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[the_wirewalker]

Hello all,
I am finally a proud owner of the Smart Forfour 1.1 Passion (Manual). I always loved that car and looked to lay my hands into one for years, and now the time has come. From the first impressions, i really like the car and to sum up, here are some notices:
Positives:

• Car handles great, the steering is tight and there is hardly any body roll
• Acceleration seems impressive for a 1.1 car, it really wants to rev
• Brakes are impressive, and no roll when braking too
• The interior look smart, even for a smart
• The noise from the engine is almost addictive

Negatives:

• The ride is really hard (195/50/15 Michelin Pilot sport tyres)
• When pushing the car really hard i can feel slightly losing control of the back of the car (rear shock absorbers issue?)
• The clutch feels hard to press (stiff) (new clutch needed?)
• When at high revs (above 4000) and pressing the clutch to change gear, i can feel the clutch pedal vibrating slightly
• When idling, the revs are not stable, what I mean is that they fluctuate from 800 to 900 probably. Aren't they somewhat high for idling? Could this be a tva cleaning issue?
• When i change gear and go hard on the throttle after i leave the clutch roughly, the car feels to hesitate instantly and then it starts revving freely again. Is that an issue?
• Finally, when idling, i noticed that any electrics i use have an impact on the revs, for example, if i switch on the hazards, the revs go up and down in the tempo of the hazards, can this be an issue?

I really like the car, but since i am somewhat a freak when comes to car quality, i really need to sort all those issues out...

[Bari87]

If suspension is same age like car then its of course crap and thats why its hard (gums etc).  Especially rear axle bearings is KickAss difference from old to new ones.

Stock suspension not adjustable so yes, always oversterr a little bit. There are few ways to loose grip from front like bigger stabilisator or harder setting at adjustable coilovers and getting it to the rear etc

If clutch is same age like car, just Change it.

If Alternator is same like car, just Change it. Or at least change bearing, regulator and cooper ring.

If idling is crap then investigate all of your intake and clean, take a look that everything has no leak, ignition must be functional and not old like the car itselfs, Lambdas has to be functional and not old like the car etc

[the_wirewalker]

Thank you very much for the answer.
To be honest, I have plans to change the clutch and shock absorbers soon.
Does anyone has a suggestion on clutch kit and suspension, should I go for Sachs or KYB is better?
Could the alternator be the source of the rpm changes when idling and using electrics?
Again, thank you!

[Ocracoke]

A TVA clean is a good practice anyway with the petrol engines of the 454. Even if it doesn't solve the issue, it is peace of mind. Varying idling can be caused by this, my 1.3 AMT probably needs it as well as it has similar odd idling.

[Bari87]

You can take both from Sachs. As for clutch i would always use only Sachs.

As for coilovers there are lot more manufactures sure

But dont forget that a suspension is much, much more then only 4 coilover and springs. Especially for comfort you need to change  every old and hard gum/bearing on the underbody.

As for alternator just take a look / measure the Volt Output, its a good indicator.

[the_wirewalker]

Thank you guys, i really appreciate the help...
Today I did my first trip with my new f4 and i was a little bit disappointed since i found two more issues... First, i managed an average fuel consumption of about 40 mpg on the highway with 120km/h average speed, which is a little poor...Can this be a tva cleaning issue?
And secondly, i noticed that the car's main beam lights are seriously pathetic... really i could not aee a thing beyond 5-6 meters. Only good thing is that the fog lights are pretty good, so they helped a lot...I read that this is a standard f4 iasue, what could i do to improve it easily?Change the H7 bulbs?

[Bari87]

5,8L is ok for that old car without having been parts changed which affects fuel combustion. O need about 5,5L while sleeeping at 120-130kmh and everything around it its new.

Dont forget that even tyres/wheels can make +/- 1L

As for the lights, Osram and Philips have LED lights as replacement for H4/H7 but dont know how the regulations and police are in your country

[the_wirewalker]

I would be bloody happy if it was 5.8 L/100 km, but it is more like 7.1 L/100 km...
My ff passion has 195/50/15 Michelin Pilot Sport tires (new ones).
Regarding the police, it is frankly a joke around in Greece, so i guess i can use leds... Have you used any particular brand that fits the ff's headlights?

[Bari87]

Yes thats more thank ok for such a old car with nothing have changed recently and with high consumation tyres like the PS and greek fuel which is 50% water. You can switch to Continental EcoContact for example to save fuel.

But no i dont care about Lights, use park lights in city to save alternator life for me.

[CrazyG]

It is the 'fresnel' lens in the original projector headlights that is the issue
as they disperse the light far too much by todays standards.

Do not for one minute consider using 100w bulbs....they do not last
long and draw too much current.  Lots of owners have tried the Osram
Nightbreaker Plus bulbs (which are till halogen)...that give a small
improvement overall, but not a mega step up from original.
Other owners have tried to fit in LED bulbs, but usually the base
(the rear) of them are so big that they cannot fit inside the housing.
The only real solution to this is to remove the existing projector
unit from inside the outer headlight and change them for the
bi-xenon replacement units sold by Retrofitlab.com
Unfortunately these are not cheap, but they are the best available.
One way to reduce the cost is to email them and order a set of
the projector units, B U T ...without the ballasts or the xenon bulbs,
and instead fit H1 bulbs. (and ask to include the splitter loom)
The improvement in performance with that setup will be in the order
of 50%+ over your original units (with Osram bulbs fitted), but far
short of the xenon performance. That would be my suggestion.

Also....be sure that the clear polycarbonate clear headlight covers
are nice and clear...and do not have the age related hazy appearance
as that really affects the light output. Clean them using an orbital
mop and a proprietary cleaner from either Meguiars or Farecla.
My preference is Farecla AG3/700 G3 Advanced Liquid Compound....
a few dobs/globuals on each headlight cover and then not too much pressure
on the orbital drill pad, then 3 minutes over each of the 4 headlight covers,
clean/wipe off, check, and then repeat if the haze is still visible.

[the_wirewalker]

Thanks for the info all...
I can see that the bixenons are 130€, that is not too bad...
I have cleaned both the tva today and injectors and haven't had any real improvement...The only culprit i found was that the orings around the injectors are worn out and i'm planning to change them on Monday...
Something else i noticed, while i installed an ELM327 scanner, is that the car is running pretty low on temp. I actually manged a maximum of 86 degrees Celsius, after an hour of driving. I may be needing a thermostat too...
.

[CrazyG]

130€      I don't think so... 
That price is for a basic Mini H1 - Twin Kit (Bi-xenon projector kit).
That kit does NOT include xenon bulbs, ballasts, the special projector extension brackets
necessary to enable fitting into a 454, headlight splitter cables etc etc.

The complete bi-xenon kit that they list and sell for a 454 with everything to fit
is €204,95
https://retrofitlab.com/collections/smart-forfour/products/smart-forfour-halogen-to-bi-xenon-headlight-repair-and-upgrade-kit

As I stated previously, you could ask them for a price for a 'cut down' projector kit without
xenon bulbs or ballasts but including all the other bits n pieces, and use standard halogen
H1 bulbs.  Miles better than original lighting, but not as good as xenon/bi-xenon...obviously.

[the_wirewalker]

Thats a good solution, thank you!
Related to my flactuating idle now...I pluged in an ELM327 scanner and noticed that the throttle position reading is somewhat peculiar. When i do not press the throttle pedal and the car is moving i get a reading of 5.5, while when I do not press the pedal and not moving it is flactuating between 1.95 and 2.35. That could probably be the cause of my idle issue? I have already cleaned the throttle body (it was not that dirty) and have no check engine light or fault codes in my elm327 scanner, what can be the source of this issue?
I am thinking either the sensor at the throttle pedal, or even an bad earth?

[CrazyG]

There is one thing you can try before anything else...a throttle reset !
1/ Insert ignition key and turn to position 1....the electrics are on
    but the engine is turned off/not running.
2/ Press the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor..
     (including kickdown if your car is an AMT).
3/ Hold the accelerator pedal down to the floor for 5 seconds, and then
     turn the ignition key back to 0 with the accelerator pedal still held down to floor.
4/ Now release the accelerator pedal...wait a minute or so, then start your car.

If that does not appear to make much difference then did you also remove and
clean the MAP sensor  ?
In the Technical Guide on cleaning the TVA it also covered cleaning the MAP sensor :-
https://www.forfour.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=245.0

Also see the pictures (slide 04 + 05) showing the MAP sensor and how to clean here:-
https://www.forfour.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=245.msg6947#msg6947
NOTE:- you do not have to remove the tube/s.

The MAP can effectively be cleaned 3 or possibly more times before it will finally
need replacing with a new one.  DO NOT  touch the fine copper filament inside
the MAP...any pressure (even with an old toothbrush) can distort or even
stretch it out of shape, and that will 'destroy' it and prevent it working
100%.  AND....when you spray clean it, do not blast it at point blank range as the
pressure from the aerosol can is enough to bend/damage the fine filament in the MAP.
Do it from around 25-30mm away, ok.

[the_wirewalker]

Thanks a lot man!
I have tried the tva reset with no luck thought...
I starting to believe that the issue is probably electrical since I am having both a rough idle (car idle is fluctuating constantly from 790 to 850 rpm) and more serious fluctuations when using electrics. For example, if I use the hazards, i can see that the rpm fluctuates in the same tempo as the hazards, or when i turn on the lights, the rpm drop down instantly and then return again to normal. I tested the battery voltage with a multimeter and I got 12.30 volts when cold and engine off and 14.60 volts when engine is on and with lights on high beam on. It seems that the alternator is OK but the battery has seen better days. I am changing the battery and will let you know.