Hello all,
I have a 2009 Fiat 500 1.4 100hp. It's a great little car however, I feel that it is quite underpowered.
I am now looking to modify the car for more power. I've looked into the Colombi Bariani camshafts for it but I don't know about the power gains to be expected. Does anyone know?
Also, I have contacted JCR Racing about their supercharger kit for the 500. However they have not come back with a reply yet.
Does anyone know how I can turbo/supercharge the little thing?
Getting an Abarth is just not viable with the missus in the way.
Cheers
Jeff
I would agree with the advice given before me that a A500 is a better bet. But if you cannot and don't want to get one there are several threads on here about improving the performance on a 1.4 Some of the improvements have sparked a lot of responses. In my humble opinion and from the inputs that Jnoiles, RobW and TrackdayQueen have given - here is a very quick summary...
Cold Air induction (CAI) kit from Pipercross. Custom made. You can do a hard reset on the ECU. Costs about £115. Induction noise. Possibly 3bhp but some loss at the low end. More torque. I've had it & I liked it.
ITG Panel filter. £60. Foam filter. Better performing than the paper one. Some prefer the BMC one since it is used on the A500SS. Maybe 1-2bhp.
Denso irdium plugs. Maybe 1bhp or possibly nothing. Personally I found the car was a little sharper. Performs better for longer. Becoming the US recommended plug for emission regs. £38
Performance manifold from Janspeed or Supersprint £190-£280 plus a sports 200cell cat from £300+ You will also need to factor in a re-map at around £200. If you do the manifold upgrade without the remap (a CAT light stays on but it still passes the emissions because of the 2nd CAT) but it is not recommended.
Full exhaust system in e.g. Janspeed (cheaper) or Supersprint (£1,800 ?) or Raga.... (££££). Some have got the Supersprint at trade prices - this one appears to be the one to go for. I've heard that you may still need a remap but a CAT light
can come on.
Porting & Polishing. Head is skimmed and P&P. Increased compression and better flow. £950. Very specialist job. Was the 'cornerstone' of the LAD Motorsport conversion.
Cams. Don't know much about this but I understand you either do the P&P or the Cam but not both. Cam from memory was pricey £500 ? and given that the power in the 1.4 only really 'comes on' after 4K - I got the impression that it wasn't that successful.
Supercharger. Personally I couldn't live with the bulge on the bonnet and it would be an insurance nightmare.
Turbo. More fuel efficient than the Supercharge. Still an insurance nightmare and with the lack of TTC on the 1.4 wouldn't recommend it.
A re-map on its own in conjunction with an ITG Panel filter. £295. Estimated at around 5-7bhp but no one that I'm aware of on the FF has confirmed this.
Personally I like the CAI, would be very tempted with a manifold upgrade, reckon that the Port & Polish with the head skim is the way to go despite the ££££. The re-map with the ITG is tempting with the ECU getting a flash off the car for the price but no 'proof'. Understand that the best re-map is done with the car on the Rolling Road.
One of the benefits of the ECU on the 500 is that it can be 're-programmed' unlike the ECU on the Panda 100hp which is 'locked' but either can be re-set.
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/199654-lad-motorsport-fiat-500-a.html
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/265055-induction-cold-air-feed.html
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/263450-my-new-1-4-500-a-4.html?p=2745324
https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/268372-spark-plugs-100hp.html
Anyway after all the research - I'm done nothing except change the plugs to iridium ones on the current 500 - so that might say it all !