Bravo 1.6 --> Bravo JTD!?

[Erik Eikens]

Hello,

At the moment I drive the 1.6 16v and I am a very, very pleased driver with this car.
For a 1.6 it is lean, mean and fast (9,95 kg/pk!) Also, my car runs on LPG. But I notice no difference compared to the regular fuel. But because I need a bit more space, I'm planning on buying the Bravo JTD: no loss of power (the contrary!) but more bootspace. There is only one thing I am scared of when driving the JTD: the extra weight in the front. The JTD is 125 kg heavier! Will the JTD understeer a lot, even when going for a bottle of milk to the supermarket? I am very anxious to get info about this matter.
Do you feel the weight of the engine compared with the 1.6/1.8? Can you take corners like hell (I can in my 1.6...)
Thanks in advance!
Erik

 

[Gonzalo]

Bravo and alternative fuels

Hi Erik:
What is LPG? Here in Argentina we have GNC, that stands for Gas Natural Comprimido ( Compressed Natural Gas). It's a very cheap fuel, and modifications to run on this fuel can be made to almost every car (~u$s 1600). Tanks in the boot gives you limited autonomy (like 100-200 km, depending on use) but it's 77% (!!!) cheaper than unleaded fuel.
Manufacturers says that you don't loose power running with GNC, but in fact you do. (something like 5-10% loss).
Here comes my point: I am a proudly owner of a Barvo HGT 2.0 20v (you know, the 5 cylinder, 155bhp beast), but this toy uses 14 liters/100 km at urban circuits. Here 1 liter of fuel is u$s 1,20, so to fill the tank you need like u$s 62. And, hell! that's too much!!!... when it just gives you 320-330 km for the full tank.

Many Fiats are cooming out with factory installed GNC equipment. There's a DUNA GNC and a SIENA GNC.

But i fear about that modification to be made to such an engine as the HGTs one.

What do u think?
Do u fell you car loose to much power with that fuel?

Regards,

Gonzalo

 

[L. Dias]

Bravo JTD

Hi Erik,
I own one and something is for sure: it drives (and steers...) very, very well: it sticks to the road like hell!
I replaced the original 14'' wheels with new 195/50R15 Yokos/alloys and I am really impressed with its "driveability"!...
My Bravo its lighter in the back (it's sort of a van) and this doesn't affect it at all.
I like the sound of the engine and the turbo "whistle", despite the fact that you merely hear it with the windows closed...
HTH

L. Dias

 

[erik eikens]

Natural Gas Fuel

Hello Gonzalo,

I think we speak about the same fuel type. In my 1.6SX I also have a gas tank in the boot. It may contain only 38 liters of LPG (liquid petrol gas) and we are only allowed to drive on 25 liters from this tank. But, I notice no change on horsepower. I even think the engine management system adapts to the way the NGC (or LPG) operates. Luckily! Here in the Netherlands you get a bonus from the government if you decide to drive on GNC.

Regards,
Erik

 

[erik eikens]

JTD experience

Hi Mr. Dias,

Thanks for your words of experience about the car. So you really like it! This gives me even more pleasure, knowing that my JTD will arrive at the end of april this year. I will drive a lot with the windows open, to hear that beautiful sound form the turbo. I believe here in the Netherlands the Bravo now comes with 15" alloy wheels as standard from the factory. I will have to sell my 'old' alloys from my 1.6 Bravo first!

Thanks again!
Erik

 

[rudolf]

alloys for sale ?

Erik,

hoop dat je in Nederland woont...
Ik ben voor mijn TD100 op zoek naar 15'' velgen. Heb jij die dan te koop en zoja welke ?

bvd

rudolf

 

[Erik]

Lichtmetaal

Rudolf,

Ja, ik heb inderdaad lichtmetalen velgen te koop. Maar helaas, nee: het zijn 14" velgen. Wel hele mooie trouwens, van het merk Dynamics.

Mocht je desondanks interesse hebben: Origineel (eind 1997) fl 880,-, nu fl 350,-. En dat is inclusief de 4x wielsloten. Ik woon inderdaad in Nederland (omg. A'dam).

Groet,
Erik

 

[rudolf]

dank

dank je voor het aanbod maar ik heb toch liever 15'' velgen, staat net even beter vond ik. even wachten dus tot iemand zijn trofeo in de poeier rijdt.. (hopenlijk niet)

groet rudolf

 

[Gonzalo]

LPG (aka GNC)

Hello Erik, thanks for your reply!
Yes, that's it LPG. Here, i was offered a 30 liters tank for the boot. They said that this is equivalent to 8 liters of fuel. Regarding Bravo HGT fuel consuption, it should run like 60-70 km for the full tank (u$s 2,5 of LPG). The same 70 km would use u$s 9 of unleaded fuel.
The LPG equipment is an italian made one, BUGATTI.
It costs u$s 980 installed.
They said, and it's confirmed by many road test on other vehicles, that you loose 5-8% horsepower with it, but you don't loose torque. (HGT 19.2 kgm!)
Plz keep in touch, so we can share experiences about that.

Regards,
Gonzalo
Buenos Aires ARGENTINA

 

[Socrates]

Proud owner of a Fiat Bravo JTD105 GT

Hi

Go for it !
I have had a JTD105 Bravo GT for about 8 months, it looks great and goes like a rocket. I have installed a Hopa divo digital Tuning Module which increases BHP from 105 to 126 and the torque from 200nm to 295nm and its now even better on fuel, and will not damage the engine. Its quicker and and better looking than the new VW GOLF GT TDI 115

Soc

 

[L. Dias]

JTD105 upgrade

Hi Soc!
I also own a "one-o-five" and your post got me really interested in upgrading the engine with the tuning module. Could you give the coordinates/URL of the guys who sell it? How does the instalation go?
All the best,
Dias

 

[Erik]

Upgrade: maybe!

Hello Socrates,

Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure if it's healthy to upgrade the standard chip of the Bravo. Not because I don't like it, but because I live in Holland. I'm telling you, the speed limit over here is a lousy 62-74 miles or 100-120 km/hour! No environment for lots of horsepower... The torque figure of 295 Nm does appeal, though, is it real? Maybe I will... my JTD comes end of April

Regards,
Erik

 

[Erik]

30 liters?

Hi Gonzalo,

You were offered a GNC-tank of only 30 liters? That is not a lot. But then, the boot of the Bravo is not that big. That's why I am going to drive the (super!)diesel from Fiat. I think it is a real VW Golf killer. Only look at the car: design all the way! I hope you also enjoy driving the Bravo. Are you able in Argentina to drive fast now and then? Is the police very strict? Curious to know; I receive a lot of speeding tickets over here in Amsterdam, and I even have a radar detector!!

Regards,
Erik

 

[Gonzalo]

Speeding....

Hi Erik:
Nice to hear from you.
About your question of speeding tickets, the answer is... well it depends..
Last year i was billed TWICE for passing a 80 km/h signal at 100 km/h (with my Suzuki Swisft 1.0 !!).
Then i bought the Bravo HGT, and i have to recognize (blame on me) that i didn't care for that signals anymore. On my last holiday trip i had the chance to drive it to max speed (215km/h @6200 rpm)...and it asked for more (what could it be at 6850 rpm?).
Again, riding at those speed, i emptied the full fuel tank in 300 km.
But man, if you can do it safely, do it! it's great! that engine sound... !
Taking soft curves at 180 km/h is also nice..

Here in the city, in Buenos Aires, you can't go fast, and it's dangerous.
No speeding tickets for me on the city..yet

 

[Soc]

More info on Upgrading the JTD power, what do you think?

Dear Soc

We thank you for your showed interest in our Hopa diesel tuning products. We
offer for the Fiat Bravo JTD a special digital module called DiVo. This
module will upgrade the performance with approx. 20-23%. It's possible to
get more power out of this engine (by upgrading the turbo pressure) but we
will never do this. Upgrading the turbo pressure will give more temperature
problems and could damage the engine on the long term. The figures for your
car will be: 125 HP and torque 310 Nm.

We give a 3 year warranty on the product and a 6-12 months warranty on the
engine, gearbox and axels (depending if the car is brand new or used with a
max. mileages of 100.000 km).

Due to a better timing and injection of the diesel fuel, you won't see any
changes in the fuel consumption even when you will drive faster. It's
possible to save fuel, if you use the extra torque of the engine, by
shifting earlier.

For more information, please contact our importer in the UK:

Corry Group of companies
Tel: 0181-515 98 89
Please ask for Miles.

Kind regards,

Maarten Schepens
Export Manager

 

[L. Dias]

TNX!!

Hi Socrates!

Thanks a lot for sharing all the info. ))

All the best,
L. Dias

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Speeding....

dickhead