MarkThompson4 said:

My girlfriends brother works for a good local garage so any work I'd need done I can get a good price on, just need to find myself a decent one Giving myself a deadline of April 14th - my 23rd birthday

From what I've read so far on the coops is that I should be looking for one with good condition bodywork and check for rust in the boot and underside (subframes) and if I can find one with a recent cam belt job that a worry of my chest for a few years? My budget will be about 2-3k probably 2.5k minus insurance. Can't find any for sale in Scotland, most are 2-300 miles away so if any problems arise I'll probably know during the return journey lol

Personally what would you go for out the bunch?

Click to expand...

I can definitely tell you have been reading up about these cars trust, fccuk.org is like a bible for these cars, all you need to know is on there about these awesome Coupe`s.

My personal choice, the 20v twin cam turbo all day any day, I would not touch the 16v turbo`s, unless I had endless funds just in case, not saying the 20v turbos are saints but they are and have been apparently, going by owner based feedback and reviews, the more reliable out of the turbo charged versions

Mind you tho, you should really consider a manual abarth if you are keen on upgrading to a bigger power block. These 20v 2.4 N/A`s are awesome, very fast and will be alot cheaper to run. From insurance to a better peace of mind over the coupes buddy. Im sure a massive bitch will probably occur, just like it has before when I said this but, who cares , my personal opinion, if you buy an Abarth make sure you stay away from the selespeed :shrug:

BLKC99 said:

My personal choice, the 20v twin cam turbo all day any day......

Click to expand...

Don't forget the delicous noise they make

Phil's spot on and if you get the manual abarth you completely do away with any of the selespeed woes that unfortunately occur. Plus there cheap as chips to buy. The coupe would be the preferred choice if funds allow - they are simply gorgeous!

Thanks lads completely agree with both of yous, any 20 valve will do me fine they just sound awesome The Stilo Abarth insurance is definitely more affordable and has the benefit of being fully galvanised compared to the Coupe, monthly insurance payments for an Abarth will be exactly the same as what I paid for my 1.2 Stilo which I'm really pleased about

Now something I obviously can't avoid is tuning I'd feel much more confident tuning the Abarth - induction and exhaust; despite most likely bringing up the engine light I'd definitely remove both cats and fit a nice induction kit and remap I'd be moe tentative tuning a turbo engine...

I just want to know what it really feels like driving the Abarth? Might sound silly but is it a fast car? I've read they have a longer stroke compared to the 2.0 20v which I believe gives it it's great torque figure...how does this feel in the real world to you guys? Just like the coop the Abarths are too rare for me to get a hold of to test drive

Well tuning is a grey area with the abarth as not many have done it. This I think is down to two things - price and knowledge.

I've studied this subject quite in depth as I am curious to know how tunable the 2.4 lump really is. There are tuning goodies available for this engine such as cams, sports clutches, bigger injectors, exhausts, air filters and LSD's but the price for them are borderline ridiculous - for instance a set of fast road cams cost around £800 (and as far as I'm aware there's only one company that makes them) and a K&N kit cost £250!. With these sort of prices it's no surprise why no one has tried to tune one.

To answer your question Mark yes they do have a longer throw. They have the same bore as the 2.0 but they have a longer throw to get it to 2.4. I've never seen a turbo'd one before but there's no reason why it can't be done. The head and block are the same you just need the extra goodies and an ECU but again I never seen it done as the price to archive this must be silly on a car worth peanuts.

Shame about your 1.2 going but I would be tempted too if i could get an insurance quote like that, I've got 5 year no claims I'm a little older than you and I'm paying £900 for my 1.2 :bang:

If you are still getting rid of bits from your 1.2, I would be interested in the digital AC controls and heater matrix if that's still available and with help from your guide it would be a nice addition.

Behind the AC controls it looks like some sort of gear assembly, so with the digital one does it have motors built in to mimic the turning of the knobs?

DCK said:

Shame about your 1.2 going but I would be tempted too if i could get an insurance quote like that, I've got 5 year no claims I'm a little older than you and I'm paying £900 for my 1.2 :bang:

If you are still getting rid of bits from your 1.2, I would be interested in the digital AC controls and heater matrix if that's still available and with help from your guide it would be a nice addition.

Behind the AC controls it looks like some sort of gear assembly, so with the digital one does it have motors built in to mimic the turning of the knobs?

Click to expand...

Strange how some insurance companies work? I'd be trying look elsewhere!

Digital AC controls and matrix are still available PM me if you're interested. Yeah you are spot on how they work, little actuators connected to the flaps make them move to control airflow. You don't need full blow air conditioning to have this nice feature either

My Stilo is a metal shell now I'm quite sad about the whole thing lol perhaps if they didn't make the radiator fan so quiet then I maybe would have noticed it stopped working and the engine probably wouldn't have overheated? Lol but such is the way things go I suppose, 20-valve power has been whispering in my ear

For DCK...

A few pics of the AC heater matrix;



The digital AC wiring is all self-contained on the heater matrix.



This plug at the rear plugs into a wiring plug that your manual AC matrix will be connected to also, behind the glovebox next to the brake servo.



This is the cabin temperature sensor which is located on top of the dash in the middle, you will have a blanking plug here instead.



This is the front part of the matrix which blows air under the center console and under the front seats. The wiring going down either side connect to two airflow/ temp sensors which obviously come with it (will bubble wrap separately).



The wiring from the sensors and actuators (next pics) all come together in these wiring plugs which connect to the back of the digital AC controls. The white plug you can see is the power plug for the whole thing which plugs into a white plug behind the dash.



Actuator on the right hand side. Works perfectly.



The two actuators on the other side, also work perfectly. Don't know what each actuator actually does lol but they work.

That's everything you need to know about the digital AC and to connect it up. There's an earth strap on the left side of the matrix but it mounts where the manual AC matrix's earth point was too.

Hope this clarifies any questions you had mate.

Also may be of interest for you too Studentas

It is interesting
Thank you!

Got a question. Earlier you said there was 3 sensors. 2 of them are in heater matrix, and 1 more should be separated, that need to be connected.
Or i'm i wrong?
Dash sensor, and a blank plug, are they supposed to be connected, or the sensor needs to be placed near that blank connector? Sorry if these questions sounds silly, just want to understand everything before ill try to attempt this modification

Thanks for all the info there mate, you got all that done pretty quick lol. Looks like an interesting job to change out.

I didn't realize that thing was that big but I'd love to get it in my stilo, those 3 knobs are an eyesore

Well I liked the look of the quotes I put up previously but I forgot to mention that they included my current SP30 on my license, I got it in September 2011 so come September this year it'll come off! So I've redid my insurance quotes removing the SP30 to give me a future indication and I was pleasantly surprised...

Stilo Abarth and Coupe 20vt



And a Vr6 Corrado and the new Astra VXR (insurance quote tempts me to get finance!)



These are a good 3-400 quid cheaper than when I had the SP30 and if this is indicative of what I'd be paying in September then I think I'll wait till then before I buy anything, or at least till I insure it

You wont regret a 20v Stilo. I have had immense fun with mine. The GP Schumacher handles night and day better than the standard Abarth.

Here is mine for sale to see what you can get for your money.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...-stilo-20v-gp-schumacher-le-no-1-2005/1965441

If yours is still for sale come September don't worry I'll probably be the guy signing the V5C

Love that boot build! And the rest!

I've sat in stus car mate and I can tell you it sounds AWESOME!! you wouldn't be disappointed

I have replaced most of the Audio Gear otherwise it makes the car way to expensive. It's been a fun project to get a good sound on a sensible budget. Without any tuning yet it sounds bloody good.
I just wish someone would buy it. She doesn't deserve to be sat doing nothing.

The Schumi definitely look like an improvement over the standard Abarth. I have just thrown another car into the works just to confuse things further; I went in to Arnold Clark yesterday with my uncle to collect his new Astra when he told me about this brute of a car he saw on the forecourt a few days prior and told me I'd better take a look...went round to see what it was and what I saw was an 04 plate Nissan 350Z with 29k for 7 grand, I melted at the sight of it. The lad dealing with my uncles purchase was sound and gave me a test drive of it in return for a 5* review off his services for my uncle lol

The drive I had in this thing I'll never forget. Took it out the retail park, directed it to the motorway sliproad and planted it. In the short burst merge from the slip road to the dual carriageway I was doing a ton and mildly shat myself lol I eased off the gas and kept a steady 70 till the next slip road, through the traffic lights and back down the other side of the carriageway. I've never experienced acceleration like it before, it was the 305bhp manual version. Despite the power and driving position the were new to me I felt completely at home and the FR setup made me feel like this was the car for me.

In short I've fallen for the 350Z and provided I save up a decent deposit by September and my insurance only being £900 it will be my first choice provided I find the right one!

It's got a renault engine which came out of the Vel Satis and was designed and built in America.......... Caution required bud but I do like the look of them I must admit but it's no 20v coupe

gadge said:

It's got a renault engine which came out of the Vel Satis and was designed and built in America.......... Caution required bud but I do like the look of them I must admit but it's no 20v coupe

Click to expand...

That I did not know lol but I watched the Fifth Gear review and they say the later version had an "80% new engine" with 313bhp so can't be that closely related to the Renault?

My friend with the mk6 Golf GTi has a friend who has a blue 350Z and it looks stunning! Ironically I drove by a Coupe on my test drive lol defos cheaper but I need to somehow find a 20vt locally to get a test drive for comparison