I just got back from the dealer, picking up a 500 Abarth in pasadoble red with Monza exhaust and Sabelt seats. Really looking forward to picking it up. I personally like the Sabelt seats but not sure the girlfriend will like them so was wondering what kind of value they have 2nd hand? Would I be able to swap them for normal seats or leather for the same price if someone wanted the Sabelt etc?

Also would like to do some mods to the car once I pick it up, was wondering what the best upgrade options are available?

killahboo said:

I just got back from the dealer, picking up a 500 Abarth in pasadoble red with Monza exhaust and Sabelt seats. Really looking forward to picking it up. I personally like the Sabelt seats but not sure the girlfriend will like them so was wondering what kind of value they have 2nd hand? Would I be able to swap them for normal seats or leather for the same price if someone wanted the Sabelt etc?

Also would like to do some mods to the car once I pick it up, was wondering what the best upgrade options are available?

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On a 500SS that I recently tried it had the cloth seats. I was disappointed in them and found that I wasn't getting sufficient thigh support (brother has the same issue as well) and I only take a 30 inch leg in trousers. I didn't have the same issue with the leather seats in a standard 500 and felt that I may have 'sunk into' the seat more. From having leather on a standard 500 I'm too familiar with the sag effect. So on balance the Sabelts appear to be the real mccoy once you're not too pushed on putting people in the back. Grajo has put the 'gap distance' in an earlier thread so it can be compared with standard.
If you decide to put the Sabelts on ebay I reckon there would be great demand for them. If you are looking for replacement fabric Abarth seats I reckon around £300 on ebay should do it.

Doh I feel really dumb now. I will need easy access to the back seats and never actually tried moving them, I assumed they were similar to the normal seats. Is it still easy to jump in the back with the Sabelts?

killahboo said:

Doh I feel really dumb now. I will need easy access to the back seats and never actually tried moving them, I assumed they were similar to the normal seats. Is it still easy to jump in the back with the Sabelts?

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grajo said:

I promised multispoke this info, but if anyone is also interested I measured the rear legroom with the sabelts. Measuring across the flat of the rear seat bolster from the back to where the tape touched the sabelts it is:-
Fully forward 27 inches
Fully back 21 inches

Don't know whether this is different from standard/leather seats

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I measured the distance from the back of the seat in a 500 Lounge to the front seat and I got 13.5 inches and 6 inches for the 'gap' so I don't know where grajo got his figures from.

In relation to your question I'd imagine that aren't too easy to get past but then again in the A500 it's all about driver 'comfort'.

loveshandbags said:

I measured the distance from the back of the seat in a 500 Lounge to the front seat and I got 13.5 inches and 6 inches for the 'gap' so I don't know where grajo got his figures front.

In relation to your question I'd imagine that aren't too easy to get past but then again in the A500 it's all about driver 'comfort'.

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Lol which gap? I tried out the seats on the 500 lounge and they did seem fine at the back. Only children will go back there anyway so as long as there is room for a booster seat it should be fine.

I have seen some original cloth and leather seats for around £500 on Ebay which is not too bad especially if I can get a bit more for the Sabelts. But I will wait till the car arrives and test them for a while to see if they are suitable or not.

I've seen Sabelts for up to £1500 and original cloth for £400, leather for £600 so you do the math, I bet you could do a swap and pocket £500. Personally I prefer to have the standard seats as they have airbags fitted, which the sabelts don't.

I know Graham (grajo) had some fitted to his SS and can answer any questions for you but he hasn't been on here recently so give him a PM/email if you need to get any specifics.

killahboo said:

Lol which gap? I tried out the seats on the 500 lounge and they did seem fine at the back. Only children will go back there anyway so as long as there is room for a booster seat it should be fine.

I have seen some original cloth and leather seats for around £500 on Ebay which is not too bad especially if I can get a bit more for the Sabelts. But I will wait till the car arrives and test them for a while to see if they are suitable or not.

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I re-measured the 'gap' as Grajo measured which was from the literally from the back of the seat to the front seat and I got 29 & 21 inchs. So essentially it looks like you lose 2 inchs of travel on the seat. So if you only have kids in the back there's no problem. Adults

The car you're getting is very like Grajo's car.

From the bit of reading that I've been doing the Sabelts are...
10kg lighter that the std. seats i.e. in total - not each
you have to try them to make sure that you're comfortable in them before you buy them
No height adjustment - apparently set mid way point
The seat buzzer doesn't work (reminds me of a thread on the 500 )
You feel the car more 'through the seat of your pance' - less cushioning ?
No mention on difficulties getting in and out - seems ok.
If you have the interscope the woofer is thinner for the Sabelts and a replacement costs around €200 & is a 3 month order part.
Original price for the fabric ones were around £1,800 but on a negotiated deal on the above car it was £1,250
If you opt for leather at £800 you get the split seats (worth £150)
Difference between the Sabelts and Leather is theoretically £450

In the past I had Recardos in an RS Turbo - loved them but they didn't suit some people. There had a cushion you could pull out to give extra thigh support. If the Sabelts are anyway near as comfortable as the Recardos it would be worth forsaking the leather and splits for them but they would appear to be very much a personal choice and not for everyone.

Grimwau raised a good point about no seat airbags - you're now down to 5 . If you are removing the Standard seats (wouldn't apply to you) you have to dis-connect battery for 20 minutes and then you can dis-connect. Should be done by a dealer.

If the Sabelts don't suit it should be a simple matter of getting fabric standard Abarth seats. Leather wouldn't match the 'standard' interior.

Thank you it is really useful to get all the information in 1 post. I think I will most probably try and swap them for the originals. The leather ones would be nice but as you mentioned the interior wouldn't match. I am sure the children would be OK at the back I reckon but the extra 2 inches would come in handy on the odd time a grown up will need to go back there. Do you know if the old seats would be easy to retrofit with the airbags and whatnot, I am guessing there is somewhere to plug them in under the seat somewhere

They should be a straight forward swap but there are certain procedures that need to be followed as loveshandbags has mentioned.

1) Make sure the battery is disconnected first.
2) After removing the Sabelts you will need to remove the adaptor fitted into the air bag wiring harness that prevents the air bag warnings.
3) Remove the slimmer subwoofer if you are able to get the standard item as part of any deal you are considering. If you aren't swapping them with another A500 tintop seats you will need to re-use this item.
4) Fit the new seats and connect the air bag harness.
5) Reconnect the battery and hopefully there shouldn't be any warning lights to worry about.

Good luck.

p.s. Does this mean you are still taking delivery of the TA?

Perfect that sounds easy enough thank you

Yea the TA has been dropped. I was only buying that to cuts costs on fuel etc but after hearing all the bad stuff about econemy I thought I would just go with the Abarth and not have to worry too much about driving as slowly as possible to get high MPG figures. I know the Abarth will be more expensive to run and maintain but I wont have that feeling at the back of my head thinking the car should be doing 60-70mpg when its returning 35-40mpg. Also checked my insurance and its not that much of a difference, only £100 extra

grimwau said:

They should be a straight forward swap but there are certain procedures that need to be followed as loveshandbags has mentioned.

1) Make sure the battery is disconnected first.
2) After removing the Sabelts you will need to remove the adaptor fitted into the air bag wiring harness that prevents the air bag warnings.
3) Remove the slimmer subwoofer if you are able to get the standard item as part of any deal you are considering. If you aren't swapping them with another A500 tintop seats you will need to re-use this item.
4) Fit the new seats and connect the air bag harness.
5) Reconnect the battery and hopefully there shouldn't be any warning lights to worry about.

Good luck.

p.s. Does this mean you are still taking delivery of the TA?

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I've no practical experience of the Sabelts so think of my inputs as being 'hearsay'.
The only 'thing' that I would add is to wait 20 minutes after dis-connecting. I had no idea why - something about 'fully' discharging. That said the 500 is not supposed to have the battery disconnected for too long a period (I may have been guilty of this and it might have brought about a 'flashing problem'). Still on balance I would recommend that you agree say a 1 hour rate with a dealer to swop the seats. It might be worth the £75.
Grajo mentioned that when he took delivery of the A500SS with the Sabelts that he didn't sign some 'form'. This maybe something that gets the dealer 'off the hook' because of the missing seat airbags. Getting a car with the Sabelts means that the car has been 'dealer supplied' so you might get away with the car having 'no mods'. Still members would say that you should error on the 'safe side'.
On the replacement seats I would still opt for leather - black would look good with the Red and it will have nice red stitching. The fabric Abarth seats get bought up by Abarth wannabes for their 500s. On the A500 the red leather gets black leather in the 'back' but on a recent topgear A500c esseesse the red leather extended to the back . Grimwau would be more in tune than me on the prices since I'm not based in the UK.
Lastly, I would keep the Sabelts and not sell them (this will disappoint a few here that might be salivating at the thoughts of picking up a 'cheap' set.) . If you can’t have them in the car they would be cool 'converted' if you have an office in the house.

loveshandbags said:

I've no practical experience of the Sabelts so think of my inputs as being 'hearsay'.
The only 'thing' that I would add is to wait 20 minutes after dis-connecting. I had no idea why - something about 'fully' discharging. That said the 500 is not supposed to have the battery disconnected for too long a period (I may have been guilty of this and it might have brought about a 'flashing problem'). Still on balance I would recommend that you agree say a 1 hour rate with a dealer to swop the seats. It might be worth the £75.
Grajo mentioned that when he took delivery of the A500SS with the Sabelts that he didn't sign some 'form'. This maybe something that gets the dealer 'off the hook' because of the missing seat airbags. Getting a car with the Sabelts means that the car has been 'dealer supplied' so you might get away with the car having 'no mods'. Still members would say that you should error on the 'safe side'.
On the replacement seats I would still opt for leather - black would look good with the Red and it will have nice red stitching. The fabric Abarth seats get bought up by Abarth wannabes for their 500s. On the A500 the red leather gets black leather in the 'back' but on a recent topgear A500c esseesse the red leather extended to the back . Grimwau would be more in tune than me on the prices since I'm not based in the UK.
Lastly, I would keep the Sabelts and not sell them (this will disappoint a few here that might be salivating at the thoughts of picking up a 'cheap' set.) . If you can’t have them in the car they would be cool 'converted' if you have an office in the house.

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lol I hadn't thought about converting the seats to office chairs, they would make very comfy office chair, especially since I work from home.

Yea I wouldn't mind paying £75 to have them swapped, that is reasonable price, I reckon though they might ask for more but will definitely give the dealer a call if I buy other seats.

Personally I am not declaring the mods, the car was the demo car for the dealer and came with the mods from Italy so could always argue the car has not been modified and has always been as it is.

killahboo said:

Perfect that sounds easy enough thank you

Yea the TA has been dropped. I was only buying that to cuts costs on fuel etc but after hearing all the bad stuff about econemy I thought I would just go with the Abarth and not have to worry too much about driving as slowly as possible to get high MPG figures. I know the Abarth will be more expensive to run and maintain but I wont have that feeling at the back of my head thinking the car should be doing 60-70mpg when its returning 35-40mpg. Also checked my insurance and its not that much of a difference, only £100 extra

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Real world economy of a review on A500c and 500c TA 'back to back' was 28mpg verus 34mpg. Personally I wouldn't have the restraint to squeeze the economy out of a TA and unless you can avoid the London congestion charge IMHO you better off with the Abarth if you want a bit of oomph. Having 2 1.4s it's shy 20bhp and to keep the 'balance' on the 500 Turbo charging it is better than increasing the engine size.
Congratulations on the order and the best of luck with the A500.

EDIT: youtube Fiat 500C TwinAir vs 500C Abarth review - Auto Express

killahboo said:

Yea the TA has been dropped. I was only buying that to cuts costs on fuel etc but after hearing all the bad stuff about econemy I thought I would just go with the Abarth and not have to worry too much about driving as slowly as possible to get high MPG figures.

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Time to change your sig then and welcome to the ranks.

Regarding fuel economy I am getting more mpg from the Abarth than I got from my TA although I think that was a problem with my car being an early adopter. If you check my fuelly sig you can see what sort of figures I am getting (I use the word I loosely as whatever I get the wife immediately squanders away **FRA**) which I consider is fair for a car with this performance.

Mind you the wife always drives in "non Sport" mode because she prefers the lighter steering and at least on the A500 if you change up at low revs when the arrow on the boost gauge lights up, you are always able to pull away smoothly. I find that with a light throttle it is possible (probably not practical though) to drop down to 1000RPM in 5th gear and still be able to pull away smoothly such is the low down flexibility.

loveshandbags said:

Real world economy of a review on A500c and 500c TA 'back to back' was 28mpg verus 34mpg. Personally I wouldn't have the restraint to squeeze the economy out of a TA and unless you can avoid the London congestion charge IMHO you better off with the Abarth if you want a bit of oomph. Having 2 1.4s it's shy 20bhp and to keep the 'balance' on the 500 Turbo charging it is better than increasing the engine size.
Congratulations on the order and the best of luck with the A500.

EDIT: youtube Fiat 500C TwinAir vs 500C Abarth review - Auto Express

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Yes I saw that review along with a few others that all complimented the TA for it characteristics but its MPG let it down in almost every review I read or watched.


I have a few small mods planned when I pick up the car, was going to get the alloys powder coated in white and also tint the windows at the back and possibly get a remap or TMCbox. Had a TMC box on the Bravo and it helped the MPG go up by 3-5MPG's

killahboo said:

Yes I saw that review along with a few others that all complimented the TA for it characteristics but its MPG let it down in almost every review I read or watched.

I have a few small mods planned when I pick up the car, was going to get the alloys powder coated in white and also tint the windows at the back and possibly get a remap or TMCbox. Had a TMC box on the Bravo and it helped the MPG go up by 3-5MPG's

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I would suggest that you leave the car standard for as long as you can.
Again my own personal opinion - I've had some wobbly moments with the insurance guys and the Irish companies hate modified cars

Tints - the standard on the A500 are dark enough. I got knocked off my bicycle by a guy in a 'van' with tinted glass - a lot of regs out there now on it.
TMC. On the esseesse upgrade of the A500 they maintained that there was no boost increase to get their 158bhp from 145bhp (supposedly 135bhp) with 'small changes' - the BMC filter hardly did it.
The turbo in the A500 has an IHI T3 in theory 'tops' out at 127bhp and because of its endurance testing will withstand higher boost pressures. Running higher boost shortens the life of the turbo. If you TMC then you have essentially esseesed so oil changes should be done at 6K miles intervals. In addition the 'readout' on the Turbo gauge is false - I'm unsure about the computer calculations with mpg, etc. But if it was me I would fall into that 'trap'. But once you start modding it keeps going...
Re increased mpg this is true because of the 'free' power but remember there's no such thing as a 'free lunch'.
P.S. The guys with esseesse (proper ECU) who have TMCd are getting 170bhp.:devil:

Yea with the tints they are already tinted but not as dark as my Bravo. I can still see clearly out of the tinted Bravo windows but they are about 30% or so darker it seems. I hate putting those sun shades in the car for the children so will again see when the car arrives if they are dark enough or not.

The TMC box does look good, I have been reading and the Monza exhaust is also supposed to add 5bhp or so so would be nice to get it upto 170bhp without having to do too much to the car. I see you can also change the turbo to the Punto version and get upto 200bhp which would be nice but the price goes up incredibly. I might consider this though in the future but I am sure I will be happy with 160-170

killahboo said:

Yea with the tints they are already tinted but not as dark as my Bravo. I can still see clearly out of the tinted Bravo windows but they are about 30% or so darker it seems. I hate putting those sun shades in the car for the children so will again see when the car arrives if they are dark enough or not.

The TMC box does look good, I have been reading and the Monza exhaust is also supposed to add 5bhp or so so would be nice to get it upto 170bhp without having to do too much to the car. I see you can also change the turbo to the Punto version and get upto 200bhp which would be nice but the price goes up incredibly. I might consider this though in the future but I am sure I will be happy with 160-170

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One of the guys that was on here got 166bhp on a RR for a 30K TMCd A500 so with the Monza you should get 170bhp.
The esseesse the grajo with 160bhp according to Darren the TMC would add another 10-15bhp and that was not accounting for the Monza (or maybe he was ). The setting was 6 on the esseesse whilst I think its 7 on the standard A500.

There were a few A500 ECUs floating around and some were getting these flashed and put in the car - there are undectable whilst with the TMC you see it. You original ECU could be popped back in (in theory) since all the mileage etc. was recorded on the base computer. More work with this one but I wouldn't get the original ECU flashed because you've blown the warranty. I'd like the turbo gauge to give me the 'real' picture.
Also esseesse changed the 'format' on the upgrade. Originally the kit came with a ECU that was not 'married' to any particular car but on the new kits I think your own ECU is flashed. So these 'spare' ECUs will not be as common place.

EDIT: Just seen grimwau's posting below. Are you looking to make the tints darker ? Also the back window on the hatch is also tinted as standard on the A500 as it is with the old 'Sport' model in the 500.

killahboo said:

Yes I saw that review along with a few others that all complimented the TA for it characteristics but its MPG let it down in almost every review I read or watched.


I have a few small mods planned when I pick up the car, was going to get the alloys powder coated in white and also tint the windows at the back and possibly get a remap or TMCbox. Had a TMC box on the Bravo and it helped the MPG go up by 3-5MPG's

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The back windows are already tinted, lol. using proper privacy glass. Did you look at the car with your sunglasses on?

edit> Sorry guys, must have missed the posts above about the tinted glass.

Just carry on as if I wasn't here.

grimwau said:

The back windows are already tinted, lol. using proper privacy glass. Did you look at the car with your sunglasses on?

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Lol they really don't look that dark, couldveasily see right through the car