New JTD 1.9 owner

Hi all

Just got myself a Punto JTD 1.9 on a 2000 plate. My last 5 cars have been performance Honda's but my mileage increased recently so I needed something cheap to buy, run and insure etc. I wouldn't have normally strayed from Jap, but a bit of research showed the Puno JTD to be a fairly nippy and reliable car.

I tried out an x-plate with 27k and I was quite impressed. The only thing is, I wasn't keen on the 5dr looks, older-style bumpers/side-strips etc, and the £2995 dealer price tag.

Next I tried ouit a 3dr W-plate with 83k, which I expected to be rattly and loose, but 2 careful owners and Fiat FSH it felt just like the 27k one I tried ... so I bought it, £1695.

I'm happy with the car, it does has a few minor things, new aerial needed, drivers window sticks and clutch has to be right down to the floor for a smooth gear-change (might be on it's way out but I'll check this week when I have the car serviced).

I do have some subtle but effective plans for it:

ICE: Sony bluetooth headunit (ready to fit when my facia arrives).
4 x uprated speakers, acoustic-shelf with 4 x Infinity 6x9's + amp (awaiting arrival).

HANDLING: Eibach springs, Greenstuff pads (both on order from Demontweeks).
Also, decent tyres, probably Toyo or something equally good in all-weathers.

POWER: ECU remap, maybe Angel Tuning

I also got myself an OMP gearknob the other day, mainly because the standard one kept coming off in my hand, but I had been considing one to help to clunky diesel gearshift. Anyone tried a B&M short-shifter on these?

Stefan, Leeds.

hi! welcome to the forum
i also have a punto jtd

Welcome to the forum mate.

Sounds like you got a good deal on the car, £1695 is a fair price.

Future plans sound good, make sure you do your research on remapping before deciding which company to go with.

I haven't heard of anyone who has tried a B&M short-shifter on the JTD but I know that Richie on puntomk2.com has tried them on a petrol model and he seems to recommend them, I'm going to be getting one for my JTD after I've got the rest of my Abarth bodykit on and when I get some cash together.

p.s I will check the size of the Sporting steering wheel for you tomorrow. Either way I highly recommend you upgrade to the Sporting steering wheel, it's much nicer to use and looks better to!

Welcome ..

Welcome mate .

I had a B&M on my Civic VTi-S and it was good but it didn't have the factory bend, this meant it was a little too far forward really. Nice shift though.

Your Punto is looking good. I'm thinking of keeping mine a bit more standard. Mind you, some sideskirts/wheels maybe on the cards at some point, lol!

Cheers for checking on the wheel. I don't really want to lose the airbag but there's some nice Momo's on ebay

great car! they seem to just go wrong when you remap them though but mine is at 87k (the mileage when things start to wear out lol) and i wouldnt go with angel tuning....

What went wrong, anything major?

Had no problems with mine.

4 6x9s , dont need that many dude.

welcome to fiat forums anyways

If they're too much, I can always take 2 out or keep the gain down.

I plan to use them for bass, maybe 2 mids and 2 sub bass .... I was thinking of a boxed sub but I don't want mad bass, plus I need my boot space.

Update: fitted new aerial and had major service done in prep for the remap, which is happening next Wednesday :O) Cambelt was done 20k ago plus clutch is strong so good to go.

Which company have you decided to use for the remap in the end?

Well, I was gonna go with Well Lane but the price is £499 (altho they may be willing to barter) and Angel Tuning are £300. I may get a bit less power, but at the same time, I've spent a bit less too.

Anyone know why my driver window buzzes and sticks when I try to open/close it?

I now have my ECU remapped and Eibach springs fitted. The clutch has started to slip a bit, but I got an LUK standard clutch which is is being fitted (along with greenstuff front pads) in the next few days.

The car is much faster despite the now slipping clutch. I tested this against a lovely A3 2.0 TDi the other day who was more than happy to race, although he wasn't so happy afterwards, lol.

The only real gripe I now have is the car feels very nose-heavy going into corners ...

Anyone else find this? Although my next and final mod (for now maybe) will be wider wheels and tyres, which may help a bit here.

Who remapped it? How did you find them?

Yeah there's not much you can do about that, I'm lowered on FK Silverline coilovers and I've got 205/40/17 tyres and the front end still feels like it is dragging you around a bit making it understeer...