General New 500 1.4 - Extreme Cold Weather prep

[jnoiles]

I picked up a new 500 (1.4 lounge/black/red leather/16") last week. I know these are relatively new cars so this might be an unknown quantity but has anyone had any experience of operating them in -25 to -30 degrees celcius?

I'm planning a trip to Chernobyl later this year to spend a few days inside the exclusion zone (don't ask, I've got weird hobbies) and I was thinking of driving over. My local contact in the Ukraine tells me it gets very very cold in Nov/Dec which is when I'm thinking of going. The example he gave was that he could open the door of his office, throw a fresh cup of coffee outside and it was frozen before it hit the ground.

I mentioned this when I picked it up (Ancaster, Catford, they rock!) and the salesman said it would be a good idea to drop it in to them and have it filled with anti-freeze etc. He also mentioned that it would be a good idea to start it and let it run for five minutes or so to warm up before driving it in those conditions. This is all good sensible stuff. But I can't help but think that doing that alone would be tempting fate somewhat.

So my questions are these:

- Does anyone have any first hand experience of operating a 500 in these temps?
- Does anyone have a recommendation for good snow tyres in 16"?
- Does anyone know if there is a snow chain designed to fit a 500 with 16" wheels?
- Does questionable fuel have an adverse affect on the 500? I'm running my 500 on premium unleaded only, will it freak out suddenly if it gets lesser quality fuel?

Thanks
J

 

[baldrick500]

- Does anyone have any first hand experience of operating a 500 in these temps?
- Does anyone have a recommendation for good snow tyres in 16"?
- Does anyone know if there is a snow chain designed to fit a 500 with 16" wheels?
- Does questionable fuel have an adverse affect on the 500? I'm running my 500 on premium unleaded only, will it freak out suddenly if it gets lesser quality fuel?

1. No
2.&3 None of the 15" or 16" alloys are suitable for snow chains. I believe you will want some skinny steel 14s with snow tyres with a higher profile
4. The ECU should cope with lower octane fuel than premium with just a loss of power at worst.

Good luck!

Cheers
Baldrick

 

[arc]

I'm planning a trip to Chernobyl later this year to spend a few days inside the exclusion zone (don't ask, I've got weird hobbies) and I was thinking of driving over.

that is something i would love to do as well.. *cough*

 

[dave]

freeze some of your sperm first, just incase

 

[jnoiles]

Too late, I was there last year in the summer. No ill effects aside from a burning desire to go back in winter.

 

[nebrog23]

Too late, I was there last year in the summer. No ill effects aside from a burning desire to go back in winter.

Something i'd like to do, read a book about it and looks cool. Most the areas have a 'safe' level of radiation if not living there now.
WHo didyou arrange the trip with if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Baerius]

Dude...that's disaster tourism...50000 people lived in Pripyet next to the powerstation...now it's a ghost town...but yeah! Would be interesting....I guess, would rather see the Amazon rainforest before it's gone though, myself...

 

[sledge]

-30 is an extreme temperature and will affect just about every part on your car, I would be asking questions about the oils and other various fluids, also the battery and its abilty to cope in low temperatures. I would also expect problems with things such as sticking brakes, frozen locks and hinges, wiper linkages, gear linkages handbrake etc....... I wouldnt like to say what effect an ambient of -30 would have on the cars electronics and engine management system or even if they could cope with it. The car is UK spec, it wasnt designed for such low extremes, you will have problems.

TG once did something similar with a Diesel C1.

 

[jnoiles]

nebrog23,

Send me a personal message and I'll send you the contact. I'm not comfortable posting other people's details in a public forum without asking them first. I'll say this though, she was first rate, arranged a car and driver, an apartment, access to Pripyat and Chernobyl all for a $700USD for 2 people.

sledge,

That's what I was worried about. I'm curious what the difference is between say a UK delivered car and say a Ukrainian delivered car in terms of cold weather prep. The lock/wiper/wash thing I sort of expected but the mechanical linkages worry me. Frozen brakes or gear linkages would be a bad thing in the Ukranian countryside. I don't imagine Fiat dealers are thick on the ground.

 

[sledge]

Maybe Fiat customer services might be able to advise, I was in Stockholm a few weeks ago and saw a 500 and it gets pretty damn cold over there.

 

[stilo16v]

This got me thinking of that topgear winter olympics episode. Where they take a C1 Diesel in a wind tunnel and lower the temperature until either car or person felt the effect.

I carnt remember what temperature they got down to, but the gearbox oil was so stiff the gearstick wouldnt move. The engine wouldnt turn over as the battery was dead, and even if it did the oil would be a solid.

Im sure this must be below -30, but it might be worth checking out things like that

 

[kw1984]

The car in the top gear test in the video above wouldnt start when the engine was at -19C but that was largley due to the fact it was a Diesel which goes very think in low temperatures. The electrics were still working and it was turning over.

I presume a petrol car, like yours, would stand up to lower temperatures.

 

[Jake_in_notts]

There are quite alot of electric oil heaters that can be added to cars that warm the oil before u try and start it.
U should take the battery out and keep that warm or use a battery warming blanket, this will at least mean the battery has some power in it but with very cold oil it'll still not start, frozen batteries are dangerous and can explode.
U will need special engine oil and antifreeze obviously but check the gearbox oil. Dont lock the car ! Either the lock will freeze or the remote locking will fail and if u take the battery out itll be useless anyway!
Best thing though is to bring the car indoors and sit it buy the fire to keep warm .
Best thing tbh is dont take yours and hire one out there, driving on snow with chains takes some getting used to so best not learn with your pride and joy !

 

[Lounasheimo]

Hi,

My Fiat 500 1.3 MJ is still to arrive, but I think can share some of my cold weather experiences from running a Fiat Uno and a Punto in a typical Finnish winter - I hope this provides useful to anyone planning a visit to a cold environment

I think the coldest weather I have encountered with my 2004 model Punto 1.2 16v has been -28c and aside from a slightly rough engine sound and sluggish gear change for the first few kilometers everything works pretty much normally. Unfortunately don't have an electrical outlet for a heater at my parking lot so I had to start the car unheated each morning and it never failed to start! The LCD displays on the radio and trip computer were so cold that any display change or update could take a couple of seconds as the old value slowly faded away and the new one appeared, but this was not a real problem as the displays returned to normal as soon as the interior had warmed up a bit.

Pretty much similar experiences with the old Uno as well, so I'd be willing to guess that the 500 will be very much usable and reliable in temperatures around -30c as well. Naturally you'll need to have a good battery and to use winter-grade diesel fuel if you happen to have an MJET engine.

As gear oil at least the Punto had standard Fiat factory oil in, as engine oil I had synthetic Mobil multigrade.

I hope to get my 500 in June, but it'll take me some 6 months or so to be able to report any cold weather experiences with it, but I can certainly share any anomalies I possibly come across!

 

[jnoiles]

Hi,

My Fiat 500 1.3 MJ is still to arrive, but I think can share some of my cold weather experiences from running a Fiat Uno and a Punto in a typical Finnish winter - I hope this provides useful to anyone planning a visit to a cold environment

I think the coldest weather I have encountered with my 2004 model Punto 1.2 16v has been -28c and aside from a slightly rough engine sound and sluggish gear change for the first few kilometers everything works pretty much normally. Unfortunately don't have an electrical outlet for a heater at my parking lot so I had to start the car unheated each morning and it never failed to start! The LCD displays on the radio and trip computer were so cold that any display change or update could take a couple of seconds as the old value slowly faded away and the new one appeared, but this was not a real problem as the displays returned to normal as soon as the interior had warmed up a bit.

Pretty much similar experiences with the old Uno as well, so I'd be willing to guess that the 500 will be very much usable and reliable in temperatures around -30c as well. Naturally you'll need to have a good battery and to use winter-grade diesel fuel if you happen to have an MJET engine.

As gear oil at least the Punto had standard Fiat factory oil in, as engine oil I had synthetic Mobil multigrade.

I hope to get my 500 in June, but it'll take me some 6 months or so to be able to report any cold weather experiences with it, but I can certainly share any anomalies I possibly come across!

Lounasheimo,

Any news on how the 500 holds up to the cold? Any known issues?

cheers
J