A newbie member although I have been reading threads for some months. Been a FIAT fan for decades - Punto (Mk I) x 1; Marea (Mk I) x 2; Tipo (Mk I) x 1; Doblo (Mk I & II) x 4; now Qubo (Mk II). Qubo is the 94/95 HP diesel (Trekking) and this variant is as hen's teeth. I had to go 160 miles for a sensibly (5 and a bit YO) priced one. The previous owner had, shall we say, been economical with fuel. Cheapest supermarket I suspect. After about 10 tanks of Shell V-Power, and new air & fuel filters, it started to more feel like the car I'd left behind as too old (Mazda 2 Mk I 2005; 67HP) but which was still punchy - rebadged Ford engineering as to when the turbo kicks in. The Qubo now responds like my last Doblo which had the 135HP 2L JTD. That performs/ed best in 3rd with a firm right foot; ideal for overtaking but still not as punchy as was the Mazda. I may chip the Qubo (take 95HP -> 115; from extremengineeringsrl.com in Italy). Been looking at the threads relating to removing the air-filter box as the chip wiring needs to be plugged in underneath. But then I stand back & do the 'big picture'. Does it make sense to chip this 1.3 JTD ? What experience does anybody have ?
Technical Qubo enthusiast; after a teething period ! Question about chipping
- Thread starter jerb52
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Technical Qubo enthusiast; after a teething period ! Question about chipping
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
I always found gentle economical driving made my diesels feel flat. A good thrash periodically is very good for clearing its throat. All Fiats are higher revving than most makes. The smaller ones especially so and a change in driving habits is maybe called for. As for chipping first ask yourself why?? You have enough power for 95% of situations and enough to get pinched for speeding! Whats the point? That being said, and the cost of fuelling and insuring the extra horses is also relevant. However diesels respond well to decent chipping and generally can take a bit of extra power without issues. I am pretty sure you would get a worthwhile boost say 110hp for a reasonable outlay. My view (I keep thinking ofchipping my TA panda) is keep the cash and spend it on something less prone to depreciation. I spent 000's on xar mods when younger. Now wish Id paid into pension or savings instead!!
Thanks for this. Yes, the 1.3 does seem to be engineered to give more oomph when wound up. Below 2500rpm it's sedate. As you write, a change in driving style - and expectations - is required. 12 years with the Mazda, which ran out of puff soon after 3000, has given me long-term muscle memory. I had chipped (plug in / out box) one of our previous cars - 1.9TD Marea - about 15 years ago as we'd moved down, for fuel-economy reasons, from a 130HP (petrol) Marea; lovely car that ticked all the boxes but was thirsty (mind you it did encourage one to hurry along). The chip definitely made a difference to the TD oomph with about 10% extra mpg. The reason I was considering a chip for the Qubo was that its performance in the first couple of months was so disappointing compared to the old (lower HP) Mazda, both in terms of power / response and in mpg . My insurer quoted about £20 pa for adding a chip; "cheap as . . . " ! Yesterday I found a thread in 'our' forum ("FIAT cars / Punto / Punto Mk2/2b / Tuning Air Filter Mod") which explained what I'd wondered about in terms of how the plug in / out chips work. And it mentioned the company that I was considering as a source. Dated September 2017, response #25 in the thread. Fore-warned I shall body-swerve this add-on and stick to the vanilla unit I now have - and drive more to others' expectations of my age group (I have a pension). This forum is great. A 'Wiki' based on real-life experiences.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Yes I have my pension too. I think another good reason for staying slower is that my reactions are definitely not as good as they used to be even 10 years ago. I think most blokes crave that extra oomph. I have Pandas TA 4x4 and 1.2. The TA having the twin air and turbo nearly does the job and is an awful lot faster than the 1.2 but if I use the speed I pay at the pumps. Its taken a long time to acclimatise to the odd little engine but I can now get 50 - 60mpg with care, or, bat along at speed and enjoy 20 -30 mpg!! Ive had so many speeding convictions having driven at work for 20 years that Im well happy not to have the capacity! There are surely places around that can do the job I was looking at Celtic Tuning who seem to be reputable and talk sense. Heres a link
Do you own a Fiat Panda? Gain up to 24% of torque!
ECU Remapping for Fiat Panda 0.9 TwinAir 83 bhp. Gain 24% torque with a Stage 1 petrol Tuning. Chip Tuning options available, Rev limit<br>removal.
Thanks for the link. I remember Celtic from all those years ago when I was looking to chip my Marea. Out of interest I asked them for a quote - turns out to be about £300 for the basic 95 -> 110 HP. I'd expect Celtic's competitors to be about the same ££. More than I can justify - to the wife. And our Qubo is at about 80K, although now running fine. Sleeping dogs apply here I think. At least I have the information. Now to investigate whether a spare wheel & all the lowering gear is worthwhile. In 50 years of motoring, mainly in the UK, I've only ever had three punctures in what must be approaching 750K miles. Low risk. But that's what insurance is all about. When you need it you really do; each time the spare wheel was a get-out-of-jail card. So I'll see what the ££ is. And how much extra weight to lug around all the time. I can see just below this section there is a "Qubo Trekking spare wheel fitment" thread. I'll go there now.Yes I have my pension too. I think another good reason for staying slower is that my reactions are definitely not as good as they used to be even 10 years ago. I think most blokes crave that extra oomph. I have Pandas TA 4x4 and 1.2. The TA having the twin air and turbo nearly does the job and is an awful lot faster than the 1.2 but if I use the speed I pay at the pumps. Its taken a long time to acclimatise to the odd little engine but I can now get 50 - 60mpg with care, or, bat along at speed and enjoy 20 -30 mpg!! Ive had so many speeding convictions having driven at work for 20 years that Im well happy not to have the capacity! There are surely places around that can do the job I was looking at Celtic Tuning who seem to be reputable and talk sense. Heres a link
Do you own a Fiat Panda? Gain up to 24% of torque!
ECU Remapping for Fiat Panda 0.9 TwinAir 83 bhp. Gain 24% torque with a Stage 1 petrol Tuning. Chip Tuning options available, Rev limit<br>removal.www.celtictuning.co.uk
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
My last but one car was a Bravo. Spare wheel - full sized matching Alloy and matching tyre cost £320. Ouch. One weekend we were stuck in traffic somewhere near Oxford. I turned off clogged A34 and went down back roads. Sat Nav decided not to play and as I was getting overheated not knowing which way to go, or indeed where we were the road suddenly narrowed and I got near the edge in which was hidden a jagged peice of concrete covered by long grass. I clippe d said lump and took a lump out of the rim of the wheel the size of a 50p coin. £320 well spent as it was very hot and the whole family were on board. So yes I would go for it. Panda 4x4 can only accommodate a space saver which is a pain but better than walking! I do have a 15" space saver Im trying to rehome FOC if your interested. I think its still in the classifieds, if not I shall put it back on. Like you I have had few punctures memorably in the bravo a front blow out at 100mph!! I was driving merrily along and wondered what the noise was so decided to pull over and see. I was astonished when I found the o/s front tyre totally shredded. The car ran straight as a dye and didnt pull at all. Apart from that I think about 8 flat tyres in a very very long way. ITs always the where and when bit that will get oyu though.
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Hi.
If you have any issues with insurance at all for either a chip, re-map or tuning box then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.
If you have any issues with insurance at all for either a chip, re-map or tuning box then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.
The 95HP performance is fine, overtaking in 3rd up a hill is no problem, so I'll stay with the 'ex-factory' settings. As for the spare wheel carrier; I'll be posting my experiences once it's all in & working. Probably add to "Technical/Spare wheel carrier for facelift Qubo" which dates from Jan 2022.
I saw this thread is 2 years old and I want to say that I am the owner of a Fiat Qubo, 1.3 Diesel, 75 Hp. For me the 75 HP are not enough because when the car is climbing on a hill or is moderate loaded the engine is struggling and fuel consumption is increasing. it needs an engine at least 95 HP in my opinion
I agree with your conclusion. We did try a 75HP at our local dealer but it was somewhat gutless even with two-up. The extra 20HP makes for easier driving. The trouble with chips seems to be that the cheaper versions (£70-£100) only appear to alter the amount of fuel injected when really both fuel and air need to be increased. Otherwise the correct air : fuel ration is not observed and, I understand, can damage the engine. I gather this from reading threads on this forum and elsewhere. The more expensive setups are installed in a different way/place and maintain the correct ratio; that type was what I had installed in our (1998 ? I think) Marea - see above; that car had a multi-way EMS M&F plug tucked into the NSF well, so connection of, effectively, a tuning box, was easy. But it may be, in more recent models that the wiring design for the EMS does not permit such an easy plug-in update. This is not the re-assuring answer that you wanted. As an aside, there is a thread that I created in late 2024 relating to my experiences using (Shell) super diesel. I do notice the improvement that gives over ordinary diesel in our 95HP Qubo. Just a bit more oomph. Maybe try a few tankfuls (to clean through the fuel system) and see if that's a cheaper way to get a few more horses.
