Review notes: 2015 Micra S 5-speed extended test-drive - Darin's thoughts

[MetroMPG]

^ "Elmo Onesie" that'd be a good nickname for a base S.

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Slippery Micra: fun with aerodynamics!

Those of you who saw this Micra at the Loyalist Parkway meet also probably noticed the DIY air dam and partial grille block. The Versa Note gets these things from the factory. Even though the Micra already looks like a well worn bar of soap, it could use some aero help too.

Giant fuel economy nerd that I am, I promised to post an efficiency experiment with even more mods. It's done...



The results: 7 DIY aero mods + increased tire pressure = 10% better fuel economy at 90 km/h.

I'll post a separate thread soon that goes into more detail, and will add the link here when it's ready.

Update -- here it is:

Experiment: 7 aero mods + tire PSI = 10% better fuel consumption at 90 km/h

[micrapolis]

thats quite the dedication

altho it seems you would sacrifice the looks

[krssctt]

Wow, these mods are awesome, if a little extreme. I can't wait to hear more details.

[subehuman]

At first I was LOLz, but on reflection, the gains are fantastic, and it's his car, and much like the original Scion Xb, it basically gives the finger to those who gave a darn about automotive fashion. I DEEMS IT WORTHY!!!!!!

Even partial emulation, say mods #2 and #3, which look OEM, would be worthwhile. Well done! Plus the additional benefit from reduced theft vulnerability...

Mods #5 and #6 would look awesome on a black car. Any volunteers on this board?!?!?! Make someone's commute to the PPC even more fun... Just saying.

[MetroMPG]

I'll be the first to admit these mods hit the poor Micra pretty hard with the ugly stick.

Some of these can be done in much more subtle but equally effective ways than I did. I was going more for proof-of-concept with limited time than going for aesthetics.

[MetroMPG]

1) The driver's seat cushion angle (see above).

Though it's hardly a deal-killer: get a wedge style cushion, or mod the seat with more padding.


2) Considering most of my driving is on the highway, I'd like the option of cruise control.

Of course I understand Nissan's reasoning for not making it an option. They need their carrots & sticks to encourage people to move up to the more profitable higher trims.

Has anyone retrofitted CC on their S? I wonder if anyone in the Versa sedan/Note world has. In some cars I've read about, the wiring harness connections are already there and it's already programmed into the ECU -- it's just a matter of adding the switches.


3) I never got used to the car's too-short, rev-happy gearing.

Yes, Nissan saved money by re-using the transmission from the Micra's larger, heavier stablemates, which keeps the price low. That's the car's raison d'etre, after all. But the result is a transmission that's not geared right. This is one of the (few) consistent complaints in reviews of the manual Micra, and I completely agree.

Even after 2 weeks, I found myself unconsciously reaching to grab another upshift when it was already in top gear. A taller 5th would be a win, win, win scenario: a quieter highway drive; better fuel economy; arguably longer engine life.

Yes, that means downshifting may be needed more often for passing or climbing power. I'm fine with that. I really enjoy driving manual transmissions, and that includes downshifting as well as upshifting! What a concept.

In addition to the rev-happy top gear, first gear is so short as to be almost useless (on the flats). Several owners at the Loyalist Parkway Micra meet agreed. I often took off in 2nd gear when facing slightly downhill, or if the car was rolling even at just a couple of km/h.

I doubt we'll ever see revised ratios for the Micra. Better fuel economy would steal the Versa Note CVT's thunder as Nissan's most efficient car. Plus, it's probably not worth the development costs to make a change like this just for the small Canadian market.

Potential mod?

I wonder if there's an existing Nissan transmission with a taller final drive or 5th gearset that could be swapped over. I know there are other makes where this is doable. The 5th swap isn't even a difficult job.

[MetroMPG]

Fuel economy wrap-up

Micra owners already know that the 5-speed car in particular is capable of much better than its official ratings when driven reasonably. My results:

• 5.0 L/100 km over 1234 km (that's 57 mpg Imp.; 47 mpg U.S.)

Those numbers are calculated at the pump from 2 fill-ups (well, 2 fill-ups plus a 10 L splash added to the 2nd fill).

On board fuel consumption display accuracy:

I checked the dashboard fuel consumption display against the second fill-up. After 838 km it said 4.4 L/100 km. Actual consumption for that fill was 4.8, so it was optimistic by 8%. The ScanGauge read 4.5, or 6% optimistic (which can be calibrated).

Context for those numbers:

• 30% city driving (in a small city: Brockville, also drove through Kingston twice and a bunch of smaller towns)
• 30% highway (100 km/h limit)
• 40% secondary highways (80 km/h limit)

Driving techniques:

• Basic ecodriving techniques were used, such as
• driving at or close to the speed limit;
• shifting into top gear as soon as practical (the Micra will happily cruise in 5th at 50 km/h on level ground);
• minimizing unnecessary braking by reading traffic conditions well ahead and easing off the gas early;
• I typically killed the engine at stops of more than ~10 seconds.

Some of the total distance traveled was with various ecomods in place (sidewall PSI for about 75%, grille block for about 50%, air dam for about 25%).

[Daox]

Very impressive mileage MetroMPG!

You think you could have done even better?

[Pete]

After eight months and 42000 clicks I have got used to the low gearing and speedo being off , that being said I feel that just a slightly taller tire would make the car much better on fuel , out of the hole and certainly on the highway. I am still struggling with a wheel choice for the car as originally I was set on Areo series 55 wheels in black but now with the loonie so low I could get some nice alloys here for the same or less money. A taller fifth gear in the tranny would be good but if you open up the case you might as well put a LSD in and an aluminum clutch and flywheel that is not available yet as far as I know.

[MetroMPG]

For a 5th gear swap, many are external to the case, found underneath a stamped steel cover on the end of the gearbox. It's literally a half hour job for some cars. Not sure about the Micra, but I'd be surprised if it was any different.

Taller tires would help too. Then lower the suspension to cancel the lift. Win win!

One thing you have to be careful of though: taller tires are good for gearing, but wider tires are bad for aero (as are most aftermarket open spoke wheels). Low rolling resistance is also usually not a goal of performance tires.

You think you could have done even better?

Sure, with the mods in place 100% of the time it would have been better.

A more advanced driving technique you can use with a manual but not an automatic: coasting with the engine off. I didn't do this because the Micra's fuel economy display doesn't update properly when the engine's not running, and it would have thrown the calibration way off. But it probably would have improved the numbers by another 5% or so.