Bolt on Upgrades, Worth it? (CAI, Tune)

So going back and forth in my head. Past cars I've liked to keep stock but recently bought a Turbo Fiat 500 and have thought of getting a CAI and Tune. Reason for the Tune is it has the same engine as the Abarth and is pretty detuned from the factory.

Thing is though, I'm happy enough with performance as it is. And don't really want to berkeley with MPG and reliability.

It's about $700 for the package.

The shifter on the otherhand is pretty bad in this car. Thinking of replacing it with a $400 unit as it's something I physically touch / use every day on the car.

Coldsnap wrote: Thing is though, I'm happy enough with performance as it is. And don't really want to berkeley with MPG and reliability.

Sounds like you already have your answer then.

NickD wrote:

Coldsnap wrote: Thing is though, I'm happy enough with performance as it is. And don't really want to berkeley with MPG and reliability.

Sounds like you already have your answer then.

Right, those are the two biggest concerns. My MPG already blows because my average speed is 25mph (I sort of live in the city I guess??)

I think something like the shift kit would be good, as it doesn't affect anything motor related.

Shifter, yeah, definitely, it's something you interact with every time you drive it.

Right.

If anyone was wondering the shifter feels like moving a stick through a bin of legos. Very plastic and chunky feeling (it is all plastic and a cheap car, so understandable). But was surprised to not see this mentioned in any of the reviews.

I think upgrading the shifter is a decent idea. Every manual trans car (or truck) I have had, I have upgraded (or tried to) the shifter. Hell, I put a $250 Hurst shifter in my beater Cherokee.

Is this where you are looking? 500 Madness

Now, if you were going to upgrade anything to Abarth-spec, I would say go for the exhuast. The Abarth has one of the best factory exhausts I have ever heard

I think a heavier knob would help with the shifter to give it more heft. I've thought about similar mods, but the car is pretty good out of the box. I did put Abarth springs on mine, but heck, it was a cheap upgrade from people changing their Abarth springs to something else, $100 shipped to my door, and took me an afternoon.

I wouldn't change to the Abarth exhaust, however, because you have to get a new rear valance to change it from a single output to duals, plus the exhaust hangers. There was a shop that offered to sell a straight pipe to replace the exhaust (apparently still within the same noise level of the Abarth), but they were asking $500 for a simple pipe. If you're good with a welder, you could probably make one up for under $100 if not under $50.

-Rob

I was looking at this adapter. It's by far the most expensive but also seems extremely nice and keeps everything OEM (you dont have to change the shifter or boot)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPTpXdeKRuM

rob_lewis wrote: I think a heavier knob would help with the shifter to give it more heft. I've thought about similar mods, but the car is pretty good out of the box. I did put Abarth springs on mine, but heck, it was a cheap upgrade from people changing their Abarth springs to something else, $100 shipped to my door, and took me an afternoon. I wouldn't change to the Abarth exhaust, however, because you have to get a new rear valance to change it from a single output to duals, plus the exhaust hangers. There was a shop that offered to sell a straight pipe to replace the exhaust (apparently still within the same noise level of the Abarth), but they were asking $500 for a simple pipe. If you're good with a welder, you could probably make one up for under $100 if not under $50. -Rob

I thought about the exhaust, but the reason I went with the 500T is it's a bit quieter. Was going to see if a local shop could build me a mandrel bent dual setup with mufflers (sort of like what NueF has) but it would have been like $700 bucks or so for about zero performance increase so decided against it.

Coldsnap wrote: Thing is though, I'm happy enough with performance as it is. And don't really want to berkeley with MPG and reliability.

You are on this site, but are concerned with MPG over performance? Bro. No,no,no, BRO! Your priorities are backwards...

I budget gas money under "recreation"

I'd do the tune,when your just poking around the mileage won't really differ but when you want to get down the road you'll have the extra power to do so.

Trackmouse wrote:

Coldsnap wrote: Thing is though, I'm happy enough with performance as it is. And don't really want to berkeley with MPG and reliability.

You are on this site, but are concerned with MPG over performance? Bro. No,no,no, BRO! Your priorities are backwards... I budget gas money under "recreation"

Yeah man. You won't necessarily mess with your MPG if you don't drive like a hooligan, even with a tune and an intake. Put an intake on my Mazdaspeed Miata, also a turbo car, and it has been great. The stock intake was very restrictive, had that hairdryer trying to pull through a straw. Don't know how the Fiat one is. It did not impact fuel economy on my car. I still need to reflash the ECU and raise the redline on it.

Firstly, a tune will likely gain MPG and HP. The factory tune is a massive list of compromises; octane requirements, NOx emissions, HC emissions, BMEP and detonation threshhold and its subsequent affect on things like bearing/ring life. For that reason, many factory tunes are one step richer on fuel and one step conservative on ignition advance. Including ignition advances in your tune may require higher octane, but that is something for the Abarth enthusiasts to inform.

CAI is another one that may be best left to those who know 500s. Some cars pick up zero. Some pick up 15 hp. It depends on how the factory one is designed and how much restriction it offers. My 98 F150 probably picked up 15. Dad's Duramax probably picked up 20. My Scion xB had more than adequate cool airflow from the factory, so no need for one.

As far as a tune and reliability? I really wouldn't worry about it for a single second. So you get 290k out of it instead of 300k. The added strain is in cylinder pressure and BMEP. So it pushes a wee bit harder on the rods and pistons. No big woop. My stock 260-hp LT1 is now making about 300 hp (including an aftermarket tune) on a stock bottom end for 145k now. I could likely make 400hp on stock crank and rods without damage. Of course, every engine has its weak/strong points, but suffice it to say, any additional stress you put on it with a tune won't matter a hill of beans.

Research what a given tune does to fuel economy. In some cars it actually improves it.

The CAI may or may not have any effect - is it a true cold air intake, or is it just a better looking intake sucking from the engine compartment? A lot of them can improve power by getting cool air in while standing (when one doesn't care about power) but quickly goes back to zero benefit when the car is moving and getting a cooler flow anyway.

The shifter, now, is a productive area to look at. First, I am not one of the people that swears that you have to hang a 1 lb. weighted knob on top of the stick, ostensibly to act as a sort of servo and reduce shift effort. I have a light wood knob on my car and can shift with twi fingers. effortlessly.

Second, you need a well engineered solution - one of my cars uses a very well thought out kit that extends the lower shaft and moves the pivot point up with a spacer so that you need much less motion to effect a shift - very tight and very enjoyable. In combination with the lighter shift knob, it shift like a switch.

My Solstice short shifter kit sure looks a lot simpler (and I dare say cheaper) than your Fiat version, though.

The Miata Roadster short shift kit I put in my car is the single best modification I ever did to a vehicle. This includes replacing the obsidian compound all season garbage that came on my Integra GSR with Yokohama AVS intermediates

What ever power increase on most bolt ons come at max rpm. Of little use for the daily driver.

Most new cars come with a cold air intake.

CAI's and cat back exhausts push the but dyno a little higher through increased noise.

A tune on a factory turbo car should result in more usable power compared to a non turbo car.

Gotcha. I'll enjoy the car stock for more time then, as its my first stick shift and I can't even do a 0-60 efficiently without stalling, buggering gears, or dumping it into neutral haha.

Totally different car, but a tune and cai increased the mpg on my mustang noticeably under the same driving conditions. It also made a huge difference in how easy it was to drive smoothly as a manual. The factory tune had built in throttle delay and rev holding that made it very awkward as a manual. The tune removed all the delays and it finally behaved like it should. Find out what specific tunes do for your car. There may be more to gain than just hp.

But definitely do the shifter.

Don't forget that a tune normally means an instant voiding of your warranty, whereas other performance parts are generally OK.

Depending on how it is done, a tune is going to easily be reversible and fairly difficult to detect.

SlickDizzy wrote: Don't forget that a tune normally means an instant voiding of your warranty, whereas other performance parts are generally OK.

Sort of depends on the tune and the company policy. Audi is ok with getting an APR tune and even offers it through many of their dealerships (this is a few years old now so YMMV). Any chance Fiat has an approved vendor for aftermarket tuning?

In reply to KyAllroad:

When I was looking at the Chevy Sonic and Kia Forte5 turbos, both cars were described as worlds better with a tune, but it also seemed that the tune was easily detectable/a hard change (moreso with the Kia, there were mixed opinions on the Chevy) and some users had their warranties voided that way. AFAIK Fiat doesn't have an approved vendor yet.

Not saying a tune is a bad idea (they are a great idea in most cases) but it might be worth waiting until the coverage is up just to be safe.

My warranty is actually is ending in like 3,000 miles.

Which is unfortunate because who knows how reliable these Fiat 500s are. I could purchase the lifetime warranty before my warranty runs out for about $3k. But def dont want the car forever.

SlickDizzy wrote: ...it also seemed that the tune was easily detectable/a hard change... and some users had their warranties voided that way...

I hear VW has a solution for that :P