Hey All,

So after 5 years i have finally paid the Stilo off and now want to start making some modifications to her.

I have a couple of questions so bare with me eh.

1) What other fiats use the 1.4 16v Active engine & can u use engine modifications off them?

2) Are there any fast cams out there for it and what other engine modifications can i go for before i spend money on remap?

3) Anyone any tips at all when it comes to the modification side of these little beauts?

I have been tempted to upgrade to an Abarth but i love my little 1.4 too much!

upgrade to a 1.9 16v 150 bhp jtd, then put a tuning box on it

Depends how deep your pockets are. Possibilities include mods to exhaust, induction, re-map and (as you've hinted) new cams. And not forgetting suspension and brakes.

However, you need to think long and hard whether the gains will be worth it. At the end of the day it's still a 1.4 normally aspirated engine, pulling a reasonably heavy car around. With the best will in the world, it's never going to be a ball of fire.

Just my two penn'orth...

Do you think the site needs a seperate section dedicated to Tuning & Modifying - cast your vote on the link below.
https://www.fiatforum.com/site-ideas/279895-tuning-modifiying-section-poll.html

If its a standard car then Sell it and buy a faster one. Its by far the easiest and cheapest way to tune a car

Remaps, induction kits, cams and all that is over priced tat that does nothing for the actual drivability to the car.

volxstu said:

Remaps, induction kits, cams and all that is over priced tat that does nothing for the actual drivability to the car.

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And so ended the multi-million after-market tuning industry overnight, all thanks to Volxstu...

It is quite well known that bolt on and cheap (i.e short of overhauling the whole engine) mods arent worth anything to the performance of small NA engines.

If you really want to increase the power of an Engine. Then look into boring it out (there is no replacement for displacement) Custom build the least restrictive manifold possible, removing the CAT and installing a less restrictive pipe and rear box.
Replace the Air filter with a less restrictive panel. (cone filters on NA engines steal torque). Bigger throttle body and piping to induction. Find out which convolutions and sensors and meshes restrict the air flow and remove/ smooth.
Pay somebody to back develope the map and adjust the fueling accordingly. Remember that maps arent actually totally written to give the lowest emmisions. They are actually given slightly lean/rich (i forget) to give maximum torque.

By the time you have done this you "may" end up with with a slightly more drivable car but you could have bought a faster one, paid the insurance difference and still have money to do things like uprated panel filters.

platty599 said:

I have been tempted to upgrade to an Abarth but i love my little 1.4 too much!

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volxstu said:

If its a standard car then Sell it and buy a faster one.

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Pointless telling the OP to sell his car when he's already inferred that he wants to keep it.

there is no fun in just buying a faster car especially if its going to cost more in fuel a month than tuning a smaller one. but it does make sense to buy a more economical faster one with better tuning possibilities if you want to start tuning.

tuning a small engine isn't totally a waste it depends why you are doing it, some may want to race in a class where you are only allowed a small size engine for example

Davren said:

Pointless telling the OP to sell his car when he's already inferred that he wants to keep it.

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I am one of the many who have let heart rule over head and found that its not worth the effort.
If the OP buys the same car with bigger engine and better toys then in reality he will like it more and be better off financially.

dave said:

there is no fun in just buying a faster car especially if its going to cost more in fuel a month than tuning a smaller one. but it does make sense to buy a more economical faster one with better tuning possibilities if you want to start tuning.

tuning a small engine isn't totally a waste it depends why you are doing it, some may want to race in a class where you are only allowed a small size engine for example

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A small engine car running the same power as a bigger one will have similar fuel economy. The op would just have a fatter wallet from the £ saved.

Obviously if your racing its a different story. I certainly wouldnt ant to put a 1.4 stilo on the track without some major development.

volxstu said:

If the OP buys the same car with bigger engine and better toys then in reality he will like it more and be better off financially.

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i know a bloke who did that and he always saying he too skint to buy fuel for it
if you got bigger engine then it need to use a better fuel than petrol.

I'm not one of the tuning brigade. Personally don't waste time and money making a slow car go faster, go buy a car that was designed to go faster.

Thats said I do appreciate that some people like to tune and modify their cars and really enjoy doing it, some get great satifaction from it.

If it floats your boat then maybe we should have a section for all those "tinkerers" to show off their creations and get advice from other like minded members.

dave said:

i know a bloke who did that and he always saying he too skint to buy fuel for it
if you got bigger engine then it need to use a better fuel than petrol.

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Thats because im doing like a million miles a month. I still get 28 on a run at reasonable speed. I would beg to see my old 1.6 engine tuned to buggery to obtain the same performance return better fuel economy.

If you like tinkering but dont have age, budget and immense skills on your side then a Diesel ticks all those boxes.

volxstu said:

Thats because im doing like a million miles a month. I still get 28 on a run at reasonable speed. I would beg to see my old 1.6 engine tuned to buggery to obtain the same performance return better fuel economy.

If you like tinkering but dont have age, budget and immense skills on your side then a Diesel ticks all those boxes.

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28 i get nearly double that :devil:

I think the little 1.4 is pretty 'lively' its an energetic little car. i have only done and only will do cosmetics to mine, because i adore the fuel economy of it.

But if insurance is an issue then a bigger engine is not the most practical at all!

Best way to have a low litre car is Low and slow

my 1.9 is cheaper to insure than my 1.4.
diesel drivers are seen as more sensible by insurance companies

Me being 18 they wouldnt let me anywhere near anything over 1.5 i prefer the sound of the petrol though, with twin exit (one each side) cat back Longlife exhausts on mine and it sounds amazing.

I got a lot of love for the 1.4 its a great 1.4 only other 1.4 (that i know of) that can beat mine is my friends seat leon TSI and it doesnt always win but to be fair if you want quick from a stilo you go abarth or a remapped, chipped JTD. I personally think the 1.4 has plenty enough poke and good fuel economy for its size.

The 1.6 was painfully slow unless you ragged the he'll out of it. Most cars will seem quick when they are going full pelt. It's when you want to drive at normal speeds at a reasonable rev range that you start to notice.

This is coming from the person who thinks NA 3.0l don't feel fast though lol. I don't ever think I will say that's quick to a car under 400 bhp. One day my Stilo will have that kind of power. :devil:

The 1.4 isn't dramically slow its good for a 1.4

Its nippy enough for around town and the occasional motorway journey it doesn't accelerate all that slow either its not let down for its engine size and it still handles like a dream with 215wide tyres on

Lots of wise points put forwards i must admit.

The one point that does stick in my head is bout buying an Abarth. They are cheap enough and have **** loads of toys on them for the money that you actually shell out...... But and this is a big but, only this morning i booted it all the way to work and loved the rasp of the little 1.4 tugging away at a heavy car like mine.

Would i miss the Green Meanie? Yea i would miss it like mad but every time i'd boot it and that V5 screams at me in top revs i would be smiling away at my love for the bloody thing but then i would be wondering how long till the next fill up.... and the extra umph in insurance as well..... Not sure

Think if i do anything with this it will be struts and 40mm lowering n just panel filter on it for time being, if i buy Abarth then no worries if not then maybe in new year look at something drastic like stripping it totally out and using as fast road/track car.