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Long journeys Small Engine

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Long journeys Small Engine

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salezal

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Hi Guys,

I will be commencing a job in rural NSW this year and am tossing up whether or not the Bravo 1.4 t-jet will be able to handle in excess of 40,000kms a year. The drive is approx 650kms each way and i will be doing this once every fortnight.

Im wondering if anyone out there has used their fiat for long distance journeys and just how long these cars will last. Will a long drive like this have the turbo spooled for too long or does that not mattter too much?

I am very vigilant with maintenance and servicing and i only use high octane fuels. The car currently has 70,000kms on the clock and by the end of 2015 i predict it will be up around the 150,000 mark.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to improve the life and performance of the car for said journeys?

Thanks
 
car will be absolutely fine (y)

i use mine as a company car and did 25k miles in a year no problems

i drove from uk to Italy 2 weeks after i bought it - no problems
longest stint in a day turin to reims which is similar to your distance

as long as you have the endurance that is!
 
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Hi,
I drove my Bravo t-jet, on a trip last summer... 500km+ 11 hours -roads in Romania-(one way ..one day).
What I have to say: the car itself was fine, the consumption improved ...almost to 800 km/tank, but the lack of leg/thigh support from the seats does become really apparent and is really tiring.

I love my Bravo ...but i have to say for long and frequent journeys like that, a bigger engined diesel would be better. Something with a longer wheel base. big comfy seats cruise-control, climate control AND good MPG.
 
Most Easterly Pandas said:
As above, will be absolutely fine as long as you look after it (y)

The engine isn't all that small. CC means very little these days :)
Click to expand...
Yup. My little 1.4 T-jet 120 is faster, more powerful and more efficient than my mates mondeo 2 litre. I'd think it would be absolutely fine. Cars are surely designed to theoretically run a tank from full to nothing? (At which point you turn the car off and fill up). Starting the cycle again?
 
aurick86 said:
Hi,
I drove my Bravo t-jet, on a trip last summer... 500km+ 11 hours -roads in Romania-(one way ..one day).
What I have to say: the car itself was fine, the consumption improved ...almost to 800 km/tank, but the lack of leg/thigh support from the seats does become really apparent and is really tiring.

I love my Bravo ...but i have to say for long and frequent journeys like that, a bigger engined diesel would be better. Something with a longer wheel base. big comfy seats cruise-control, climate control AND good MPG.
Click to expand...

100% this ^

I genuinely don't feel this car would be comfortable enough for such long journeys unless you are planning on getting a model with proper supportive seats.

Whilst my 15 mile commute is perfectly fine, on a longer 100 mile journey I did my right leg was quite sore and cramped.
 
Most Easterly Pandas said:
But is this due to the car, or more you not regularly doing 100+ mile journeys :confused: ;)

I've no issue with comfort in my Bravo (Dynamic) on a 7 hour 350 mile journey.
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure. I didn't seem to remember having the same issues in larger cars such as my Astra MK5 estate or Vauxhall Signum. But both of those had cruise control which must help somewhat... :)

EDIT: The Astra didn't :D
 
Thanks for the info guys.

Im also thinking putting a powerchip on it may pay itself off in the long run because of the increased fuel efficiency. hopefully that wont change the longevity of engine parts.
 
Salezal,

I think you should seriously consider getting another car for the journey. The above posts are basing their assumptions on the "one off drive" that they have done or smaller distances. 650km is a long drive to do in any car, let alone a little Fiat. Doing this every couple of weeks would put serious wear and tear on the car and would become extremely uncomfortable! I know i wouldnt be doing it in mine! I have done a couple of long distant drives 500km or so - and i can tell you its not the most comfortable experience. Try it out and see, but my bet is you will be wanting a car more suited to the journey - a bigger sedan at the very least.
 
Salezal

Interesting posts up here from our FIAT lads, I live Liverpool and use to travel weekly down to the south cost to Cornwall 320 mile in Freddy, at first I loved it and not to mention the girls down south loved Freddy to. However after doing the trip 5 or 6 times, it became apparent that Freddy could not handle the trip. The wear on the his tires, the shocks become slightly unresponsive, and talk about steering alignment. I tried a few things like a new ECU chip running varies scans to optimise performance but nothing helped. I have now bought a larger sedan for the trip and keep Freddy for Friday nights in the “POOL” all the best laaa :devil::devil::devil:
 

Salezal,

You said your thinking about putting a power chip into the fiat. Shortanswer – don’t believe them. By and large, these types of gadgets are acomplete waste of money. In the end, it pays to listen to what your parentstold you when it comes to things being too good to be true: They probably are.Do your research and trust your gut. Car manufacturers spend billions ofdollars each year trying to come up with the next fuel-saving technology, sochances are if you haven't seen it in the showroom, then you should thinktwice. I was once foolish enough to put a"mod" chip in my Buick Regal. Results? The car knocked like youwouldn't believe, and it never did before. I lost much power, and to top itoff, it stalled my car out on the highway. Needless to say, I was pissed athaving to change chips on the burm. Biggest waste of money in my life. ---Andyes it was the right one! Not convincing enough for a friend, he put a chip inhis 1990 Mustang GT Results? Ran like complete crap. And convinced him forlife. The moral here is: you can't make your car something its not------- even though the Chip manufacturers want you to think that.
 
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Michael198522 said:

Salezal,

You said your thinking about putting a power chip into the fiat. Shortanswer – don’t believe them. By and large, these types of gadgets are acomplete waste of money. In the end, it pays to listen to what your parentstold you when it comes to things being too good to be true: They probably are.Do your research and trust your gut. Car manufacturers spend billions ofdollars each year trying to come up with the next fuel-saving technology, sochances are if you haven't seen it in the showroom, then you should thinktwice. I was once foolish enough to put a"mod" chip in my Buick Regal. Results? The car knocked like youwouldn't believe, and it never did before. I lost much power, and to top itoff, it stalled my car out on the highway. Needless to say, I was pissed athaving to change chips on the burm. Biggest waste of money in my life. ---Andyes it was the right one! Not convincing enough for a friend, he put a chip inhis 1990 Mustang GT Results? Ran like complete crap. And convinced him forlife. The moral here is: you can't make your car something its not------- even though the Chip manufacturers want you to think that.
Click to expand...
Michael18522 your spot on Laaaa, these companies spin so much crap to us and we find out when its to late and poor Freddy anit running no more!!!
 
aurick86 said:
Hi,
I drove my Bravo t-jet, on a trip last summer... 500km+ 11 hours -roads in Romania-(one way ..one day).
What I have to say: the car itself was fine, the consumption improved ...almost to 800 km/tank, but the lack of leg/thigh support from the seats does become really apparent and is really tiring.

I love my Bravo ...but i have to say for long and frequent journeys like that, a bigger engined diesel would be better. Something with a longer wheel base. big comfy seats cruise-control, climate control AND good MPG.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a Chrysler delta then! ... except the seats I suppose.....
 
I see no problem with using the 1.4 on long journeys . I regularly put 30-35 k per year on my old 1.2 Stilo and until last year was doing similar mileage on my 1.4 bravo (and its only a 90). Regular servicing, steady driving at 70mph, lots of long journeys - Fiat engines go on for ages, are economical and perform well.
 
salezal said:
Hi Guys,

I will be commencing a job in rural NSW this year and am tossing up whether or not the Bravo 1.4 t-jet will be able to handle in excess of 40,000kms a year. The drive is approx 650kms each way and i will be doing this once every fortnight.

Im wondering if anyone out there has used their fiat for long distance journeys and just how long these cars will last. Will a long drive like this have the turbo spooled for too long or does that not mattter too much?

I am very vigilant with maintenance and servicing and i only use high octane fuels. The car currently has 70,000kms on the clock and by the end of 2015 i predict it will be up around the 150,000 mark.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to improve the life and performance of the car for said journeys?

Thanks
Click to expand...

its a fiat it will be fine have a read of this http://www.littlefiatbigadventure.com/
 
Turbo'd cars will always get more gains for a chip rather than naturally aspirated ones. Mainly due to the fact the computer will turn the boost up a few PSI. While car manufactures do spend billions developing cars they also want reliable cars with fewer warranty issues from poor maintenance etc. Retuning the car to suit your lifestyle will always get more power out of it. Even if it isnt as much as the re-tuners say. The real question is it worth it? Probably not haha.
 
Small vs big cars – it’s the age old question isn’t it? Each have their situations that they are suited for, typically the small car is the city car and the big car is country. That being said how many big 4wds do you see in the city nowadays, and how many little hatch backs do you see driving around the country? My wife has a Fiat and she loves it, I have a4wd, we have done some reasonably long drives in her little Fiat, but nothing like what you will be doing, 3 hours at most probably. Its not bad, pretty comfortable so I would say you would be fine. Whenever we gocountry driving we take the 4wd, for a number of reasons:



· It has a lot more space to carry gear and when we go out into the country its nice to see some of the places that sometimes you can only see if you go off the beaten track a little.

· I have a bulbar on the front of my car and this as been a godsend because I have made a few roadkills along the way – if we were in the wifes Fiat the holidays would have been all over. Im not sure how rural it is where your going but having the bulbar and spotlights is fantastic (as im assuming you will betraveling a bit at night where spotlights are almost a necessity on opencountry roads) for avoiding the wildlife

· I suppose it doesn’t apply to you being rural but I tow a little boat around when we are on holiday – another thing that the wifes machine cant handle.



So like the other guys say it could be fine,it just could be a little bit limiting and not as safe, but all depends on your circumstances.



As for the “chips” my brother is a mechanic for Toyota, and he services my turbo diesel, I have asked him about them once before and he’s just said they are a bunch of rubbish and apparently cost a fair bit, so by the time you have “paid it off so to speak” it has done more harm than good to the engine. But this could be different for the little cars? Best talk to a fiat mechanic.
 
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