Uno Turbo

[viceroy]

Had a nice little race with one of these today.

He was a few cars ahead of me at the lights and rocketed off so I worked my way around the other cars and caught up to him on a curve where he slowed up and let me pass, till we got a to the next set of lights. He was behind me, and I pulled off pretty slowely and noticed he was right up my arse so I floored it and started gaining a little (maybe a car length) and we had a good run for a few hundred metres until some prat decides to move from the left lane into the right lane causing me to brake hard so the Uno shoots past and I drop to third and play catch up, through some bends then up a very long straight hill. I managed to pull in the Uno quite a bit, and the race ended with me turning off and gave a flash of lights which he returned, which was nice. Im seriously impressed with how they move as in a race, while the 172 seemed to have the power advantage the Uno wasnt too far off.

Im just wondering how much power those little buggers put out because at 4800ft above sea level normally aspirated cars lose about 18% of their power so Im effectively running equivilent to 137bhp.

 

[viceroy]

Apparently standard they put out 85kW @ 6000rpm and 161Nm @ 3500rpm

Anyone know their weight?

 

[Ben j]

dunno but they r quick!

 

[Dafydd]

dunno but my mechanics got one in a ford ka with nitrous and it goes like sh*t off a shovel very fast

 

[JonL]

I used to have one, a mk2 they are sh*t hot They have 118bhp as standard in a car that weighs around 785kg so that roughly works out at about 150 bhp/tonne, which in theory should make it about the same speed as my valver, but tbh even tho 0-60 stated times are the same(7.7), in reality the uno turbo seemed (and i am sure is) alot quicker. This is why i want to get another one, but its tough finding a non rusty un ragged/over modded one.

 

[Dunc Maclean]

3 of my mates have them, and i tell u, they are f**king quick!! one of my mates has just rebuild his and has a proven 220bhp and they weigh about as much as a bean can!!! cant wait to see what he runs at pod! the best bit is racing scoobys and cossies, hehe u should see their faces when an uno flies past!!

Dunc

 

[paddymph]

theyre rapid my mate had one, would say my 172 is quicker...

 

[mikeherts]

I used to have a Punto turbo which was the same engine as the late Uno Turbo but with more power (Punto had 136bhp). The Punto had a quicker 0-60 than the Unos but the Unos always felt more rapid because they weigh the same as a pack of fags!

Id say that my 172 IS quicker than my Punto GT but it certainly never feels it. I dont think Id be able to leave one miles behind, but the 172 would certainly win (on handling for sure!). The only time it would be pretty even is in a straight line low down sprint. The Punto has an 18psi turbo and if it was just coming on boost it could catch a 172 off guard.

I think it would be the same with many of the turbod hot hatches. 172 wouldnt be able to see them off properly until over 80mph, when their turbos become less useful and the power of the 172s big engine comes in.

 

[paddymph]

hmm, mike iw ould have said if the uno+punto were both standard the Uno would nail it??? Everyone ive ever spoke to reckons the uno is far quicker then the GT?......Maybe not???

Paddy

 

[JonL]

I have driven both(was thinking of getting a gt instead of the valver at one point), the uno is quicker for definate, it weighs nothing.

 

[paddymph]

Thats what everyone says!! It hard to find an uno turbo, Ive been wanting t compare my car and race for ages now, theyre never around though..

 

[JonL]

When i get around to buying another one Ill give you a race

 

[paddymph]

ill hold ya to it!

 

[mikeherts]

Well......Ive never owned an Uno, but my mate had a phase 1 and then a phase 2. The Punto is definitely a quicker car. It has a quicker manufacturers 0-60, and its 0-60 is let down by the fact that it cant quite scrape 60 out of 2nd. If it could, its 0-60 would be low 7s.

However I will admit that the Uno feels quicker because of its weight, but if you look at every 0-60 and in gear time, the Punto is quicker. It has a very high pressure turbo - do you know what psi the uno runs at?

 

[JonL]

I have both the original brochures for the mk2 Uno and the mk1 punto, the 0-60 times are both listed as 7.7 and the top end for the uno is higher. Plus i did get 60 out of 2nd gear. The uno runs as standard at 9 psi but can safely be adjusted to 14psi. Mine ran at 9psi

 

[JonL]

also power to weight the uno wins every time 785kg with 118 bhp = 150.3bhp/tonne to the puntos 998 kg and 136 bhp = 136.3 bhp/tonne

 

[mikeherts]

What would I know...if you say its quicker then fine, its quicker.

 

[mikeherts]

Sorry Jon - I just re-read that.....didnt mean it to sound arsey. I just didnt want to get into a my old cars quicker than your old car argument! - everyone is entitled to their opinion.

 

[JonL]

Yeah sorry my fault too, i agree everyone is entitled to their own opinion, well leave it that. I do like punto gts tho

 

[Simon]

Apparently its not that hard to get 160 bhp out of a phase 1 uno turbo and if they weigh similar to 785kg then that equates to: 203 bhp/ton. That should fly.

I used to own an MG Metro Turbo a long time ago - only turbo car ive ever had. I know they dont have much cred. but it was fun @ the time. I remember wanting to modify it, e.g. up boost and stuff and was told that it wasnt possible. Just been surfing and found a DIY site that shows how to do mods. to it. Apparently it will keep up with an RS Turbo till about 90 mph. Would have been fun having that back then, used to get thrashed by GTTs and RS Turbos.

 

[mikeherts]

Simon - with 203bhp/ton an Uno would fall apart

There is a guy who had his Punto GT pushing out nearly 200bhp....it was a WRX muncher. Sadly they are all Italian and not too reliable though. Great fun with lots of character however - translate character as dangerous handling!!

You said about keeping up with RS Turbos? - did you mean Escorts or Fiestas? Escort RSTs really arent that quick as standard. Manufacturer 0-60 is about 9 secs, although a lot of people dispute that should be nearer 8.

 

[SteveJJH]

Uno Turbo - goes very quick, especially on the sills.



they are v quick in a straight line, the chassis cant quite hold up to that sort of power though imho. very light, which is always a good thing, quick in a straight line, but a modern properly engineered hatch like a 172 would leave it for dead on any road with corners

turbos always seem quick when youre in them cos they give you a punch when you put youre foot down, it feels good, but realisticly youre not actually going as fast as you think

 

[mikeherts]

Quote: Originally posted by SteveJJH on 29 December 2002


turbos always seem quick when youre in them cos they give you a punch when you put youre foot down, it feels good, but realisticly youre not actually going as fast as you think

Youve hit the nail on the head Steve. This is why Im struggling to enjoy my 172bhp Clio after coming out of a 136bhp Punto GT. The Clio just doesnt feel as quick at any time (except at about 110!) Truth is that the Clio is quicker everywhere except very low down. I know this but just have to convince myself! - there is a bypass where I live that I drive up every day, and on a clear run in the Punto, I used to touch 90 ish before having to brake. I can get 100-105 in the Clio. Now 10-15 mph might not sound a lot, but on the road, thats quite a difference.

 

[JonL]

I know a bloke round my way, hes building a punto thats gonna have around 320bhp (note VERY modified 1.6l bottom end)(he used to have 200+bhp but it blew up) and he also has a mate whos got a 310bhp uno turbo (very strenghtened weighs 1300kg). Incidentally i know a couple of people with 160/180bhp uno turbos, its very easy to do, sadly mine blew up well before i got a chance to fiddle

 

[JonL]

aha found the link to his car

http://www.puntopower.com/rsr.htmlhttp://www.puntopower.com/rsr.html

Thats gonna be a beast when its finished

 

[JonL]

And also just found the video of the 310 bhp uno turbo, i think its italian, i cant remember.

http://www.ladley.org/cars/tipi.mpghttp://www.ladley.org/cars/tipi.mpg

 

[mikeherts]

Thats the same bloke with the Punto - he used to run the Punto Sports club, and I think hes still involved in it since its reformation. Never saw it in the flesh though!

 

[aaronc]

Uno Turbos are bags of fun! A mate had one years back in Brighton maderia drive about 4am tearing up and down the road got 120 and got there pretty quickly.................cant remember but dont think the residents were to impressed!!

those were the days.....

 

[Scudetto]

I also had one about ten years ago. It was blindingly quick, but the cornering was iffy to say the least. Come a bend, and it was more a case of oh-no!Turbo than Uno Turbo. The whole thing felt....erm, flimsy, probably sums it up. Terrific fun though. Tsk, when I were a lad...

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