CaliAbarth - 2018 Fiat 500 Abarth - Granito

[CaliAbarth]

Almost a week into enjoying my new whip - time for some pics...

IMG_20180907_181717-01.jpgIMG_20180907_181619-01.jpgIMG_20180907_181537-01.jpgIMG_20180907_181145-01.jpg



...and a little vid of a cool local road.

No modifications as of yet. I'm taking her to the Studio next week to adjust the alignment of the rear hatch. The brake pedal pad is a bit wobbly so will have them have a look at that too.

I finally figured out how to get the radio and bluetooth music info to show up on the digital dash - it's a intuitively named setting called "Audio Repetition".

Still can't get the bangs to come out. I go WOT from 3000-5000 rpm's in 3rd and let off the pedal but no bang...do you guys shift it into neutral when letting off the gas or leave it in gear?

Man do I love this car...the stares are probably because I'm a ruggedly handsome 40 year old guy.

I chose her over the Focus RS which I drove but it just didn't feel fast (don't enjoy AWD cars on dry pavement, never rains in so-cal). I can't think of a funner & more useful new car for under $30k. It's also nice that I never see Abarths on the road.

There appears to be little to no content on the web about the 2018 US model so if you have any questions let me know!

edit: I uploaded hi res images but they are displaying small and low res. How do I make them larger?

Thanks for reading!

[Robert Nixon]

Thanks for the video, having a great road makes all the difference!

[CaliAbarth]

So a little update regarding the repairs to the hatch and brake pedal.

They were able to tweak the alignment on the hatch. It's not perfect but much better. The gap looks almost the same on both sides.

The wobbly brake pedal pad was confirmed as a defect. Unfortunately it requires replacement of the whole pedal assembly so I will have to bring the car back when the part comes in.

The starter making noise and not turning over the engine was confirmed to not be an issue, just need to give a couple seconds before turning key from ACC to ON. Service manager said it needs to build pressure in the fuel line.

One week of ownership and having a blast!!

Edit: still can't get the car to go bang when releasing the throttle. Starting to wonder if the 2018's don't do this.

[CaliAbarth]

So I've been in Mexico City the last ten days and missing my girl deeply. Got an email from Amazon - the K&N drop in filter has arrived. Curious to see what effect it has on sound and engine response. Also got a Bluetooth obd2 dongle - hopefully I can use it with my phone to get more gauges. Anyone have a preference for a good obd2 Android app?

While in Mexico I've been browsing YouTube and stumbled on this cool channel where they do car reviews....and they did an Abarth review!

The tuner scene here is awesome and hot hatches are all the rage. They also have Seat's here! There's one with 290hp - the Seat Leon Cupra 290.

[CaliAbarth]

October update.

Got the pedal assembly replaced under warranty. No issues thus far.

Been running the K&N drop-in filter for the last week. No noticeable difference. Mainly installed it for more intake sounds but can't tell if there is a difference between this and the stock filter - sounds the same to my ears.

Been running a OBD2 Bluetooth scanner with the Torque app. Is the boost reading from the ECU reliable? How about the A/F reading?

The intake air temp reading has been most interesting. With 75f ambient temps my IAT is around 96f - 115f depending on what speed I'm driving.

[CaliAbarth]

December Update.

Added a Madness Piggyback. Noticing that after resetting the ECU the car pulls significantly harder but after a couple hundred miles the power increase from the piggyback becomes less and less. If I then do an ECU reset the car again pulls significantly harder.....and after a couple hundred miles I have to do a reset again.

I've done the ECU learning process both ways - reset and drive hard in sport mode for 60 or so miles OR reset and drive the car like my grandma. My butt dyno says driving like a granny after the ECU reset leads to stronger performance than going all-out after the reset.

Also still trying to figure out why the throttle closes significantly when the pedal is at 50% around 3100rpms....pretty sure it's the ECU doing it since I'm not letting off the gas at all but the torque app clearly shows the throttle plate closing to around 20%.

That's all I got for now. Merry Christmas everyone!

[tvmaster]

great reports. Did you get a NAV unit? If so, decent unit? I see that the 2018’s are the first with back-up camera. Any Apple Car Play or Android Auto features, or promised updates down the road?

[CaliAbarth]

Hi tvmaster, I did not get navigation.

It does have a backup camera but no carplay or Android auto, the screen is quite small so I doubt we'll get it ever.

I really wish that Fiat would take advantage of the fully digital dash and allow customization with colors and gauges.

[tvmaster]

Good info, thanks. I was thinking that the 2019’s would have Android Auto or Apple Car Play, but yeah, maybe the screen size makes that unlikely. Bluetooth phone calls, but no verbal, text-messaging then. Did you get a decent price from your dealer? Any tips?

[CaliAbarth]

I believe the infotainment does offer text message dictation. You can definitely receive and send texts on the screen.

I got the Abarth for a bit over $24k out the door. Only options are 17" wheels and blacked out headlights and taillights.

I just checked on autotrader to see new Abarth in the LA area and there are not too many new 2018 models. I do believe you can get a great deal on them new right now.

[tvmaster]

good news about the texts for sure. I was looking at low-mileage 2017’s, but I do like the back-up camera of the 2018’s. But yeah, not a lot of on-the-lot Abarths with the options I want.