Hi everyone,

I own a 2009 Petrol 5dr Active, just bought it last month. Mostly I’m quite happy with the car, it’s responsiveness in gears 3 & 4 is actually quite wonderful.

My issue is with gears 1 and 2, they feel very underpowered. It requires considerable revving up to get what feels like a reasonable amount of power transmitted through. I’ve adapted and now try to get out of gears 1 and 2 as quickly as possible, but I’m really not sure if this underpowered feeling suggests a defect or just the norm for the GP. Could some of the more experienced members give their thoughts on it?

Thanks a lot, and BTW I’ve only just bought a Fiat and also wanted to say hello to all the members and appreciate how much of an effort’s being made to make newbies feel welcome.

Ashu

Yep the 1.2 needs to get up to 3K in 2nd before it starts to respond sadly.

You're not alone on this topic. Though I do not own an active model, my 09 1.4 Dynamic is exactly the same. I find it pulls sluggishly in 1st and 2nd but when in 3rd, I can easily push the car all the way to 50mph before even going into 4th.

I've always thought this with my 1.2 as well. Seems like a lag until in 3rd

ChrisSt said:

I've always thought this with my 1.2 as well. Seems like a lag until in 3rd

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I don't know if I'm the only who thinks this but it seems as of the engine is underpowered for the car. I've driven an 06 Mitsubishi Colt 1.1 non-turbo and that flies in 1st and 2nd gear.

TigerTom said:

Yep the 1.2 needs to get up to 3K in 2nd before it starts to respond sadly.

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Thank you all for your replies.

I should have said this before, but I actually have a 1.4 petrol which I was told was much more responsive and punchier than the 1.2.

Does anyone else with the 1.4 Petrol have similar issues?

That is weird, my car does not do that, maybe it is due to inyection chip, it is true that first and second are a bit underpowered, but with the chip that effect is less felt.

anyzunstudios said:

That is weird, my car does not do that, maybe it is due to inyection chip, it is true that first and second are a bit underpowered, but with the chip that effect is less felt.

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What chip?

By comparing the engine and GB revs, the ECU could (I'm not sure it does) detect which gear is engaged and limit the torque to avoid wheels sliping or spare the GB for example ...
So IF they use this technique, your feeling is normal, if NOT, I'd assume the two first gears aren't well tiered ( "too long" ).

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)

playerd12 said:

What chip?

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An "Italian Speed Chip" should help with that issue. Also, check your gearbox if it needs to change any of those clutch stuff that I dont know how they are said in English hehehe [emoji16]

Thanks all,
and please correct me as I may be wrong, but wasn't chiptuning solely for diesel engines?

And to be honest, I don't really want to be squeezing every drop of potential (racing) performance out of the car, I just want each gear to do its job at a reasonably optimum level of performance. So either way, the chiptuning option isn't one I'd use.

But would something that is perhaps causing an underpowering defect in gears 1 and 2 come up on a regular diagnostics checkup? Some online research gave me a few potential culprits, namely a clogged fuel filter, Mass Airflow Sensor defect, simple air leaks (which the engine compensates for at higher speeds and gears), ignition coil defects....

But can I then take it that the general consensus is that as a car in itself, the GP 1.4 Petrol SHOULDN'T been feeling underpowered in gears 1 and 2?

Thank you all

Well, you can just adjust the chip to better throttle response, not speed boost, or force engine, or anything like that. On website shows how to configure the chip (inside chip case there is some switches) to set the chip as you want. I think the best two options for you with this chip is set it to "Fast Map" or "Sport Map".

The site info:

FAST map give the ultimate inspiration at the start and keeps the average power over the whole supply.

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SPORT map maximizes performance especially under low and medium engine speeds.

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I got it from the manufacter website, and, in my case, it is for my 1.3 MJTD 90cv Grande Punto.

https://www.italianspeed.eu/es/chip-de-potencia-fiat-grande-punto/chip-de-potencia-fiat-grande-punto-13-m-jet-90-cv-391.html

I don't think it is. it might have slightly longer gears.

You could determine it by using MES and graphing the throttle plate position.

It's not turbo.. so as long as it's close to, or near to 100% then there will be minimal power reduction by the ecu... some advance changes will be necessary.. but those will be because of other reasons.. not to reduce power.

I have a Grande 1.4 8v, and I have no problems at all in 1st and 2nd.

Thanks a ton! That's all I was hoping to hear. I'll get it to a mechanic and get it checked up to see if it's just my assessment of the gears or something genuine. Much appreciated.

aurick86 said:

I don't think it is. it might have slightly longer gears.

You could determine it by using MES and graphing the throttle plate position.

It's not turbo.. so as long as it's close to, or near to 100% then there will be minimal power reduction by the ecu... some advance changes will be necessary.. but those will be because of other reasons.. not to reduce power.

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BTW what does everyone mean when they say that the gears are long?

For want of a simple explanation, longer gearing basically means it'll get to higher speed in a set gear.

As an example, the 2004 1.2 8v was higher geared than my current Grande 1.4 8v: at 70mph in 5th in the mk2, the engine was spinning at a smidge over 3000rpm; whereas 70mph in my Grande in 5th gear has the engine doing just over 3500rpm.

You got it: LONGER gear means LOWER engine speed for the same speed . Ideally the engine should be always reving at its maximal torque, but unless connected to a Continuously Variable Transmission (remenber DAF's ?), that will never happen and will only be a compromise between complexity (number of gears) and costs.
This is mainly why the modern automatic-GB (double clutch) tend to have increasing number of gears, so the engine is always somewhere close to its ideal revs speed ...
On "basic" cars, the same GB could be used on different engines so unless the manufacturer adapt the gear ratios (sometimes only the differential), the mix can result in a car that "pulls too short" or "pulls like a veal", depending the engine version ...

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)

So do you reckon the gear ratios are the same for my 1.4 8v as they are for a Grande 1.2?

Ans shorter gears means it accelerates faster, but has lower top speed.