Tuning My new 1.4 500

[Venters]

It does add torque on the Abarth.

 

[306maxi]

It does add torque on the Abarth.

Was just going to reply and I saw this.

In both cars it makes the throttle response greater and makes the steering heavier and on the Abarth it gives the engine more torque.

 

[grimwau]

Was just going to reply and I saw this.

In both cars it makes the throttle response greater and makes the steering heavier and on the Abarth it gives the engine more torque.

The above also applies to the TwinAir.

 

[306maxi]

The above also applies to the TwinAir.

In reverse I take it?

Normal mode = full torque
Eco mode = less torque

 

[RobW]

The sport button does not add torque or power. It sharpens throttle response and stiffens steering. It makes the car alot more fun as you put your foot 2 cm down and its like putting it 6 cm down for example. The sport button does exactly the same in the 1.4 as it does to the abarth 1.4. There may be a more noticeable difference in the abarth as you have more power in the engine

yes with turbo engines sport mode does make a significant difference

 

[grimwau]

In reverse I take it?

Normal mode = full torque
Eco mode = less torque

Yeah! I should have said that.

 

[mjsmke]

So why is it when you put your foot on the floor without the sport button the cars 0-60 is the same as with the sport button pressed? Surely if the button is adding more torque the 0-60 time would be better??

Also this thread https://www.fiatforum.com/500/256347-sport-button.html explains the sport button too, only it contradicts what people say on this thread. Confused.

 

[306maxi]

So why is it when you put your foot on the floor without the sport button the cars 0-60 is the same as with the sport button pressed? Surely if the button is adding more torque the 0-60 time would be better??

Also this thread https://www.fiatforum.com/500/256347-sport-button.html explains the sport button too, only it contradicts what people say on this thread. Confused.

BECAUSE IF YOU READ WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING, 100% THROTTLE WITH OR WITHOUT SPORT MODE IS STILL 100%!!!!

It doesn't contradict what's being said here at all.

 

[grimwau]

So why is it when you put your foot on the floor without the sport button the cars 0-60 is the same as with the sport button pressed? Surely if the button is adding more torque the 0-60 time would be better??

Confused.

The Sport button only increases torque on a turbo car but the 1.4 is normally aspirated.

 

[multispoke]

I didn't say it gave it more power. In fact i said it makes it feel like it has more power.

I did a decent enough test drive and for the first half drove in "normal" mode and it was what i expected. Not quick but enough power to be comfortable and confidant. For the 2nd half i pressed the sport button and even though the overall power wouldn't have improved it felt a lot more responsive and a lot more satisfying to drive. I loved it in sport mode, there is a big difference in characteristics.

I would agree with this but found that in traffic you have to leave the sport mode off because it starts to 'hunt'. The car definitely feels more spritely with the sport mode on plus the steering stiffens up.

 

[multispoke]

A remap and induction will find you about 5% if you're lucky. If you want a bigger punch, fit a supersprint manifold and run a very free flowing exhaust with a 200 cell sports cat. That'll poke you up to about 120bhp.

I was looking to do the following on a 1.4 16V with 4k miles (it's starting to loosen up this week )

Denso iridium plugs - RobW mentioned that they give a proven 2bhp.
ITG CAI - had the pipercross - liked it - seemed to give a 'little'. Wanted a better one - not too sure if it's worth the £ per bhp.
Re-map. Felt that this is really only benefical on a turbo engine. Understand that if fitting a CAI that all you have to do is to disconnect the battery for a few minutes so that the ECU resets it.
A little concerned on the thread
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/256048-useful-info-thread.html
under Flashing mileages. How long can on leave a battery disconnected before this happens ? This might be a concern for anyone else changing seats e.g. airbag, etc.
Changing the manifold and the cat. What kind of money are we 'talking'. I do feel that is a heavy restrictor.
To get a 1.4 to the same power to weight ratio as a standard Abarth (say 135bhp - we'll make it easy !) how much would you have to spend ?

 

[multispoke]

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/237737-panda-100hp-alternative-spark-plugs.html

Just purchased a set of IXU22 off ebay for around £38 despite the conflicting review about. It wouldn't be the first time that I have spend money not knowing what I've bought.

 

[multispoke]

If you have a choice between

1. ITG CAI (around £175 plus postage) or
2. ITG Panel filter + re-map (ECU can be supposedly done without the car) - around £290 including postage bothways.

what would you go for ?

My understanding is that if you get a 'new' performance manifold then the mapping is no good. It's unlikely that I would go for the manifold & performance cat - imagine that it would be upwards of £500 + labour.

I'm also skeptic about re-maps on non turbos. Reckon you have to have higher octance fuel to get the benefits (there is only standard juice i.e. 95 octane available in Ireland). On some jap models there's tuned for US fuel (92 octane) so advancing the iginition on European fuel is no big deal.

 

[multispoke]

If you have a choice between

1. ITG CAI (around £175 plus postage) or
2. ITG Panel filter + re-map (ECU can be supposedly done without the car) - around £290 including postage bothways.

what would you go for ?

My understanding is that if you get a 'new' performance manifold then the mapping is no good. It's unlikely that I would go for the manifold & performance cat - imagine that it would be upwards of £500 + labour.

I'm also skeptic about re-maps on non turbos. Reckon you have to have higher octance fuel to get the benefits (there is only standard juice i.e. 95 octane available in Ireland). On some jap models there's tuned for US fuel (92 octane) so advancing the iginition on European fuel is no big deal.

Still looking for a 'nice' response on the above. Remember reading that it wasn't worthwhile spending money on a 1.4 - that you might as well buy the Abarth - this would have cost at least another €6.5k. I'm prepared to compromise the warranty for the sake a few horses.

 

[mjsmke]

I want to do the same thing. In my old 1.2 punto i made my own cold air intake so cold air was forced into the filter. That made a small difference but i really want to get my 500 re mapped. The only thing putting me off is the warranty and that it may get reset during the service.

I need to research this further to see what Fiat would let me do.

 

[rallycinq]

Fiat won't let you do anything, and if the car is on HP, neither will the finance company.

Cheers

D

 

[DraigFlag87]

Fiat won't let you do anything, and if the car is on HP, neither will the finance company.

Cheers

D

Really? That's odd. Abarth don't mind if your car is mapped/tuned. They also have to prove any damage/fault was caused by the remap/tuning box. It would be a tad hypocritical if they did mind, the SS kit they sell contains a re-mapped ECU!

 

[multispoke]

Really? That's odd. Abarth don't mind if your car is mapped/tuned. They also have to prove any damage/fault was caused by the remap/tuning box. It would be a tad hypocritical if they did mind, the SS kit they sell contains a re-mapped ECU!

There was a thread on the Abarth section that you have the computer & and ECU. The computer 'holds' mileage information and whatever else whilst the ECU has the mapping. So updating the ECU or I should getting it re-mapped should leave car specific information intact. A concern from mjsmke is that if the ECU is re-mapped that it could get wiped on a service reset. My understanding is that dis-connecting the battery for a while say 5 minutes will trigger a reset. It is Nouva who are looking to do the re-map or is it Angel Tuning. I'd imagine that given there reputation they wouldn't cheat the map to give the impression that the engine is still cold causing it to over supply fuel to the engine. It would nice if the Sport button could be linked into the set-up allowing a more aggressive map but allowing the economy mapping to stay in place for 'normal' driving.
Has anyone had their 500 1.4 re-mapped ?

 

[DraigFlag87]

I can't imagine the benefits of mapping a 1.4 N/A engine are going to worth it really. If only it had a Turbo!

And another thing, don't believe it when tuning companies say that re-maps are undetectable, they're not, they can always be traced some how.

 

[multispoke]

I have posted a response for trackdayqueen on the Panda forum in follow on to a PM. She has given me her permission to publish this on the forum...


Hi trackdayqueen.

If the spark plugs make no difference. Is there anything else that I can do ?

Had a thread open under 500...
<a href="https://www.fiatforum.com/500/263450-my-new-1-4-500-a-4.html" target="_blank">https://www.fiatforum.com/500/263450-...4-500-a-4.html</a>

Appreciate any input.
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I think that given you are trying to tune a naturally aspirated engine, any gains are going to cost a fair bit of money really.

Air filters and exhausts make it sound nice, but unless you have a manifold made up as well you are unlikely to see much of an increase. An air filter and exhaust may net a few bhp, but I seriously doubt you'd see more than 10bhp.

Adding a manifold may well help some more, but a manifold is probably going to cost you £500 or so.

Then there is the issue with mapping, as there has been problems with re-mapping the 1.4 as far as I'm aware.

Really, though only way to get more significant gains from a 1.4 is to look at cams and headwork. But, you need to know what parameters the stock ECU can cope with, because if you go for a longer duration and higher lift cam, there will come a point where the ECU can't cope with it.

Also worth remembering with cams is that longer duration cams with higher lift, shift the power range higher up the rev range. The 1.4 is limited by it's hydraulic tappets to the 7100rpm rev limit. I'm not sure how much higher you can go on hydraulic tappets and even if you can change the rev limit on the stock ECU.

For example on my old AE86, it has high lift/duration cams in it. The working power range as standard is up to 7599rpm. But with my cams the power range is good to 8300rpm, so my rev limit has been raised as otherwise I wouldn't be able to take advantage of higher top end power.

One thing I should say about cams is that shifting the power further up the rev range will compromise low end response and low end torque so there is a trade off.

My AE86 is a 1.6. 122bhp standard. I have high lift cams, exhaust manifold, exhaust, cone air filter and a 'doctored' ECU. With all those modifications which to be fair would cost a fair amount of money (somewhere around say £1800) I would be happy if the car produces 140bhp, (only had it 2 weeks to need to get it on a rolling road) and as you can see it's not a mega increase.


If there is a way to map the stock ECU you may be able to see some gains which in conjunction with a full exhaust system and air filter may get you somewhere near 120bhp.

Another way to more power is porting and flowing the head, but again, lots of money. Ditto bigger valves if this is possible on the 1.4.

I honestly think that any light modifications you do will not give you a big increase.

I guess your only other option is to buy a faster car really!

hth

Lauren
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