Jai said:

there is a video, on a dubious website, of a young, and quite fit, lady using a gearstick in a manner no car designer imagined. in that instance i'm certain the adages, "size matters" and "no substitute for cubes" is quite apt......

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She wasn't using the clutch and was screwing up all the synchro's?

RobW said:

:slayer: sig worthy!!!

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I couldn't help myself. It was too easy.

Ricey155 said:

ok 2 real problems with the abarth is the overly massive gearknob and steering wheel

ok the steering wheel i can live with for a while

the gearknob ok i could have the ali fitted but my car is already here with large leather type so no option there

is there an after market job available ??

something half the size would be nice ideas would be great

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I totally understand where you are coming from with regards to the gear knob, but on the Abarth the standard fit leather gear knob is smaller than other 500's which I find cheap and far too big, I found the Abarth leather a big improvement and comfortable to use.

You're lucky you didn't spec the alloy one as its actually bigger than the leather one.

I'm sure it will not be long before something along the lines of a simple smaller alloy type from the likes of Richbrook becomes available, may already be, and if its good enough to be fitted to Lotus, its good enough for a 500. Drive a Honda integra Type R DC2 and tell me the small titanium ball style gear knob is not just tactile perfect, the Richbook is the same.

The steering wheel, I'm not sure what you mean if it's diameter, or thickness of the rim itself. The diameter for an OEM air-bag wheel is good, its well made & looks really good, although I would say its went a bit BMW and gone too thick to try and make you think its higher quality, its something it doesn't need to do. Unfortunately this can reduce the feedback as the rims so thick it mutes out a lot of the road, although with the strange electric steering I doubt even a thinner rim would offer much more in way of communication.

J333

ive got a 53 plate type R and it is perfect, ive done 20 miles in my new car and all i can say is ive changed my mind i drove the type r to the hospital and the golf gti to the garage and the 500 home

the 500 is getting there, ok its not big but its different to the type r and golf

nice change have a go kart to play with


steering feels heavy tho is this normal ??

Ricey155 said:

J333

ive got a 53 plate type R and it is perfect, ive done 20 miles in my new car and all i can say is ive changed my mind i drove the type r to the hospital and the golf gti to the garage and the 500 home

the 500 is getting there, ok its not big but its different to the type r and golf

nice change have a go kart to play with


steering feels heavy tho is this normal ??

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Yeah the steering can be surprisingly weighty.

Ricey155 said:

the 500 is getting there, ok its not big but its different to the type r and golf

nice change have a go kart to play with


steering feels heavy tho is this normal ??

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There's always the "girlie" button you can press if you have a 1.2 or 1.3.

Jai said:

there is a video, on a dubious website, of a young, and quite fit, lady using a gearstick in a manner no car designer imagined. in that instance i'm certain the adages, "size matters" and "no substitute for cubes" is quite apt......

Click to expand...

I had a girlfriend years ago who had a unique talent. She used to be able to change gear, but she didn't put the gear knob in her had...... I'll leave the rest for you to figure out.

Mark Elvin said:

I had a girlfriend years ago who had a unique talent. She used to be able to change gear, but she didn't put the gear knob in her had...... I'll leave the rest for you to figure out.

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file:///F:/Music:idea:


Telekinesis?

306maxi said:

file:///F:/Music:idea:


Telekinesis?

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Fa**ykinesis

Fattykinesis?

306maxi said:

Fattykinesis?

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f a n n y k i n e s i s

Ricey155 said:

steering feels heavy tho is this normal ??

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Heavy? WTF? The steering in the 500 is comically light compared to, oh, every other car in the world.

jnoiles said:

f a n n y k i n e s i s

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I know I was trying to be funny

jnoiles said:

Heavy? WTF? The steering in the 500 is comically light compared to, oh, every other car in the world.

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Yeah in sport mode it is comically leaden, you almost have to fight it to turn the wheel (which works wonders in conjunction with the equally comical turning circle). Personally if I have electric steering with little true feedback I want it to be light why spend extra effort for no gain (the actual input is the same in both modes).

olopboy said:

Yeah in sport mode it is comically leaden, you almost have to fight it to turn the wheel (which works wonders in conjunction with the equally comical turning circle). Personally if I have electric steering with little true feedback I want it to be light why spend extra effort for no gain (the actual input is the same in both modes).

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yeah cheers for the reply thought reading a few comments its was just me, my golf gti & type r have lighter steering

and yes the turning circle with 17's is 8 point turn time lol

car drives great gear knob isnt a problem any longer

olopboy said:

Yeah in sport mode it is comically leaden, you almost have to fight it to turn the wheel (which works wonders in conjunction with the equally comical turning circle). Personally if I have electric steering with little true feedback I want it to be light why spend extra effort for no gain (the actual input is the same in both modes).

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If you really want the perfect weighting install a quaife atb lsd in your 500. It gives it the perfect weighting. To say nothing of the increased traction and stability

A bargain at about £1000 installed.