General Speed of Pandas

[Roo83]

I think it's the same set of ratios as the standard 5 forward speed 1000s sort of thing. it does say it's infinitly variable though ... so maybe you can get it to go up to 1/5000 revolutions....

no-one knows!!! what sort of trouble maker are you!!???..... it's questions like that, that get people like Stephen hawkins band from pub quizzes.

I looked at this thread hoping to find out what the CVT top ratio is. I read an article about the early Fiat Uno Selecta and it apparently has a wider range, and the extra flexibility is at the top end, so you effectively have a 6-speed gearbox.

My 1000S is; 1st=3.909:1 - 5th=0.831:1, so range=4.7.

The range of any CVT is: the longest-minus-shortest distance from belt to shaft centre, squared.

Square root of 4.7=2.16

So if the outside position of the belt is more than twice (>2.16x) as far from the shaft axis as the inside position, the Selecta transmission should have higher top 'gear' and lower bottom ratio.

Assuming this is true, the Selecta should be faster. If the Selecta in the Panda is similar or better than that in the older Uno, then the extra range probably out-ratios even a 5-speed gearbox both above and below.

Also, the FIRE engine has max torque at 2750rpm, and with the Selecta transmission, you can keep the engine constant around this low range whilst the CVT accelerates for you. Selecta CVT is the perfect match for the FIRE engine. My 1000S is already the best car ever, but a working Selecta would be my holy grail.

https://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21727&ppuser=3776

This is a link to the article. Does anyone know the exact ratios? My Haynes manual only goes up to 1991 and doesnt mention the Selecta.

 

[Roo83]

A shame the Panda was scrapped though, as a headgasket change on a FIRE engine is really quite easy...

How do you go about changing the head gasket? Just take everything off and put it back on in the same place? Do you have to drain the coolant?

 

[hensteeth]

Happy doing 70mph in mine no desire to gun it beyond that .Bottom end is good and picks up quite good for a box standard non modified car nippy around town never fast fits its purpose well.I Love my colour think it must have been blueprinted ha!ha!precision engineering.








Now with push button starting ha!ha!

 

[Giacosa]

How do you go about changing the head gasket? Just take everything off and put it back on in the same place? Do you have to drain the coolant?

You need to get the haynes manual. And somebody who has done it before to be your guardian angel.

 

[panda type thingy]

I took Speedy on the motorway to bluewater on sat, managed nearly 80 (could have gone higher but had to slow down for traffic) on the way there... and at one point dropped to a **** poor 45 on the way back when the motorway sloped up hill in a headwind. I did have two not exactly lightweight passengers though and I have noticed that Speedy most definately does not like fat people!

If it's just me (or a light passenger) the car flies, but stick a fatty in there and it can get embaressing. If I have two heavy people in there on the same side the car pulls in their direction!!!


Based on this I find the likelyhood of any panda doing 125mph unless towed by Thrust SSC

 

[Giacosa]

If it's just me (or a light passenger) the car flies, but stick a fatty in there and it can get embaressing. If I have two heavy people in there on the same side the car pulls in their direction!!!

It has a undesirable affect on the braking performance as well.

 

[petebarchetta]

Happy doing 70mph in mine no desire to gun it beyond that .Bottom end is good and picks up quite good for a box standard non modified car nippy around town never fast fits its purpose well.I Love my colour think it must have been blueprinted ha!ha!precision engineering.








Now with push button starting ha!ha!

push button starting!!!
where did u mount it? did you use the s2k type button?
do you have a wiring diagram to show the wires you spliced into?

 

[panda type thingy]

It has a undesirable affect on the braking performance as well.

Yeah but this is offset by the fact that I'm forced to do lower speeds.

To be honest if the gear ratios suited carrying the fatties better (I tend to get dead spots between gears, particulary 1st and 2nd) then if I wasn't going on motorways I'd actively try and carry fatties more often because they slow the car down more then the brakes do. Forces me to calm my driving style down too, as I tend to drive Speedy a bit like a two stroke motorcycle. (please don't hate me!)

 

[Sprox]

Yes, but that's how they're supposed to be driven!!! They LOVE it!!!!!!

 

[panda type thingy]

Phew!!!

Gotta ask a question, especially aimed at the push rod 903 ex/owners. Would you consider taking your 903 on a hundred mile trip fully loaded with friends or family?

Based on the above experienced issues and experiences I'm not sure it would be a great idea... which could make recently proposed holiday plans arkward...

 

[Sprox]

Phew!!!

Gotta ask a question, especially aimed at the push rod 903 ex/owners. Would you consider taking your 903 on a hundred mile trip fully loaded with friends or family?

Based on the above experienced issues and experiences I'm not sure it would be a great idea... which could make recently proposed holiday plans arkward...

Well, I've done Gatwick to Bradford (250 miles) in a Fiat 126, loaded roofrack and 4 people, Oxford to Dundee and back in same 126.
Gatwick to Western highlands of scotland in a 903 Fiat uno an also a 1000 Panda - it really is no problem - you gotta stop being paranoid!!!!
DRIVE YOUR CAR AND BE PROUD!!!!

 

[BenW]

I managed about 91mph in mine, empty bypass that i know well at about 11pm, slightly down hill. I lifted off then because my wheels are a bit unbalanced and the shaking was building up. Had a bit more in it though.

I've noticed the brakes deteriorate scarily when the car's loaded with people. Fine when its just one or two in the front but once you get 2 or 3 in the back it really is scary. Even messes up the weight balance so theres less weight on the front wheels meaning they're more likely to lock up!

 

[Xsisley]

Head gaskets don't cost a fortune to replace.....

about £5 and some work

 

[salford scheemie]

re earlier posts about driving fast harming head gaskets - might that be why mine went - from regularly driving from Glasgow to Suffolk, Manchester and London with the accelerator the slightest perceptible amount off flat out? I thought the car wasn't powerful enough to damage itself in such a way...

it's going in to be fixed in the morning - can't wait to be pandering again...

 

[default_user]

OK, pedantic post coming up. Look away now if you find it offensive.

To quote BenW:

I've noticed the brakes deteriorate scarily when the car's loaded with people. Fine when its just one or two in the front but once you get 2 or 3 in the back it really is scary. Even messes up the weight balance so theres less weight on the front wheels meaning they're more likely to lock up!

This is a simple matter of physics. The pads on the front and the shoes in the back cover the same area whatever the car conditions. This means that there is a maximum braking effect that they will have regardless of the cars loading. Hence they will feel as if they work better if there's only the driver on board because the car is lighter. The more weight you have to stop the more momentum the brakes will have to overcome.

Also, unless your passengers are sitting in the boot, you won't decrease the weight over the front wheels. All passengers are between the centres of the front and rear wheels hence the load will be distributed between all wheels. More weight means LESS likelihood of wheels locking up, unless conditions are very slippery.

 

[BenW]

Ok, i didn't think the weight balance through properly. I've had loads which stick out of the back and the boot needs tieing down, that affects the balance. The steering becomes much lighter than normal.

I know what you mean about the brakes but i'm as correct as you are. Brakes stop a car, if they stop the car quicker then they work better. If theres less weight then the car stops quicker which means the brakes work better.

 

[Nuova500]

Re the 903 post, Ive had four up in mine and it is slower by some margin but still fast enough. The furthest Ive done full up is a round trip of 150 miles.

 

[Pandarus]

...Had a bit more in it though.

I do love that expression - we all find ourselves saying it at one time or another!!!! (I was telling my Dad only last week that I was late for my son's swimming and was doing 90mph on the A14, but the wee car still had a bit more in it....)
:slayer:

 

[BenW]

But its true unless you find yourself pedal to the metal with no more speed building or you're bouncing off the rev limiter!

 

[Tony M]

they have rev limiters?

I personally think the handling would bebetter with theweightmore evenly distributed along the length of the car... if you do that without adding weight that'd be ideal...

An uncle of someone i spoke to used to load rocks into the back of a 4x4 to even it out... seems a little extreme, but there you go.