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General Suggested upgrades for a 1.4 8v Punto?

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General Suggested upgrades for a 1.4 8v Punto?

I haven't really read any of the replies in this thread ill just point that out but as for performance I've said this to people before I spent thousands on my old 1.2 8v GP and I must have had like 75-80bhp, absolutely pointless.

I got a daft hp reading from my friends 1.4 8v, using this dongle thing that plugs into the diagnostics port, he manages 65.5 bhp at 5500 rpm, the car has a fair few miles on it but it goes to show how much cars performance can fluctuate from car to car, so 2bhp from an exhaust or remap on this car is pointless

I saw the word 'induction' as I was scrolling down to reply, do not bother with any induction kit apart from a gsr kit if you fancy paying £180 which will give you very slight gains that probarly arn't worth it. I tried like every single type of induction upgrade and none made a difference, most lost like all torque the car had.

One day a family member passed away (my mother) and I got a bit of inheritance, wasn't the largest amount of money in the world but I was glad it was in my hands, I decided to buy a 1.9 mjet and have never looked back.
If I could go back though, i would unspend all my money and spend it on the mjet.

MY insurance with no years no claims, and being 18, was only £120 more for the mjet than the 1.2, the power and torque on this thing is unbelievable for a punto, it beats abarths too :p (it will beat those damn 182's one day) so save all your money and buy something powerful and special!

so yeah i've basically wrote out my life story, I just hate to see people spend too much money on underpowered cars that aren't worth it so hopefully you wont :)
 
Last edited:
kyle96 said:
I haven't really read any of the replies in this thread ill just point that out but as for performance I've said this to people before I spent thousands on my old 1.2 8v GP and I must have had like 75-80bhp, absolutely pointless.

I got a daft hp reading from my friends 1.4 8v, using this dongle thing that plugs into the diagnostics port, he manages 65.5 bhp at 5500 rpm, the car has a fair few miles on it but it goes to show how much cars performance can fluctuate from car to car, so 2bhp from an exhaust or remap on this car is pointless

I saw the word 'induction' as I was scrolling down to reply, do not bother with any induction kit apart from a gsr kit if you fancy paying £180 which will give you very slight gains that probarly arn't worth it. I tried like every single type of induction upgrade and none made a difference, most lost like all torque the car had.

One day a family member passed away (my mother) and I got a bit of inheritance, wasn't the largest amount of money in the world but I was glad it was in my hands, I decided to buy a 1.9 mjet and have never looked back.
If I could go back though, i would unspend all my money and spend it on the mjet.

MY insurance with no years no claims, and being 18, was only £120 more for the mjet than the 1.2, the power and torque on this thing is unbelievable for a punto, it beats abarths too :p (it will beat those damn 182's one day) so save all your money and buy something powerful and special!

so yeah i've basically wrote out my life story, I just hate to see people spend too much money on underpowered cars that aren't worth it so hopefully you wont :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply mate, made me see that there is actually no point... just need to wait for the day when I can buy a more powerful engine :slayer:
 
It depends what you really want to do. If you love your car to the point of 'you cant see yourself driving anything else' then theres loads you 'can' do. As mentioned, engine swaps, turbo kits, remaps, high end exhausts ect ect. If your sensible (unlike me) put all the money in an isa account, wait a few years, get some ncb under your belt then sell up and buy something faster :). Of course you can change the panel filter if you wish, you can put a sporting back box on, if you wish. Its your car! Just out of interest who are you insured with?
 
Peter Pick-Up said:
20% higher inflation doesn't hurt grip at all, the Pirelli P7 tires on my Alfa have loads of grip...
And fuel consumption is exactly by the factory specs, even after 10 years and 300.000km's of hard use....
Click to expand...

Of course it will effect grip, that's 1/5th over specified pressure which is quite considerable. You may not have noticed a reduction in grip but it will certainly be less than a tire inflated to normal levels. It might be adequate grip for you but it will be reduced regardless and I wouldn't recommend that kind of 'mod' to anyone.
 
I recommend it to anyone.
In fact, most European tire manufacturers suggest (much) higher pressures than the car factorys...due to the fact that we drive on perfect roads.
I raise the pressure about 20% even on my Ducati motorbike with Pirelli Sport Dragon tires (and you wouldn't believe how much grip I have even on two wheels....)
It's a well known, common inexpensive "mod", without loosing any grip at all.


And it's a well know fact as well, that the majority of all car owners, drive with up to 50% underinflated tires, which is far more dangerous...
One should check pressure at least every two weeks, but I have to admit, I only do that about once a month...with a Flaig RM-2 quality, calibrated tool, specially bought for my Ducati, as I know how important tirepressure is on two wheels...


http://www.flaig-präzision.de/produ...fendruckmessgeraete/pkw-motorrad-fahrrad.html
 
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lou5590 said:
It depends what you really want to do. If you love your car to the point of 'you cant see yourself driving anything else' then theres loads you 'can' do. As mentioned, engine swaps, turbo kits, remaps, high end exhausts ect ect. If your sensible (unlike me) put all the money in an isa account, wait a few years, get some ncb under your belt then sell up and buy something faster :). Of course you can change the panel filter if you wish, you can put a sporting back box on, if you wish. Its your car! Just out of interest who are you insured with?
Click to expand...

Privelege insurance
 
Rolling resistance and grip are two different aspects of a tire...
It's the most difficult task of any tire manufacturer....less rolling resistance and lot's of grip....
Maybe we better open a new tread about tires, as there's obviously a lot of misunderstanding about those very important parts of a car...
 
Last edited:
Peter Pick-Up said:
Rolling resistance and grip are two different aspects of a tire...
It's the most difficult task of any tire manufacturer....less rolling resistance and lot's of grip....
Maybe we better open a new tread about tires, as there's obviously a lot of misunderstanding about those very important parts of a car...
Click to expand...

Grip is brought about by friction, rolling resistance is friction. They are one and the same.
 
Peter Pick-Up said:
Rolling resistance and grip are two different aspects of a tire...
It's the most difficult task of any tire manufacturer....less rolling resistance and lot's of grip....
Maybe we better open a new tread about tires, as there's obviously a lot of misunderstanding about those very important parts of a car...
Click to expand...

But yes I'd agree, this probably isn't the place for this discussion, sorry for going a bit off topic GrandeFiat
 
Best thing in my view (unless you want to start expensive mods inside the engine) is to ensure yours is in the optimum tune/condition so:
- clean good quality plugs gapped right (personally I like NGK ones)
- make sure the plug leads and coils are clean too
- oil - is the right grade and again kept clean, with the capacity of the GP sump extra changes are not expensive. Similarly for the gearbox
- that K&N filter above should help the engine breathe a little better and the stock electrics should adapt OK (make sure you do not over-oil it)
- tyres are imflated properly
- brakes are not dragging
that way at least you'll get the optimum out of your existing engine.

As extra checks:
- ensure your battery cables to the body and engine are OK - a common problem which causes running problems
- the usual trick of don't carry a load of junk in the car unnecessarily!

However if you want to start to spend money and get real power then the question is how much do you want to spend......
 
DGPunto said:
- that K&N filter above should help the engine breathe a little better
-
Click to expand...



This is not the case.
Independent tests show that a clean, new paper filter will breath better than any K&N or whatever so called "sport" filter.
Only after several thousand miles, they will be equal in capacity.
Another benefit of a paper filter,besides low costs, with every change, you can clean and inspect the inside of the airbox.
So if you want the most air for your car, use paperfilters, and maybe change them a bit more often.
Remember, K&N filters are designed for big V-8 engines with large carburetors, racing in dusty desserts...


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filtration-test/
 
Last edited:
Peter Pick-Up said:
This is not the case.
Independent tests show that a clean, new paper filter will breath better than any K&N or whatever so called "sport" filter.
Only after several thousand miles, they will be equal in capacity.
Another benefit of a paper filter,besides low costs, with every change, you can clean and inspect the inside of the airbox.
So if you want the most air for your car, use paperfilters, and maybe change them a bit more often.
Remember, K&N filters are designed for big V-8 engines with large carburetors, racing in dusty desserts...


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filtration-test/
Click to expand...

but this filter fits specifically for a 1.4 8v punto? They wouldnt sell this filter if it wasnt meant for the engine.
 
DGPunto said:
Best thing in my view (unless you want to start expensive mods inside the engine) is to ensure yours is in the optimum tune/condition so:
- clean good quality plugs gapped right (personally I like NGK ones)
- make sure the plug leads and coils are clean too
- oil - is the right grade and again kept clean, with the capacity of the GP sump extra changes are not expensive. Similarly for the gearbox
- that K&N filter above should help the engine breathe a little better and the stock electrics should adapt OK (make sure you do not over-oil it)
- tyres are imflated properly
- brakes are not dragging
that way at least you'll get the optimum out of your existing engine.

As extra checks:
- ensure your battery cables to the body and engine are OK - a common problem which causes running problems
- the usual trick of don't carry a load of junk in the car unnecessarily!

However if you want to start to spend money and get real power then the question is how much do you want to spend......
Click to expand...

Only a small engine so not wanting to mod performance much... like you said just wanna harness all the power available to me... I'll wait for my next car to mod it properly :)
 
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