Cinquecento Sporting

[Adam]

I know a few people on here have owned them so...

Are they as good fun as people make out?

Do they feel underpowered or are they suitably nippy?

Are spares expensive?

Will I fit in one (6ft2 with a lot of leg)?

Will a 1.4 16v from a 500/Punto/Panda bolt straight in there?

Can I get a decent roll cage?

Is anyone selling one very cheap in the South West area?

[BenzBoy]

I like your thinking! I don't know much about them, but I've driven a few and they are loads of fun.
The pedal box is tiny though! I'm over 6 foot and fit in just fine, but my big feet don't really suit the pedals... I reckon I'd get used to it though.

[cobblers]

I had a brief spell where I was going to perhaps get one, test drove a few at dealers. They aren't all that sporty - From memory it felt as fast as my mums Ka. Not so slow that it's annoying, but not really powerful enough to enjoy "acceleration". The sort of car you'll drive with your foot to the floor 85% of the time and nobody will know.

They seemed alright

[Adam]

Sept 17, 2010 10:34:30 GMT BenzBoy said:

I like your thinking! I don't know much about them, but I've driven a few and they are loads of fun.
The pedal box is tiny though! I'm over 6 foot and fit in just fine, but my big feet don't really suit the pedals... I reckon I'd get used to it though.

I'm a size 10 but I didn't have any trouble in the AX which was known for having a cramped pedal box. I guess the only way I'll know whether I fit is to try one.

Sept 17, 2010 10:35:44 GMT cobblers said:

I had a brief spell where I was going to perhaps get one, test drove a few at dealers. They aren't all that sporty - From memory it felt as fast as my mums Ka. Not so slow that it's annoying, but not really powerful enough to enjoy "acceleration". The sort of car you'll drive with your foot to the floor 85% of the time and nobody will know.

They seemed alright

I don't mind it not being quick really as long as it makes up for it with chuckableness. Futures plans could involve an engine swap anyway (I love the 16v engine in the 500, such a sweet engine), depending on how the insurance goes.

[WillCarter]

I'm 6'3" with size 9's and had no issues. My one was what you'd call nippy, although it did have a better exhaust, induction kit etc. Mine was also on sports springs and felt like a little Go-Kart if you drove it right. Beware though, they will suddenly understeer out of nowhere if you pushing harder and harder through each bend. Overall they're fantastic little cars and I will own another one one day.

[Adam]

Sept 17, 2010 10:58:21 GMT WillCarter said:

I'm 6'3" with size 9's and had no issues. My one was what you'd call nippy, although it did have a better exhaust, induction kit etc. Mine was also on sports springs and felt like a little Go-Kart if you drove it right. Beware though, they will suddenly understeer out of nowhere if you pushing harder and harder through each bend. Overall they're fantastic little cars and I will own another one one day.

I thought you might have a comment or two

I'd expect it to be set up to understeer really with the really short wheelbase. Any ideas what the ARB setup is on these? Only on the front? Can probably be sorted out quite easily by stiffening up the rear a tad

[WillCarter]

That's a bit technical for me haha, but I do know Novitec used to do the best uprated Suspension parts for these if you were willing to pay a high premium. They don't list the Cinq on their site anymore, but I'm sure a few emails to see if they have any old stock could be worthwhile. Just when I thought I was over these little Italian shoebox's you've got me wanting another one.

[Dazstap]

My brother in law had one and he is 6 foot 4. He used to drive it like a go cart and often had a grin on his face!! ;D

[qwerty]

Brilliant fun little cars!! Everything feels quicker because they're so small! I'll definitely own another one!

[swollen]

Adore mine. simple to work on, cheap to buy and run.

If you're at the next playday take mine for a spin.

EDIT: OMP and sparco do decent cages for them...

[Ads 19]

cinqs are great fun, although handling isn't as crisp as a ka, although they don't rot anywhere near as bad.
due to narrow track i find they seem to have a bit of roll no matter how low and stiffer springs you fit. rear suspension is more complicated than most and tbh is a very good set up, although does benifit from decent anti roll bar being bodged on.
Best advice for these can be found on fiatforum.com
If it was me i'd go for a early mk2 uno, slightly better handling, slightly larger and spares and bolt on goodies are all available, i don't think they weigh much more either. with all fire engined cars swapping and changing is easy, but be prepared to pay a premium for the 1.4 16vs, engines seem to sell well and donors are few and far between.

Anyway a sound choice and there is plenty of support out there for them.

[Soopahfly]

I loved mine, when it worked.

Common problems :

Rust round the rear suspension towers / boot floor.
Rusty rear bumper mounts
Headgasket failiures.
Vacuum hose snapping in the engine bay (makes it run like a bag of nails)
Seats go "Noddy" If you're handy with a welder, it's not a problem.

Not sure about other engines, but I know the 1242 8v engine will fit.
It's a small Italian city car, it's supposed to be driven what everywhere.
They're nippy enough, but there are ways to make them faster.
Drop the 1242 8v in, with a McRich chip and a decent induction kit will get you better performance.
Tyres were a faff to get, as most stockists near me could only get premiums or hedgefinders in the right size.

[dave21478]

Sept 17, 2010 10:35:44 GMT cobblers said:

......The sort of car you'll drive with your foot to the floor 85% of the time and nobody will know.

This.
Like many other small sporty wee cars, they feel fast from the inside and are fun, even exhilerating to drive hard, but are not actually all that fast in the scheme of things.

You are pressing on a bit....cutting the apex on roundabouts.... flinging it about.... flat out acceleration.... having a great time.... you ARE the Stig....then some milf doing the school run in a Seat Alhambra breezes past you like you have the handbrake on without even realising you are there. ;D

[rmad]

I nicked Wagoneer's one and drove it to The Gathering. I had a whole heap of fun whizzing about. His has a bit taken out of the springs so was nice and firm...just right. I'm also 6ft plus with wide size 10s and didn't have a problem, although the pedal position does feel a bit unusual.



Verdict: Loads of fun and stupidly economical.

[PhilA]

^ That

The S might as well stand for Slow, but the Sporting is a bit better. In both cases an improvement in acceleration can be gained by winding the window down and punting along with a pushpole like on a rowboat.

On the plus side they are good fun, very chuckable once you lower them and stick on some wider tyres (195/45/R15 is the largest that'll fit without scrubbing all the time) but beware the rear suspension geometry adds toe-in and negative camber when it's lowered, causing wide flat tyres to wear on their inner edge.

Huge understeer, snappy oversteer over about 50-60 which will catch you by surprise and all the times I had mine snap out it was a brown-trousers moment. Steering can be a bit vague. By now a lot of racks and columns are wearing, the track arms seize up on both ends, and a lot have poor tracking due to the arms rusting up solid between MoT's.

All have chip-in-key immobilisers, the door locks are fairly strong but the bootlid locks like to break. Parts from fiat weren't too expensive. Headlights fall apart. Rear brakes bind and jam. Handbrakes are worhless when they're working 100% (ie pull the thing to the point where you're worried you'll break the cable and it will slow you down gently). Footbrake feels fairly poor at the best of times but push them hard and you'll find they are very effective. Sporting likes to break clutch cables due to it being a LHD design ported to RHD.

Lots of yards now have them in so scrappy parts available cheap. It's all meccano to pull apart and repair.

I'd say go for it. I put 135,000 miles on mine in ten years and it only let me down badly a few times. Excellent fuel economy, cheap insurance and great fun to fling down the B-roads.

--Phil

[Adam]

Cheers for the help guys! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for a good one.

Student overdrafts are for buying cars yeah?

[theblackbox]

yes the 1.4 16v will go in with a few mods. they are brilliant fun the pedal box is small but in trainers i was fine with a size 10. haven't driven a sporting although i can only think that it would be slightly quicker. polybushes all round and a rear anti roll bar can be sorted (mgf shortened). just don't look at one with rust it is so much easier to get one without.

www.fiatforum.com/cinquecento-seicento-guides/246720-1-4-engine-into-cinq-useful-info-links.html

www.fiatforum.com/cinquecento-seicento/176286-my-1-4-16v-cinquecento-development-thread.html

nitrane.co.uk/cinquecento/index.htm

few pics i took at the gathering of purfs cinq


DSC_0258 by the black box, on Flickr


DSC_0052 by the black box, on Flickr


ps if your interested i may be selling one of my non sportings (899 engine) soon

[BiAS]

Adam - Buy one, you'll love it. I'm 6'2 with size 9s and drove mine daily with my riggers on. As has been said, pedal position is odd at first but you soon get used to it. galvanised shells so not as prone to rust as the AXs. I've seen 1.4 16vs done but it's not as straight a bolt in as the 1242 motor. It's all about the revs with the 1108, not much torque but they'll rev and rev. Just got SWMBO one as her first car. Only thing she's complained about is the handbrake, which is toss even with everything working perfectly. It's what Fiat do best

My old one

-40mm
Mintex discs and pads
Front backplates removed to stop brake fade
175/50/13 Yokos
Rear interior and all sound deadening removed
1108
Mcrich chip
Punto 75 cam
Punto 75 38mm throttle body
Head skimmed to wear indicators
K&N panel filter in original housing with larger feed pipe from n/s bumper gasket

Excellent fun, handling far out weighed performance

[Adam]

How much power do you get with the cam / TB / chip Ian?

[BiAS]

Never had it rolling roaded unfortunately Adam so don't know for sure but it felt like it like it had more guts afterwards. Still averaged 37-40mpg with my 'enthusiastic' driving style.
From memory the 75 cam is higher lift and longer duration, I chose it because I knew I could get one for a tenner from a breakers. Same thing with the throttle body, there were resleeved 40mm TBs for sale at the time but they were strong money (rightly so, due to the machining) whereas the 75 38mm was £15 off ebay and only needed an afternoon sat in the sun in the garden with the dremmel to reshape to fit the SPI top piece and port the inlet manifold and spacer to match. Another evening was spent with the dremmel matching the manifolds to the head, every little helps, especially when the kerbweight's so low.


There's reputed to be a 38mm straight swap off an SPI AX but I never found one.
The chip was really cheap too from memory.
Super Unleaded made a difference to performance too. Mpg increased to make it the same miles per £ so I ended up using it all the time.
Here it is on track at RR07