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Having once ventured into a FIAT dealer why bother? I was once looking to buy an Abarth, but the entire first contact experience was rubbish and Dodge like.
Your loss... I've bought many car brands over decades of driving and there always seems to be junk dealers and good dealers. I don't usually spend much time at any dealer after a purchase... all my routine maintenance is done at a Firestone or the like.
Having once ventured into a FIAT dealer why bother? I was once looking to buy an Abarth, but the entire first contact experience was rubbish and Dodge like.
Your loss... I've bought many car brands over decades of driving and there always seems to be junk dealers and good dealers. I don't usually spend much time at any dealer after a purchase... all my routine maintenance is done at a Firestone or the like.
The local FIAT dealer IMO it seems like they rather be selling Dodges and Jeeps. It's like the FIATS were just an after thought or gee I hope we don't have to sell one of those today.
Location: West Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sayantsi
I'm not worried about the Fiat engine - it has proven reliable elsewhere.
Agreed. Many people abuse the heck out of their Abarth engine without any trouble. Some people are up to more than 300 lb/ft. of torque without any trouble, which says a lot given the engine is just a 1.4 L.
Location: West Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes
13,583 posts, read 15,654,340 times
Reputation: 14049
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sayantsi
This assumes that on top of a $25k-$30k car, you want to spend an additional $2k and lose the factory warranty. Yes, it can be done, but how many people are going to do that?
A lot. Probably most. Almost all of us with 500 Abarths do engine mods, because from the factory the cars are tuned very conservatively and the powertrains can easily handle extra power. Even the stock clutch in a 500 Abarth is good up to 250 lb-ft of torque, which goes a long way in a car that weighs slightly more than a shoebox.
The local FIAT dealer IMO it seems like they rather be selling Dodges and Jeeps. It's like the FIATS were just an after thought or gee I hope we don't have to sell one of those today.
It seems many (if not most) people considering a 124 versus a MX-5 are wary of the Fiat "Stations" (as they call their stand-alone dealers). There are also comparatively few of them in the U.S. It is kind of a "catch-22"... lack of Fiat dealers hinders their sales, and the lower sales hinder them opening up more dealers.
I'd have no problem buying my Fiat at a combined dealer that sells Dodges and Jeeps, etc.
It's not like the 124 is an exotic... it's a very simple car that shouldn't be hard to maintain at any service place.
A lot. Probably most. Almost all of us with 500 Abarths do engine mods, because from the factory the cars are tuned very conservatively and the powertrains can easily handle extra power. Even the stock clutch in a 500 Abarth is good up to 250 lb-ft of torque, which goes a long way in a car that weighs slightly more than a shoebox.
With the number of ND MX-5 transmissions blowing up increasing daily, and Mazda hustling for a fix, I'm glad that Fiat spec'd the NC's more robust transmission with its taller gearing to handle the higher hp & torque of the turbocharged Fiat engine.
Brian Goodwin of Goodwin Racing (probably the leading aftermarket tuning and parts supplier for the MX-5), said "there is no doubt that Fiat got the stronger trans, which is a factor for those who want to have fun modifying the car. I already know one ND owner who SOLD his ND after warranty trans replacement....and he has made an order for the Fiat. There will be more, at least until Mazda gets the upgraded parts here for the ND skyactiv trans."
Brian is super enthusiastic of the potential and robustness of the Fiat drivetrain, and his company has already ordered one and will start developing tunes for it.
With the number of ND MX-5 transmissions blowing up increasing daily, and Mazda hustling for a fix, I'm glad that Fiat spec'd the NC's more robust transmission with its taller gearing to handle the higher hp & torque of the turbocharged Fiat engine.
Brian Goodwin of Goodwin Racing (probably the leading aftermarket tuning and parts supplier for the MX-5), said "there is no doubt that Fiat got the stronger trans, which is a factor for those who want to have fun modifying the car. I already know one ND owner who SOLD his ND after warranty trans replacement....and he has made an order for the Fiat. There will be more, at least until Mazda gets the upgraded parts here for the ND skyactiv trans."
Brian is super enthusiastic of the potential and robustness of the Fiat drivetrain, and his company has already ordered one and will start developing tunes for it.
Fiata interests me a bit more mostly because the little 500s are pretty easy to get right around 200 whp/210 ft lbs of torque. That's stock turbo and nothing done inside the engine and on regular 91 octane California **** water gasoline. That's going to be much, much harder in the Miata. I expect the 124 will be even easier to do that with than the 500 as you won't have to worry about heat nearly as much. In a 2,400-2,500 pound car that's reasonably quick. Might not need anything on the intake side as the stock airbox won't be glues next to the engine and directly over the turbocharger as it is on the 500. Might just be a chip, maybe chip and exhaust on the non-Abarths. Of course, that's speculation but it'll be way easier than finding more power from the Miata.
Ideally, I'd like more top end than the 1.4 has but it's not like the Miata really has all that much more top end. It doesn't fall off nearly as fast or as early as the 1.4 does, but it's not a high revving engine either. As far as I'm aware, nobody really has tried to do that with the 1.4. If you could get the power band on the 1.4 to stay flat out to 5,000 or 5,500 instead of falling off at 4,500 that'd be terrific. The 1.4 is definitely a different engine though so I suspect that's just not feasible or someone would have done it by now.
The other thing is I like how the Fiata can be specced. I'm not a fan of the Club suspension on the Miata and from comments from Brian and the few people who have driven the Abarth while they all like it better on the Abarth I suspect coilovers and additional bracing would still be something I'd do almost immediately, but the decision to not have a GT Club spec for the Miata perplexes me. While the only thing in Club spec I'd care about is the LSD it's unfortunately not nearly as easy to add back in as it was on previous Miatas as the rear subframe needs to come off. Aesthetically, I like the Lusso and adding the LSD back on better but you can spec an Abarth with all the luxury features which you can't do with the Club Miata. Abarth suspension tuning, again from what others have written, is probably adequate for anyone that isn't going to be doing much track or autocross whereas for many people the Club is just way too soft even for street driving. Some body roll is fine on a street car. Bottoming out and bouncing off the bump stops as the Miata does is not. It's too soft. Brian mentioned bouncing off the bump stops on the Abarth as well even on atypical autocross setup with no sharp turns they had at the press event but not nearly as much as with the Miata. Since if I went with the ND/Fiata they'd be daily drivers, Abarth suspension might be something I'd stick with. Having driven the Club ND I absolutely would not. The owner of the ND car I got to drive has the Fox coilovers w/ sport springs and sway bars on order from Flyin' Miata which are unfortunately back ordered as they can't keep them in stock. Not sure what the ETA is. Hopefully I'll get a chance to drive it again once they're on.
^Thanks for the great insights Malloric. If you post to any of the car forums let us know... I' like to follow any builds and advice you offer.
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