(G) why modify a panda?

I think you guys have missed the point.

I think this is a case of buying a £3300 low mileage reliable cheap to run modern car and spending some 'pocket' money on it to make it slightly more individual and give the driver a feel good factor.

A cat back exhaust
Set of alloys
maybe some lights
boot spoiler
a better stereo
100hp seats

at a guess.

A couple of days hunting around the scrapyards will reveal a Punto 75 cam and parts for about £30-40 which gives another 15bhp. Add a filter and exhaust aswell and it will feel like a different car.
£/hp/%increase that is probably as good as any mod on any car on the road.

Grahamo, have a look at NigelR32s thread he is modifying a 1.2 dynamic although more for motorsport than styling etc...

I thought NigelR32's project was based on a 100HP.

It is. He just bought the 1.2 to play with while he focuses on preparing the 100hp.

Yes and no to the 75 cam ..it will also need a larger throttle body to get the benefit of it and the different exaust manifold as well..so its going to cost more and not viable because the 1.2 uses a plastic inlet manifold set up which wont take the larger throttle body anyway..all adding up to a total waste of time and effort..bigger engine in a bigger car maybe get an Idea..fiat idea that is..

Go for it..... Bling it up, and don't forget one of those big rear roof spoilers that wiggle up and down.

Nitro, baby... shove a bottle on it!

PNL, I thought all exhaust manifolds were the same on the multipoint engines?
also, is not the bolt pattern for the inlet manifold the same?

anyway

it sounds like enjoying the car for what it is rather than doing anything serious to it.

Any ideas what Fiat have done to the engine to get 70ishbhp from it in the 500? I guess there as some serious mods for emissions too.

Have to disagree with the larger Tb for the P75 cam . It will move the power band slightly higher, let you rev all the way to 5,500 rpm instead of dieing at 3000 . The Tb will help tho, but is not a must.

I would say defo go for it, remember focus your money enhancing the driving experenices and not spend loads of money making it go faster! So i would just say lower it with a nice set of wheels will set the tone nicely!

I don't know why people keep saying buy something quicker to start with. If we all done that none of us would be here driving fiats and people usually comes on to this forum are people that love their fiat (well majority)

But let me make a brave assumptions that everyonbe that is saying that already have something that is faster?


Ming

I said inlet mani not exhaust..larger throttle body I looked into and yes it will shift the power band to peak power but tricker told me it wasnt available anyway no point in adding one mod without the rest of the equation as far as I am concerned..866 cam/throttle body /exhaust mani and system and map..what goes in must come out in the best possible way..breathing in other words..

You wouldn't turbo an 899 Cinquecento - you'd buy a Sporting. It makes sense to start with the biggest engine available.

The logical side of it though, a faster car is designed to go faster, will probably be cheaper and easier to insure than a modified car, will be easier to sell on and should already have brakes and suspension to cope. You never recoup your money when modifying.

That said, it is a lot of fun making cars go faster. Rinsed a few pounds myself doing it!

Of course the other way to make a car faster is to "mod" the driver - money well spent and transferable to every other car you drive

Chris

Seriously what is the point of tuning a car with a smaller engine in the range when you can just buy the one with the bigger engine that has all the bits you want on it in the first place?


I bought a 100hp after having an MJ for 9 months. I could have 'chipped' the MJ but I figured it would still be rubbish, so I did the sensible thing and bought the car that had what I wanted on it.

Yes one of my cars is a fair bit faster than a 1.2 panda, the other is a lot, lot faster.

Modifying, fun that it can be, is a mugs game.

/been there got the t-shirt.

Chris makes a good point about driver training. Money well spent.

....Seriously what is the point of tuning a car with a smaller engine in the range when you can just buy the one with the bigger engine that has all the bits you want.....

You cannot just go out and buy a Panda 100 for £3300, and definately not a 20000miler.


Also PNL you definately mention changing the exhaust manifold in the original post.

Well wouldn't it be a better idea to put the money you had planned on modifying into a more expensive car that does what you want in the first place?

not always, get the car you want, spend the time effort and money you want, to get the result you want.

more money doesn't always mean more ability..........ask the bloke who stacked a clio rental at kellenhard last monday when we were at the nurburgring, £10k was the bill...........

no car is perfect out of the box, including the type r you constantly carp on about, if so there would be no kits for almost every part of the suspension and braking system available to change. obviously there are people who despite spending more money, on a "better car", think it can be improved......

I've been there and done it Jai. Twenty years experience of modifying has told me that it's a better idea to buy a car that does what you want. In my case the Type-R is perfect in that respect. Also you forget that changing suspension and the like doesn't always add up to a real improvement. People only think it might do, because it's stiffer etc, does not always mean better. Such things are way more complex than that.

This is because most modifiers and individuals do not have the resources of a motor manufacturer to lean on. Could I really hope to better honda's setup on my type-R. Not really, not if i'm realistic, despite having spent many years doing full geo setups on race elises/exiges etc. The effort was put in at the factory and it shows.

Of course more money doesn't mean more ability. I never said anything about ability.