[2011cruze_eco]

Hi,

I purchased a 2011 chevrolet cruze eco M/T in April 2015. This is my first manual transmission vehicle. I find that the car does not run well if I don't rev the engine to 2k RPMs+ when starting out in first gear. I don't want to be too hard on the transmission so I am wondering if 2k rpms is good for it.


Also, when I've been driving the vehicle for a bit and I stop at a red light, the car will rev super high even thought my foot isn't pressing the gas down very much. Is that called turbo lag and is that normal?

thaks

 

[chevrasaki]

Hi,

I purchased a 2011 chevrolet cruze eco M/T in April 2015. This is my first manual transmission vehicle. I find that the car does not run well if I don't rev the engine to 2k RPMs+ when starting out in first gear. I don't want to be too hard on the transmission so I am wondering if 2k rpms is good for it.


Also, when I've been driving the vehicle for a bit and I stop at a red light, the car will rev super high even thought my foot isn't pressing the gas down very much. Is that called turbo lag and is that normal?

thaks

Hello welcome to the forum!

These cars have a notoriously easy to drive but difficult to master combination of engine, clutch, and transmission. The engine is tiny, and I mean very tiny. (1,364cc) Most motorcycles have more displacement, it generates a very small amount of power until the turbo spools up then it generates a fair and usable amount of power. The clutch feels like air, it's so light and there's almost no feedback so you really have no idea what it's doing. And the transmission is geared so that first is very short, makes use of the tiny amount of power to get the car moving, but then it quickly jumps to gears that are tall to save fuel. I put almost 100K miles on my 5-speed cobalt and coming from that to this car made me feel like I had to learn how to drive stick all over again.

Also turbo lag is the delay between putting your foot down and the engine producing it's max power. A turbo uses exhaust pressure to spin up a turbine (basically a fan). The turbine spins another fan called the compressor which forces fresh air into the engine causing a more potent air/fuel mix and therefore more power. Our turbo is a tiny turbo which produces the most boost between 2500 rpm and 4500 rpm and it does a pretty good job at spooling up quickly so you don't notice the lag.

Not sure why your car is idling weird, could be a sensor of some kind. Is it giving you any CELs?

 

[obermd]

Welcome to CruzeTalk.

First, download the 2014/2015/2016 Limited owners manual from Chevrolet Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Crossovers and Vans and then look at the severe service schedule. At a minimum I would change the oil & filter, spark plugs, gear oil, and brake/clutch fluid and adjust the rear brake drums. The 2011 manual is lousy for routine maintenance. If you've done any of the above, kudos and keep up the schedule maintenance.

Oil & filter - dexos1 or better oil. Do not let your OLM drop below 30%. GM changed the algorithm in 2013 to provide a more realistic report on the OLM. Many members here use a full synthetic oil vs. the semi-synthetic dexos1 standard.

Spark plugs - we know for a fact that the spark plugs coming from the factory were very inconsistently gapped. I'd put in a set of NGK BRK8EIX plugs (assuming you don't want to do this very often) or NGK BRK7EX plugs if you don't mind changing the plugs every 15K miles or so. The BRK8EIX should last 40 to 60 thousand miles depending on how you drive. Be aware, however, that pulling the ignition rail off is tricky to do and you need to be careful to avoid damaging the boots. A replacement rail is $80-90 at Amazon.com.

Gear oil - I recommend swapping out for 2.5 qts of AMSOil Synchromesh. The spec for the fill level was recently changed from 2 qts to 2.5 qts. The GM gear oil is only good for about 15K miles. The AMSOil synchromesh will last for 45K and has eliminated the 1->2 WOT grind that I had.

Brake/Clutch hydraulic fluid - change every 30K or 40K (I don't remember what the 2014 manual says).

Rear Brakes - not properly adjusted from the factory. I suspect this should have been a dealer prep item that got left off the list. Basically, if you pull your hand brake up it should stop about half an inch in front of the center armrest when it's extended forward and the rear brakes alone should hold your car on a hill. The 1.4T engine is simply too small to hold the Cruze on a hill.

Definitely poke around here and don't be shy about asking questions or helping other members.

Finally, give 91 octane a shot - your car's engine is actually designed for 91 octane (look for KRD on the glovebox label).