Doing up my car. Help needed.

Doyler92

Hi. I've a wine Fiat Punto and I'm about to do it up. I'd like to make it like a racer type car but not over the top. I'm looking for all suggestions and accesories I could get for it. Thanks

Alanstrainor

Moved from Motors to Modified Motors.

Richie..Galway

start firstly by lowering the car before all else then get rims. 16"s would look good on a punto. then i would body code the bumpers if not already done and add a subtle front splitter and skirts. don't get a big dirty fiberglass body kit and don't cover it with graphics, lastly i'd get the windows tinted lightly. stay away from lexus lights fo sure. maybe get a back box for her but not a loud japstyle one something that just deepens the tone slightly. the key is less is more, just lowering the car and putting a nice set of rims will do wonders for the car. what colour is it by the way as this will determine the colour of rim i'd use

Doyler92

Thanks there Richie. It's a wine/claret punto.

EPM

If you dont want to go over the top you could try and get punto sporting bumpers from a scrap yard, lower it and maybe go to 17 inch on the alloys. No need for anything bigger than that on a Punto

Doyler92

This would probably be a stupid question but how much would the bumpers and lowering cost? And any idea's where to get it lowered?

Graham_B18C

Very good advice from Richie there, exactly what you should do, nothing over the top.

Atomic Pineapple

personally I'd not spend a cent on any modifications on it, you'll thank me when you save your money instead and put it towards a proper sports car further down your driving career

Richie..Galway

Doyler92 wrote: »

Thanks there Richie. It's a wine/claret punto.

silver rims would set a nice contrast to the claret but black or charcoal colour would also look well. when choosing a rim if you go for one tha has a spoke that runs from the centre to the outer rim of the wheel it can make the wheels look bigger than they are ,if you chose a rim tha runs from centre to inside the outer rim then thay can look smaller. on the last comment from draffodx this is true but depends on your situation if it will be a few years untill you insure a sports car the you may want your car to look nicer than the norm untill that happens,. to lower the car i would just go for lowering springs, they would be only 200-300 euro depending on the brand and any garage can fit them. i could fit them for you on my driveway but i'm in galway. if you wanted to get them and spin down then that would be no problem. as for rims again a set of 16"s or 17"s can run to any amount but for a cheap set you can get rims for 300-400 euro with tyres in some stores now. you can also get second hand rims on places like done deal for peanuts nowadays also but this can be dodgy as you won't know if one is warped slightly untill it's being balanced by the tyre centre or is on your car.

what year/model is it? also is it 3dr or 5 dr/ if you post up some pics i could get some photoshop pics of it with lowering and rims on her before you go spending money

James3555

Doyler92 wrote: »

This would probably be a stupid question but how much would the bumpers and lowering cost? And any idea's where to get it lowered?

Any garage should be able to lower it, they are just changing the springs really, check out ebay for springs



60 MM is the only way to roll in my opinion, although some people will say that is too low. As for wheels anything over 15" on a smaller car is wrong. Take your time and look around before you spend anything. I would reccommend going euro with this car. Less is more. Now I am not a massive fan of puntos but if I was to have one I would -

1. Lower it at least 60MM ( If not more )
http://cgi.ebay.ie/FIAT-PUNTO-MK1-93-99-GMAX-LOWERING-SPRINGS-KIT-60mm_W0QQitemZ300306966283QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item45ebb0a70b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

2. 14 or 15" Deep dish wheels
http://www.splitrims.com/index.html

3. Pressed Euro style number plates

http://www.theplateman.com/

Do not tint the car
If you are buying a back box, don't ! But if you have to buy one, buy one that doesn't make any noise.

http://www.fiatforum.com/

Check out this for ideas

Doyler92

Richie..Galway wrote: »

silver rims would set a nice contrast to the claret but black or charcoal colour would also look well. when choosing a rim if you go for one tha has a spoke that runs from the centre to the outer rim of the wheel it can make the wheels look bigger than they are ,if you chose a rim tha runs from centre to inside the outer rim then thay can look smaller. on the last comment from draffodx this is true but depends on your situation if it will be a few years untill you insure a sports car the you may want your car to look nicer than the norm untill that happens,. to lower the car i would just go for lowering springs, they would be only 200-300 euro depending on the brand and any garage can fit them. i could fit them for you on my driveway but i'm in galway. if you wanted to get them and spin down then that would be no problem. as for rims again a set of 16"s or 17"s can run to any amount but for a cheap set you can get rims for 300-400 euro with tyres in some stores now. you can also get second hand rims on places like done deal for peanuts nowadays also but this can be dodgy as you won't know if one is warped slightly untill it's being balanced by the tyre centre or is on your car.

what year/model is it? also is it 3dr or 5 dr/ if you post up some pics i could get some photoshop pics of it with lowering and rims on her before you go spending money

Don't currently have any pictures but it's the 00 model. It's also a 5 door

Doyler92

James3555 wrote: »

Any garage should be able to lower it, they are just changing the springs really, check out ebay for springs



60 MM is the only way to roll in my opinion, although some people will say that is too low. As for wheels anything over 15" on a smaller car is wrong. Take your time and look around before you spend anything. I would reccommend going euro with this car. Less is more. Now I am not a massive fan of puntos but if I was to have one I would -

1. Lower it at least 60MM ( If not more )
http://cgi.ebay.ie/FIAT-PUNTO-MK1-93-99-GMAX-LOWERING-SPRINGS-KIT-60mm_W0QQitemZ300306966283QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item45ebb0a70b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

2. 14 or 15" Deep dish wheels
http://www.splitrims.com/index.html

3. Pressed Euro style number plates

http://www.theplateman.com/

Do not tint the car
If you are buying a back box, don't ! But if you have to buy one, buy one that doesn't make any noise.

http://www.fiatforum.com/

Check out this for ideas

Thanks James will research all idea's.

Doyler92

draffodx wrote: »

personally I'd not spend a cent on any modifications on it, you'll thank me when you save your money instead and put it towards a proper sports car further down your driving career

That's what I was thinking. That's why I'm researching about it first. Thanks for the input

Atomic Pineapple

Doyler92 wrote: »

That's what I was thinking. That's why I'm researching about it first. Thanks for the input

no problem, you'll definitely be better off saving your money, a couple of years saving and getting NCB under your name and you will have a wide range of 150bhp+ cars to choose from.

I had a Fiesta and wasted €2k on alloys for it ! becuase of this it took me that bit longer to save for my Integra.

Just something to think about

Doyler92

Well the reason I was thinking of doing it up was to sell it for a profit in the end in oreder to profit a new car.

TestTransmission

Doyler92 wrote: »

Well the reason I was thinking of doing it up was to sell it for a profit in the end in oreder to profit a new car.

You wont make any profit,you WILL lose money

Tefral

draffodx wrote: »

personally I'd not spend a cent on any modifications on it, you'll thank me when you save your money instead and put it towards a proper sports car further down your driving career

Ah well all have to start some place man...

Looking back now, id have waited too and saved the money, but i learned an awful lot about cars etc in the process of modifying my focus, for that reason alone i would consider it money well spent.

I drive an ITR now and it comes standard with all the things the most people want to put on a "hot hatch"

Op, my advice, would be to lower it, dont put anything bigger than 17's on it, keep them to multispokes and put a lip kit on it. The aim should be to make the mods look like they could have been done in the factory.

Final piece of advice: Youll never make money back on mods, NEVER!

B00MSTICK

You never get back what you put into a car.

Getting bumpers etc. and spraying/fitting them will be expensive enough (couple of hundred)

Lowering springs/fitting few hundred.

New alloys will cost alot. Used alloys will be around €200ish (Fiats 4x98 fitment means most alloys won't fit) but will probably need new tyres.

At the end of the day its still a Punto. It might be cheaper to sell yours as a straight standard car and get one that's already styled to your liking.

Johnerr

better off burnin it out and claim da insurance dan doin it up haha, only messin.

but if ya do it up to try and make a profit, you'l never get back wot ya put into it, get some wheels and tints, nothing over the top but abit different.

i'ed go for 16" wheels but 17" max

W.Shakes-Beer

As regards modding a Punto, keep it subtle.

Small things will make the bigger differences, dont go the whole limo tints/dustbin exhaust route.

Put a nice set of 16's on it, nothing too crazy design wise, get bits colour coded (handles/rub strips etc.), maybe lower it a bit (30-40mm). Try and trace down Fiat specific body parts (Abarth kit and spoiler). keep the spoiler subtle, dont throw an aeroplane wing on the back.

Keep it simple and it will be a nice, neat car. Go crazy and throw every mod you can find cheap on it and it'll look like any old skanger banger! :P

All the best!

adamshred

don't go near 17's with the punto man I have 17's on mine and its horrible it messes up the tracking of the car really bad makes the car feel like a train. 15"s are the way to go for puntos.

if you want a racy sound and the best chance of increasing BHP for relatively cheap then buy a GSR induction kit. The guy who makes them has spent years researching, building and baking these kits in his own house and they are all the business with the proper punto enthusiasts.You'll find them at http://www.gsrengineering.com/

Also supersprint backboxes / cat back systems or full systems are the best for power gains for puntos.


In an extreme case you could get a re-map but it would be small gains for big bucks. Unless your made of money in which case do it haha.

As far as aesthetics, I agree with the suggestions of colour coding the handles and wing mirrors etc.

Removing the bump strips on the side also looks good. As does de - badging.

Personally if I had complete ownership over my own punto I'd think of smoothing the door handles and having electronically operated doors . . hmm just a thought!

Anyway hope this helps!

Richie..Galway

Doyler92 wrote: »

Well the reason I was thinking of doing it up was to sell it for a profit in the end in oreder to profit a new car.

if you want to sell it for a profit get it power polished, vallet the inside, clean down the engine bay and dress it up with silicon and have good tyres and a test on it, i wouldn't go spending money to make money on a car. i fyou are keeping her for a while then fine but if you want to sell it then make it as clean as posible and fix all the little things like rattles etc, the power polish or compounding will bring the paint up like new and shine up the tyres when anyone is coming to look at her.

--Kaiser--

You will not make money by adding stupid mods and selling it on, more likely it will decrease the value, FACT.

Actually some of the advice here is ridiculous, 17" rims on a car, which normally has what 14" wheels, will destroy the handling and make it look stupid in my opinion, as for lowering it 60MM, you will never have a comfortable journey, you will drive on sh1tty Irish roads whilst gritting your teeth to stop them from shattering.

Just save up and buy a decent car.

Graham_B18C

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

You will not make money by adding stupid mods and selling it on, more likely it will decrease the value, FACT.

Actually some of the advice here is ridiculous, 17" rims on a car, which normally has what 14" wheels, will destroy the handling and make it look stupid in my opinion, as for lowering it 60MM, you will never have a comfortable journey, you will drive on sh1tty Irish roads whilst gritting your teeth to stop them from shattering.

Just save up and buy a decent car.

I had a 01 Punto Sporting and it came standard with 15" wheels...and it was grand. 16" wouldn't be bad, 17 or ever are far too big though.

Decent car...like what? He want's to modify it a bit, its going to impare the comfort no matter what.

Overature

if you want to make a racer type car i suggest you scrap the punto (they dont go very fast) and get something along the line of a Ferrari or Lotus or something, or you could put racing strips of flames on you punto, cars can get something like +50 horse power per stripe

Atomic Pineapple

Overature,

Read the charter and don't post anything along those lines again or you will incur a ban

Overature

sorry bud

draffodx wrote: »

Overature,

Read the charter and don't post anything along those lines again or you will incur a ban

Armin_Tamzarian

Most of the advice here has been spot on.
You certainly won't make money by modding the car.
When you go to sell it you will probably get a slightly better price but only a couple of hundred extra if you're lucky.

For that reason if I were you I'd shop around for a decent second hand set of alloys, I'd get a nice head unit and I'd colour code the bumpers, aprons, etc, if they're black.

Keep your original wheels and put them put them back on when you want to sell.
If you don't damage them you should be able to sell the alloys for about what you paid for them.
Same with the head unit, keep the original one and then put it back in when you're selling it.
Spending money on a good head unit can be a good investment as you can keep it a long time and just transfer it to whatever car you like.
If you've got an iPod I'd highly recommend one of those Fusion units that offer complete iPod integration.
I've got one and I think it's excellent.
You can pick up a new one for just over €100, which is ridiculously cheap.

You'll be so glad when you go to sell it that the only money you'll be down will be the cost of colour coding, which should help sell the car at the end of the day.

Best of luck...

userfriendly2

Alri Guys,

Where can i actually go to get these kind of mods done to my car. Maybe it's easy for some people but for instance i bought a RPM counter from halfords. they said it was simple to install, didn't mention that you needed to be a qualified mechanic though:mad:. Anyway bout 3 days later when nobody i knew could do it i decided to bring it to a garage. I brought it to 4/5 different garages and they all said that they didn't do that kind of stuff.- maybe it was too small ajob for them but i mean these were proper garages- not some fella working out of his back garden.. Is there any place that specialises in modifications??

I live on the northside donameade/Baldoyle

Atomic Pineapple

Get on to http://www.dtdirl.com , introduce yourself in the new members section and then post in the modification/technical section and someone will help you out

breno58

draffodx wrote: »

personally I'd not spend a cent on any modifications on it, you'll thank me when you save your money instead and put it towards a proper sports car further down your driving career

have to agree here, its not worth wasting your money modding a punto, i had one as my first car and was thinking of doing the same but quite glad i didnt as i needed all my money for repairs as there quite unreliable cars, i traded it in against a mitsubishi colt and modded that instead and couldnt of been happier as it never once ever let me down and look 100 times nicer than a punto in my opinion

FearDark

breno58 wrote: »

have to agree here, its not worth wasting your money modding a punto, i had one as my first car and was thinking of doing the same but quite glad i didnt as i needed all my money for repairs as there quite unreliable cars, i traded it in against a mitsubishi colt and modded that instead and couldnt of been happier as it never once ever let me down and look 100 times nicer than a punto in my opinion

+1 on the not modding of a punto, had one myself, a diesel one so was a great engine, pity EVERYTHING else went wrong with it.

I know you really really want to do up your first car but trust me, its not a good idea, wait - hell even trade it and get something else thats a little nicer and then do that car up.

I was mad to go modding my first car (Renault 5), im so glad I didnt as the engine caved in about 3 months after I got it and tbh it would have looked utter crap no matter what I did with it, I feel the Punto is along the same lines as a Renault 5. Sorry my man, thats how I feel on it.

Doyler92

Lads, just want to say thanks for all your replies. Much appreciated.