General Mods worth doing to improve a Panda

[papanicola]

Hi

So far I have done the following to help improve the Panda:

- Better headlight bulbs to improve the lights - Osram Nightbreakers. They are great

- installed a boot light. Switch and wiring were there. Took 2 minutes to fit.

- fitted Heko wind deflectors. Very easy to fit and allow the Windows to open whilst raining and when open they deflect the wind. Amazing.

What else is worth doing? I am looking for mods that improve the ownership and add things to the Panda that perhaps it should of had from new.

Thanks.

 

[TobiasBB]

Hi

So far I have done the following to help improve the Panda:

- Better headlight bulbs to improve the lights - Osram Nightbreakers. They are great

- installed a boot light. Switch and wiring were there. Took 2 minutes to fit.

- fitted Heko wind deflectors. Very easy to fit and allow the Windows to open whilst raining and when open they deflect the wind. Amazing.

What else is worth doing? I am looking for mods that improve the ownership and add things to the Panda that perhaps it should of had from new.

Thanks.

I love the aux in the radio.. roofrails for easily mounting stuff to the too.. towhitch with a bike mount.. a charger and windshield holder for my phone.. high visibility vest in sizes firting all normal passengers and a fireextinguisher in the pocket behind the front passengerseat within reach... and a torch to find stuff dropped under the car in dark places

 

[papanicola]

I love the aux in the radio.. roofrails for easily mounting stuff to the too.. towhitch with a bike mount.. a charger and windshield holder for my phone.. high visibility vest in sizes firting all normal passengers and a fireextinguisher in the pocket behind the front passengerseat within reach... and a torch to find stuff dropped under the car in dark places

Thanks. Good points there.

Already has roof bars. Tried to do the aux cable but not got the right stereo.

Torch already lives in the door pocket - mini maglite with led.

Got the screen mount and getting a cable run discreetly for charging the phone which I use as Satnav.

Any others?

 

[SB1500]

1. You could get your windows tinted to about 90% for the ultimate private feeling, though it could make parking harder. Alternatively, if like me, you're scared you'll crash the car and lose all that investment, why not get these made: Car Shades they're about £50 and if you bought another Panda they'd fit right in.

2. New radio / head unit? One of those damn nice Pioneer units with the touch screen, some uprated speakers and even a reversing camera for sheer vanity? lol

3. Comfortable steering wheel cover?

4. Heated seat kit from Amazon, if you're handy with the solder iron and good with electronics you can get these kits that'll go under your seat fabric and a switch you can fit into your seats and it'll be just like you had factory fitted heated seats!

5. A set of custom made seat covers, with a design you choose. Google it for local companies offering such a service in your area. Expensive, but I've seen Wee Smurf 's custom made covers and to be honest they're well worth it if you can afford them.

6. 100hp alloy wheels or any sort of upgraded wheels that you like.

7. Good quality tyres to improve safety / efficiency / handling?

8. Rainex - solution to stop rain sitting on your glass, it runs right off! Always wanted to try this.

**If you do 2 and 4, perhaps a bigger or newer battery to cope with extra electrical demand.

Hope these are good. I'd do them all if my Panda was much younger in age.

 

[TobiasBB]

A larger battery was my first essential upgrade 54AH+

 

[papanicola]

1. You could get your windows tinted to about 90% for the ultimate private feeling, though it could make parking harder. Alternatively, if like me, you're scared you'll crash the car and lose all that investment, why not get these made: they're about £50 and if you bought another Panda they'd fit right in.

2. New radio / head unit? One of those damn nice Pioneer units with the touch screen, some uprated speakers and even a reversing camera for sheer vanity? lol

3. Comfortable steering wheel cover?

4. Heated seat kit from Amazon, if you're handy with the solder iron and good with electronics you can get these kits that'll go under your seat fabric and a switch you can fit into your seats and it'll be just like you had factory fitted heated seats!

5. A set of custom made seat covers, with a design you choose. Google it for local companies offering such a service in your area. Expensive, but I've seen Wee Smurf 's custom made covers and to be honest they're well worth it if you can afford them.

6. 100hp alloy wheels or any sort of upgraded wheels that you like.

7. Good quality tyres to improve safety / efficiency / handling?

8. Rainex - solution to stop rain sitting on your glass, it runs right off! Always wanted to try this.

**If you do 2 and 4, perhaps a bigger or newer battery to cope with extra electrical demand.

Hope these are good. I'd do them all if my Panda was much younger in age.

Thanks. Planning to get windows tinted at some stage. Just a light tint as the thing is like a green house in the sun.

Got a complete set of Pirelli P1 tyres. Nice and quiet and stops allot better. Happy with the original wheels which is why I decided to replace all four tyres.

 

[chuff]

**If you do 2 and 4, perhaps a bigger or newer battery to cope with extra electrical demand.

A larger battery was my first essential upgrade 54AH+

Hmm... throwing money away there.

The battery does nothing whilst the car is running, and is simply charging.

The alternator provides all electrical power.

 

[TobiasBB]

Hmm... throwing money away there.

The battery does nothing whilst the car is running, and is simply charging.

The alternator provides all electrical power.

I use mine for radio while the motor is off... and to start in the winter..

 

[chuff]

I use mine for radio while the motor is off... and to start in the winter..

No car battery is designed for show discharge, and a stronger battery has no correlation to colder weather.

A new battery would help prevent failure, but a "stronger" battery is of absolutely no advantage unless you have a large diesel engine with an old (pre-commonrail) fuel system

 

[TobiasBB]

No car battery is designed for show discharge, and a stronger battery has no correlation to colder weather.

A new battery would help prevent failure, but a "stronger" battery is of absolutely no advantage unless you have a large diesel engine with an old (pre-commonrail) fuel system

Its not stronger, still 12V.. AH is a measurement indicating how many hours you can have a 1 amp drain on your system.. in cold weather this number effectively decreases.. so if theres a small drain such as a radio or a driving computer or a light left on in the cabin the battery charge left in the morning is not a lot but from a larger battery its more than a smaller one, I believe the stock is 44AH, so Ill have 10Ah left where the stock would be drained (in an ideal world)... I also have jump cables.. I really really dislike getting stuck on account of no charge on the battery..

 

[chuff]

Its not stronger, still 12V..

You'll be crystallising the plates in the battery by using the car as a glorified portable radio.

If you don't use the battery for slow discharge, you won't stuff the battery up and get caught out.

If you want to do it, then of course it's your call - just don't dish out generally poor advice

 

[TobiasBB]

You'll be crystallising the plates in the battery by using the car as a glorified portable radio.

If you don't use the battery for slow discharge, you won't stuff the battery up and get caught out.

If you want to do it, then of course it's your call - just don't dish out generally poor advice

Next on my list is a different battery for just this in the boot.. also I doubt anyone would rush out and buy a different battery just because some random person suggested it as something they themselves did on the internet.. if the kids fall asleep in their seats and we are almost home ill go sit on this parkinglot looking at the sea, they will sleep on if the radio or motor is on, if everything turns quiet they will wake up.. I would buy a new battery every month or even week to keep this half hour of calm, while sitting down just staring
... I omitted that part, and ecpected the OP to considerfor themself whether it was needed or not in their life merry christmas

 

[chuff]

Next on my list is a different battery for just this in the boot.. also I doubt anyone would rush out and buy a different battery just because some random person suggested it as something they themselves did on the internet

People do, though.

They make slow discharge solutions for what you're doing. Something like a Cellink B would be better suited

 

[papanicola]

People do, though.

They make slow discharge solutions for what you're doing. Something like a Cellink B would be better suited

Well to put your mind at ease, I have replaced the battery. Car was 5 years old when I bought it and the battery gave up the ghost. Replace it with a Bosch S3. Always had good success with Bosch batteries in my previous (usually German cars).

Back to the mods.

I have done the general maintainance things...battery, new thermostat when the old one cracked... New OAT coolant so the heater blows nice and warm and the car stays at a set temp.

Any others worth doing?

 

[DaveMcT]

The smaller cube battery fitted to some Pandas is more costly than the larger rectangular battery. Just fir the larger one and be done with it. But not until the old one wears out. A good way to reduce battery load is to switch the lights off when you stop. So many people just leave them on. To me it's akin to holding the car on a hill on the clutch - excess wear for little or no benefit.

Window tints often look chav thought they can suit some models. Be aware that side windows and screen are not legally allowed to have more than 15% tint. Heavily tinted back windows in black cars can make it look like a van.

Heated seats. Nice in a Russian winter but the Panda warms up quickly enough so really why bother?

Handling. Mine is MUCH better with it's 500 rear axle. I'd recommend that to anyone. Done along with better quality struts and dampers could be a major improvement in road holding and ride quality.

The engine warms up fast which is nice but it will not cope with loss of coolant. Fit a warning float switch to the coolant tank. You can get stainless float switches on eBay that can handle 120 degs C.

Headlights are adequate so better bulbs are good. Also consider the latest generation LED bulbs. However, if they spoil the dip beam pattern they will be dangerous, apart from being illegal.

The headlight main beam is adequate but only just. Long range LED spot lamps built into the front grille would sort that. They are often very reasonably priced with really powerful long range beams. They would need to be wired with a relay on the main beam only. solid brackets would be needed behind the grille to support the lights.

I find the window winder switches a pain to find. Yes - I'm a saddo who's used to them always being on the door trim. A parallel connected switch pack on the driver's door would be nice.

The manual adjustment mirrors are not great. Electric mirrors would be nice to have especially when more than one driver uses the car.

My driver's seat often clicks into place facing slightly to the right. Adjust the seat runners to solve the issue. Easy fix at zero cost.

 

[DaveMcT]

The smaller cube battery fitted to some Pandas is more costly than the larger rectangular battery. Just fit the larger one and be done with it. But not until the old one wears out. A good way to reduce battery load is to switch the lights off when you stop. So many people just leave them on. To me it's akin to holding the car on a hill on the clutch - excess wear for little or no benefit.

The battery can work hard just after starting as it gets used to drive the power steering. The generator wont be making enough power to feed that heavy steering system.

Window tints often look chav thought they can suit some models. Be aware that side windows and screen are not legally allowed to have more than 15% tint. Heavily tinted back windows in black cars can make it look like a van.

Heated seats. Nice in a Russian winter but the Panda warms up quickly enough so really why bother?

Handling. Mine is MUCH better with it's 500 rear axle. I'd recommend that to anyone. Done along with better quality struts and dampers could be a major improvement in road holding and ride quality. Mine is a Dynamic on steel wheels. People with a 100HP will need to check the rear tyre clearance.

The engine warms up fast which is nice, but it will not cope with loss of coolant. Fit a warning float switch to the coolant tank. You can get stainless float switches on eBay that can handle 120 degs C. Not a substitute for checking the coolant levels but to be fair mine (with its radiator end tank) is a faff to be sure of the level. All to easy to not bother until it's too late.

Headlights are adequate so better bulbs are good. Also consider the latest generation LED bulbs. However, if they spoil the dip beam pattern they will be dangerous, apart from being illegal.

The headlight main beam is adequate but only just. Long range LED spot lamps built into the front grille would sort that. They are often very reasonably priced with really powerful long range beams. They would need to be wired with a relay on the main beam only. Solid adjustable brackets would be needed behind the grille to support the lights and aim them properly.

I find the window winder switches a pain to find. Yes - I'm a saddo who's used to them always being on the door trim. A parallel connected switch pack on the driver's door would be nice.

The manual adjustment mirrors are not great. Electric mirrors would be nice to have especially when more than one driver uses the car.

My driver's seat often clicks into place facing slightly to the right. Adjust the seat runners to solve the issue. Easy fix at zero cost.

Power. 65bhp is just about enough and you only get that when running with posh petrol. A sports manifold with catalyst under the car would release a few more ponies.

 

[jrkitching]

Better quality spark plugs.

NGK do an iridium equivalent for about £27 a set. You won't get any more power, but cold starting and idling should both be improved. Plus you won't have to change them again for 50,000 miles or so. They'll likely prolong the life of both the coil pack and cat, too, so it's a win-win-win.

Heed Dave's warning about coolant levels - this has killed a lot of Pandas. It's awkward to read the level by sight but you can make a disposable dipstick out of a strip cut from a cardboard box.

If you're planning to keep it, corrosion proof the rear beam; they are becoming well known for rusting out.

 

[rick500]

i have a simple plug in voltmeter with two USB charging ports very cheap off ebay it plugs in the 12v power point (cigar lighter)and so you can see at a glance your battery charge when you switch on the voltage drop as you turn your key to start and the charging voltage as you drive along normal around 14.4v,

 

[DaveMcT]

You can buy a stick on voltmeter for under £10. Wire it to the any ignition controlled power wire. It should show 14.2V to 14.3V when engine running. The battery should not drop below 11V while cranking the engine. You will see 12.8V immediately after switching off the engine indicating the battery is at maximum float charge. A slight power demand will drop it to 12.5 volts - normal battery output.

The cranking voltage and how quickly it restores to normal after starting will show the battery condition.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I have a small but growing hankering to see what a Panda would be like with the the%30 BHP V8 engine from and Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglia. I just sort of feel it would improve it a little......



My daughter has just told me that sounds absurd.

WOMEN!