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Panda My first car: 1.1 Fiat Panda

Introduction

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking around the forum for a bit but never really introduced my car.
This is my 1.1 active eco.

I want to change up the appearance (lowering springs,wheels,roof bar, rear spoiler/deflector and maybe the grille)

I’ve been searching for a roof bar but no luck.
For wheels I thought about painting my 13inch steelies silver, or buy some rims.
I want to lower my car too as I think it sits too high.

I would love to hear the forums opinion and what they would do if they were in my position.
Alloys came. Not in the best condition but for the price I can’t argue.
(Also came with the original locking nuts which was pretty kind from the previous owner)

My lowering springs also arrived but I don’t know when I will install them.

Just want to sorry for the blurry image, I was holding shopping bags.

https://www.fiatforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=221324&stc=1&d=1636301360
 

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They look very nice, I'm a bit envious!

Get the locking wheel nuts in the bin though. Nobody will steal just your alloys, easier and quicker to steal the car. When a locking wheel nut goes wrong it's a right pain to remove or weld off.

What springs did you go for?
 
I have a set of these on my 100HP. They are supplied with a spline adaptor which can be bought at a tool shop but the average tea leaf wont have one.

They are shiny zinc plated (NOT chrome) but a waft of clear lacquer (petrol resistant no less :D) has kept the winter tarnish at bay. The length is correct for alloys but they work just as well on steels (OEM bolts on wife's 1.2 are the same length).
 
What springs did you go for?

I don’t really know, I think they’re some eBay springs. I bought them from Facebook marketplace, from a guy who removed them from his 169.

He does not know the drop but he did say ‘dropped a bit’ so I’m assuming it’s either 30mm or 40.

The springs are red if that’s any help finding them online.
 
Sounds like my prosport dzt's. If they are make sure you have the metal screwy bit that bolts to the axle and sits in at the bottom, I could go lower with them but like the gap at the top to match the sides.
 
Hi all,

A lot has happened since I last wrote.

I finally got time and installed the lowering springs, at first it does not look like a drastic drop but when I parked next to another fiat panda at the local tesco, I noticed just how much it really dropped. Since I bought them used I don’t really have the exact measurements but it looks like a 30mm drop.

The car handles so much better, it has definitely made it so much better to drive. Obviously when you lower a car you have to be mindful of bumps etc but with this I don’t really have to take drastic action as the it has not been lowered a lot.

I have also changed the front speakers and installed some tweeters in the location next to the door handle. I bought some open plastic tweeters bits off Amazon and they fit just right. The kit I went with was the JBL stage 2 604c, after installing this I realised my eBay head unit never had a lot of options in fine tuning so I decided to replace it with the pioneer mvh-s420bt, which made such a big difference.

I still don’t know what I want to do next, maybe a subwoofer in the back or abarth seats.

Thanks for reading :)
 

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Awesome choices, when I put the speakers from an old Sony hifi in it fouled the windows going down so I swapped it back and never got around to buying a nice sound system. Good to see you went and did it properly, a car to be proud of.
 
I've never talked about this but ever since I bought this car every time I start the engine a loud squeek noise comes from it. It still happens but I dont mind. Its probably a loose belt somewhere.
Well, earlier this year I fixed this! Turns out it was my starter motor. So me and mate decided to take it out and remove all the grime using brake cleaner and re-greased it back and it good as new!
 
Hi all,

I decided to tint the top half of my rear lights which makes it kind of look like the ones on the 100hp and it fits well with the tints on the window

Does not look too bad :)
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I've never talked about this but ever since I bought this car every time I start the engine a loud squeek noise comes from it. It still happens but I dont mind. Its probably a loose belt somewhere.
Loose belts don't make any noise. Failing bearings and grinding parts do make noise.

Likely causes -
Aux belt tensioner bearing
Starter motor clutch
Alternator stator core has corroded causing rotor to grind into the stator. - a common problem. Check alternator case for cracks.
If you have air-con, the pump clutch might get noisy but its usually a rattle.
 
Loose belts don't make any noise.
loose belts don't make any noise, come on they can squeal like a pig. Usually worse straight after start up and on hitting the accelerator. Mainly cars with out AC and manual adjustment.

The car is already fixed ? No need to diagnose it, starter motor, couple of post up.
 
loose belts don't make any noise, come on they can squeal like a pig. Usually worse straight after start up and on hitting the accelerator. Mainly cars with out AC and manual adjustment.

The car is already fixed ? No need to diagnose it, starter motor, couple of post up.
I've never yet had a noisy aux belt. Even when the alternator seized (Punto HGT). There is no diagnosis just a lot of stuff that makes noise some of that is far worse than a start motor squeal and it's often easy to examine for.
 
I've never yet had a noisy aux belt. Even when the alternator seized (Punto HGT). There is no diagnosis just a lot of stuff that makes noise some of that is far worse than a start motor squeal and it's often easy to examine for.
Really common on cars without a spring adjuster

hear one nearly every month of my life

 
Really common on cars without a spring adjuster
I'd agree. A slipping alternator drive belt can make a horrendous screeching noise. It usually happens shortly after starting from cold, when the alternator is working hardest to recharge the battery. On cars with EPS (like the Panda), turning the steering wheel when the car is stationary (esp. if in city mode) will also sometimes cause the belt to slip, for the same reason.

I've also experienced auxiliary belt screeching on cars with hydraulic PAS and belt driven A/C compressors, though these obviously don't apply here.

I remember 1970's Fords being particularly prone to this sort of thing.

But there's no doubt that a loose or misaligned belt can create a dreadful racket in some circumstances. Fortunately it usually sounds much worse than it is, and is easily rectified by adjustment or replacement.
 
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