Martijn169
Member
After solving the sluggishness issue of my newly acquired Panda, caused by a faulty accelerator pedal, I have conducted an extensive assessment of the vehicle to find any existing and potential future problems.
The outcome did not disappoint me. So far I have found the following issues:
I am going to replace the front brakes for a set of Brembo rotors and brake pads. Brembo pads are currently fitted and an Italian car calls for Brembo cars, doesn’t it?
I have not yet decided about the replacement of the front shock absorbers. During the yearly Dutch MOT the leakage was not assessed as an issue. Therefor I might postpone the replacement of these parts as I want to replace all front suspension wear items at once.
Out of curiosity: what make and type shock absorber is advisable for the Panda? I am looking for a decent ride, preferably a bit better than standard without breaking the bank. And what other parts are advisable to replace at the same time? Are the upper strut mount and bearing known to fail prematurely? And what would be a decent make for replacement?
With the help of a liberal amount of penetration oil, a small hammer and lots of patience I managed to get the bleed nipples out of the rear wheel brake cylinders. After that I have cleaned them up and lubricated the threads as a temporary solution. In short time new bleed nipples will be installed, of course after lubricating them generously.
Besides the assessment I have also made some improvements to the car, at least in my opinion.
I had a remap done to the car. This has not resulted in significantly more peak performance, it has resulted in improved drive-ability especially at partial load. It now drives smooth as a nut without increased fuel consumption.
Furthermore I have stiffened up the motor mounts by filling up the voids with additional rubber. This has resulted in less engine movement during load changes which has resulted in a more direct response to the accelerator pedal. It has also made gear shifting more smooth as the engine builds up less energy in the motor mounts which is suddenly released when the clutch is applied.
Another improvement that I have made is the stiffening of the suspension. At first I wanted to lower the car which would also increase the stiffness of the suspension. After a while I have decided that for now I like the standard ride height of the car and I only want to stiffen the suspension.
To achieve that I have mounted the Chinese equivalent of the Grayston Spring Assistor. These parts basically shut down one coil of the spring thus raising the stiffness of the spring. I placed one spring assistor in each coil spring raising the stiffness by approx. 20-25%. Of course this is a budget solution and not an ideal setup especially when compared to high quality lowering springs or a high end coilover set. But for now it will do.
I have choosen the height of the assistor so that they will fit between two coils when the car is on its wheels, unloaded. The height between two coils is then approx. 34 mm. When the assistors are installed they will not raise the unloaded car and only become effective when there is more load on the spring. Luckily when unloading the spring the height between two coils does not increase that much to cause the assistors to fall out of the spring.
All in all I have spent quite some time working on what, at first, seemed to be a quite decent car. And maybe it was taking into consideration that it is a car build on a budget. At least now I know the car is OK (some work still needs to be done but nothing major) and no big issues are threatening its life in the near future.
The car still brings a big smile to my face, every time I drive it. Knowing that it is a solid and sound car only makes the smile bigger.
Future plans to the car:
The outcome did not disappoint me. So far I have found the following issues:
- Worn front brake rotors and pads.
- Ripped front brake guide pin dust covers. The guide pins itself are in perfect condition without any corrosion. The brake calipers slide very smoothly.
- Leaking / sweating front right shock absorber.
- Mildly corroded rear axle beam and spring pockets.
- Over night the gas struts of the boot lid (or tailgate lid?) decided to quit.
- The bleed nipples of the rear wheel brake cylinders are stuck.
I am going to replace the front brakes for a set of Brembo rotors and brake pads. Brembo pads are currently fitted and an Italian car calls for Brembo cars, doesn’t it?
I have not yet decided about the replacement of the front shock absorbers. During the yearly Dutch MOT the leakage was not assessed as an issue. Therefor I might postpone the replacement of these parts as I want to replace all front suspension wear items at once.
Out of curiosity: what make and type shock absorber is advisable for the Panda? I am looking for a decent ride, preferably a bit better than standard without breaking the bank. And what other parts are advisable to replace at the same time? Are the upper strut mount and bearing known to fail prematurely? And what would be a decent make for replacement?
With the help of a liberal amount of penetration oil, a small hammer and lots of patience I managed to get the bleed nipples out of the rear wheel brake cylinders. After that I have cleaned them up and lubricated the threads as a temporary solution. In short time new bleed nipples will be installed, of course after lubricating them generously.
Besides the assessment I have also made some improvements to the car, at least in my opinion.
I had a remap done to the car. This has not resulted in significantly more peak performance, it has resulted in improved drive-ability especially at partial load. It now drives smooth as a nut without increased fuel consumption.
Furthermore I have stiffened up the motor mounts by filling up the voids with additional rubber. This has resulted in less engine movement during load changes which has resulted in a more direct response to the accelerator pedal. It has also made gear shifting more smooth as the engine builds up less energy in the motor mounts which is suddenly released when the clutch is applied.
Another improvement that I have made is the stiffening of the suspension. At first I wanted to lower the car which would also increase the stiffness of the suspension. After a while I have decided that for now I like the standard ride height of the car and I only want to stiffen the suspension.
To achieve that I have mounted the Chinese equivalent of the Grayston Spring Assistor. These parts basically shut down one coil of the spring thus raising the stiffness of the spring. I placed one spring assistor in each coil spring raising the stiffness by approx. 20-25%. Of course this is a budget solution and not an ideal setup especially when compared to high quality lowering springs or a high end coilover set. But for now it will do.
I have choosen the height of the assistor so that they will fit between two coils when the car is on its wheels, unloaded. The height between two coils is then approx. 34 mm. When the assistors are installed they will not raise the unloaded car and only become effective when there is more load on the spring. Luckily when unloading the spring the height between two coils does not increase that much to cause the assistors to fall out of the spring.
All in all I have spent quite some time working on what, at first, seemed to be a quite decent car. And maybe it was taking into consideration that it is a car build on a budget. At least now I know the car is OK (some work still needs to be done but nothing major) and no big issues are threatening its life in the near future.
The car still brings a big smile to my face, every time I drive it. Knowing that it is a solid and sound car only makes the smile bigger.
Future plans to the car:
- I want to replace some damaged, missing and broken parts: dashboard air vents, front right door trim piece (window mustache?) and some grommets in the car floor.
- I want to fit a towing hook so I can tow a small trailer.
- I want to do something with the wheels. The original hubcaps are ugly and the wheels were rusty. Therefor I have sanded them down a bit and sprayed them in matt black. I need to decide what to do with them in the future. Bigger wheels and tires? Also to have a wider choice of good quality tires.
- The exhaust also does have the eternal life. Maybe something with a bit sportier sound as a replacement? What can be done to the standard end box?
- The airco condensor needs replacing as it is warped due to a collision. I don’t think it is leaking as the airco still works but it looks rubbish.
- Model
- Mk3 Panda 1.2 Active Euro 5
- Year
- 2011
- Mileage
- 44000
. I do not have experience with Brembo, only Ferodo and EBC but what I remembered from my Alfa Romeo time is that not all pads and brakes are desirable to put on your car. I mean (English is not my native language) if installing race pads when you also use the car for normal traffic and road, it could be that those pads do not reach good working temperature when driving normal, hence less braking performance.
