Hello!

[127 Special]

Thanks all.

So.. this tuning caper. When I was a lad, we could mostly only afford bikes. Tuning consisted of things like opening and polishing ports, fitting 'high lift' cams, etc. Or it might be messing with the compression ratio by fitting different pistons, or fitting different/bigger carbs, or the infamous Wal Phillips Fuel Injector. We did all our repairs ourselves and I continued to do all of my own car repairs up until my second Punto. I swapped engines, on the drive, in January.... , and other stoopid tricks. Till I decided I'd seen it all and opted for the lazy man's option of buying cars that don't need fixing too often and paying somebody else when they do. I still do basic stuff on the wifes Punto , like changing pads/discs etc, but not much more.
These days it is very rare to see anybody doing real car work on their drive etc.

So, when you young whippersnappers talk about tuning.... What exactly is it? Do you just get 'bolt on' bits and if so, what? Do you do the work yourselves or do you go to tuning specialists? I've seen styling mods like fancy light clusters etc, but otherwise I'm clueless as to what is available.

Col

[Norro]

well i bought a GT about 4/5 months ago, and ive spent this long trying to get it working, done 90% of the work myself.

and ill be honest, this is the first car ive had that i actually do enjoy working on!

tuning for me, well... bolt-on bolt-off, but with a few tweaks here and there!

[cinquepunto]

So, when you young whippersnappers talk about tuning.... What exactly is it? Do you just get 'bolt on' bits and if so, what? Do you do the work yourselves or do you go to tuning specialists? I've seen styling mods like fancy light clusters etc, but otherwise I'm clueless as to what is available.

Col

Modern day tuning is a mixture really. You get the obvious "bolt-on" tuning with all the exhausts, air filters and the like.

Some users on here (have a gander at the projects section) have extensively tuned their punto's - full engine rebuilds with better components.

However with the advent of the ECU - tuning is more often carried out at garages, which "remap" the circuitry to deliver more power and torque. Even fiat are doing this with the new Grande Abarth Esseesse.

With regard to styling, there are many mods, take a look at the Grande Punto section on www.absmotorsport.net - lots of bumpers, skirts etc, from very subtle, on to the ugly and garish ones... but step away from the "fancy" light clusters hehe

And last but not least, welcome, and welcome back! glad to hear you, and your car are both mended.

Adam

[127 Special]

... but step away from the "fancy" light clusters hehe

Adam

Yep!! I kinda got that already...
Thanks for the tips.

Col

[Joif]

Welcome back and hope you had a good 60th, I also have problems with kids playing football in the street :@