I am buying a Fiat Abarth tommorow. I would like to do some upgrades motor wise are there any bolt on's yet for it. Or should I wait for mopar. I would prefer to use factory bolt ons for warrenty. This will be my daily driver.
Many congrats on the new purchase.
Very much doubt that you will get 'factory bolt ons' that will keep the warranty in check.
There is already a 200bhp A500 in the States that matches the power output from the Abarth 500 Assetto Corse but here's the problem, In the Assetto Corse the torque increases to 300Nm from the standard 230Nm so the gearbox is changed to the M32 6 speed which is rated c. 320Nm.
In the Abarth Punto Evo esseese when the Multi-air engine is re-mapped to 180bhp the
torque increases to the 270Nm so the standard C510 fitted in BOTH the US A500 & the Eurpean A500 will struggle to cope with this increased power which is technically rated at 201Nm.
160bhp in the A500 IMHO is plenty and has been 'downtuned' so that only 230Nm is produced for a reason. Personally if I had your setup I would be very content with the superior Garrett 1466 turbo and manifold setup. I've driven the MiTo Cloverleaf with the MA engine which has the same output as yours but has not got the power to weight figure that you have.
If you are looking to 'tinker a bit' you could consider the following....
a Cold Air Induction kit - this has been done on the MiTo QV with limited success and on the European A500 with 'more' success. You could enquire with
TMC Motorsport. These can easily be reversed.
Crankcase breather - have not seen it done yet on the MA - would have little effect on a MA since it can run happily on the RON 95 which is the same of the the US (MON) 91 octane. This would be in breech of regs.
Exhaust - it has been claimed that the standard exhaust on the US A500 has been specially tuned - you may get more mid-range on a variable back pressure one - unsure if one is available in the US like the Monza or BTB exhausts that's available for the European one - US A500 has additional rear end crash protection so it may not fit.
Sports CAT reducing the 600cell to 100/200cell - unsure of availability. This has been tackled on the European A500 and has produced good results with an optimised bend for better flow.
Brembo Brake upgrade to 305s on the front for better stopping power to match any possible increase in bhp. These can be 'picked up' or bought as an upgrade.
Koni FSDs on the rear (if you can get them as a pair) to match the OEM FSDs on the front.
If you're getting the upgraded wheels ('esseesse' ones) it should come with better tyres which make a difference over the standard 16s but the extra grip can cause a strain on the gearbox.
EDIT: A simple one would be a BMC Air filter like the K&N (Cotton gauze). It's used on the esseese European model and should not affect warranty and gives 1-2 bhp over the paper one. It should be possible to get one to fit your US A500. Also if you can use higher octane fuel it might make a difference.
