(G) Uphill Struggle

Got my new 1.4 16v Bravo last night and I am loving it

I have one little question though.

It stuggles up some steep hills due to the engine only being 90Bhp. I find myself dropping from 60mph to 40pmh very quickly in 6th gear and when I drop to 4th or 3rd to try and get up the hill the acceleration is poor. I usually struggle to get above 45mph

I'm not up on torque and Bhp so I don't know how to tackle the problem.

Would a remap help? I am not wanting to turn my car into a 500Bhp racer just get that little bit more to make country roads and their inclines that little bit easier to tackle

Apart from that the engine is perfect and nippy around town and on the motorway.

I know there is a T-Jet 120 engine available but the 1.4 16v Active Sport I have was more suited to me both personally and financially.

Help appriciated guys

I would have thought using 5th or 6th gear is a bit much for climbing hills, 1st through to 4th is what i use, and up to 5th on straights then leave 6th for the motorway, all depends i guess on how you are used to driving.

On arrival at the hill drop it to 5th and give it some revs. Without the torque you're going to have to use the revs.

I'm used to a diesel with bags of torque

Diesels rock!

I understand that and wasn't expecting it to behave like a diesel as my previous Laguna did on hills.

But even as low as 3rd it can struggle and from cruising along at 60mph I can be only getting to 40mph on a hill in 3rd and slowing up traffic behind me

Would a remap of the engine increase the torque enough to help me maintain a resonable speed on the hill when dropping down to 3rd or 4th? I don't know much about torque etc lol

As I said before I don't wanna go increasing my 0-60 etc and spending thousands 'pimping it up' with exhausts and induction kits etc just making it a more manageable driving experiance on hills lol.

Being essentially the same engine as the panda 100hp, I'd imagine you could have a remap to boost the low down torque, but I don't think it would change the torque much. Having seen the work Emm had on her 1.4 16v Seicento it only produced a few more bhp/NM more than standard.

Angel Tuning claim a +10Bhp and +111lb of torque increase on the Fiat 1.4 16v engine.

Is that likely and a significant increase? Excuse my ignorance

Be lucky to even get to 40 mph on most hills around here, if you did you would see the flash of the saftey cameras taking your reg number, It dont bother some but with my luck it would be every time, if the traffic behind dont like it, sod em let them overtake if they feel the need

I don't wish to be rude but are you saying that you are going uphill in 6th in a petrol car and wondering why you are loosing speed.
You need to be dropping to at least 3rd/4th just before the incline depending on the steepness of the hill, remember you have to rev the nutts off petrols to get them anywhere.
Diesel FTW

No if you read the listing you'll see that I am struggling to get above 45mph in 3rd or 4th!!! The second person to ask that now

If you read my original post (correctly ) You'll see I said I go onto a hill in 5th or 6th and start to slow (obviously) but when I drop to 3rd or 4th to get a bit of power and acceleration to get up the hill I'm struggling to get above about 45mph!

To cut a long story short though............

Would a remap help me get abit more 'oommmphhhhh' up hill or am I wasting my money?

IME petrol remaps are very marginal on a non-turbo car. A diesel remap will make a lot of difference, but 10% more power out of a petrol re-map is your best case scenario, with (I'd say) 5% more likely. You will notice better fuel economy and a marginally smoother engine, but power / performace gains IMO are virtually un-noticable...

90hp is not a lot to haul a car the size of the Bravo around - you may just have to accept it and maybe even try 2nd Don't forget on that engine peak power is at 5,500rpm (with peak torque at 4,500)

Think you just need to be more pro-active rather than reactive. Dropping a gear before the hill so the engine isn't having to play catchup. You'll get up a hill faster by being at high revs as you get there rather than dropping a gear mid-hill and the engine having to take up the slack (+ deceleration as you change gear)

just drop a gear before the hill to 4th. Its a small engine in a heavy car. My dad has no probs with his and doesn't need to rev the crap out of it goin up hills