Does anyone else notice that their TA is a bit moody in terms of performance or is it just me? Sometimes I notice that it seems to be running particularly well and other times it seems a little off colour. I cant find any correlation with outside temp, petrol etc so there's no obvious pattern or reason. It's quite subtle so it could all be in my head so just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience?

Sort of.

I'm on record on here stating that when I changed the plugs in our TA, the car was transformed.

Also on record here, that putting Tesco Momentum 99 fuel in the tank transformed the car too.

Somehow, sometimes, I think nothing has changed.
The plugs are 5,000miles down the line now, and I've stopped putting 99 octane in the tank. Can't say there's any difference.

Therefore, I would say you are quite possibly correct. Sometimes the engine is as sweet as a nut, and other times, just sort of normal. Maybe the plugs and the 99 octane didn't do anything at all.

Cheers,
Mick.

Mercky said:

Does anyone else notice that their TA is a bit moody in terms of performance or is it just me? Sometimes I notice that it seems to be running particularly well and other times it seems a little off colour. I cant find any correlation with outside temp, petrol etc so there's no obvious pattern or reason. It's quite subtle so it could all be in my head so just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience?

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Have you forgotten to praise your TA from time to time...it does make a difference, trust me.

dont get me wrong - I love it to bits and its running really well now with almost 22k up but I do notice it's little mood swings, probably less pronounced then when mileage was low. I've had no real issues either in over 2 years bar a dodgy SS battery which was replaced under warranty, it also gets regular doses of fresh selenia 0W as a reward for being good

Mercky said:

dont get me wrong - I love it to bits and its running really well now with almost 22k up but I do notice it's little mood swings, probably less pronounced then when mileage was low. I've had no real issues either in over 2 years bar a dodgy SS battery which was replaced under warranty, it also gets regular doses of fresh selenia 0W as a reward for being good

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Mine does seem to have its off days, but, like yours, I can't pin it down and it doesn't last. That is not until we have a very hot day here, say 35C, when it can be positively grumpy if asked to take off quickly.

My Panda 4x4 TA was a bit moody a few weeks ago, it had just clocked over 12k.

Every now and then after starting it would cough and rattle with a bit of a flat spot pulling away.
A couple of times it continued to tick and rattle at idle and sounded a bit rough on the move, hard to explain, but it wasn't happy chugging along like it used to, if I got the rpm up high, it seemed ok and the lump running stopped.

I chucked a couple of new plugs in it and it's been fine since.
I'm starting to think the plug life isn't what Fiat expect or all the short trips have killed them.

Piccolo Nero e Bella said:

Mine does seem to have its off days, but, like yours, I can't pin it down and it doesn't last. That is not until we have a very hot day here, say 35C, when it can be positively grumpy if asked to take off quickly.

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mine seems like it's "adaptive",
I tend to commute in ECO mode, so am very used to it's " performance" like this..,
every now and then I give it a fairly hard drive, ( once all warmed-up)
and back in ECO mode it is then noticeably more responsive for a day or 2..,

just what I've noticed, @23K miles now,
due it's 2nd Conventional service..had a 1st swap of build oil at 5000 miles.

only trustworthy FIAT places locally have BOTH ceased trading / lost FIAT support.. so I may well be doing it myself,
plugs have done @10K miles,,so hoping they will last a little longer.

Experience with 8V FIRE engines tells me that worn plugs are BAD news for vehicle electronics.. so don't want to go TOO long

Charlie - Oxford

Does it run better on cold damp days?

varesecrazy said:

mine seems like it's "adaptive",

I tend to commute in ECO mode, so am very used to it's " performance" like this..,

every now and then I give it a fairly hard drive, ( once all warmed-up)

and back in ECO mode it is then noticeably more responsive for a day or 2..,



just what I've noticed, @23K miles now,

due it's 2nd Conventional service..had a 1st swap of build oil at 5000 miles.



only trustworthy FIAT places locally have BOTH ceased trading / lost FIAT support.. so I may well be doing it myself,

plugs have done @10K miles,,so hoping they will last a little longer.



Experience with 8V FIRE engines tells me that worn plugs are BAD news for vehicle electronics.. so don't want to go TOO long



Charlie - Oxford

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Funny you should say that Charlie, I was always curious if it was somewhat adaptive, my experiences are very similar to yours, I drive in Eco a lot now that it's fully run in and after a day or two of switching it on the car seems quite responsive and refined with a surprising amount of oomph, I kinda presumed it was me that was being adaptive and not the car, ditto when you switch Eco off, it seems to fly but then settles down. Goudrons my plugs are fresh iridiums and it's not that the car runs badly ever it's just seems the response varies subtly. Mines a Euro 6 btw. John, no difference in damp conditions, I think they do run better generally though in warm weather as long as your not slogging the AC

Mercky said:

Does anyone else notice that their TA is a bit moody in terms of performance or is it just me? Sometimes I notice that it seems to be running particularly well and other times it seems a little off colour. I cant find any correlation with outside temp, petrol etc so there's no obvious pattern or reason. It's quite subtle so it could all be in my head so just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience?

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Remember that air density & temperature are constantly changing; the variation from one day to the next can be considerable and the ECU will take a mile or two to adapt. Also the difference in absolute engine performance on a cold, high pressure day and a warm, low pressure one is not insignificant.

This is true for any car; the TA may just be a bit more sensitive than others in this regard.

Yes, I think the TA could be a bit more sensitive to conditions simply because, as it only has two cylinders, it is inherently less smooth than a 4-cyl. I was convinced mine was smoother at low revs using V-Power Nitro, but the effect seems to linger a couple of tankfuls after returning to "normal" fuel.
I'll still put the odd couple of tankfuls of V-Power through it to keep things clean, though.

Mine is certainly sensitive to hot weather!

Turbo cars in the 90's that were modified often had water injection to improve combustion and power and also cool the air after the intercooler making it more dense, the theory being that fuel molecules stick to the surface of the water molecules giving a greater surface area thus faster cleaner burn resulting in more power so often your car will be "happier " on a cold damp day vs hot dry.

Correct, John, and I believe it affects normally aspirated engines, too. I think some WW2 aircraft had water injection for emergency boost.

TrevC said:

Correct, John, and I believe it affects normally aspirated engines, too. I think some WW2 aircraft had water injection for emergency boost.

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Not just WW2 aircraft; it's been used more often than you might think. Start reading about it here.

Driving our 500TA this afternoon, I noticed that she was running smoother than when I last drove her. I gave it no more thought than that.

However, on my way back home, I suddenly remembered this thread.
It was raining!

We've had a week or so of dry weather, and today it was raining. Not hard, but drizzly and damp, and that must make all the difference to these engines.

I'd never ever noticed this before in the whole of my 45years of a driving career, that damp weather makes an engine happier. It can only be noticeable because it's a 2cyl engine? Perhaps 4cly (plus) engines don't see any real difference?

Thanks muchly,
Mick.

Mick F said:

Driving our 500TA this afternoon, I noticed that she was running smoother than when I last drove her. I gave it no more thought than that.

However, on my way back home, I suddenly remembered this thread.
It was raining!

We've had a week or so of dry weather, and today it was raining. Not hard, but drizzly and damp, and that must make all the difference to these engines.

I'd never ever noticed this before in the whole of my 45years of a driving career, that damp weather makes an engine happier. It can only be noticeable because it's a 2cyl engine? Perhaps 4cly (plus) engines don't see any real difference?

Thanks muchly,
Mick.

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Hmmm interesting, my car should be running really well all the time so!:

My car's hot weather splutters would seem to back this up from the other direction - except that nobody in this part of the world has reported similar behaviour.

I just put it down to heat as I haven't noticed any improved running in more moist conditions but I'll be on the lookout now.

Mercky said:

Does anyone else notice that their TA is a bit moody in terms of performance or is it just me? Sometimes I notice that it seems to be running particularly well and other times it seems a little off colour. I cant find any correlation with outside temp, petrol etc so there's no obvious pattern or reason. It's quite subtle so it could all be in my head so just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience?

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I have been told it will cost £500 to repair the loom to enable the boot to open.

I've had an 85 TA from new (2013) and I was on here from the day I got it and read loads about the TA engine needing to settle in and loosen up before it really performs well. I've found it to be the opposite on mine lol I stopped driving it in ECO mode last October as the power just wasn't there for the daily A27 action I have to put it through and the fact that the MPG between ECO and 'sport' is about 3 on mine (I get between 42-45).

Some days it does seem to struggle a bit pulling away but after a few seconds it kicks in (kinda around 20 mph) and by the time you hit 3rd its roaring off like usual. It's either very wet here in Portsmouth or hot, and I can't say the temp makes much difference, however I did notice something a few days ago; I usually drive to work (20-30min journey) and leave it in the carpark for 7-8 hours but last weekend it was only sat for about an hour before we were back in it and off again and it felt much more alive and ready. Maybe warming up for a bit does do something.