Technical modding your cento

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okay so you made the wise choice to buy a cinq/sei but standard just doesnt cut it for you.

now budget plays a big part here including the dreaded insurance.

if you make any modifications that takes the car from standard factory spec should inform your insurer.
your insurance could be invalid if you dont!

so im going to base this on the spi sporting but will try to acknowledge other model differences as i go.

the 1st mod for any fiat has to be the fiat forum sticker




styling

one of the 1st modifications many centoers go for is alloys.
a quick and (sometimes) easy upgrade

standard wheels are either 13"(cinq and some sei's) or 14" on sei sportings
either fit 4x98pcd or 4x100pcd
(see the wheels FAQ for more info)
either 13" or 14" in the right offset are an easy fit.15's can fit but may need some work depending on the set up.
the cinq rear arches are flared vs the sei rears so the cinq is a little more forgiving on wheel fitment.
note if you fit bigger wheels to a non sporting it must then be lowered for safety and stability

next thing to look at then is lowering.............
the sportings are 20mm lowered as standard over other models so remember this when comparing spring drops.

so theres a few ways to go with this

1. lowering springs & standard shocks
2. lowering springs and shortened uprated shocks
3. lowering springs and ride and/or height adjustable shocks
4. coilovers

• 1. the cheapest option but not really recommended for over 40mm drops.be aware shock life will be shortened as well
• 2. normally bought as a kit but be aware you get what you pay for.cheaper sets often give a crashy harsh ride
• 3. espensive set ups and often not required unless you want the ideal set up/track days but gives stunning handleing on the centos
• 4. now be aware unless you go to the likes of LEDA and get custom front/rear coilovers and make bespoke rear platforms. you will only get adjustable platform coilovers on the front in cento coilover kits like FK with the rears being the standard set up usually with a shortened spring and ride(possibly height) adjustable shocks

now whilst a lot of people go for the aesthetics of lowering it gives a great improvement to handling by lowering the cars centre of gravity and stiffening the ride.

bodykits

so theres not a huge selection of kits out there TBH
abarth replica kits,storm kits and some other external bits for the cinq are available from http://www.tuning.co.uk/fiatshop/
they also do kits and bits for the sei's
dont forget scrappys and the classifieds for abarth bits etc
there are some ebay sellers selling GRP kits but be aware quality of fit is often hit or miss
http://www.tuningshop.co.uk/acatalog/Fiat2.html here there are kits for the cinq & sei including Hormann
if you want to be a bit more unique you can also fit parts from other marques/models but costs & skills requirements rise here

other external mods are clear side repeaters,front for the non sportings etc
to be honest look in the gallery and you will see plenty of modded cinqs of varying degrees

another cheap upgrade is debaging the tailgate.the rear badges are just glued on and leave no holes

after that you can smooth the boot,delock and beyond.money and imagination are the limiting factors




interior styling

small upgrades can prove 'more' than to much here
eg cinqs you can fit sei abarth seats,bucket seats,paint some bits of trim,white dials,mats,sports steering wheels etc
seis the same unless you already have thew abarth seats

again is budget and imagination here plus what you use it for.
some people need shopping space and some are happy with stripped out tarmac terror styles



ICE

front speakers in both cinq & sei are 10cm
if you want to keep the grills then dont get ones with high centre cones
rear speakers can be fitted in the rear side panels or rear shelf.
its better to fit an acoustic shelf if you want to do this.

though for a decent set up its said to be better to have a sub in the boot and component speakers up front.
to do this you need at least 1 amp to drive the sub and components.
the components would need fitted in the doors or pods as 10cm is really too small for quality sound reproduction.
or you can go further..........................



brakes

before you look to performance increases then look to the stopping power
a well set up well braked car can beat a more powerful one around the twisties!

1st thing is to make sure its all working!
make sure the rear set up is well adjusted and all parts are free moving
again at the front ensure the calipers are free and not binding with plenty of pad material

upgrades

1. performance pads
2. performance pads & discs
3. larger calipers (AKA GT upgrade)
4. discs all round

• 1. performance pads increase the bite of the breaks,some decrease dust as well
• 2. performance discs can come in drilled,grooved,dimpled or a combination
• the combination can improve brake feel & performance
• 3. the gt upgrade(see the other faq)uses larger calipers and ventilated discs.
• the venting helps prevent brake fade and the larger calipers/pads increase braking force
• 4. if you really want increased braking then you can convert the rear to discs.
• however bear in mind the increased weight from this set up and the fact it should be combined with bigger front brakes to maintain the front brake bias

performance mods

okay so best you get from standard is the sporting with 54bhp

dont expect huge gains here!
1st of all a good service with decent plugs,new filters including fuel filter etc

again budget plays a big role here!

• so lets start with engine breathing:
• put in its simplest form you want to allow the engine to draw in as much air as possible
• burn it as well as possible
• and get rid of the combustion gasses as easily as possible

so air filters and induction kits:
performance panel filters: these are the cheapest and easist to fit.they allow the air to pass through more easily than standard filters.
K&N type filters:these sit on top of the throttle body and draw in air from there.
they make a nice noise but need good cold air feeds to function
induction kits: you will see phrases like GSR,BMC used around the forum. in cento land these relate to remote filters with a silicone tube feeding to the TB.
using the GSR as an example it draws in air in fom a cooler part of the engine and the reducer silicone tube increases the speed of the air drawn in.
these types of induction kits give the best gains but are the more expensive induction options(for natrually aspirated)


Throttle bodies

you can get enlarged throttle bodys from other models like 32mm,38mm or an overbored one @ 40mm

standard V's 40mm(bottom view)






strut braces

upper strut brace: now whilst an upper strut brace can help stiffen the front end its really not required unless you are upping the centos power substantially.

then theres 2 types.
solid and adjustable.adjustables allow you to torque the bar up and really tighten the front end.



lower strut braces: are not practical unless the car isnt going to be lowered and TBH i would lower before i went with a brace

rear strutbraces: are not really needed on centos and tend to have a detremental effect on the handleing



exhausts,cats & manifolds

so lets break it down

1. back box
2. cat back system
3. system & sports cat or decat
4. system & sports cat or decat + manifold

1. back box will give a nice noise but very little performance gains
2. will give performance gains but may also change the power band of the engine
3. a sports cat or decat allows more gasses to flow through increasing the flow of the exhaust. note noise levels will be higher too.
technically you need the cat back for MOT (if decat'd) unless your car can meet emission levels without one
4. adding a sports manifold increases the flow rate but be aware of the extra noise and cost! again power maybe pushed up the rev range



cams

an easy cheap upgrade for the 1108/1242's is the punto 75 cam (info on how to shim here)
or you can get a reprofiled cam
or with more funds there are off the shelf cams but they costs £00's





chipping
best value is the mckcritch but there are others such as superchips

headwork

okay this is getting into more extended performance mods.
a good engine builder can produce power by 'working' the cylinder head and valves.
its an art and costs run into the £00's



engine upgrades

well anythings possible but the most common are covered in the engine upgrade FAQ

resistor mods,'chips' +20BHP etc on ebay

waste of time and bad for the engine! nuff said

turbo's and beyond

you can double the output of your cento and have a hoot but
not cheap. fairly well covered on the FAQ's & forum