Introduction
Panda My new ride.
- Thread starter Gavv8
- Start date
I also thought that to be honest - it's so over-tyred with those 195s.
Now, the 1.2 Dynamic on 165 Continentals in the wet - that's understeer hell.
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OK I should remove the word understeery and just leave stable from my previous sentence.
What I'd like is being to destabilise the rear which can only be done by trail braking. An Italian company makes a rear ARB but I am weary of fitting one as it may make the car unstable under hard braking.
What I'd like is being to destabilise the rear which can only be done by trail braking. An Italian company makes a rear ARB but I am weary of fitting one as it may make the car unstable under hard braking.
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Ohhhhhh........well come to Derbyshire. We have plenty of roads with mid-bend bumps that will have the backend skipping out like a hunted gazelle. All the chocolate kisses you ever wanted.......
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Mine has Avon ZV3's front and back and I have to say they are very good wet or dry.
+1 on the Avons!!
Had all 4 tyres done - ZZ3's
Managed to chew through the front ones (my tracking was well out - inner edges almost completely gone lol). Couldn't get ZZ3's, so went for the ZV5's.
Both sets are good, but I would say the ZZ3 has the edge in the dry, but the ZV5 in the wet
(I've had the ZV5's on the front and the back)
My only real complaint is that they do appear to wear quite quickly. But that's a small niggle - with a bit of searching online it's possible to get Avon tyres for little more than the HuFlungDung ditchfinders (cashback websites + special offers...they always seem to be on offer somewhere lol)
Granted this is on a Focus...but close enough lol
Had all 4 tyres done - ZZ3's
Managed to chew through the front ones (my tracking was well out - inner edges almost completely gone lol). Couldn't get ZZ3's, so went for the ZV5's.
Both sets are good, but I would say the ZZ3 has the edge in the dry, but the ZV5 in the wet
(I've had the ZV5's on the front and the back)
My only real complaint is that they do appear to wear quite quickly. But that's a small niggle - with a bit of searching online it's possible to get Avon tyres for little more than the HuFlungDung ditchfinders (cashback websites + special offers...they always seem to be on offer somewhere lol)
Granted this is on a Focus...but close enough lol
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Removed the Abarth badges today and replaced them with the original Fiat badges but customised black... I think they look quite nice, also the interior has developed quite a musty smell to it which I've read could be bacteria in the air-con or something?... its all dry inside, the air-con works fine and it doesn't lose any coolant but I left it parked up for a week when I went on holiday and it was pretty stinky when I got back in it, I have also replaced the pollen filter but it doesn't seem to have helped.
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Ok...few updates... stinky smell was traced to a nasty boot carpet which has now been replaced (transporting grass cuttings to the tip was the cause I think).. front tyres have been replaced with the new Khumo ecsta HS51's which i'm very impressed with so far, winter maintenance program is almost complete having stripped/cleaned the brakes on all four wheels.. replaced the coolant... refreshed the brake fluid and checked the gearbox fluid level.
Its not due an oil and filter change for another six months so that'll be done next year along with the cambelt and waterpump which is due at about 75000 miles, I also noticed a slight blow from the mid pipe on the exhaust so I'm fitting the inox group 'n' mid pipe I always promised it.
So....many miles driven and lots of new parts fitted this year mainly to the suspension which is only to be expected given its age and the condition of the roads, also might get the air-con regassed in the winter when its cheaper,even though it worked fine all summer it could probably do with refreshing.
Still loving it................onwards..........
Its not due an oil and filter change for another six months so that'll be done next year along with the cambelt and waterpump which is due at about 75000 miles, I also noticed a slight blow from the mid pipe on the exhaust so I'm fitting the inox group 'n' mid pipe I always promised it.
So....many miles driven and lots of new parts fitted this year mainly to the suspension which is only to be expected given its age and the condition of the roads, also might get the air-con regassed in the winter when its cheaper,even though it worked fine all summer it could probably do with refreshing.
Still loving it................onwards..........
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Ok...fitted the Magneti Marelli centre pipe.. only took six hours due to the bloody stupid front flange refusing to give up its bolts..... was it worth it?.... well if you discount the two trips to hospital to get metal removed from both my eyes after forgetting to wear goggles when grinding then its still maybe.... it sounds nice on tickover and above 3000rpm but a bit like a blowing exhaust in between.... its not much noisier at a 70mph cruise but then the 100hp was never going to rival a RR phantom anyway and it'll probably last forever so that's a bonus.... in a funny sort of way it changes the character of the car in to something more like a track day special than a chuckabout little Italian hatch... the jury is still out but after all the grief with my eyes i'm banned from any form of mechanical jiggery pokery on my car for the foreseeable so its staying on.
Oops!!!!! Hope your eyes are ok!
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All ok now thanks, turns out eyes are much more resilient than you might think but its not much fun having someone scrape your eyeballs with a cotton bud...:yuck:
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Ouch! I hope you are OK now!
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Soooo, two weeks in.... eyes back to normal and........ above 3k the noise is really quite addictive..:devil:
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Happy new year for 2016 to you all, happy fiating!!!
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Amen to that!
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Booked in for cambelt and waterpump change at Perfect Service in Newton Abbot Devon, they are an independent Fiat/Alfa specialist that I've heard good things about and the quote was over a hundred quid cheaper than Vospers in Exeter so i'll report back on the quality of the service..... it also badly needs a wash as it could pass as farm machinery now....
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So.. Service done at the weekend and Cambelt/aux belt/waterpump and coolant change done today by Perfect Service Fiat specialists Newton Abbot Devon.. £275 all in which I think is pretty good...i'd like to get the air-con topped up at some point and the MOT is due in March but apart from that he's all ready for another year of A road fun..
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