Hi guys, just thought i would show everyone my new Bravo Trofeo 1.2, collecting it on sunday so will have to link the ebay page.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280809887777?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

if you read the description on the page it explains a few problems it has with running ect and worn dampers but other then that i think it looks great. can anybody shed some light on the running issue??? I have general knowladge of cars but a lack of testing kit to find out but to start us off, i have a 2 month old coolant temp sensor for it currently on my brava 1.2 SX so will try that first.

with the dampers on there way out obviously i need some new ones, thinking about lowering 30mm, anymore and i would be worried of bottoming out (like to drive hard on rough country roads). one thing i was going to do to my brava was fit larger wishbones for a wider front track but that can be the bravo instead, if anybody has done this can you tell me any issues?? some people say theres risk of driveshafts falling out but if its lowered surely this shortens the driveshafts hence canceling the issue?? is there any in sixe between the HGT/Marea 20v/Coupe 20VT wishbones?

there are a few parts to transfer over from the brava, poly headlamps, home-made cat back exhaust with 1.75" centre pipe(will change one day), k&n foam filter, denso iridium plugs and magnecor 8mm ignition leads and i have alot other things planned like 1.4 16v engine, remap and punto sporting 6-speed gearbox just to start although first money needs to permit this lol

cheers guys

nice buy mate! i like the wheels !
the colour of yours looks the same as mine
409/b, love the colour!

see i thought i was paint code 823 known as sassy grey because it looks the same as my brava which is also 823 but thanks for the comments

Running issue sounds like a thermostat stuck open

Lowering more than 30mm, go for it! These cars don't bottom out believe me

Go for a silly drop you know you want to :devil:



Trofeo? Has the wrong spare wheel...

6 speed box you will lose full lock on the right. Get a later box with a proper diff not a chewing gum one!

Use a proper flow of air for the K&N, not the factory airbox

Camber and wishbones? See here

Best of luck with the car!

lol i'm sure a silly drop would get me killed by the wife for a rough ride plus i really do drive it hard, some of the a roads round my way have jumps for me to get air and also then theres the stiffer springs required to reduce travel but...when the wife get her own car then were in business lol

what spare wheel should i have?? its coming out anyway.

the current box i'm looking at is from a 2002 stilo, how much full lock do i loose? i can loose abit. if i was to fit the wishbones i should get some lock back as the wheels will be further out, did you ever try fitting the HGT wishbones? if you ask me the only time you would have driveshafts falling out is when the vehicle is jacked up, as this is when the driveshaft is extended furthest, with the vehicle lowered the drive shaft length will be shortened and if you fit uprated dampers with less travel this should help. any chance you could measure the HGT wishbone against the 1.2 one and tellme the difference in cm's and mm's, that would be great thank you.

havernts seen the factory box on my brava for over 5 years, i fitted it to my brava before it was mine, my mum bought it from fiat in nov2003 and i from her in sept2007 after she blew the head gasket

True, your rear end won't like you very much :devil: can get very very bumpy on rough surfaces... Try to get heavy duty shocks to match the springs

You should have a black 15inch space saver, you have a 14inch red one...

Your full lock will be less on the right. I can't for sure tell you how much you will lose as wheels are different. For me I lose approx a quarter turn before I start rubbing the box with my wheel. I use 7J R17s with an et of 40

Fitting HGT wishbones... Those cars are ultra rare here along with the Coupé :bang: but I've seen the arms side by side, ones about an inch longer than the other, I can't remember which way round mind you but I'm certain the HGT one was longer

If you want to adjust the camber, try a set of these

well the biggest wheels i want to fit are 7J 16's with hopefully a lower et but NOT euro wheels, not my cup of tea. current wheels i think are 6 or 6 1/2J 15's with falken ze912's which weirdly enough are also fitted to my 14inch steelies on the brava and they have done 15,000miles so far with life left. but anyway with the slightly smaller wheels and hopefully HGT wishbones steering lock will be less of an issue. when i get chance i will be checking how much further the drive shafts can come outwards before coming out, this measurement will be taken purposely with the wheel in the air as this when the shaft is furthest out and i'll go from there. for dampers and spring ect i've seen these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/APEX-Spor...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4150950932

30mm drop, springs and dampers are stiffer plus there for the diesel so even stiffer just need to wait for the pay packet to see if its big enough, there also going to be shorter travel so less travel for the driveshaft in mid flight lol

as for the camber bolts, they have been on my wish list now for a while

right, havernt really drove the car snince i bought it back from banbury as my wife has claimed it and i'm at work, the front dampers are completely shot, my wife found it funny watching the bravo bounce up the M40 at 70mph constantly, i wont be able to afford the Apex suspension till next month so will be visiting my local scrapy for some frome dampers, saw a Marea weekend so will try to get those ones.

the cold running issue is weird but it seems like it temporarily goes into limp mode but i see no lights, engine still runs but car wont move under its own steam, i can only rev it whith the clutch down and that even takes a while to rev up but its intermittant and only happened to her on monday, it only does it once a day i think but need more running time to assess.

any ideas?? cheers guys

The sports suspension kit you've picked seems like a fair compromise.. but the front end might be a bit skittish with the lighter engine. If you're going that route soon it seems a bit of unnecessary aggro to put scrap dampers in the front, but at least you'll be able to check everything out and free things up.

I can't really see the point in non-standard wishbones.. just get some decent standard ones i'd say. You seem to have a few plans for the car but I'd say since it seems to be a basically good Trofeo, don't do too much to it, just do it properly..

The poor cold starting issue is probably a lambda or something... get it diagnosed I reckon.

Enjoy

yeah i was thinking of doing a temp scrappy job but thought the same as you so i'm going to wait, the front wishbone idea is for the wider track plus increased negative camber, the thought behind it is i aim to do some open pitlane trackdays at donnington, plus i would like marea/HGT wings and bumper so the wider front wishbones should reduce the lost look of the wheels. Should be able to get some marea 20v wishbones from a friend for £10-20 so i see it as a cheap experiment.

for a previous poste, the paint code is 823 so its the colour as my brava

can anybody tell me if the interior is standard for that model of if its been fitted from a HGT?

cheers

That eBay seller with the suspension kit also does one for the 1.2 and 1.6 - probably a better bet for you.

Also, the eBay link for the actual car has disappeared now.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280809887777?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

try it, if not i will ad pics if i can lol

Track use? Get new top mounts, roll bar, a polybush kit on good wishbones and uprated arbs, thats where the differences are in not necessarily in negative camber (if I may be honest I can't see the bigger wishbones working atall)... Strut brace isnt a necessity as these cars have a strong reinforced bulkhead anyway



My TD100 shocks are brilliant, handles better than before (old ones were prob tired)

I have a Marea front and it looks silly with the wheels in. Need to get the right spacers for it someday.

Have a gawk through my thread in my sig, it might give you some ideas

the problem with spacers is it increases the distance between the steering axis and the wheel so although it does increase track it means on full lock the wheel is further forward or backwards depending on which way you turn the wheel and with larger wheels there is a risk of rubbing in the arches, larger wishbones move the steering axis further out keeping the distance between the steering axis and the wheel the same meaning steering operation in the wheel arch is tighter reducing the risk of rubbing with larger wheels (although the risk is still there), also there is abit more stability while steering as the wheel moves from its pivot point less. The main problem with my idea is my turning circle will be increased abit while with spacers this would be less of an issue, my other issue with spacers are they reduce the strength od the wheel/hub assembly and more stress is put on the wheels nut because the wheel no longer sits on the spigot unless you use a realy high quality (and sometimes expensive) wheel spacer kit like from eibach which extends the spigot and comes with its own mounting bolts and then the wheel is mounted to these and it extends adds extra work when replacing brakes as these have to be removed aswell.

i hope thats understandable, i am greatful for all your input and all your other ideas are spot on and now on my list lol hope to start work on the car next month once the brava is sold, if i could afford them both i would keep it but funds are needed and the wife is poking me in the back to sell it now, its been in the family for 9 years now, 5 of which are with me so it will be a shame