The daily Vibe drive: Along the San Andreas Fault

[Faultline]

greetings !I live in the Mojave Desert on the back side of the mountains that surround the L.A. basin. The drive to work is about 12 miles, it begins along what is knowned by locals as "death trap highway", but the Vibe is beckoned to a lonlier road that is a mile or so off the beaten path.Mt, emma rd. runs straight along the dangerously sounding "SanAndreas fault". The terrain is desert brown and is carpeted with ocotilla plants and other desert shrubs;generously sprinkled with the locally indigenous "joshua trees". The road is hilly,but more like oscillating ascending and decending slight grades,and is about 3 miles long ,stretched between two stop signs. It has become my duty to race along the faultline every morning ,and evening to and from work in my frosty 5 speed, moon and tuned Vibe. The mission is to reach 110mph+!!!The shifting is fun! It is the lure that got me into this craze. one reviewer of the Vibe said that they thought the gears were a bit tall in the 5spd. "Tall enough" Id say. to pull your britches up to land in the next gear with plenty of power.The game to play is to keep the revs between 4000rpms and 6000rpms.(of course spilling up to 6400, but the rev meter shuts you down at 6500 in any gear). 1st gear gets you to 35mph+ at 6000rpms and iinto 2nd at 4000rpms. to 55mph+ at 6000 rpms, and nicely into 3rd at over 4000 rpms. 3rd gear to 80mph+ at 6000rpms which lands into 4th at over 4000rpms again. 100mph comes around 5000 rpms, and if shifted here,lands in 5th at 4000rpms. But gutless.I wait until 110mph to shift into 5th to a top speed of 115mph along the faultline!!. wuhoo!!!! 5th gear seems to argue defensivily"Im here for fuel economy!" oor offers its bargain plea "show me the turbo...I will show you the speed"The vibe stays focused and stubburn at staying straight as it accelerates to higher speeds. this is a reassuring feeling as a swerve could prove deadly when going fast. this is a welcome feature of the suspension i guess.wecome indeed.The rest of the drive to work meanders back toward "deathtrap hwy" for another 5 miles or so, all around a 3000ft elevation. But the speed mission is only between the 2 stop signs that book end the 3 mile raceway along the faultline. There are no onletting roads,or driveways alonng this 3 mile stint. I abort the daily sprint when there is oncomming traffic as it is a 2 lane road.I dont pass anyone either , at the higher speeds...and ithink im safe...er..well...its the vibes fault...line that is.MY only fault is that I should have bought the GT!!good vibrationsFaultline.

[Greg100575]

nice post, and yeah you should have got a GT Greg

[Vibe Rater]

I'm a cop. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow.

[d_m_kolb]

He'll have to catch you first. LOL If you turbo or SC your vibe let us know the MPH you hit.

[Faultline]

Im still driving this way to work, and I cant seem to get enough, and am anxious to get forced induction of some kind .One thing though,the rev limiter kiks in early in 4th gear at around 110 mph at around 5800rpms . the normal is 6500rpms. I dont get it? Im simply trying to get top speed , but 5th gear is a bit gutless and the hilly grades are kind of tricky. so I thr to wind it out in 4th some times.I still am oscillating between sc and turbo , dont know which to Pic?I was suppose to meet with Damon of Turbo Perfomance yesterday at LACR(LosAngeles County Raceway) wich is near my house out here in the desrt and the far corner of LA county. They already have a kit for the 1zz-fe in celicas,but I looked for an hour and couldnt find him or them . The new fi moderator said that he thought that most of the turbo kits out there are crap This makes me want to build my own. Turbo city in Anahiem Ca sells a bunch of turbo stuff with the do it yourselfer in mind, and I already have an intercooler. I just got to find a tuner or maybe I just have to find a Pontiac dealer who installs super chrgers MOstly I need to go faster in my Vibe along the faultline Good vibrationsFaultline

[Flip-Side]

quote:I still am oscillating between sc and turbo , dont know which to Pic? Since you want all out top end, you should lean toward the turbo. The Supercharger is a better balance of low end torque and high end horse, but a turbo can beat it in the higher rpms. I myself will be going with the Supercharger because it has minimal worries, and its better suited to my style of driving.

[DopeVibeGT]

quote:I'm a cop. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow. (removed)!!Cool story!

[Faultline]

BTW,Yeah, I voted for "turbo" in the Poll that asked "Turbo vs Supercharger", I like the high end boost . But the pontiac supercharger thats to be released early next year sounds great! as well as reliable. There is something reassuring about the SC being released by Pontiac,and being warrantied by the dealer. A turbo kit does not have that kind of assurance appeal. Some how , in my heart of hearts, I believe that with forced induction, I will drive along the faultline fast enough to create some sort of Vibe quake ! Thus creating ocean front property for myself as most of southern ca. falls into the ocean ! Good vibrationsfaultline

[Mr. Poopypants]

The daily Vibe drive along the PENNDOT fault. My drive to work consists of 31 red lights, heavy traffic, 2 tunnels, and a maximum speed of 45 MPH on a good day. I think my Vibe is mad at me for not taking it any higher than 90 MPH on PA 119 North. I wish I had a drive like yours.

[coratz]

to the vibe rater who is a cop:...... im sure you let all vibe drivers go with a warning??????lol the fastest ive taken my vibe is up to 130km/h. the steering seems to get tight at speeds above 110km/h anyone else notice this?

[Faultline]

Yeah, I noticed that the steering gets tight at the higher speeds but i like it .Like I said in the original post, for me it is a reassuring feeling as a swerve at high speeds could prove deadly When I get a superchargoer,or turbo, I wont be afraid to go faster because of the tighter ssteering.I guess i would like to know too,if this is intentional by design? when it comes to perfomance knowledge, I can be "mechanicly challenged" Good vibrationsfaultline

[wrench79]

The vibe is equiped with speed sensitive steering. I provides more assist at low speeds and less assist at high speeds.

[Faultline]

Just thought I would update this post since I put a turbo on my Vibe ....I think the funniest joke on me is that the base Vibe has a speed limiter at 115mph!....but now I just get there a lot faster LOL!!.When the turbo kiks in , My head and body presses back into my seat...It's heading into warp speed on a startrek episode ...taking my foot off the throttle, and the BOV sounds off ..Kah chushhh...Like a sound from a disneyland ride or an air pressure hose ffrom a conveyer assembly in a factory.....the whizzing hum of the turbo makes me believe that indeed.. I am in the batmobile afterall!...And ah yes! ...alas.. 5th gear has guts now! Tis true!..The hilly faultline road allows great acceleration whether up or down...I am a blurr..of zoom..!!

[Kangaroooski]

quote:Just thought I would update this post since I put a turbo on my Vibe ....I think the funniest joke on me is that the base Vibe has a speed limiter at 115mph!....but now I just get there a lot faster LOL!!.!Do they make a chip for the Vibe's computer yet, because if they do maybe you will be able to get rid of the 115 speed limiter

[Faultline]

I found out from someone on this board, but I forget which moderator it was, that there is a chip for the matrix, but I dont know if it will work on the vibe????

[Shadow Realm]

It would seem like it should work since the wiring is Toyota, but I don't know for sure. You can bet that if there is one for the Vibe then there will be one for the Vibe eventually...I HOPE....along with the long awaited supercharger

[Project Shadow]

I am at the mercy of -40 Celcius lately(plus windchill) and have not seen any warm pavement yet. Does this thing buckle down and get grip in first? I can't keep the wheels from freakin out when I nail it in first at nearly any RPM. Other than that, I bought for economy and have been thrilled with the fun to drive factor. My last three cars were 2000 Grand Prix, 5.0 liter T-bird (modified) and a Plymouth Duster with approx. 300HP. I never imiagined the possibilities for the economy Vibe untill this web site found me and now I can barely sleep at night. MMMMMMMMMM TURBO...NEED TURBO.

[Faultline]

You know , Its funny that you say that you bought the vibe for the economy, but are thrilled w/ the fun to drive factor, because that is why I bought the Vibe...the economy and all....but the fun to drive factor got me into this mess of thinking that I ought to put a turbo on the car..!LOL you better watch it ... I see the SC in your future! ....But anyway...on warm pavement.1st gear grips fine..spins if you try... and wheel hops when turning and accelerating at the same time...This is a base Vibe.... but with the turbo....I am thinking of things like sticky tires and all...and moreover a killer clutch that I can abuse