new guy here..

[JMSA540]

Hi all, I'm definitely new to the forum and would like to introduce myself, I drive a 96 Cobra and my wife drives a 08 Cobalt..

I'm currently looking at a 1992 Festiva close to me, what should I expect as far as gas milage goes? Where can I go to look up specs on these cars? Does the 92 have fold down rear seats? How hard is it to work on these cars? Is the ac hard to fix and is it on the newer ac system? R134A, correct?

Any and all help to a potential future festiva owner would be great..

[JPT]

First, welcome to the site.

All Festivas have folding rear seats.

Gas mileage depends on the transmission. Autos get around mid 30s on the highway, 4 and 5 speeds get over 40.

They're easy to work on and parts are cheap. On the A.C. it would depend on the problem and I believe all Festivas came with R12

For any other info. you're already on the best site, so use the search.

[JMSA540]

wow, thanks. its a 3sp automatic. what is really the best year for a festiva? and what are the year to year changes?..

[mikeyjd]

I'd say 89-93 fuel injected are the best in my opinion. I much prefer manual over auto transfer for desirability, although some do like the autos. Most people with autos get 30-35mpg, and most with manuals get 40-45mpg. These cars have great motors. 300,000+ miles seems to be pretty standard for a properly maintained engine on these things (mine has 345,000).

[JMSA540]

wow, thanks a lot mikey! what can I do to improve my mpg's even more? are there any type of air intakes or exhaust systems that can be had for these cars?

[mikeyjd]

wow, thanks a lot mikey! what can I do to improve my mpg's even more? are there any type of air intakes or exhaust systems that can be had for these cars?

Well My goal is 60mpg average tank fillup. Here is what I have to offer.

Driving Tips:
-Plan trips to avoid congested roads
-Avoid driving in bad weather when possible. It dramatically increases rolling resistances.
-Accelerate Slower + Shift as smoothly as possible at the lowest rpm's you can without lugging the engine
-Try to time traffic lights so that you don't lose momentum unnecessarily
-Keep highway speeds low (I usually keep it around 55 on the highway, 60-65 if I'm in a hurry)
-Use Breaks as seldom as possible, as long as it's safe.
-Challenge yourself by making high mpg numbers a game.
-Engine off coasting
(EOC) is one of the largest contributors to increased efficiency of hybrid vehicles, many of which automatically shut down the engine when the accelerator is released and the vehicle is coasting. EOC can be accomplished in non-hybrids as well simply by shifting to neutral and switching the key from "Run" to "Acc" (being careful not to switch to "Off" and cause the steering to lock). As soon as the engine stops, return the key to the "Run" position or else you will be in danger of locking out your steering and crashing. Also be careful to not steer at all while the key is off to prevent a lock up. In non-hybrids, EOC is considered an advanced technique and should not be attempted until the skill developed away from traffic. In addition, coasting with the engine off is illegal in some areas.The best way to EOC is with a kill switch that shuts off the engine without removing the key, thereby eliminating the dangers of locking the steering wheel.

-Pulse & Glide Driving
Let's say you're on a road where you want to go 60 km/h. Instead of driving along at a steady 60, you instead accelerate to 70 (that's the pulse), and then coast in neutral with the engine off down to 50 (that's the glide). That's it. Rinse and repeat. And repeat. And repeat. By doing this, you're still averaging 60 km/h, but it turns out that pulse and glide is significantly more efficient than driving along maintaining a steady 60 km/h.

Current Mods:
-Grill Block Upper + Lower (Lower has venting for radiator cooling)
-Full underbelly pan
-55 psi tire inflation
-Rear Passenger Seat Delete
-Passenger Side Mirror Delete
-Antenna Delete
-Wipers Removed (12mm wrench and 1 wiper in the car for rainy days)
-Full Synthetic 5w/20 Amsoil Oil
-Spare Tire Removed

Planned Mods:
-MPGuino
-Engine Killswitch
-Rear wheal skirts
-Kambakk (maybe a removable boat tail)
-Air Dam with extended Nose (to lower stagnation point)
-Engine Block Heater

Feel free to ask questions about anything I've written and I hope you can find something useful

For any aftermarket parts like intakes and headers I recommend talking to Matt Dickmeyer. Check him out on here or on facebook.

[kumalaba]

Hi all, I'm definitely new to the forum and would like to introduce myself, I drive a 96 Cobra and my wife drives a 08 Cobalt..

I'm currently looking at a 1992 Festiva close to me, what should I expect as far as gas milage goes? Where can I go to look up specs on these cars? Does the 92 have fold down rear seats? How hard is it to work on these cars? Is the ac hard to fix and is it on the newer ac system? R134A, correct?

Any and all help to a potential future festiva owner would be great..

welcome to the site! where are you from? to get the better mpg swap out that auto for a 5 speed.

[JMSA540]

Thanks guys! I'm from GA/NC

[JMSA540]

Well My goal is 60mpg average tank fillup. Here is what I have to offer.

Driving Tips:
-Plan trips to avoid congested roads
-Avoid driving in bad weather when possible. It dramatically increases rolling resistances.
-Accelerate Slower + Shift as smoothly as possible at the lowest rpm's you can without lugging the engine
-Try to time traffic lights so that you don't lose momentum unnecessarily
-Keep highway speeds low (I usually keep it around 55 on the highway, 60-65 if I'm in a hurry)
-Use Breaks as seldom as possible, as long as it's safe.
-Challenge yourself by making high mpg numbers a game.
-Engine off coasting
(EOC) is one of the largest contributors to increased efficiency of hybrid vehicles, many of which automatically shut down the engine when the accelerator is released and the vehicle is coasting. EOC can be accomplished in non-hybrids as well simply by shifting to neutral and switching the key from "Run" to "Acc" (being careful not to switch to "Off" and cause the steering to lock). As soon as the engine stops, return the key to the "Run" position or else you will be in danger of locking out your steering and crashing. Also be careful to not steer at all while the key is off to prevent a lock up. In non-hybrids, EOC is considered an advanced technique and should not be attempted until the skill developed away from traffic. In addition, coasting with the engine off is illegal in some areas.The best way to EOC is with a kill switch that shuts off the engine without removing the key, thereby eliminating the dangers of locking the steering wheel.

-Pulse & Glide Driving
Let's say you're on a road where you want to go 60 km/h. Instead of driving along at a steady 60, you instead accelerate to 70 (that's the pulse), and then coast in neutral with the engine off down to 50 (that's the glide). That's it. Rinse and repeat. And repeat. And repeat. By doing this, you're still averaging 60 km/h, but it turns out that pulse and glide is significantly more efficient than driving along maintaining a steady 60 km/h.

Current Mods:
-Grill Block Upper + Lower (Lower has venting for radiator cooling)
-Full underbelly pan
-55 psi tire inflation
-Rear Passenger Seat Delete
-Passenger Side Mirror Delete
-Antenna Delete
-Wipers Removed (12mm wrench and 1 wiper in the car for rainy days)
-Full Synthetic 5w/20 Amsoil Oil
-Spare Tire Removed

Planned Mods:
-MPGuino
-Engine Killswitch
-Rear wheal skirts
-Kambakk (maybe a removable boat tail)
-Air Dam with extended Nose (to lower stagnation point)
-Engine Block Heater

Feel free to ask questions about anything I've written and I hope you can find something useful

For any aftermarket parts like intakes and headers I recommend talking to Matt Dickmeyer. Check him out on here or on facebook.

wow, thanks mikey!!

[mikeyjd]

welcome to the site! where are you from? to get the better mpg swap out that auto for a 5 speed.

vouch ^. The swap isn't hard and that's what I was gonna do with it if I won that bid on ebay lol. I bid it up to 1,500 but I can't justify going more since I already have 4 festiva's on the property... It's worth 2,500-3,000 though in my opinion if the pictures are as good as it seems.

[JMSA540]

awesome, im going to bid on the car soon.. wow, this is a very nice community here.. starting to get comfortable here.. seems like there are a lot of very helpful people here and no toolbags...

Any guys near the 31905 area?

We should have a meet.. amd if some of ya'll are lucky I could take ya'll for a spin in the new festiva if I win it.. or maybe even the Cobra?! Show ya'll some true muscle.. lo

[mikeyjd]

awesome, im going to bid on the car soon.. wow, this is a very nice community here.. starting to get comfortable here.. seems like there are a lot of very helpful people here and no toolbags...

Any guys near the 31905 area?

We should have a meet.. amd if some of ya'll are lucky I could take ya'll for a spin in the new festiva if I win it.. or maybe even the Cobra?! Show ya'll some true muscle.. lo

You'd be surprised at some of the muscle these guys are packing lol. Matt Dickmeyer has made a custom turbo for the b3 and could probably get you like 400 hp out of the stock engine if you really wanted. Allot of guys swapped up to 1.6liter turbo or 1.8liter engines. These little cars can really move with the extra hp. It's awesome to watch youtube's of guys blowing mustangs and hondas off the line at the strip in a festy lol.

[JMSA540]

wow! man that's awesome.. talk about sleeper status!