blimey thats a fast Fiat Coupe ..
Discussion
Yesterday -- going down to H'sham, coming out of Dorking there was blue fiat looking to drive 'con brio'. It being rude not to, I joined and gave chase -- 160 mph later our fun was stopped correctly by other traffic wanting to use the road.
Be nice to know what steroids its on, as it was good and fast up to 140 and needed a good dose of 'Tess's' new Taraka horses to keep pace.
Noticed there isn't a fiat forum ... poor lad
>>> Edited by paddym on Friday 17th September 15:08
Be nice to know what steroids its on, as it was good and fast up to 140 and needed a good dose of 'Tess's' new Taraka horses to keep pace.
Noticed there isn't a fiat forum ... poor lad
>>> Edited by paddym on Friday 17th September 15:08
How many gauges does he need to look at? The Chimaera driver was probably pootling along behind him seeing how fast the Fiat went. I tend to do this, esp if the road is busy which is what I'm reading through this guys posting.
IMO If you can't keep up with a boosted Flat Coupe then I suggest a trip to the rolling road is in order. You should be able to outrun one of these unless it is very seriously tuned. But of course I wasn't there so maybe it was the wrong kind of air that evening
IMO If you can't keep up with a boosted Flat Coupe then I suggest a trip to the rolling road is in order. You should be able to outrun one of these unless it is very seriously tuned. But of course I wasn't there so maybe it was the wrong kind of air that evening
wildeep, please tell Hanny he tells it like it is -- at the last round-a-bout he gave 'good corner' and his style was was very Italian --
Though it reads like I wasn't trying -- Tess (short for testorone, name care of my wisear*e
brother) was putting in some effort, but we were happy just to keep pace on a new road
Though it reads like I wasn't trying -- Tess (short for testorone, name care of my wisear*e
brother) was putting in some effort, but we were happy just to keep pace on a new road
paddym said:
Yesterday -- going down to H'sham, coming out of Dorking there was blue fiat looking to drive 'con brio'. It being rude not to, I joined and gave chase -- 160 mph later our fun was stopped correctly by other traffic wanting to use the road.
Be nice to know what steroids its on, as it was good and fast up to 140 and needed a good dose of 'Tess's' new Taraka horses to keep pace.
Noticed there isn't a fiat forum ... poor lad
>>> Edited by paddym on Friday 17th September 15:08
Hello paddym and all,
Nice networking - seen a link to this post from one of our guys on the Fiat Coupe Forum.
The wee drive was entertaining and certainly changes a normal commute to a more enjoyable journey.
My Coupe is not standard by any means, so that might explain the performance - however I do have a fuelling fault at top rpm hence the lesser performance 130+ - but soon to have that sorted.
In standard form the Fiat Coupe 20 valve Turbo has 220bhp, 229lbs of torque @ a weight of 1310kg's, this in turn performs a top speed of 155mph and a 0-60 of 6.0 seconds or 6.5 depending on who/what published.
The engine is a 5 cylinder 1998cc(opps edited) turbocharged set up with variable valve timing.
I don’t have the exact figures as yet for my set up as I have done quite extensive modifications over the last 18 months of which include the following to name a few:
Performance headwork - back cut valves and 3 angle seats etc.
Fully balanced bottom end
Ceramic ball bearing AR60 Garret Turbo.
Haywood and Scott 2.5 inch down pipe coupled with Miltek race cat and Miltek cat back exhaust - again 2.5 inch.
Pace motorsport Front mount intercooler and radiator.
Apexi AVC-R electronic boost controller.
Novitec full map/boost chip.
Full suspension and brake upgrade including braded hoses, Castrol SRF fully synthetic brake fluid etc.
My set up as above was designed for track use but at the same time as making it a viable work commute car for everyday use.
As with most Italian cars these days it's very much a love hate relationship but if serviced correctly by a specialist and not the manufacturer dealership ownership can be very reasonable for the performance that this mark offers.
As you note from the link as provided above I am a moderator and Fiat Coupe Club UK board member on the Fiat Coupe Forum - we pride our selves in not practising 'one car/make' snobbery as so many one make dedicated sites do - we have regular meets so should any TVR owners wish to attend please feel free and welcome.
Anyway nice to of 'met' you on the open road and hope that we shall again soon.
Regards
Hanny
>> Edited by Hanny_ on Saturday 18th September 11:48
>> Edited by Hanny_ on Saturday 18th September 11:50
>> Edited by Hanny_ on Saturday 18th September 12:01
Sure no worries - will be on a Dyno/RR next Saturday but am expecting my figures not to be optimised due to the need for better map system as I am at the limit of my aftermarket 'off the shelf' chip that is currently fitted, also I have a voltage problem that is effecting high rpm performance.
Would be great to see figs anyway... and then again when it is exactly how you want it! Except that will never happen cos you will just think of more things to do...
Just curious really about how much the mods help, I guess the "interim" figs would help show how much the next improvements help things.
Just curious really about how much the mods help, I guess the "interim" figs would help show how much the next improvements help things.
targarama said:
How many gauges does he need to look at? The Chimaera driver was probably pootling along behind him seeing how fast the Fiat went. I tend to do this, esp if the road is busy which is what I'm reading through this guys posting.
IMO If you can't keep up with a boosted Flat Coupe then I suggest a trip to the rolling road is in order. You should be able to outrun one of these unless it is very seriously tuned. But of course I wasn't there so maybe it was the wrong kind of air that evening
As with all moded/tuned Turbo charged cars - if pushing the boundries then it is best to keep an eye on the Air Fuel Ratio and boost levels - turning a blind eye may produce a very costly rebuild bill.
deeen said:
Would be great to see figs anyway... and then again when it is exactly how you want it! Except that will never happen cos you will just think of more things to do...
Just curious really about how much the mods help, I guess the "interim" figs would help show how much the next improvements help things.
How very true - the end is forever eluding.
My set up is modest compared with some - there is one Coupe that has a 2.4 conversion and is pushing in the region of between 450bhp - 500bhp, there are others that have fitted Nitros amongst other things.
As I’m sure you well know a turbo charged car is very easy to tune - how ever there are to categories - running high boost or engine engineering, although the first can be relatively cheap the reliabilities issues may come in to play. The engineering route (of which I have undergone) will cost relatively more but the longetivity is greatly enhanced as the engine is working less than in standard set up.
Yes, please do post the tuning results Hanny. Also, be careful if the car isn't set up right - yes, look at the gauges, but don't boost it too much until you're sure it won't go bang - be a pity to ruin the engine while waiting for the Rolling Road/new ECU program.
I used to have a 200sx (1995 model) and that was tuned a bit - to around 250hp. Had a Tussle with a 20V Coupe in that and I only just gained on it - so I know they're pretty quick as standard.
How do the Fiat engines stand up to this tuning? I know Nissans are as reliable as std as long as you're sensible. I nearly bought an R33 Skyline instead of my Chimaera, but it was too binary to drive, kind of put me off mega boost upgrades at the time. My girlfriend's TT reminded me turbos can be fun :-)
I used to have a 200sx (1995 model) and that was tuned a bit - to around 250hp. Had a Tussle with a 20V Coupe in that and I only just gained on it - so I know they're pretty quick as standard.
How do the Fiat engines stand up to this tuning? I know Nissans are as reliable as std as long as you're sensible. I nearly bought an R33 Skyline instead of my Chimaera, but it was too binary to drive, kind of put me off mega boost upgrades at the time. My girlfriend's TT reminded me turbos can be fun :-)
targarama said:
Yes, please do post the tuning results Hanny. Also, be careful if the car isn't set up right - yes, look at the gauges, but don't boost it too much until you're sure it won't go bang - be a pity to ruin the engine while waiting for the Rolling Road/new ECU program.
I used to have a 200sx (1995 model) and that was tuned a bit - to around 250hp. Had a Tussle with a 20V Coupe in that and I only just gained on it - so I know they're pretty quick as standard.
How do the Fiat engines stand up to this tuning? I know Nissans are as reliable as std as long as you're sensible. I nearly bought an R33 Skyline instead of my Chimaera, but it was too binary to drive, kind of put me off mega boost upgrades at the time. My girlfriend's TT reminded me turbos can be fun :-)
Hi - with a standard chip, standard down pipe, hybrid turbo and standard fuel pump but had a pre-det/pinking last November my Coupe pushed out 272bhp/254lbs torque - I am running near standard boost as I set out to engineer the engine to be more effciant as oppossed to high boost running - I am running a safe set up but always keep an eye on things. But as you can see I have near enough changed the set up now (see list above)
Currently my engine is working a lot less than in standard form due to the set up and dont normally go above 1.0bar - I have 1.3 bar of boost for tests but the max test carried out was at 1.45bar but could not keep traction but that was just to test the electrical and fueling set-ups.
The 20v blocks are quite good, the weakness is as always the Italian electronics, you have to check for voltage drop on full load. As mentioned before there is one guy who has a 20vt block but smaller pistons giving 2.4 ltr displacement and he had to install a Motec ECU, this has resulted in first tests of between 450bhp and 500bhp.
stesrg said:
Hmm hanny all that money spent on modifications must have cost, could have done away and had a TVR insted and had some scary fun with the ferrari and porker boys
- Not sure of the current prices of TVR's - Coupe cost me £7200 nearly 3 years ago and say that if I was to double the cost for modification (just as an example) I have a very reasonable performance car for less than £15,000.
Besides costs - as with most Italian car enthusiasts - I like the cars design and not forgetting the community that we have, doctors, pilots(both civilian and military), engineers, legal beagles, students etc etc. to name but a few - we have reg local area meets and anual club events - on average we get around 30 - 50 Coupe's in attendance to both types of venues.
Orginally I came from a 911 turbo but the running costs were simply too high for using as an every day work commute car as well as weekend jaunts and track days.
The good thing about the Coupe is that it can be used around town shopping, on long distance with children, handles well in the wet or snow (no worse than any main stream cars~) and when the mood requires it to be a performance type it can.
Your looking at the following costs for a year ownership:
£200 approx for a service - filters -air, fuel, oil, plugs, Mobile or Mogul oil + plus health check. (cambelt change is now done at 72000 @ £399-£550 by a specialist where as Fiat charge £1200+ for engine out which is not nessary).
We chew tyres up on average 12000 miles costing approx £220 for both front (Toyo Proxis/Goodyear F1)
Insurance group 19
Fuel consumption - £45 for a full tank of Optimax - you can get as little as 250 miles out of the tank or up to 400 miles if on the motorway - as with all it a case of how you drive.
So all in all I think it would be safe to say that owning a modified Fiat Coupe and running would be quite a bit cheaper than a TVR.
>> Edited by Hanny_ on Sunday 19th September 09:56
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