Hi guys, been a member here a while, sold my Bravo 1.4 a good while ago now though.

been messing around with a few other cars since , volvo 854 T5 , rover turbo's , cavalier gsi, although currently own a cavalier turbo 4x4 and cavalier 1.7td.

i was looking to sell the cavalier td and buy somthing smaller, looked into buying a focus though not sure why started to think about how much of a pleasure my bravo 1.4 was to drive.. so anouther bravo is on the cards.

thinking of getting a 1.6 16v, or possibly a 1.8, what do people think?

cheers for any help and advice any one has to offer.

Rob

Hi Rob

I have owned a 1.4 and now I own a 1.8. Something to consider between the models is the suspension setup. The 1.2 1.4 and 1.6 all have the same brakes and suspension/ARB, while the 1.8 has a better suspension/anti roll bar and better brakes.

The 1.4 front end roll was starting to get on my nerves but the 1.8 is very good. I found the 1.4 power steering was too helpful especially on the motorway, the 1.8 has far less assistance and that's a good thing

I chose the 1.8 over 1.6 because it has better suspension, 113bhp. It is far easier to work on than the HGT and slightly cheaper to run but the engine design style is identical to the HGT while the 1.6 is quite different all toghether.

The 1.6 engines seem to suffer a lot from injector failure. All mk2 cars have OBD2 ECU's that can be re-mapped if thats important to you.

I would avoid a sunroof but i suppose thats personal preference. If you keep the drains clear you shouldn't have a problem but the air in the car will always be damp in wet weather because of its sunroof gutter design. I have siliconed mine shut now.

I will look forward to seeing your car when you get it

Cheers adrian , sounds like the 1.8 may be the one to go for then, when you say mk2's can be remapped via obd2 is that the newer bravo's ? past 02 etc?

heres a pic of my old bravo, still going strong not far from me although the alloys were taken off and sold seperatly just before i sold the car

Wow that is very shiny.

The Bravo and Brava had minor revisions in 98 so;
Mk1 is 1995-1998 Analogue odometer/OBD-1
Mk2 is 1999-2001 Digital odometer/OBD-2

There where aftermarket chips for some Mk1 engines but I dont know all the details.

Aswell as the obvious place keep an eye on www.swapz.co.uk

Adrian Bravo said:

Wow that is very shiny.

The Bravo and Brava had minor revisions in 98 so;
Mk1 is 1995-1998 Analogue odometer/OBD-1
Mk2 is 1999-2001 Digital odometer/OBD-2

There where aftermarket chips for some Mk1 engines but I dont know all the details.

Aswell as the obvious place keep an eye on www.swapz.co.uk

Click to expand...

ahh i see Nice one looks like al soon be on the hunt for a 1999 to 2001 1.8 bravo

other then the remap options that will be availible via the obd-2 port are there any tuning parts for these engines? i will more then likely get a spare head to refurb , port and polish etc. can you get cams reprofiled for these?

cheers adrian :worship:

p.s. that red bravo should be shiny took a good few hours

I have never looked into tuning so dont know anything on that side of things.

Hi All, I have read this thread before and now have a question for you all. Personally I prefer the Brava because of its 5doors, and wondered whether that 1.8 ELX model would also have the better suspension etc, as the Bravo does? Also anybody know why the 2ltr was not put into the Brava? And has anyone attempted it? Look forward to your replies.