[pgcars]

Dear All,

Having known about the features of the Petrol Turbocharged Engine, the stunning looks of an Italian beauty, I developed a belated ( since about last 2 years, by which time FIAT had stopped production in India ) desire to own a "Linea T Jet".

While I already have 4 cars with me, ( Amby Mark 4, Mark 2), Daewoo - Cielo and a Indica V2 DLS; adding a 5th one to the stable, is nothing but inviting worries, for want of garage space, which is a sheer difficulty;

and haven't yet found a 5th garage..

About a month back came across an advertisement at OLX, about a T-Jet on sale in Kolkata, 2015 December model, Hip - Hop black, facelifted version; contacted the dealer who was selling it, took a test drive on the 24th September; it was mind boggling..

It was love at first sight for both me and my wife.. the torque of the T Jet bowled us over.
All the more because we are not used to experiencing drive and ride in a vehicle as the T Jet with 112 Bhp and 207 Nm torque.

However, overtook my mind beyond all the odds and without a bother confirmed the dealer that we are taking the vehicle.. We took the delivery on the 8th October..

On the vehicle - Body has a few small dents.. here and there... major is on the bonnet... don't know how the bonnet hood inside portion 4 nos. dice marks have outlined on the face of the bonnet.

The driver Arm rest and rear seat arm rests need to be replaced.. they are falling apart, chrome on the rear bumper and that on the right front side is also missing..
Car has not been properly maintained by the previous owner...

Posting a few pictures of the vehicle..

Previous owner has misplaced the Owner's Manual.. . contacted FCA authorised dealer at Kolkata; they didn't sound positive to get me one.. said they will try.

Can anyone please help as how I can get one. It is a feature loaded vehicle.. and need to study the manual to operate.

[pgcars]

[DRIV3R]

Just sharing some information that would help T Jet/Abarth owners from a potential alternator failure. I researched on this topic and stumbled upon the root cause of this by chance, it was too late for me as my T Jet suffered an alternator failure by then. I know a few BHPians have suffered alternator failure as well and am pretty sure it was a washing practice or a combination of open parking and rare use of the vehicle.

Do NOT wash your car with water daily especially if you are not going to use it shortly thereafter. Reason being one of the two scuttle drain hoses drip drain water directly on the alternator. This design worked ok with the other engine options that Fiat had but not so well for the T Jet engine as the engine extends much more towards the firewall.

As a fix, you can either get the updated drain hose (which is scanty in availability and expensive) or do some DIY fix. Personally used a cycle tyre tube cut to required length taped around with heat proof tape and stuck with rubber adhesive to the OEM drain hose, as I want my brand new alternator to be safe. Works well and as expected. Attached relevant screen grabs from a technical bulletin from the alternator manufacturer Denso for reference.

[keroo1099]

Felt it was high time I updated what's been happening with my Jet which will turn 9 in a few months, but done only 45k. In short, she's running beautifully without any major hiccups except for having to skim my brake discs because of uneven wear.

All my small and large upgrades on the car are working fine:

1. The Wolf remap is such a blessing in the city, and along with the larger Intercooler (no leaks), I can almost lift off in 2nd from a standing start. No more slipping or half clutch in stop-go traffic. My maps have been updated a couple of times and I am locked into Map 2 with IOC95 for good.

2. My DIY cold air intake didn't suck in any water during the crazy monsoon we had this year in Bangalore (My K&N air filter remains dry)

3. The DIY courtesy lights are going strong

4. And my Sinolyn projector fogs with 4300K Osram HIDs haven't conked off on me.

5. The DIY G-Max Nano coating on all the windows lasted about a year and I just finished reapplying another coat before the monsoon season.

6. The plastic cowl under the wipers had started turning white and bending with the heat (very poor quality), so I ordered and got the parts very quickly through Boodmo. Took me about an hour to replace

I had also got a Gyeon coating done by Kirthi Car Care (NKrishnap) end of 2018 which is still going strong after 4 years and without any maintenance coat. The only thing that I have once in about 6 months is to use a clay pad to remove any residue. Dust removal is using a Jopasu, and post that if a wipe is required I use the two hand method of a wet followed by a dry microfiber towel.

For the fun of it I also attempted to do a DIY on my wiper blades by ordering a set of replacement rubbers from amazon. Had to do a bit of 'Juggad' to get it to clip and stay firmly attached to the wiper arm, but it seems to be working fine without any streaks or squeals.

I finally took the plunge and ordered a Isudar PX6 Android HU which is plug and play. Supposedly has 4GB of RAM (I haven't checked) but the interface is fast with no lag or hanging. I wanted it, hoping it would improve on the sound quality of the crap OE head unit which thankfully it did. The only issue I have with this HU is that it only has one RCA out, so one can't connect it to an external amp and get the inbuilt DSP to work. For that one has to use a hi-lo converter which I didn't want to do. The SQ from the new unit is miles better than before and the amp section has enough headroom not to clip/distort when I crank up the volume. My Infinity Ref Kappa's are finally smiling.


Cheap, but a pain to attach to arm. Will stick with standard blades from now on



You can see how the wiper blades fit



when it just arrived after the Ceramic Coating



Pic taken this morning



Spot the car



The new HU sits flush but the locking mechanism to the cradle is a bit iffy



The settings that work for me. It doesn't sound tinny and light, music has a nice heft to it without smearing of instruments or voices. Since I don't have a sub I get almost nothing below 80Hz but its not bothering me so far.



The courtesy lights working flawlessly



As are the Fogs

[redCherry]

The Jet looks as new as ever.

Originally Posted by keroo1099

I finally took the plunge and ordered a Isudar PX6 Android HU which is plug and play.

Apparently, Sony AX5500 should fit in in Linea, almost plug and play, despite it being double DIN.
https://www.sony.co.in/electronics/i...deshow_default
Any it has 2 USBs, and 3 pre-outs. I am exploring to check if this fits my T-jet.


The other option I thought about was Woodman (single DIN, fits easily), but I'm not too sure about audio quality, so not very keen.

https://hiwoodman.com/product/woodma...-dsp-2gb-32gb/

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by redCherry

The Jet looks as new as ever.



Apparently, Sony AX5500 should fit in in Linea, almost plug and play, despite it being double DIN.
https://www.sony.co.in/electronics/i...deshow_default
Any it has 2 USBs, and 3 pre-outs. I am exploring to check if this fits my T-jet.


The other option I thought about was Woodman (single DIN, fits easily), but I'm not too sure about audio quality, so not very keen.

https://hiwoodman.com/product/woodma...-dsp-2gb-32gb/

Please check, the Sony won't be an OE fit, and you also need to make sure the steering controls work.

Someone I know tried the Woodman and wasn't happy with it.

Good luck.

[amit1agrawal]

Awesome. The Jet looks as new as ever. That 'Spot the car' pic blew me away. I kept thinking what the photo was about till I saw the comment 'Spot the car'. I take pride in maintaining my shine but you have set a new benchmark!
45K km for Tjet is nothing. With that kind of running maybe you can keep it for 5 more years or till it lasts. I sold my 2nd Tjet at 73 km (it was picked up by another Bhpian), and the engine was performing as well as new. The only fly in the ointment is the lack of spare parts available now.
Good Luck.

[eagle_bush]

I have successfully installed Sony AX-8100 in my FL 2015 MJD. Sourced a Connects2 interface along with the OEM fascia. Will post pictures in sometime. Only gripe is that the unit does not go in fully. Not intrusive by any means, but would have loved if it fit more snuggly.

I have another CAN BUS adapter I can give away with me. Please DM if needed.

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by eagle_bush

I have successfully installed Sony AX-8100 in my FL 2015 MJD. Sourced a Connects2 interface along with the OEM fascia. Will post pictures in sometime. Only gripe is that the unit does not go in fully. Not intrusive by any means, but would have loved if it fit more snuggly.

Would love to know how it compares with the stock unit when it comes to sound. Have you upgraded the speakers?

Looking forward to your pics.

[eagle_bush]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

Would love to know how it compares with the stock unit when it comes to sound. Have you upgraded the speakers?

Looking forward to your pics.

Here you go!

I have attempted to show different views. Access to the boot, defogger and hazard light switches is reasonable thought they are out of sight in the full frontal view.

I have upgraded the speakers to JL Audio CS2 along with a Sony subwoofer and a Sony DSP amplifier.

The head unit gives generous 5V pre-outs to the amplifier.

All steering wheel controls are functional.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

updated what's been happening with my Jet which will turn 9 in a few months, but done only 45k. In short, she's running beautifully without any major hiccups except for having to skim my brake discs because of uneven wear.

I had also got a Gyeon coating done by Kirthi Car Care (NKrishnap) end of 2018 which is still going strong after 4 years and without any maintenance coat. The only thing that I have once in about 6 months is to use a clay pad to remove any residue. Dust removal is using a Jopasu, and post that if a wipe is required I use the two hand method of a wet followed by a dry microfiber towel.

For the fun of it I also attempted to do a DIY on my wiper blades by ordering a set of replacement rubbers from amazon. Had to do a bit of 'Juggad' to get it to clip and stay firmly attached to the wiper arm, but it seems to be working fine without any streaks or squeals.

Is

Man!
Your car is shining and like how! Simply amazing!
That grey is such a lovely shade. And the Linea T Jet is just such a lovely car.
So sad that Fiat brand just ran away from India.

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Man!
Your car is shining and like how! Simply amazing!
That grey is such a lovely shade. And the Linea T Jet is just such a lovely car.
So sad that Fiat brand just ran away from India.

Thanks Shankar. With all the mods, the Fiat is perfect for my kind of use, and in this avatar it's completely taken away the itch to upgrade to something better.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

Jet which will turn 9 in a few months, but done only 45k. In short, she's running beautifully…
1. The Wolf remap…
2. My DIY cold air intake..
3. The DIY courtesy lights..
4. And my Sinolyn projector fogs..
5. The DIY G-Max Nano coating on all the..
6. The plastic cowl under the wipers..

Good going keroo! Your Tjet won’t look out of place in a showroom(only if FIAT would have continued ).
Your Linea looks like it belongs to the first lot of facelifted model. Mine will turn 9 in almost 2 months

Some nice modifications there covering many aspects. Some functional, some for aesthetics and others for performance. A great blend.

Have you got your timing belt changed yet?
Happy mile munching!

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Good going keroo! Your Tjet won’t look out of place in a showroom(only if FIAT would have continued ).

Have you got your timing belt changed yet?
Happy mile munching!

Thanks abhi_tjet. Though the timing belt and the other two belts looked ok on inspection I went ahead and changed them at the recommended 5 year interval.

[keroo1099]

MODS PLEASE MERGE WITH MY EARLIER POST IF DEEMED FIT:

I forgot to say the most important bit which is the car has had zero rattles and squeaks is its 9 years of existence. Nothing has fallen off, and all I have done is replace one tail light bulb to date. Fiat India can't sell cars if their life depended on it, but they sure as hell overdesigned the Linea and the Punto.







Surprisingly the light leather interiors has held up well and has just needed a wipe down with a wet cloth when dusty and a coat of Collinite 855 Leather & Vinyl wax.



It rained this morning so I managed to get a nice snap of the water beading which I though I should post