Hi guys,
Recently got a 1996 Brava 1.4sx.
The fuel consumption is a miserable 23mpg and the engine feels a bit stodgy (and lumpy when engine cold) [!].
Have changed spark plugs, air filter and Lambda sensor.
Also used Wynns injector cleaner which improved it a bit.
Car has 69k on the clock.
Local Fiat garage claims it might be the IE sensor [?] (inlet manifold) or the ECU unit at fault.
Any ideas please [?]
What should the fuel consumption be around town [?]

Hi,

Check this site for general info.
http://www.bravo-guide.co.uk/

Ask the garage if they'll give you a free diagnostic. They usually will if they think they're going to get some business out of it.

Check vacuum hoses for leaks, loosen oil filler cap with engine idling and see if that changes anything.

With 69K on the clock it is worth while looking at a 'de-coke in a tin' product, such as ecotek power boost www.ecotekplc.co.uk or Forte www.forteuk.co.uk

Dave

85% of Marea HLX drivers have speeding tickets.... lol they'll have to catch me first.

Thx for the advice m8...
I'll try ur suggestions.

Seems some ppl are saying that 24mpg (I get 200 miles for £30, driving sedately) is 'normal' for the 1.4 12v anyway, and that's why Fiat brought out the more economical 1.2 16v [?]

Any Bravo/Brava 1.4 owners getting more than that [?]
Please let me know (or I'm selling it !!)

Just a bit of encouragement!

My 1.4S seems to be doing somewhere around 35-36 mpg. My journey is generally a commute which consists of a bit of A roads and a bit of the M25!

Hi,

I don't know how much 35-36 mpg for a Brava is, as we use the "metric system" and I'm a poor guy so I only have a Bravo 1.4 s 12V and no "Brava"...

But fuel consumption depends heavily on the type of oil you're using, of tire types and pressure of tyres, AND of course of the degree of your driver's madness.

Long-distance driving on country roads with synthetic oil, standard wheels and goodyear crystal snow tyres (never actually tried anything else), maximum pressure of 3 bars on them and some very very sedating CDs like those of the fairy tale story telling genre I was able to achieve several times ~ 720 km without me going to sleep, but once I actually overdid it so I had to roll down some slope and "push" the car the final 100 m to the station with the motor off... as I found it to be quite cold outside this actually DID wake me up a lot. And when I filled her up, ~ 50,3 liters or so went in.

So with luck and lots of patience it can be just under 7 l / 100 km - I even doubled one rather slow guy once.

But with summer tyres, and "normal" driving, I manage only ~ 525-570 km. That's probably partly due to my "summer madness driving style" (going directly from 5th to 3rd gear and 'double-clutching' when overtaking ) and partly because snow tyres are much harder and revolve more easily (even if their aerodynamics are somehow worse) than most summer tires.

Hitting it hard going full speed at 170 km/h for hours on german autobahn the range gets down to about 500 km (with some small amount left - its actually not recommended to start pushing your car on the autobahn...) In any case, don't try this at home! [8D]

cu
Zardo