Panda Old Car, New member

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Panda Old Car, New member

JonboyPandamonium

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Aug 31, 2019
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My 06 Mk2 4x4, FSH, has done less than 50k miles, And, that is increasing at a slower rate as each year passes! It is totally stock at the moment but I’d like to do some very simple (and good value) mods before this winter, as I am seriously considering doing a tour of Scandinavia and to Nordkapp, and to have some more snowy green lane and camping fun over here. The Panda is not “needed” in the family but is loved, so we can have a bit more fun with it these days!
Recommendations please;
-Some M+S tyres that look cool and knobbly, but not too off-roady and aren’t too noisy onroad (yes, I realise that’s a contradiction). I like the idea of keeping it Italian with the brand that I can’t remember the name of? Does anybody have these? I don’t think BF Goodrich do anything so small???
-A very slightly higher ride height / spring / shock set up? Again not so it looks too outlandish or is too detrimental to the onroad behaviour!
- Any other mods or upgrades that might be useful or just look good!
 
Welcome to the forum :)

Firstly, for the pedants on the forum (myself included) - 2006 is a Mk3, the Mk2 was the later version of the 1st generation Panda - looks very similar, but different enough if you know what you're looking for and mechanically different enough to warrant being called Mk2.

All FIAT's bar a couple of exceptions (Grande Punto/Punto Evo & 2016+ 124) all share the same center bore and PCD (58.1mm and 4x98), and the Mk4 Panda is built on pretty much the same basic platform as the Mk3 so there's no real reason why the wheels wouldn't fit.
 
Hi, the latest version of the 4x4 uses the 15" wheels - at least on our 2014 Antarctica it does - not sure if 15" would fit in the Model 169 without fouling somewhere?

The ContiCrossContact Winter that I think are standard fit on the 15" Model 312/319 do quite a good job and cope well with rougher lanes and bad surfaces - and do a reasonable job on-road too. They are a good "all rounder" - you could get them for €70-80 a corner maybe.

Other than that - I have got on well with both Falken and Nokian winter tyre on my 08 169 1.3 Mjet D 2 wheel drive - 13" stock wheeels :) - Falken for all on-road and cheaper - Nokian are a little more expensive but last a bit better IMHO.

Not tried BF Goodrich in any size tbh - but they do a 15" if you are married to the brand - g-Force Winter 2 - don't know how good it is. Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the great information and apologies for miss referencing my own car! Maybe I should refer to it as 2nd generation Panda?
That’s really interesting about the wheels, that really leaves my options open.
I seem to have opened a whole Pandora’s box when I’ve started researching tyre choices!
Thanks, Jon.
 
The tyre rolling radius needs to be kept similar or you will find (1) the speedo reads too low and (2) the gear ratios are too high. Too tall gears can actually spoil the fuel consumption as they engine is being slogged along. If you are planning to go off road you will not want the thing to be over-geared.

Even a small change can have a surprising effect. For example, the 100HP is ok going from 45 series tyres to 50 series and it does give a better ride. But any bigger would absolutely be too much.
 
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