I've been gone a while but wanted to pay a visit to tell my fellow vibe faithful that my 09 base just hit 100,000 miles. My vibe has been one of the best cars I have ever owned(the other being a 93 5.0 tbird, yes, no (removed)). I have had ZERO issues with my vibe and have only had to replace windshield wipers and tires(twice). Still running the stock clutch, battery and even stock brake pads. I do a 56 mile round trip commute(mostly freeway) every day and have have never seen less than 30mpg, and average about 33mpg. 36.5mpg is the best I have done on the hwy(70mph) on a no-stop trip to Seattle(385 miles). I have gotten 38+ on several hyper-miling trips to the coast and up in the hills around where I live. Not too shabby
Now that it is no longer under warranty, let the mods begin!
First off, time to get rid of the stock steel wheels and tires. I decided I wanted to go bigger, for two reasons--better milage and more ground clearance. I am an avid hiker and hunter and very frequently find myself on gravel roads out in the woods. At the stock height I had to be very careful(slooooow) on most roads and would not risk other roads at all. I have a dedicated hunting rig, a lifted 74 chevy 4x4, that I take when I want to go anywhere I want, but it gets 9mpg. I figured if with just another inch or two of clearance, I could do 80% or the logging roads with my vibe and use 1/3 of the fuel.
I also wanted it to look good and still handle well. I settled on 225/50/17 Nitto Motivos and 17 'viper' aluminum wheels:
So far I am happy with the new setup, it does not rub and does handle the gravel roads better. It also look quite a bit better, IMO.
Next up: Replace the OEM stereo with something that does not suck