the Falcon as well :sob:. The “new commodore” is some totally different car (based on some european thing) now. And the utes are no more. One reason i bought mine - they’re the last of an era.

But yeah, i really like mine. It is flawed but it ticks 3 big boxes:

  • 2 seater
  • can carry stuff in the back
  • LS motor + rear wheel drive

The late model utes (VE/VF chassis) actually handle pretty well too. Independent rear suspension, handle very similarly to the sedan.

If you’re single or a couple with no kids they’re a fun car that is actually practical.

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A family friend is getting up there in age, he’s now bound to a wheelchair, is missing a leg, etc etc… he’s old. He used to own a shop called Duncans autobody did paint, welding, all sorts of stuff. He’s sold off most of his tools to cover medical bills but today he gave me Most of what he has left. I got several paint guns, a welder, orbital sanders along with many other air tools, every tool i could ever need to make/repair body panels and paint them I now own thanks to him.

First order of business is i need to either repair or replace my truck bed then paint it to match. The tools he gave me will certainly help it’s bittersweet to have this mans legacy in my hands and continue using his tools.

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What a great gift! I hope I find someone worthy of my tools when the time comes. I once went to a yard sale where the son was cleaning out the dead fathers home. He had traveled a long distance so had no choice but to throw out a lot. I gave him $200 and got 2 trailer loads of tools and parts. I still think of that mans father every time I use one of those tools. I’m glad I could save the tools and have the chance to remember the man and wonder what some of the homemade tools were made for. I imagine your friend is glad to see some of his legacy live on with you.

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Use this on plugs and lugnuts. Or anything that should be removed regularly.

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Yeee, got some anti-seize on the threads and di-electric grease on the ceramic and inside the boot.

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Got to listen to an EJ253 with a Prodrive exhaust for 10 of the past 48 hours.

Wow. My heart is pounding just from seeing his truck and reading his story.

Edit: Hmm, now he’s asking for money… That’s a bit disappointed.

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Well shieet, still getting around 24 to 25 MPG after gaping spark plugs to spec and tightening them down to spec.
Think it might just be the colder weather?
Although I had been gassing up at Shell with 91 but went to 76 with 91 last time since it was on the way to the store.

What do you normally get? (also, what car do you drive? Unless your car calls for 91 octane, it’s a waste of money.)

2013 Chevy Sonic 1.4L Turbo. Used 87 before and it would knock occasionally and the engine would surge.
Was getting around 29 to 30 MPG city but stuck in 24 to 25.

Okay, what region? How’s the weather?

Central Valley of California. It started getting colder about two weeks ago. Nights are usually around 40F to 45F and highs of 70F to 76F.

I mean, deliberately driving through a fire isn’t exactly covered by insurance.

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I’m In SD, so temps are probably not too far off. You shouldn’t be getting significant changes from those temps. Highs of 35f would be more of what I’d expect to make a 5mpg change like you’ve seen. Is the air smokey from the fires? If so, you might check your air filter.

Did you check your tire inflation? If your tires aren’t inflated properly (if they’re low) you can get worse fuel economy, and depending on the car, inflation can make a bigger difference. I’d imagine your car is on the bigger difference side.

No changes in your driving habits? I’m thinking acceleration habits, places you travel, times you travel, etc…

There’s a ton that can go into fuel economy, so it’s hard to pin it down, especially over the internet.

How many miles are on it, and have you been following maintenance schedule religiously?

I’m not sure what your car calls for, but if you’re getting knock on 87 and that’s what it calls for, you might want to check to see if there’s a manufacturer recall. That can be an indication that your engine is damaged, not to panic you. Running a higher octane fuel to eliminate the knock is a good solution though.

Sorry for the brain dump, but I’m just throwing out my thoughts.

I mean, honestly, I would keep the car like that if its not functionally impaired. That looks fucking awesome.

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No worries at all, thank you for the information.
I have been driving as normal for a while as in, light acceleration. I am not in a hurry to hit the speed limit. Car is currently sitting at 45K.
Manual says 87 or better.
I change my oil every 3K miles.

I travel daily to my gym in the morning or afternoon then to work which is about 19 miles daily.
Checked air filter, still clean, no visible dust when blowing on it or hitting it. It was replaced at 40K
Inspected intake hose and no holes or leaks.

Tire pressure for the front tires are 37 PSI and rear tires are 36 PSI. I top them off at 40 PSI every couple of months.

Might throw the old spark plugs back in right before I gas up again and see if that could be the cause. Replaced them with the exact same OEM model ACDelco #41-121. Gaped them to spec.

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I mean, the orientation of the plugs could potentially have an effect on your mileage (i.e. the valve is behind the metal for the gap), but I highly doubt that it’d make any really noticeable difference. Other than that, I’d just take a look and make sure everything is up to snuff, because something seems off. That car is about the same size as mine (albeit twice the mileage) and mine gets 35-40 with ease.

That’s definitely odd. Everything seems to be in order. Unless you’ve got like 350lbs of weight in the trunk, I can’t think of anything that’ll cause this problem. Especially if the spark plugs don’t turn anything up.

Frankly, 3k for oil is a bit overkill. You should be able to go 5k safely. 7500 max.

Mine goes either 10k/1yr whichever comes first, but that’s because of dat German engineering.

Ehh have fun rebuilding at 150k. It’s not German engineering. It’s planned obsolescence. (arguably, that is German engineering)

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