My car has arrived

Here are some photos, they still need to  bolt the Esseesse kit and Monza exhaust.

Create a AirPlay wifi zone in your Abarth

So while I have been waiting for my car to arived i stumbled across this cool gadget, its called the Kivic One. It transfurs media files from smart phone to any device that has a Aux, RCA, HDMI, DNLA, Airplay or Wifi. 


So all one need to do is plug tis little baby into your Aux mount the unit with Velcro or put it in the clove box and every time you play a song you can stream directly to your car with no wires. A added extra would be to get a USM min iPhone charger as airplay does drain your battery a bit.


http://www.kivic-one.com/introduce.asp

 

In car entertainment with iPhone 4

So after reading many reviews about the sound system on the Abarth, so I have been playing around with the idea of using the factory fitted Inter Scope sound system, due to the fact they have a neat little sub that fits under the seat, how ever i did play with the idea of installing Alpine Or Hertz 3 way component system there is just very little space. So the only need would be a better stereo system as the factory one is not compatible with a iPod/iPhone with there Windows USB media interface.

(You can by a little adapter that makes it work)








So many of us would love a single Din iPhone head unit that has a USB that comes out of the back, that you can stream music to, that has cover flow, that you can access you iTunes account from and has wifi and 3 RCA outs. How ever we don't live in a perfect world here are a list of single Din head units that are iPhone 4 compatible, steering wheel ready that range between US $100 to US $400.

Kenwood Excelon KDC-X996

 

Alpine CDE HD-138BT

Sony DSX-S310BTX

Pioneer MVH-P7300

 Once you decide on a head unit you will need one of the following:

 This magic little box will link up to the controls on your steering wheel and there you have it.

Abarth 500 Insurance?

Any one have any luck getting a good insurance quote on a Abarth 500?

Carbon on Abarth? 

So if you do have $5000 laying around or you can afford to blow $1000 a month on a carbon parts for your Abarth, Magneti Marelli have some cool light weight carbon bits to make your Abarth a few Kg lighter but even more so to look the part.

Esseesse kit or No Esseesse kit

  
So I have been trying to weigh up the options is the Esseesse kit worth the extra R35 000?
A extra 19Kw, Slotted and drilled disc's, brake lines, BMC flat filter, and a set of 17'' wheels and Koni suspension kit.

I have explored other options the Bilstein B14 PSS kit retails for R9500, The BMC OTA retails for 3500 and adds a extra 4Hp and the O.Z. Super turismo WRC is available for R13 400 the only problem is getting the extra 19Kw out of the motor. Magneti Marelli has a plug and play ECU that clams a extr 20% - 25% more Hp that will give the little Fiat 180HP +- 135Kw putting it in VW Polo GTI range, how ever it is $1500. 


What is the way forward?

The Abarth 500
I first saw it at the Abarth Dealership in Sandton, with is flared body and aggressive front end. Its a small car, but you get a lot for your buck. Ok the negatives are you can only fit 3 adults in the car as i am 1.9m tall and the drivers seat goes all the way back. The boot is not exactly the biggest and the 17'' are run flats that are becoming more common how ever with the roads in South Africa today it has become a bit of a worry. Things i liked about it from the start were the race inspired bucket seats and the true attention to performance, they use the real stuff not "made to look like racer" its a real racer similar how the first Subaru WRX were. 

Taking the car out on the test drive I found it to be very responsive and very little turbo lag. Its not really a robot to robot racer, but more of an A to B how fast can I take the next three corners and how late can I brake kind of car. Its a drivers car and some thing I find lacking in most hot hatch backs it gives you the right amount of control and feels like your doing all the driving and not some computer. 

Its fast and going down Willam Nicol at 189km/h it feels stable the Brembos that were on the car are extra but they work well and gives you the needed confidence. The ride is hard and even harder on the Esseesse "ss" with its Koni kit, in the end is all based on preference and driving style as I prefer a car to handle so you can feel the car holding on to the road like the old Ferrari F40's and not like a boat. The sound from the exhaust is amazing and some may knock the audio sound system, how ever I cant see why when you have a Italian growl behind you. 

Parking it is a charm, as its so small and in Sandton and most of the world now days is an advantage as there is limited parking, the size also makes it a great day to day run around and moves in and out of traffic easily and does not need to be driven hard. Over all its a great car and with a service plan and a 3 year warranty its a great buy and has a style to it, not every one will have one and even if  a Golf 6 GTI R or a Ford Focus RS stops next to you, trust me your having more fun then them.