[pitstop_chd]

Hi

I know the post is sort of inappropriate in context to the thread but since I had no other option available so thought of posting it here. Moderator can remove this if found appropriate.

One of my friend is a proud owner of Abarth punto & wanted to speak to Sid for getting advice onto the modification part. Asi am unable to fetch the contact details hence requesting fellow bhpians to provide contact details of Sid so that the same could be passed onto my friend

[sidindica]

Update: 3 years, 32,200 kms



There comes in a period, where the clock strikes 9, and sitting in a table, watching in front of you, a clock, swinging its pendulum, makes you wonder your mind, see sawing like a pendulum, showing the true essence of life, see sawing like a pendulum, some tragedies strike, see sawing like a pendulum, some ups and downs come, see sawing like a pendulum, some ups and downs remain, see sawing like a pendulum, your health gets jittered, see sawing like a pendulum, some instances occur, see sawing like a pendulum, but your motor car stays strong, strong enough to keep you strong, from the chimes within, the world see saws like a pendulum, but inside, the pendulum stops.





Time flies by, three years just flew by, 32200 kms just flew by, you never know how time just flies by.

I got the spark plugs replaced at 30,000 kms. Besides, no mechanical issues, the car Performs fantastically well, ego bruises notwithstanding, its a fast car.

The Mio Dash Cam:

I had installed the MIO dashcam in may itself, I had purchased directly from the factory in Noida via a reference, and this was a set of 2 cams with GPS/ADAS/dual recording/Hardwiring kit/24 hour surveillance moniter. The Cam is from this Taiwanese brand and is robust and has a Sony lens for HD recording. Due to too many other priorities, haven't went deep into its tech but the device is useful during these tough times. The app needs getting used to, though.

The Sensairy TPMS:

Bluetooth/App controlled, 5 sensor pack I got installed, works flawlessly.

Fog LED bulbs Upgrade to Blaupunkt:

Just last week, one of the fog bulbs stopped working due to some wiring that broke related to the light itself. Went to Driven in MG Road and asked for a set of Blaupunkt 9X Pro H11 LED bulbs. Found them to be extremely bright and got them installed since I had time constraints and it was late evening already. Comes with 2 years warranty.

Below 2 Pics can give an indication of the illumination. H4 continue to be Aurora LED Bulbs.

Low Beam



High Beam



Signing off with pics below, after a pampering session at Superluxe Automotives, West Delhi.











I added some more imported Abarth accessories, with more on their way.

In these wallet busting fuel prices, the car returns 11-14 kpl in city and 15ish on highway in winter.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by sidindica

In these wallet busting fuel prices, the car returns 11-14 kpl in city and 15ish on highway in winter.

Those are some beautiful shots of the car

11-14 kmpl in the city and 15 kmpl on the highway ? That's awesome for a 145 bhp turbo petrol. It gave me 8 kmpl on highway But yes, it was close to red line, all the time.

Abarth Punto is one lovely car. Perhaps the best dynamically sorted car that I have driven.

[sidindica]

Update: In 4th year, 39,000 kms.



As and when the car culture of Delhi is overtaken by cringe, I have been building the car slowly, with quality stuff sourced from different people. Delhi is just not the good place to showcase your builds, ever since cringe content has taken over more than 90% of the target audience. But then, the beauty of finding and sourcing stuff has its own stuff of challenges and rewards. And I think I have built the most balanced Abarth Punto of this region. But of course, the car does have its share of unexpected quirks.

A) What's the condition of strut mounts?

People driving Fiats must be aware of the poor quality noisy strut mounts which make grinding noise after 1-2 months of being installed. Fiat are yet to provide with a new design or remedy, but touchwood, my car is still on OE mounts. So no complaints there.

b) Is the AC of the car reliable?

In one word, a big no. The infamous AC malfunction happened in my car last month, wherein first the cooling coil gave up, and this lead to a catastrophic chain of failure of condensor and compessor. My car was at Jhalak Cars (FNG specialist for Fiat/Abarth cars : Jhalak Cars, Sector 121, Noida) wherein Khan tried every possible step to save on costs but eventually, the entire AC system was replaced and the bill came up to be about 57k. Thrills do come in at a price.

c) Upgrade suspension a must.

I was running Eibach pro kit lowering springs, but now the time had come to upgrade the dampers. I researched and discussed with few Abarth Punto owners in my circle and all of them recommended to go for Koni Active FSD Sport dampers. Ordered for a set this April through wicked wheels and it came in end of June, the prices were a juicy Rs.73,960.

The suspension upgrade has been worth every penny. The dampers are gas charged, and match the height of the springs. While the travel mm is reduced, the damping properties are fantastic, and ride quality is as amazing as its handling. The high speed dynamics and cornering have improved by leaps and bounds, and this is a complete package now, wherein you can drive the car daily as well as have fun on weekends on winding roads as well.

d) Better Brakes.

The Brembo discs of the car measure 284 mm up front and 251 mm at rear, so it has its base covered. I added EBC yellow stuff pads, purchased from my friend in Bhopal who shipped me the pads within a week. Costed a cool Rs. 20k for those. The braking is point blank, improved by leaps and bounds and brake fade, which on stock pads was a bit of cause of concern, has eliminated.

e) The Most important, a better remap, to complete the package.



I changed the ECU tune from Quantum to Wolf multi Octane map. Sreekanth Komama flew down to Gurgaon to update my ECU and the software was flashed in 15 minutes flat. The claimed power figures are as follows:
-upto 165 bhp on map 1 (91 octane)
-upto 170 bhp on map 2 (95 octane)
-upto 185 bhp on 99/100 octane (map 3)

I filled XP100 and we tested the car on map 3. The ECU took about 200 kms of drive to adapt to the new tune map and again, wolf's proven map for T jet made the old quantum map feel from a prehistoric era. The driveability improved by leaps and bounds, and the car was a flying terrestrial jet on map 3. Torque figures are about 290 nm. Pulls like crazy, and mid range acceleration is insane, enough to give the flying Polo owners an inferiority complex. I run the car on Xp95 (map 2) and get consistent FE of 11-13 kpl on city driving with airconditioning on for 70% of the time.

F) Interior add ons:
I added a smoke black tinted alfa Romeo giuletta cabin light sourced from ebay UK with two spot lights, and a custom gear knob lens (from Abarth 595) and cruise control with footwell lights. All thanks to my friend Ashish from Gurgaon for doing the connections.

G) Audio?
I had made up my mind to dispose off all the audio equipment and go back to basics. Stock audio is back and so is the reduced weight due to no speaker mounts, no heavy damping and no ill fitted panels. A performance car cannot be an audio car, its on my principle.

H) Exhaust.
Again, installed back the OE setup and couldnt be happier. Custom exhaust began to develop rust and intermittant leaks within a bit over an year, so threw the crap out and scrapped it. In this stage of life its more important to have a balanced build rather than running behind fitting everything for the sake of fitting it.

I added few more merchandise items as usual, and the build list of the car is now like this:
Wolfmoto performance remap, upto 185 hp on 100 octane map
Bonalume Short throw shifter
Eibach Pro kit lowering springs
Koni Active FSD Dampers
Eibach 15mm wheel spacers all round
Forge motorsport intercooler
Forge motorsport Intake
Forge motorsport blow off valve
Forge motorsport underbelly subframe brace
Garrett mechanical boost and vacuum indicator gauge
EBC yellow stuff pads on OR brembo discs
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 205/55 R16 tyres

This is a thrill machine, and the privilege to own this masterpiece, one out of 357 odd ever made, is unparalled. Its a piece of history dumped in a graveyard wherein the ghosts roar to keep the legacy alive. I am sure Fiat India have now completely forgotten that this existed.

Signing off with a few clicks below:













Abarth owners, please use this car and do not sell it or act like flippers, like few do.
Because, to drive a machine like this, you live only once.

[dipen]

May I request a real world test / comparo of the tune on regular 91 petrol with a Taigun / Kushaq 1.5 MT (if not from standstill/drag, roll on would be good) to really see how well all this tuning translates in real life.

Theoretically with stock specs : Both should be neck to neck with 0-100 in almost 9.00 sec in real life. Punto while 100 kg lighter falls short on the torque by 38 nm when compared to the Kushaq. Also Kushaq has has a slightly better slotting gearbox.

[vedirah]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Abarth owners, please use this car and do not sell it or act like flippers, like few do.
Because, to drive a machine like this, you live only once.

Some day when you do actually think of an upgrade, I want to be first on the list to buy this car from you!

Excellent upgrades, loved reading all of it.

[sidindica]

Update: 43,000 kms

The car was not driven much because I have been distributing the running between both my cars and even taking public transport at times. It was time to address few issues:

a) Service at 42,500 kms.



The last service was done at 35,000 kms and post 7.5k kms. I checked the oil and it was showing signs of wear. This time I switched to Amsoil extreme performance 0W-40. It meets Fiat's requirements of ACEA and API, though this is a thinner oil. So, I expect some consumption which, of course, will be monitored. It cost me 5.5k and I got it from a friend who got a few quarts long back and kept a set for me.

Have driven the car post that and gradually, I can see some good positive differences. The engine has become more free revving and gathers pace rapidly. Plus there's an improvement in driveability. Of course, with the service, the air filter was cleaned properly by me and oil, A/C and fuel filters were changed.

The steering rack conked out and was making khat khat noises even after I got it diagnosed at Jhalak cars thrice. Replaced the rack after much deliberation of going for repair or not as we picked up the rack from the supplier directly. The noise was eliminated followed by wheel alignment and balancing.

B) Refreshing the underbelly

This was much needed. I took the car to Landmark Noida and opted for underbelly anti-rust with silencer coating. The car sees adverse weather conditions and no matter what FCA or owners say, it;s better I play it safe as a preventive measure.

C) Rattles

None, but few in the interior trims. We addressed them by using a combination of lubricants and foam.

I see the EBC pads have 40% life left and so do the discs. By the time the car crosses 50k kms they are due for a replacement. The Pilot Sport 4s are wearing evenly with no issues. Overall, the car continues to chug along as usual, with little or no manufacturer support.







Haven't clicked much except the ones above that were taken recently.

[Viju]

Wow, they must be among the most loved and pampered modern Fiats in the country! Lucky them to have found you!

Please do post more pictures of the cars, especially the interiors and the engine bay.

[sidindica]

Update | Nearing 5 years | 46000 kms

6 months have passed by, and just 3000 kms have been added. Whether good or bad, I have no perceived notions about it. When more cars come in the house, running is distributed now and hence, the raven chugs along as expected. Just underwent a detail and added the T jet logo at the rear. And signed off with these pics clicked below.

























And yeah...we continue to live only once....with little or no OEM support.

[sidindica]

Update | 5.4 years | 53500 kms | Stage 2

I always like to add things patiently and slowly, so as to keep interest on the car. Since this car is meant to be kept for a long time to come, maintenance, periodic replacement of parts and incremental upgrades is the best way on not to get bored out of it.

Changing the brakes

The car crossed 51,500 kms and the factory discs were nearing the end of their life, of course this is not a car to be driven with light foot so its always better to check and perform designated replacements along with pads. Replaced all 4 discs with OE replacement Brembo rotors (INR 12,500) and EBC Yellow stuff pads (INR 20k). Still feel this is the best balanced combination for my car.

Changing the tyres:

The earlier Pilot Sport 4s too were beginning to deteriorate so replaced them with new set of PS4s (freshly available now) of 205/55 R16 size. Not cheap though at INR 11.4k/tyre.

Service with fluids change:

52,500 kms service was performed at Landmark, Okhla. Changed the oil (Selenia K), all filters (except air), brake oil, transmission oil with brakes being bled and serviced after my recent trip.

Going for Stage 2:

For a long time, I have been doing research on pros and cons of adding a catless downpipe. Since all my parts on the car are international branded which are certified for this very car and platform, I had to take the same route with the downpipe. This was anyways my first car and first experiment with adding a catless downpipe, so TMC Motorsport UK launched their downpipe for IHI 60mm turbo (2.25" diameter) back in December 2023. Their appearence, build and overall quality looked top class, so ordered the same in the beginning of April.

The parcel came, and here was what it looked like:
Quality does come at a price, which costed approx INR 34k (cost of DP+shipping+duties).







Impressed with the high quality of construction of T304 grade SS, with proper weld marks and excellent finish, this was just what I was looking for. Installation was done at Fiat FNG (Jhalak) and it took 2 hours to do a neat installation by the mechs. As expected, this is a reversible bolt on mod.



The OE heat shield (bottom one) cannot be fitted as there is no provision so I had to go with Kool Wraps Australia Sourced Heat wrapping strip (Photo below)



As expected, the O2 sensor error (P0420-CEL) appeared after 50 kms of driving, and I got it cleared by scanner, though proper map update by Wolf Moto is pending which will be done once they arrive next in Delhi.

I got coolant changed as well, since summers are at their peak also.

Initial Impressions

The ECU took time to adapt to the DP and altered O2 parameters, once it adapted, the mid range grunt of the car has improved, and the car feels more addictive with more consistent torque delivery throughout the torque band. Already the car was never meant to be driven with light foot, this will further add to the addiction. Haven't seen much difference in FE, have to do proper logging in days to come for this.

I think overall the car feels more complete, just like what it should be, not gunning for just straightline acceleration and numbers, but better driveability, torque, and catalogued high quality build.

[sidindica]

6 years | 60,000 kms

At the end of 6 years, most people either get bored, sell off their cars and claim to have "upgraded" to a so called better car.
Or
After 6 years, people suffer from mid life crisis, and get confused on what to buy.
Or
Continue to enjoy the last of their kind.

In today's world, there is no such thing as "upgrade". Expensive cars are becoming uglier, soulless, with downsized engines, people are paying 12 lakhs for a commuter AMT slow hatch or a nondescript turbo 3 cylinder "performance" cars which have everything but performance and there remains many SUVs and crossovers with no USPs of their own. Its the craze for the latter that has killed the taste of consumers and the hot hatch market has all but vanished.

In the coming days, Abarth Punto owners will sell their cars, make hue and cry about their decisions, and new owners will go on disrespecting this car. This isn't a car to sell early, its a machine to cherish for life. You see when this car goes in community meets, it still gets respect that even a polo or a N line or a fronx etc wont get at first place.

A lot has been said about the unethical practices that FCA does with Abarth owners. Increase part prices, make ownership more akin to owning a Mercedes, discontinue lot of cosmetic parts. But owning this is a cherish of a lifetime. Not for the powerful engine or the ride and handling, but because of the raw character and driving involvement it imparts, without all the modern gizmos or electronic aids.

But the community of "good" Abarth keepers has gone down considerably. Cars are getting abused, have jugaad stuff around, and insane prices for badly kept cars are being asked for. FCA too, has discontinued lot of cosmetic parts for this car, and its a pain to keep it in top shape but the select few who have this car, are keeping it.

Few months back, I changed the discs to EBC GD series slotted and dimpled at front and rear, which gives far more sharper braking performance and less of brake fade.



Also got the 4H-Tech short throw shifter kit installed above the gearbox bell housing, which has improved the throw space on the OE gear shifter assembly. Meanwhile, service of 60k kms was performed with timing kit changed few thousand kms earlier, and the car continues to provide everyday fun of speed and dynamics, even after 6 years.

Touchwood no major issues with the car, and I intend to keep this for many more years to come.

[Air Cav]

Excellent. As a proud owner of the Abarth since the last 7 years all I can say is that it has only 8 more years of ownership left. Its a keeper for me too though it is mostly stock except an uprated Garett intercooler, cat back straight pipe with an old school Cherry Bomb glasspack and a BMC DIA kit. Just changed the tyres to Vredstein Ultrac Vorties and have found them pleasantly comparable to PS4s. Mine has only 31K on the odo and is on its third set of rubber ie Conti MC5, PS4 and now Vorties. I have changed the rubber after every 15K or roughly 3.5 yrs. Some things are not replaceable in life and time and the Abarth is one of them or one of a kind that will scarcely ever repeat itself. Till such time happy to hang onto the wheel.

My Scorpion with its FCA cousin after a Sunday wash at home.

[AceCombatFanIN]

I honestly feel a lot of sorrow as I read this knowing by the time I earn enough to buy a car, all I'll find is soulless tin cans on the road will little to no emotions. I sometimes wish I was born a decade earlier at times. Almost none of the current trend can satisfy my desires fully. Maybe I'll make some peace and get a second hand or perhaps I'll go somewhere where I can live my passion.

[Rasmo3689]

Abarth is pure love. As a Fiat owner for decades, all I can say is Fiat wasn't wrong when they said, "If you still love driving, we still make great cars". I sold my Linea T-jet of 9 years back in 2020 only to replace it with a pre-owned diesel, the sheer confidence and maneuverability is unmatched, I live in Uttarakhand and I'm yet to drive a Fiat that has ever felt nervous on a corner. I would suggest keeping her for as long as you can, it is a very special car, we will probably never see something like an Abarth or a GTi ever again.