Teach me about the Chevy Cruze

I like the Eco's a lot. But i REALLY want the 2.0 turbo Buick Verano cousin.

beans wrote: I like the Eco's a lot. But i REALLY want the 2.0 turbo Buick Verano cousin.

Just wait and get a used Cruze and stick in a motor from a Cobalt SS (2.0 Ecotec) - easy tuning to over 300 BHP without going inside anything. I foresee a few Cruze hot rods out there.

An SS swap is what I intend to do with our Astra when/if the engine dies, or my wife gets another daily.

The only Cruze I drove was the 6-spd manny with the 1.4T. The shifter was better than the current Hondars IMO and the engine made plenty of power to be fun. The whole car felt solid, well built and extremely comfy.

Knurled wrote: In reply to 4cylndrfury: I have no newsletter and certainly would not suggest reading the 4-cylinder engine tuning section of the HPTuners forum.

I hate you right now

The REASON why should be related to why I've been on that forum in the first place We got that package at work and they let me play with it. OMG everything is so hackable nowadays, I'm in tuning heaven. I want to put a 4.8 in the RX-7 just so I can play with tuning it. I think I should be able to build a "dirt" tune that will proportionally limit torque depending on gear so I don't even have to think about it, just mash the accelerator and let the computer control the e-throttle, according to how I tell it to do it.

HAL is much more fun to be around when he is your bitch.

Hmmm, I must be in some weird parallel dimension or something...there is what appears to be Chevy love bordering on fan boi-ism on the GRM forum. I'm going to bed. Hopefully I will wake up and everything in the universe will be realigned tomorrow.......

But seriously, I'm in the market for a decently comfy high mpg cruiser. The Cruze has been on my radar for a while.

FWIW - The Cruze is almost exactly the same dimensions as a Celebrity except for being 10" shorter. There is probably 10" of unused overhang in a Celebrity so let's say they are effectively identical in size.

In reply to doc_speeder:

Don't worry. Soon somebody will say something about a cheap plastic interior, then some genius will say it's just a cavalier, then the bailout nonsense will start, and everything should be back to normal.

I'd like to replace the Cobalt with one, but no 2 dr means a non GM car for Mrs. woof for the first time in a long, long time.

I had no idea the Eco cars were capable of getting 50+ mpg, thats impressive for a gasser. Does the Eco setup suck some fun out of the car like an old honda hx or cx would? I know the rear suspension is completely different to save weight.

HiTempguy wrote:

Lesley wrote: I drove the Eco a couple of years ago, and liked it a lot: http://www.auto-venus.com/en/2012-chevrolet-cruze-eco-review/409/

22% of Canadian car purchases? It always surprises me how different various areas of this big ol' country of ours is... Cruzes are rare out here in oil country.

Compact car segment. It's huge, and the compact utility is catching up to it.

beans wrote: I like the Eco's a lot. But i REALLY want the 2.0 turbo Buick Verano cousin.

Yah! I was surprised by how much I liked that car.

thanks for the link to the article Lesley.

if I'm as comfortable in the ECO 6 as I was in the LT & LTZ … it will get the shot at first refusal for me … I don't need a "performance" car for DD duties (at least not anymore) I've got my "racecar" … I need/want a car that can merge easily, cruise with traffic effortlessly, and get GREAT gas milage … i.e. well above 40 without having to pay the "diesel tax"

I realize that here in our mountains I won't always be able to stay in 6th or even 5th … but as I get down into the flat lands … cruising in 6th and cruise control should be a no brainer

Knurled wrote: The REASON why should be related to why I've been on that forum in the first place We got that package at work and they let me play with it. OMG everything is so hackable nowadays, I'm in tuning heaven. I want to put a 4.8 in the RX-7 just so I can play with tuning it. I think I should be able to build a "dirt" tune that will proportionally limit torque depending on gear so I don't even have to think about it, just mash the accelerator and let the computer control the e-throttle, according to how *I* tell it to do it. HAL is much more fun to be around when *he is your bitch*.

It's true. I've been playing with HPTuners for a couple years in my truck. I've just scratched the surface really, but it's really awesome. I use my truck for towing fairly close to it's rated limit. I made the tow/haul mode on the tranny much better than GM did (for my exact trailer/driving conditions etc.) In the next couple months when the cam and heads get changed I can do a lot more fiddling.

HPTuners is the reason I'm so interested in a Cobalt SS or Cruze for my next DD. Lots of turbo tuning options as close as my laptop!

I will say that I was very surprised with the build quality of the Cruze. I compared it to a variety of other cars, even a 2008 Jetta and a similar year Kia Forte. It was right up there in my mind. It was better than the Dodge I tested as well.

Mike

Mike924 wrote: I will say that I was very surprised with the build quality of the Cruze. I compared it to a variety of other cars, even a 2008 Jetta and a similar year Kia Forte. It was right up there in my mind. It was better than the Dodge I tested as well. Mike

Spectra maybe? Forte didn't come out until 2010.

Knurled wrote: In reply to 4cylndrfury: I have no newsletter and certainly would not suggest reading the 4-cylinder engine tuning section of the HPTuners forum.

What kinda power are people seeing out of the Cruze? Is it pretty easy to hit the limits of the stock turbo?

I recall looking into it a while back - but probably not much development work had been done by them. The gains seemed pretty good, but not great... and the car is still very heavy for its size.

Nashco wrote:

belteshazzar wrote: It also bugs the $hit out of me that they have a smaller gas tank. Why?!?! Why the Berk?!?! And if you ever get passed the "why?", there's still the "how", which is at least as infuriating. Then at one point their marketing guys were touting "3 overdrive gears!", which sounds badass if you don't know anything about cars. Then I looked into it further, and 4th gear is like .96 or something like that. Really?

Just to be clear, if this really was the only thing preventing you from getting one, it's easy to fix by swapping part of the fuel pump module assembly: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/27-fuel-economy/21785-my-project-extending-range-per-tank-12-eco-m6.html http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/129-engine-transmission/12035-how-15-6-gallons-into-eco-mt-tank.html If you're handy and don't mind junkyard parts, less than $100 and a couple hours time would "fix" this. I know if I had an Eco, I'd definitely be doing this job! Bryce

Stupid question that I want to ask after briefly skimming the links you posted. Is it literally a a 15 gal capacity tank that is somehow restricted by the fuel pump for how much it can hold, or is the tank actually smaller then the other models and needs to be replaced too?

the first one, and berk them for doing something like that on purpose.

Some dyno graphs and info on how they respond to tunes:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/the-cruze-missile/57029/page1/

I'm not sure what's so upsetting about the fuel tank? It's got better range even with the small tank than any of my current/past cars. I'm sure they did it to keep the curb weight down for better EPA estimates? Something silly like that, still easy to change if upsetting and hardly the worst "vice" an economy car could have. It's a slow, fun to drive, economy car: right up your average GRM forum luker's alley.

I honestly think in "average" situations it's more fun than my current MS3. I find myself "accidentally" pulling past limits that shouldn't be messed with on public roads, something you don't hear most owners complain about. Passing is a whole hell of a lot easier/fun in the Mazda though. :)

accordionfolder wrote: Some dyno graphs and info on how they respond to tunes: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/the-cruze-missile/57029/page1/

Hmm. 150whp in a 3100lb car doesn't seem that impressive. How quick are they? Am I missing something?

In reply to ProDarwin:

accordionfolder wrote: It's a slow, fun to drive, economy car: right up your average GRM forum luker's alley. ... I honestly think in "average" situations it's more fun than my current MS3. ...

Also, this should be easy for someone with a Saturn as their avatar to understand the appeal of ;)

With the "Stage 0" tune it's 170hp/177lb-ft to the wheels, not 150.

edit - see vigo's comment, it is indeed CHP not WHP. Oops.

accordionfolder wrote: Some dyno graphs and info on how they respond to tunes: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/the-cruze-missile/57029/page1/ I'm not sure what's so upsetting about the fuel tank? It's got better range even with the small tank than any of my current/past cars. I'm sure they did it to keep the curb weight down for better EPA estimates? Something silly like that, still easy to change if upsetting and hardly the worst "vice" an economy car could have. It's a slow, fun to drive, economy car: right up your average GRM forum luker's alley. I honestly think in "average" situations it's more fun than my current MS3. I find myself "accidentally" pulling past limits that shouldn't be messed with on public roads, something you don't hear most owners complain about. Passing is a whole hell of a lot easier/fun in the Mazda though. :)

Dumb question I'm going to ask after reading this. Would the tune void the 100,000 mile power train warranty or just the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty? I've been thinking about these things lately and if I bought a 12 with a bit more miles and the tune didn't void the powertrain warranty that would be worth it.

With the "Stage 0" tune it's 170hp/177lb-ft to the wheels, not 150.

Sure looks to me like those are CHP numbers extrapolated from the 150whp dyno graph...