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I have a 2014 Suzuki Alto K10 Petrol (1000cc engine). The mileage so far has been fairly low <10k kms. The fuel efficiency is abysmally low ~8-9 kmpl. This average is running in strictly local conditions, heavy and slow traffic.

Someone suggested an Italian tuneup for the car. Essentially running ~100 kms on the highway at a fairy high speed >90kmph. This will supposedly open up the engine and will give a better average.

Before I actually spend the time and effort on the Italian job, question:

Has anyone tried this technique before and how effective is it?

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  • It is not so much about the speed, it is more about prolonged high load – Martin Jan 29 '18 at 15:07
  • an "Italian" job is always better than no job at all! – SteveRacer Jan 30 '18 at 5:45
  • Your car should be as good as new after only 10000km. If your fuel consumption is really that bad, it's probably something else, and it likely isn't going to be solved by some italian fixing. If you still do suspect carbon or sludge build up to be the culprit, taking the highway in a low gear(doing some 4-5000rpm) is the best way to burn anything clean IMO. – Bart Jan 30 '18 at 21:39
  • @Bart Can sludge build up within 10000 kms? Heavy, slow traffic a contributing factor? – varunsangal Jan 31 '18 at 2:22
  • @varunsangal Under normal circumstances(ie. nothing is broken), no. 10000km is normally too soon to even change the oil. But if for instance, your EGR valve doesn't operate like it should, it could lead to carbon/sludge build up. If the car is only 4 years old and has run only 10000km, it's likely that something has broken. Although i doubt it'll be the long-term solution here, it's never bad to properly heat up the engine once in a while by some spirited driving. – Bart Jan 31 '18 at 10:45
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Well, I find my car will run much smoother after giving it a 750km run at 130km/h only stopping once for fuel...

Really does get it properly warm and cleans all its pipes.

Took an old RV / motorhome on a long run (2 week holiday) with constant speed running - that also made a difference : before all it had done was small local running around and was choked up.

Changing the oil afterwards is good - get all that rubbish out.

It is up to date on its servicing...

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  • Thanks for your response. The car runs smoother yes, but have you seen the average fuel efficiency go up as well? – varunsangal Jan 29 '18 at 14:22
  • I did on both cars - will you ? depends if all the other bits are correct : see servicing... – Solar Mike Jan 29 '18 at 14:25
  • Thanks will give it a whirl on my car too. Will need to wait for a weekend though, else my ~100 kms will still be in heavy and slow traffic. – varunsangal Jan 29 '18 at 14:29

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