Technical 1.4 fuel consumption

[paulhumphries]

Accepted the 1.4 engine is regarded as having poor fuel consumption but does anyone know why (rather than just being negative about it and saying "should have bought 1.2 etc" !) ?

Is it that people do short journeys and therfore it doesn't get warm enough to be efficient ?

I cann't believe the Bosch Mono-Motronic system is the reason when the same setup is used on numerous other vehicles without such poor fuel consumption.

My current "everyday" car only does 15mpg around town from cold but nearly 25 mpg when warm and on motorway run - even my 3.5 Efi Range Rover V8 is more economical !

Paul Humphries.

 

[Donk]

I beleive the reason for the engines lack of economy is down to the cylinder head design, according to other threads on this ive read. Im wondering if getting the head modified ie gas flowing would improve matters at all. Anyone got experience of this?

My 1.4 does better than 15 mpg on short runs, its more like 28 and 36 on a decent run. Not exaclty great but I can live with it.

 

[paulhumphries]

Reading various reports etc about the 1.4 engine I see one that claims if the battery is disconected for several hours then the ECU goes back to factory default settings. It then take 200 miles or so for the ECU to then reset itself to your driving style.

Is this correct ?

If so then it would seem to me that the way you drive, after the ECU has been reset to default, will determine the fuel consumption. i.e. whether it's a lean or rich mixture and that might be why some people report better mpg than others.

Paul Humphries.

 

[wimmy]

Yes thats correct. But thats also the case compared to all the other models of the Bravo.

The 12v engine in the 1.4 is just thirsty. Not much more can be said.