Crazy Ideas and how to do them
Ok, let's put my crazy idea completely together... that trailer hitch on the Geo had a purpose.. to go and get a rear cradle assembly for a GT fiero. Cradle, transmission, engine, etc... everything from the rear of the car. I figured that getting 44mpg normally I woudl get around 30 mpg towing something on our relatively flat interstates.
First, the trailer + engine weighs as much as the Geo Metro... hmmm going uphill is a losing battle in 5th gear... no spare Horsepower in this car. On average I made around 19-20 mpg pulling the engine back at a slow 50 mph. I would have the same fuel economy using the Aztek or a friends Pickup truck. So lesson learned.... high MPG cars will not get any decent gas mileage when towing anything of significant weight. a tiny trailer carrying a tranny would work fine as would some other parts.. but the entire rear of a car that has 4X the HP stock and weighs 3X the geo is probably not a good idea. But it did work and travelled the 300 miles and back without incident.
I believe I did more damage to the car and clutch backing the whole thing into my driveway than I did on the 600 miles of highway, side roads, and stop and go city driving.
First, the trailer + engine weighs as much as the Geo Metro... hmmm going uphill is a losing battle in 5th gear... no spare Horsepower in this car. On average I made around 19-20 mpg pulling the engine back at a slow 50 mph. I would have the same fuel economy using the Aztek or a friends Pickup truck. So lesson learned.... high MPG cars will not get any decent gas mileage when towing anything of significant weight. a tiny trailer carrying a tranny would work fine as would some other parts.. but the entire rear of a car that has 4X the HP stock and weighs 3X the geo is probably not a good idea. But it did work and travelled the 300 miles and back without incident.
I believe I did more damage to the car and clutch backing the whole thing into my driveway than I did on the 600 miles of highway, side roads, and stop and go city driving.
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