General Speed of Pandas

[Alan.D]

Ok till you have an accident then you have flying rocks comming through the back seat to contend with as well

 

[gaz.d]

So taking all the weight out of the panda, i.e. removing interior will worsen its handling and braking??

Think I may stick mine back in , as people have said brakes aren't the best but I try to plan ahead. Would grooved/vented discs be a worthwhile upgrade. Or would the money be better spent on a complete brake overhaul?

 

[Alan.D]

Groved & vented discs would prevent fading but not the overall brakeing effect.

 

[Tony M]

what is this fixation with speed?... I just worry that my economy is being damaged when i stress the engine... you're never going to get that quick in a panda unless it's below 50mph... quick they do well, fast they do crap.

 

[BenW]

they have rev limiters?

Yes, they do. At least in first gear they do and its rather high!

Grooved and drilled disks have little effect even on fast cars on a track. Thats why if you look at something like a porsche cayenne turbo they have solid disks.

Pads will make a difference however.

You could quite easily move the battery to the boot, i think some BMWs have the battery in the boot? and you could put the spare wheel in the boot which should even it a fair bit. BUT, the rear suspension seems softer so it'll sink a fair bit at the rear. Doubt it would have that much of an effect anyway, the whole car need to be lower for a start

 

[Sprox]

Well, a lighter car stops better - there is no doubt of that.
My stripped out panda handles brilliantly!
THEN I PUT ON CINQ ALLOYS - Handling improved!!!! bit rougher ride
THEN I PUT ON A Y10 ANTI ROLL BAR and andling improved even more - far outweighing any mythical effect that a lighter car will handle worse ok - yes , maybe at high speed 100mph plus but handling you need on country lanes at slower speeds and at empty roundabouts at 3am in the morning.t
Also affecting handling is - ACCELERATION - Control of the front wheel drive will change your car's handling - i.e accelerating into a corner helps you get round it whereas braking helps you skid and crash - freewheeling feels like you're not entirely in control - so the better you can accelerate, the better you can take the corner even if you're only doing 20 or 30 mph.
If you over accelerate and over (or is it under) steer, the wheels spin and the car moves forward instead of going round the corner
Basically Advanced Driving Techniques - Alan D I'm sure can enlighten us - although I don't think he would encourage us to drive around like Boy racers - ok we can't help it can we

So for handling and ther fore safety purposes - my Panda has greatest Acceleration and greatest braking - both weight related

 

[petebarchetta]

Yes, they do. At least in first gear they do and its rather high!

Grooved and drilled disks have little effect even on fast cars on a track. Thats why if you look at something like a porsche cayenne turbo they have solid disks.

Pads will make a difference however.

You could quite easily move the battery to the boot, i think some BMWs have the battery in the boot? and you could put the spare wheel in the boot which should even it a fair bit. BUT, the rear suspension seems softer so it'll sink a fair bit at the rear. Doubt it would have that much of an effect anyway, the whole car need to be lower for a start

So why dont we do a group buy then??
surely companies like:
http://www.edworthys.co.uk/ and
http://www.needforspeed.co.uk//
would do us some sort or discount for a group buy?:idea:
maybe Oldschool could flex the company muscle for us or use his knowlegde of the trade
just an idea, may save a few quid here or there

 

[Tony M]

So why dont we do a group buy then??
surely companies like:
http://www.edworthys.co.uk/ and
http://www.needforspeed.co.uk//
would do us some sort or discount for a group buy?:idea:
maybe Oldschool could flex the company muscle for us or use his knowlegde of the trade
just an idea, may save a few quid here or there

unfortunately they don't sell wheel bearings also...

 

[Alan.D]

Basically Advanced Driving Techniques - Alan D I'm sure can enlighten us - although I don't think he would encourage us to drive around like Boy racers - ok we can't help it can we

I certainly don't (Tony you keep out of it )

There are three ways to induce a skid, excessive steering, excessive acceleration & harsh braking.
Loosing control in a bend will be a mix of excessive steering & excessive acceleration or braking
Your car say travelling at a constant 50mph on a flat straight road will have 100% grip. when you start to go into a corner & steer that figure will lower depending how harshly you steer, if you brake then that figure reduces again and when it reaches 0% you go into a hedge. To ballance a car round a corner/bend you should not accelerate but just squeeze the accelerator a little to ballance the car and keep a constant speed.

Lesson one on road craft

 

[Pandarus]

what is this fixation with speed?... I just worry that my economy is being damaged when i stress the engine... you're never going to get that quick in a panda unless it's below 50mph... quick they do well, fast they do crap.

Bang on Tony, we should just be happy with the economy, the 'nippy' performance and practical motoring!

I don't like going over 60mph unless I have to.

MARTIN

 

[PandaManPaul]

By way of summarising all of this, may I draw attention to Steve's quote in my signature.....

 

[panda valdisere]

Yeah have to agree with the last statement,if you want to go fast then get something that was built for speed,ok im a bit spoiled when it comes to choice cause my ist car has 270bhp and quattro drive train,but the point im trying to make is i appreciate both cars for their differences,and when im in my panda its all about enjoying the simplicity of simple fun motoring.
Right im stepping down from my soap box now!!!!:whogives:

 

[Alan.D]

I might make a fast panda for the fun of it, but agree to some extent, I got the BMW for motorway and cruising, the Barchetta for the country and the Sisley is staying exactly as it is.

But if you don't have the choice and you have the one car I don't see the harm as long as it's not chaved up.

 

[Sprox]

The thing is - it already feels like we're doing amillion miles an hour anyway!!!
Why?

 

[petebarchetta]

Well, a lighter car stops better - there is no doubt of that.
My stripped out panda handles brilliantly!
THEN I PUT ON CINQ ALLOYS - Handling improved!!!! bit rougher ride
THEN I PUT ON A Y10 ANTI ROLL BAR and andling improved even more - far outweighing any mythical effect that a lighter car will handle worse ok - yes , maybe at high speed 100mph plus but handling you need on country lanes at slower speeds and at empty roundabouts at 3am in the morning.t
Also affecting handling is - ACCELERATION - Control of the front wheel drive will change your car's handling - i.e accelerating into a corner helps you get round it whereas braking helps you skid and crash - freewheeling feels like you're not entirely in control - so the better you can accelerate, the better you can take the corner even if you're only doing 20 or 30 mph.
If you over accelerate and over (or is it under) steer, the wheels spin and the car moves forward instead of going round the corner
Basically Advanced Driving Techniques - Alan D I'm sure can enlighten us - although I don't think he would encourage us to drive around like Boy racers - ok we can't help it can we

So for handling and ther fore safety purposes - my Panda has greatest Acceleration and greatest braking - both weight related

true.... my race prep when compared to the white panda i owned at the same time handled so differently to the uprated one... It would squat in corners instead of rolling and cornering on rails. All i did was uprate the suspension properly no engine mods they were both 1000cc

 

[Tony M]

true.... my race prep when compared to the white panda i owned at the same time handled so differently to the uprated one... It would squat in corners instead of rolling and cornering on rails. All i did was uprate the suspension properly no engine mods they were both 1000cc

i imagine the ride on the roads was a little bumpy...

if not can you expand on what you did to modify the suspension set up please... it would be interesting to know.

 

[petebarchetta]

i imagine the ride on the roads was a little bumpy...

if not can you expand on what you did to modify the suspension set up please... it would be interesting to know.

i had (wish i had now!! )but i sold them due to kids...... but i will again leda springs front and rear monroe gas fronts and koni oil rears (rears i think edworthy do and koni springs too, the monroe gas are far better than fiat standard oil's, although if you have the budget then get leda to convert your oil front dampers into twin oil with adjustable ride height they would be sweet. For those who want it i have the invoice number of the set that leda built for pandamonium
offers in brown paper envelopes in suitable denominations

 

[BenW]

I always thought it was brake before a corner, steer in with no throttle unless the rear goes light then a tiny bit of throttle, then accelerate out to pull it around. Has always worked for me.

The one thing i'd like to improve on my panda is the braking performance. But the problem is that i can still lock the wheels even after a fun country road drive. Suggests tyres are the weak spot (Old pirellis, possibly P8s?).

 

[petebarchetta]

i had tarox XD1's fitted to the back of the panda. They were a 6 groove drum, i think tarox still does them. ANyways they did really well chewed through standard pads though, but that was my style of driving

 

[gaz.d]

My brakes are really bad . They really need to be looked at. I have never known them to be this bad before. The car has been standing for a while, so I am hoping them will get better over time. Seems I have to pump the pedal