Hi
What would be the first 'tune up' to do on the 500 c 1.2? I would like bit more power plus more economy if that is possible? Re map??
I leave it to owners more technical than me (would't be difficult!) to reply please
Thanks 500 owners!

PS: I am very satisfied with the car! -just 'nit picking'

I think you will find one comes at the expense of the other, if the1.2 isn't quick enough the easiest way to get more performance is to sell it and buy a ta,1.4 or abarth. A remap might make it smoother but on a naturally aspirated car it's never going to make a world of difference. A remap on my cupra gave just over 50bhp, almost the same as the 1.2 has to start with.

If you want to make it more drivable then by all means a remap, exhaust and air filter will make a small difference, but drive it and enjoy it and the mpg will drop.

oldcutter said:

Hi
What would be the first 'tune up' to do on the 500 c 1.2? I would like bit more power plus more economy if that is possible? Re map??
I leave it to owners more technical than me (would't be difficult!) to reply please
Thanks 500 owners!

Click to expand...

I would agree with SteveTDCi that a re-map on a NA is really a waste of time unless a lot of 'real' modfications were done. Also you're lucky to get 69bhp from the 500 since the Panda owners only get 60bhp.

I often wondered why a 16V head wasn't put on the 1.2 like on the other Fiats but then they had the 1.4 for that.

Since your 500 is new - give it time - it will get quicker once the miles build up - for past experience it was 8K miles.

Using V power or higher octane fuel is worthwhile since the compression ratio is 11:1 which is 'street performance' level - it will benefit from it.

You could join the 'experiment' and fit fancy plugs. You could be the first to try out the Denso VXU22 plugs on a 1.2 and give feedback ?:idea:
Not too sure if they're worth it on a 1.2 but you could opt for the cheaper IXU22 or the NGK Iridiums. My preference would be the IXU22 to compensate for the less optimium extended tip. £40.

An replacement 'performance' panel filter from K&N will make it a little more freeflow and is recommended (click here for tuning tips) over a Cold Air induction kit (CAI). £31.

You could splash out on what Angel Tuning claim to be one of their more sucessful CAIs but it's not cheap at £215 but might be worth it if you are really desperate (Click here).

If you plan reving you engine to get the most of it and you happen to be in the US you could bring this oil back (Click here). Doesn't have the Fiat approval spec (not really important) but has the ACEA C3 5w40 which is the only Class IV oil that I can find.

Unfortunately, tuning the 1.2 for a bit more is both expensive and a bit of an uphill battle. Not saying it can't be done but the benefits aren't huge. To give you an indication, remap, induction and cat back stainless steel with a tiny backbox on my 1.4 gained about 12hp. The 1.2 I'd imagine wouldn't yield a lot more than that if any unless you started getting fancy with internals, balancing, lightening, aftermarket ECU's etc etc (see Panda kit car racers). And that's a lot more expensive than its worth for anything other than a dedicated race machine bound by regs.

Edit: That said I'm the guy who spent an hour yesterday assembling his own rose jointed arb drop links for fitment with the Bilstein B14 coilovers I'm having fitted on tuesday so don't take this as discouragement. Sometime it's worth doing simply for the joy of learning something new or unraveling something that was previously a mechanical mystery to you.

Personally I wouldn't bother The 1.2 is great for a city car and will even give you a bit of fun on b road blats

oldcutter said:

Hi
What would be the first 'tune up' to do on the 500 c 1.2? I would like bit more power plus more economy if that is possible?

Click to expand...

Sone very good advice here for the OP from all who have posted.

You can tune for power, and you can tune for economy - unfortunately they tend to be mutually exclusive & getting more power generally equates to using more fuel, as many TA owners will testify. There are a few exceptions, generally those which increase the efficiency of the engine; fitting better plugs may slightly improve both, but we are only talking minor gains.

The 1.2 is the least powerful of any 500 model and IMO money spent trying to increase its performance would be far better spent buying one of the other variants - all are significantly quicker.

Equally, if your only priority is to maximise economy, there's no point even considering any of these alternatives, as the 1.2 is capable of returning the lowest fuel cost per mile of any currently-available 500, including (at current UK fuel prices) the diesels.

Hi Thanks everyone for all the useful info.

I am generally delighted with the car,and was wondering what your replies would be.....most enlightening!

I may try changing the plugs as a couple of you suggested, I have also put more air into the tyres, which seems to have helped as they were 'down' about 4psi on spec.

I currently am getting around 46/48mpg(which I am happy with) mostly on narrow Yorkshire Dale roads- I presume if I do a longish motorway journey I could expect more?

I will also use premium petrol from now on and see if that makes any difference. This is all for experiments sake -to reiterate.. I am delighted with the car, it is the most fun vehicle to drive and its embarrassing the stares and interest she generates, especially when the soft top is operated!!

Thanks again for all the replies,I will keep you all posted about 'Poppy'

oldcutter said:

I currently am getting around 46/48mpg(which I am happy with) mostly on narrow Yorkshire Dale roads- I presume if I do a longish motorway journey I could expect more?

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It all depends what speed you choose to drive at as the 500 is not particularly aerodynamic & consumption is quite speed sensitive. Keep it below 55 & once it's properly run in, you'll quite often see 70mpg on the trip. Keep up with the BMW's & you'll be lucky to see 46/48.

Sign up for a fuelly account & you'll be able to keep track of what the car is actually doing (as opposed to what the trip computer tells you it's doing). My last 10 tankfuls (before fitting the Ir plugs) averaged 61.5mpg .

oldcutter said:

Hi
What would be the first 'tune up' to do on the 500 c 1.2? I would like bit more power plus more economy if that is possible? Re map??
I leave it to owners more technical than me (would't be difficult!) to reply please
Thanks 500 owners!

Click to expand...

Hi - is it a new car, if so you will find that performance and economy increase as the engine loosens up. Our last 1.2 really appeared to 'perk up' after it had about about 5K to 7K miles under it's belt.

Hi Stu

No she's not new and has done 11k, so well run in and has excellent service history. The one previous owner really looked after her well and she looks brand new!

I suppose I was just wanting to find out if I was getting average mpg and performance from her, I have taken on board all comments from members and will make some minor adjustments as advised

oldcutter said:

Hi Stu

No she's not new and has done 11k, so well run in and has excellent service history. The one previous owner really looked after her well and she looks brand new!

I suppose I was just wanting to find out if I was getting average mpg and performance from her, I have taken on board all comments from members and will make some minor adjustments as advised

Click to expand...

Did the previous owner actually change the plugs? A lot of people cheap out on the servicing and just do the oil and oil filter. New plugs will make a difference

Hi Maxi

I'm not sure about the plugs, but the garage I purchased from (Fiat) gave her a full service before I took her away and they are a genuine garage seemingly honest?
But I will check now you have mentioned it!

oldcutter said:

Hi Maxi

I'm not sure about the plugs, but the garage I purchased from (Fiat) gave her a full service before I took her away and they are a genuine garage seemingly honest?
But I will check now you have mentioned it!

Click to expand...

A garages definition of a service or full service history will probably be different to yours or mine.

oldcutter said:

I'm not sure about the plugs, but the garage I purchased from (Fiat) gave her a full service before I took her away and they are a genuine garage seemingly honest?
But I will check now you have mentioned it!

Click to expand...

306maxi said:

A garages definition of a service or full service history will probably be different to yours or mine.

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

A 'full service' at 11K according to the service manual is not scheduled for the plugs and the air filter to be changed.
If you are looking for the 'cheapest' way of improving your economy and throttle responsiveness a set of new plugs and a new air filter (a tenner each) is hard to beat.
Another 'tuning' item that I missed earlier on is a crankcase breather.

Thanks for that-new plugs and filter sounds a sensible first step!

oldcutter said:

Thanks for that-new plugs and filter sounds a sensible first step!

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According to the official service schedule, plugs are supposed to be changed at 18k, air filter at 36k. At 13k, my plugs were shot, my air filter is good for at least another 12k.

Changing the air filter will make absolutely no difference whatsoever to either performance or economy except when you're running at full throttle - but it's only a tenner & you've got to take the airbox off to change the plugs.

Once I've got some meaningful data for the Ir plugs, I might have a play with the breather to see if it affects economy. Interestingly, despite being over 2 years old & the old design, mine is still like new .

jrkitching said:

According to the official service schedule, plugs are supposed to be changed at 18k, air filter at 36k. At 13k, my plugs were shot, my air filter is good for at least another 12k.

Changing the air filter will make absolutely no difference whatsoever to either performance or economy except when you're running at full throttle - but it's only a tenner & you've got to take the airbox off to change the plugs.

Click to expand...

The last time I changed the air filter I found a surprisingly amount of leaves and debris in the air box. It's hard to think how it got in there. Ended up having to use a hoover !

jrkitching said:

Once I've got some meaningful data for the Ir plugs, I might have a play with the breather to see if it affects economy. Interestingly, despite being over 2 years old & the old design, mine is still like new .

Click to expand...

Are you referring to the crankcase breather ?

loveshandbags said:

Are you referring to the crankcase breather ?

Click to expand...

The big breather linking the cam cover & the airbox.

tbh i would confine your 'mods' to some decent tyres and a fruity exhaust

hood down and loud pedal to the pepsi