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new car Abarth 500
- Thread starter lbrench
- Start date
- Status
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
picture of monza (not too keen on the 4 exit pipes but there are rumours that they are releasing it with twin exit) you can also buy a 'group N' monza that comes with no boxes! its abit loud though.
video of it
sounds abit deisely when its not under pressure
video of it
sounds abit deisely when its not under pressure
Last edited by a moderator:
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
i wont be de-stickering it, looks abit crap without them
and because im a show off cnut
TTRS & V50
f**king LOL, that video is actually a 10 year old tranny van on idle.
jenic
ClioSport Club Member
Never thought about the back, abarth might aswell of gone all mini gp and got rid of the back seats for an arb and weight saving. Makes more sense...
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
lol on the abarth owners club there is a massive thing about the exhaust, it builds up back pressure until 3k then lets it all out so it sounds good at 3k 'apprently' but not sure wether to believe that or not
Exactly. Strip it. OH and lower it. 4x4 FTL
How many could you fit in mine!
wilky19
ClioSport Club Member
Leon FR 184
i wont be de-stickering it, looks abit crap without them
and because im a show off cnut
lol parking up on top of Mersey square Stockport
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
yeh i needed to nip into the scum town so parked up in a safe place lol
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
Re: new car FIAT Abarth 500
If I'm honest it feels quicker in gear but that's due to the low down torque and the gears feel alot longer escpecially in 3rd and 4th, I think on a tight track the Abarth would be just as quick as the Clio but the Clio felt more stable at higher speeds than the Abarth, some ways the Abarth is better and some ways the Clio is better.
Abarth is more fun though
If I'm honest it feels quicker in gear but that's due to the low down torque and the gears feel alot longer escpecially in 3rd and 4th, I think on a tight track the Abarth would be just as quick as the Clio but the Clio felt more stable at higher speeds than the Abarth, some ways the Abarth is better and some ways the Clio is better.
Abarth is more fun though
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
david hodson
ClioSport Club Member
Re: new car FIAT Abarth 500
Which exhaust is this lbrench ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNB6Uy95rRI&feature=related
Which exhaust is this lbrench ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNB6Uy95rRI&feature=related
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
Re: new car FIAT Abarth 500
It's from a tuning company called g-tec iirc, sounds really good. Milltek have also done a system but it sounds abit chav
It's from a tuning company called g-tec iirc, sounds really good. Milltek have also done a system but it sounds abit chav
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
Yeh well I'm on the waiting list for the coilovers and the TMC box which the owners club swears by gives a power hike of 171-173bhp
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
Esseesse pack it's stiffer springs, different wheels, remap to 160bhp, brake pads and a bmc filter and costs £2750
From the reviews on the Abarth forum the stiffer suspension offers no damping and is undrivable on uk roads, it's makes it handle worse because the wheels are bouncing off the ground.
Leather seats : I was sliding all over them as I'm tall and slightly overweight.
The wheels I can buy for about 600 quid
The remap I can just get the TMC box that bring it to 171 bhp and it costs 290 quid
Esseesse kit : overpriced and makes the car uncomfy
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
You would have had to wait longer than that because fiat dealers don't sell abarths lol
Yeh the waiting list was massive when they first came out, I wanted one instead of the 200 but waiting list put me off.
Glad you like it though
Lynden
lbrench
ClioSport Club Member
F250 6.7 / VW GLI.
Yeh I do miss the torque of the Megane especially on the motorway but the abarth still holds it's own and yeh the tuning should make it abit quicker than your average 172 because I think it gives about 220ftlb of torque aswell but honestly ingear like exiting a corner it feels just as quick and punchy as the 200 but that's due to te torque I think.
Oh and it revs so quickly!
MINI-R32-integrale
Glad you are enjoying the car, I worked on some of the Trofeo Race cars from the series at the start of the season along with my partners dad who also has a Campovola grey 500 Abarth.
The engine is the stand out feature of these cars. Abarth quote 133bhp & 155lb ft as standard, though we have found the make about 150bhp & 160lb ft as standard with a simple remap getting you 160bhp & 180lb ft torque.
I see you're on the Abarth Forum, the information you get on there is very narrow with only paid up sponsors getting their products discussed, so only TMC piggy back box for tuning etc so look elsewhere for more comprehensive views.
The car has some fundamental flaws which means I would not drive one.
The steering on the road cars is very poor. It's not even worth driving the car out of sport mode as it's comically lite, and in sport mode it artificially firms up but is devoid of feel & feedback, it's like driving a car with the steering wheel is attached to the rack by bungee cords.
The gearchange is just ok, the standard 6speed box as found in the lesser 500 1.4 n/a is sweeter but the alfa sourced 5 speed in the Abarth has too long a throw and IMO the articulation of the gearstick is wrong.
The pedals are poorly designed with the accelerator pedal being set at the same height as the brake pedal meaning under braking it is lower making heal & towing near impossible unless you dislocate your ankle.
You sit way to high in the standard unsupportive seats, the Sabelts are brilliant but at £1500 way overpriced.
Then the biggest issue, suspension. The rear of the car does and will hit it's bump stops on bumpy A&B roads with little effort making the back end skittish, the Essesse kit makes it worse, shorter springs make car have approx 25mm of suspension travel making it unacceptable. The best thing you can do to the car is remove the rear bumpstops (they just pull off) as the car does not become coil bound or reach the end of the damper travel so no damage can be done.
We developed in conjunction with AVO & Pulce Racing a coil over mono tube suspension set up that greatly improves the car, though it is £1000+vat plus fitting if you don't do it yourself. There is a cheaper twin-tube (inferior) Gaz set up for about £850 iirc which has taken them 4 attempts to get the front spring rates right as 1st time I saw it fitted to a car it was completely coil bound, very poor, not impressed. Though on recent Abarth trackday using my partners dads car as AVO/Pulce demonstrator & comparing to Gaz set up on an admittedly not very testing Seighford track was little to choose between them.
It may sound like I'm bring very harsh to the car, but it does have good qualities. The aforementioned engine is a cracker. The Trofeo cars run standard engine with nothing more than the Garrett turbo from the Punto Essesse fitted and 3" turbo back exhaust system & with only 1.3bar of boost make 215-220bhp & 240lb ft & apart from people downshifting to 2nd rather than 4th spinning engine unto 10500 rpm and smashing the valve buckets there have been no failures. It's rumored engine on standard internals is good for 250+bhp which is brilliant from a 1.4 that will return 40+ mpg all day long.
The brakes are very strong though standard pad compound will fade if used with enthusiasim.
But as a standard package it's not as quick as my Trophy & therefore can't be as quick as the 200 or Megane you previously owned, but they are good fun & low down torque makes them feel quick & though you get no feedback the cars do produce very high levels of grip.
And the standard kit level is good, Blue & Me plus the Interscope soundsystem with built-in subwoofer etc.
The engine is the stand out feature of these cars. Abarth quote 133bhp & 155lb ft as standard, though we have found the make about 150bhp & 160lb ft as standard with a simple remap getting you 160bhp & 180lb ft torque.
I see you're on the Abarth Forum, the information you get on there is very narrow with only paid up sponsors getting their products discussed, so only TMC piggy back box for tuning etc so look elsewhere for more comprehensive views.
The car has some fundamental flaws which means I would not drive one.
The steering on the road cars is very poor. It's not even worth driving the car out of sport mode as it's comically lite, and in sport mode it artificially firms up but is devoid of feel & feedback, it's like driving a car with the steering wheel is attached to the rack by bungee cords.
The gearchange is just ok, the standard 6speed box as found in the lesser 500 1.4 n/a is sweeter but the alfa sourced 5 speed in the Abarth has too long a throw and IMO the articulation of the gearstick is wrong.
The pedals are poorly designed with the accelerator pedal being set at the same height as the brake pedal meaning under braking it is lower making heal & towing near impossible unless you dislocate your ankle.
You sit way to high in the standard unsupportive seats, the Sabelts are brilliant but at £1500 way overpriced.
Then the biggest issue, suspension. The rear of the car does and will hit it's bump stops on bumpy A&B roads with little effort making the back end skittish, the Essesse kit makes it worse, shorter springs make car have approx 25mm of suspension travel making it unacceptable. The best thing you can do to the car is remove the rear bumpstops (they just pull off) as the car does not become coil bound or reach the end of the damper travel so no damage can be done.
We developed in conjunction with AVO & Pulce Racing a coil over mono tube suspension set up that greatly improves the car, though it is £1000+vat plus fitting if you don't do it yourself. There is a cheaper twin-tube (inferior) Gaz set up for about £850 iirc which has taken them 4 attempts to get the front spring rates right as 1st time I saw it fitted to a car it was completely coil bound, very poor, not impressed. Though on recent Abarth trackday using my partners dads car as AVO/Pulce demonstrator & comparing to Gaz set up on an admittedly not very testing Seighford track was little to choose between them.
It may sound like I'm bring very harsh to the car, but it does have good qualities. The aforementioned engine is a cracker. The Trofeo cars run standard engine with nothing more than the Garrett turbo from the Punto Essesse fitted and 3" turbo back exhaust system & with only 1.3bar of boost make 215-220bhp & 240lb ft & apart from people downshifting to 2nd rather than 4th spinning engine unto 10500 rpm and smashing the valve buckets there have been no failures. It's rumored engine on standard internals is good for 250+bhp which is brilliant from a 1.4 that will return 40+ mpg all day long.
The brakes are very strong though standard pad compound will fade if used with enthusiasim.
But as a standard package it's not as quick as my Trophy & therefore can't be as quick as the 200 or Megane you previously owned, but they are good fun & low down torque makes them feel quick & though you get no feedback the cars do produce very high levels of grip.
And the standard kit level is good, Blue & Me plus the Interscope soundsystem with built-in subwoofer etc.
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Waitey
ClioSport Club Member
Alpina D3, AC Cobra
How much were the optional Sabelt seats?
Look like a very nice place to sit!
They aren't trust me.
Most uncomfortable seats in the world.....
Waitey
ClioSport Club Member
Alpina D3, AC Cobra
The steering doesn't sound too good
How you find the steering, Lynden?
Its isn't. Its more city car than sports car.
MINI-R32-integrale
This is true, and can be accessed by any mapper with correct software, hence 160bhp & 180lb ft is available from the off.
The problem with most new cars is electrically assisted steering. It's cheaper to produce and easier to package than hydraulic assisted steering & as it's not parasitic improves mpg. but it removes feeling & feedback which manufactures try hard to replicate by adding weight. At present M division do not use electric on it's products even though all other BMWs do. Though this will change as believe it or not Renaultsport are regarded as having the best electric steering system that gets close to hydraulic, though it's still not quite there yet in terms of finger tip delicacy that tingles the sensations throw the steering wheels rim.
Of course like many things, once all cars adopt it and we become used to it we will stop questioning it and accept it.
Waitey
ClioSport Club Member
Alpina D3, AC Cobra
In the same way cooper is the sporting arm of mini.......
To be honest I thought the MK3 clio suffered terrible assisted steering.
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