Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs
2015-03-28_11_32_47.jpg
2015-03-28_11_32_47.jpg

Bravo (Classic) Fiat Bravo 155 HGT

Overview Gallery Discussion

Introduction

Hey folks,

Did a deal with Bushboy yesterday and now own his old Bravo 155 HGT :slayer:

You can read about it when he had it here: https://www.fiatforum.com/members-motors/337865-fiat-bravo-hgt-155-a.html

Nothing really to say yet but thought I would start up a thread to post updates to as and when they happen..

I don't really have a plan to make lots of changes to it at the moment but we will see how it goes. Right now I am thinking i might change the wheels but to what i am not sure, but think 16s would look better than the 15s. And tempted to try get the back a little lower to match the front.

Here is a few photo's, sorry my pics aren't as professional as Bushboy's, They are taken on my super old phone - In future i will try get some with a proper camera :eek:








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well got new tyres, decided to change size slightly in end. The 195/55 side walls looked a tad bulky with the car being lowered so changed to 195/50 (uniroyal rainsport3's) and can report it drives excellent on them and looks much better in my view too. I should have put a bit more grease on the poly bushes though i think as they are a little creaky sometimes but can only hear it when manoeuvring slowly like parking so prob leave it for now.

Had planned to do some other small bits and clean the car up properly today but slipped with a screwdriver doing house type things and stuck a nice big hole in my finger so decided not to go get all oily etc - will have to wait for the finger to settle for a few days i think. Hey-ho these things happen.

Anyhoo, quick before and after so you can see difference:
before
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after
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couple of the tread
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they are made of shark skin too, must be good (y)
2015-09-12_10_29_31.jpg
 
Well if you're happy that's the main thing, but I personally don't follow the logic of fitting incorrect undersized tyres just cos it looks a bit better with lowered suspension. :confused:

Especially when you're shelling out a load of dosh for top spec tyres you'll have for a while...

Elsewhere on the forum folks seem to think they can improve their cars but putting on wider tyres (for more "grip") or taller ones (to fill the arches or give "better economy" or for more choice / cheaper prices).

I'm a bit surprised you chose that route considering you've been so particular about the rest of the car.

Anyway I'm sure it'll drive and look great now. (y)
 
contact patch with the ground is almost the same as before really - same width just 5% less height on sidewall - ok there will be a slight difference but its negligible and overall circumference is about 3% different. I didn't do it because i think it looks better thats just a plus. I did it because i thought it would feel better on the road, which granted is a personal thing. 195/55 to 195/50 is hardly a massive change, can hardly tell difference in ride quality but initial turn in feels much much better as there is less give in the sidewall (and its a better tyre in general).

End of the day tyre size is selected by the factory for a variety of reasons - yes they spend alot of research but do I think I can improve on what Fiat have decided? Absolutely I do, to suit me and what i want better rather than trying to please everyone as they have had to do. I would say the HGT tyre size was selected to make it a comfy and expensive feeling as possible while staying within a common cheap size (yes sure the money came into even fiats choice). I have compromised slightly on comfort to get better feel and that suits me to the ground - does it suit everyone? no not at all, we all want something different (thank god). Its the same reason that i didn't just stick the new droplinks on with the rubber bushes they came with, it tightens up the front a bit and improves the feel on turn-in without sacrificing a huge amount of comfort.

I view this stuff a bit like mapping an ecu, manufacturers want a balance between engine output and fuel consumption - a good tuner can make a car faster or economical, usually one at the expense of another. Sometimes both can be achieved but usually that involves making some change to something else mechanically or whatnot. Tyres are similar, you can have a setup thats more track/feel oriented or more comfort oriented. In both circumstances there are also looks to be considered - yes you could get an S-Class Merc on hugely ballooned tyres and it would be so so comfy but it would look ridiculous as well as not feeling nice to drive - people like their cars to look nice too.

Anyway, I'm ranting so I will stop, to me it drives much better, being quite a bit lower than standard it has slightly more clearance no in the arch (not that it ever caught before) and as a bonus it looks better (in my opinion), and unless you are a bravo nutter you wouldn't even notice it has none standard sized tyres.
 
blu73 said:
lol yeah exactly... but I wasn't expecting it to fail on anything bad if it did fail, but it is kinda chilly out this time of year, don't really fancy rolling about under a car this time of the year!!
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:yeahthat:is why i try and buy my cars in the summer.

French mot can be retaken at any time, meaning from then on, it will 2 years from that date, until the next test.
Can the UK MOT be re-taken again during the summer hence delaying the date it needs to be taken the following year, or is the date set in stone from the date of the registration to the end of it's life?
 
yeah, you can take a car for a MOT whenever you want...

you can go a bit before the expiry of the current certificate and retain the expiry date, 15 days in advance i think it is from memory

to be totally honest i prob won't even drive the bravo now, its back in the garage. I Just don't want to leave it off the road with no tax and mot cause i can't take it for a spin every so often - and it looks better in its history for it to has contiguous MOT's.
 
Last edited:
blu

i got a serious question to discuss

i know you have driven many cars, few of them are bravo mk1 hgt, punto gt and punto hgt

how is the acceleration, power, serviceability with this i mean how hard and how long it takes for parts to be replaced with the price of parts, compared between the three by your opinion and experience
which part breaks down faster/more frequently in which car, which car drinks more fuel, oil... service intervals...
 
blu pm forward with permission for question above

blu73 said:
Never really owned the GT or the Bravo long enough to give you a proper answer to that really....

Parts for the GT and Bravo are about the same, they aren't really dirt cheap but not hugely expensive. Most parts are easily obtainable for both cars.

To work on, as with all cars, they all have there hard bits.. The bravo timing belt end of engine is really close to the frame horns so doing belts/waterpump etc is seriously tricky due to access.... The GT, well you have been rebuilding a GT, you know what access is like - alot of stuff is tedious to get at and things need to come out first to get other bits out but nothing is hard as such, just time consuming.

To drive, well the bravo feels really grown up, plush cruiser of a car. Its not really fast but pretty rapid. 5 pot engine is epicly smooth and makes ace sound when pushed. Whereas the GT is more of a traditional hot hatch to drive, light on its feet, a big wave of turbo style torque - more lag than a modern car but not enough to be annoying. Really liked my GT, just had too many cars at the time. Downsides to a GT would be rot, they are a bit wallow-y on stock suspension and really could do with some lowered springs and slightly firmer shocks but the are really comfy on a long journey despite being more at home around town and down a twisty lane. Not bad on fuel either if you don't boost around like a mad head all the time.

All in all very different cars, but both very capable in most respects. Both are mostly dismissed by other road users, and can shock some pretty quick cars.

Reliability is a hard one... Both a good reliable cars when they have been looked after, I didn't have much issue with either of mine - I did stuff like belts and oil changes and general serving on both but I do stuff way before the book intervals. All my cars get oil changes twice a year, same for air filters and coolant every year. And i know thats more than it says in the book so i tend to not really look at that stuff tbh.

Fuel wise - neither are great but neither is really bad. Of course if you thrash them they are both thirsty But let me think.... Bravo was about 50-60 to fill from empty and did between 400-500 miles. GT is about 50 to fill and does from memory about 400 miles, prob a bit further on motorway and not acceleratiing alot like on a-roads and the like.

Punto mk2 HGT. Never been in one, i like my mums mk2a sporting but the hgt will be very different, more powerful but more weight up front will make it feel very different to drive. Most people I know who have had one really liked them is all i can offer on that one.
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was (still is) a really nice bravo - you'll be hard pushed to find one in as good condition i fear. But keep looking they do exist. few decent groups on facebook might be a good start and keep a keen eye on ebay, they seem to come up every so often and not many people are after them so sometimes go really cheap too. I sold mine for a pitiful small amount but i knew it was going to a good home so that made me feel a bit better about it lol.
 
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