Fire Spark

The Spark is a quality car for the money. Good job avoiding the Fiat.

I hope you don't stiff your bondholders again like you did in your 2009 bankruptcy.

I have a 5-speed also and feel like the engine has a lot of potential but it is being held back by the ultra conservative drive-by-wire programming. Try to rev it up in neutral and you'll see what I'm talking about. Someone needs to come up with a sport mode flash for this car and unleash the beast.

Do you notice any more power?

If there was any threat of engine damage at 4000 rpm the engineers would have put the redline on the tach there instead of at 2200 rpm higher. Stop worrying.

Do you notice it revving up higher when (casually) accelerating than what it did before you had the recall done? The ECM may have to "relearn" the most efficient CVT ratio at a given engine load and rpm. If it doesn't get better in the next couple tanks of gas I would take it back and complain. They may have to reflash the ECM.

My 2017 LS has speaker grills in the rear doors but no speakers. It would be nice to discover pigtails in there for a quick plug and play with some nice aftermarket speakers but I doubt if GM would make it that easy for us cheapskates who didn't splurge for the LT model.

Mobil 1 is good stuff. Its what most manufacturers recommend using in their high performance engines that are force fed with factory turbos and blowers to prevent premature wear and thermal breakdown. If you use that in your under-stressed, fuel-sipping Spark engine and change it once a year the rest of your car will wear out long before the engine.

Make sure to give us video when you roll out in this hot hatch.

That would probably work just fine.

The steering gets very quick and twitchy at anything over 80 mph. Small moves on the steering wheel equal big moves in direction on such a short wheelbase car. The highway ride and noise level is surprisingly comfortable. I rarely feel underpowered with the 5 speed. With adult passengers and the air on it is a bit doggy so I have to rev it a little higher going through the gears to get up to speed but that is to be expected in an economy car with less than 100 peak hp. It turns 3000 rpm at 70 mph so it is geared a little lower than the CVT.

Looks great. I love those little mag wheels.

Those cars also use direct injection engines instead of multi port. Allows for higher compression pistons, more advanced timing, and leaner fuel/air ratios without detonating. Modern turbos also offer a lot of torque at low RPM's. No need to "rev 'em up" and waste gas to get in the powerband like a naturally aspirated engine. If the Spark had a traditional automatic it would still be tuned by the factory to upshift into the next gear as soon as possible for maximum MPG's. Doubt if they would even offer a "sport'" mode or paddle shifters on such a budget vehicle. This is why I went

CVT is cheaper to manufacture and gets better MPG.

I like the way they fill out the wheel wells. They are a little wide but some factory splash guards or ground effects would have helped with the looks and to prevent stone chips and road slop. Did you take it for a test drive before taking them off? Was wondering if it was quieter and smoother riding with those fat tires? One of the few gripes with my Spark is the deafening tire noise and jarring ride on certain roads but then I remind myself it is after all an economy car and not a Benz.

Those will look nice. I like to use old brake fluid to strip paint. Free and very effective.

Welcome to the site. White is a good color. Don't have to worry about the paint fading (I had a red truck that turned pink after 10 years of UV) and it will stay cooler in summer. Good point about not being able to see the color of the car from the inside. Even the hood is invisible from the drivers seat.

It should last plenty long because it has pressed in iron sleeve cylinders and a steel cam chain instead of a belt. I think GM learned a harsh lesson after that POS disposable Vega engine with its aluminum bores that would prematurely wear out and burn more oil than gas and a rubber band cam belt that would snap at 40K and destroy all your valves.

That's still well under redline. Shouldn't hurt anything other than your MPG's (if you make it a habit).

That looks phenomenal. May not have the power of a "Hot Hatch" but it sure has the looks of one.

Welcome. They are a nice car for the money.

This is why I'm glad my 2017 has an all aluminum engine. Iron blocks with aluminum heads are rough on head gaskets because of the different expansion and contraction rates between the two metals as they heat up and cool down.

Snow tires make a big difference but he's probably dragging bottom. Even AWD vehicles get hung up when they run out of ground clearance. Like a turtle stuck on a rock.

Nice. Man trans is fun.

Until this thread I had no idea that Sparks were available in pink.