Hey guys, first time posting, 1 month of incessant lurking. Kinda total noob too, but I'm trying hard to learn

Hey guys, first time posting, 1 month of incessant lurking. Kinda total noob too, but I'm trying hard to learn.


I just got my driver's license and my parents want to buy me a cheap, used car. The problem is that here in Italy I cannot drive a vehicle that has more than 70kW, nor more than 55kW/Ton.

What car would you suggest for being pleasant to drive and all in all good to own? We are obviously not going for performance here.


>inb4 hurr durr Italian get a Punto

I forgot to say
70kW = 93HP
55kW = 73HP

How much can your parents throw at it?

not more than 2000 euros

A VW/Seat/Audi/Skoda with a 1.9tdi ALH 90hp would pretty much max that restriction out and it is still fuel efficient and has 150ft/lbs of torque. With a software tune a stock motor can get 140hp/200tq without any visual modifications so you could get away with lots more power.

How will you get 50 extra hp with only a software tune?
Black magic?

Or since you're in Italy get a nice Alfa with a diesel (to get the most out of your 70kW restriction). Learn to work on it yourself btw, that way your money goes to parts (really cheap to order online) and tools (buy it once, cry once) rather than paying someone else.

those cars are regulated by the CPUs, they run a lot slower because the CPUs like to limit what goes into the engine (Fuel, air, etc)

After you tell the CPU 'fuck that, i'm above it' the Engine will preform as if it was on a throttle cable.

this, (i think) is a process called flashing.

that's what it means when someone says 'i have a chip in the motor' that the car runs unregulated by the computer

Boost. Anything with a turbo from the factory had extra headroom and your limits are the strength of the block and rotating assembly, the peak airflow/efficiency of the turbo, and fuel injector capacity. Of course at higher power levels a clutch may be needed as well. Modern turbos have the amount of boost they make controlled electronically or pneumatically via a wastegate. Write a new file to the ecu requesting higher boost levels (with more fuel of course as well) and you can generally safely get 20-35% more power on most stock setups before you hit the limits on something. Most engines need bigger injectors as a first upgrade before putting on a bigger turbo that flow more air.

Software tune? Like? I really think it is illegal here, enormous fine+night in jail+never seeing the car again, kind of illegal.

Is Alfa good? People don't exactly like them here, but people are not even close to be car-savvy here.
I was thinking about working on it myself, but I don't exactly have the space nor the time to do it. Even the car would have to sit out in the street, since my parents fill up the garage.

Not illegal at all. Only illegal to remove emissions hardware/exhaust systems. A 'stage 1' file works with the stock exhaust so it will pass testing. Some tuning companies sell stage 2+ files that are for 'offroad use only' to get around that. Alfas have a meme reputation in North America because we can't get them anymore. Have a reputation for good handling and fun, high-revving engines.

Do it pussy or your going to lose all your races..

Just think what worse, spending one night in jail, a little fine and having to break out your car from a pound

OR

A bunch of hot Italian girls laughing at you when they pass you in a car driven by Chad?

You know what to do.

Not illegal at all in freedomland. Here in Italy, I don't know about software, but I am certain you can't even change the seat or the audio system without having to get approval from the whatever state office it is.

And the several parts go kaput a couple of kilometers down the road because they weren't designed to cope with the abuse of a higher output.

You really think you and your grease monkey friends are more intelligent than hand picked from school engineers that spent half a decade or more designing a car for the best compromise possible?

They will go kaput either way because >VW.

Fiat Punto
95 cv 1.4 n/a

i'm not going to argue, they're not sports cars, their sub compact. i'm simply explaining what de-regulating your car does; most of that control is for safety ratings, anyway. your tranny will always be capable of taking more than 50 horsepower more, the differentials the same, if they were to go and fuck up thirty miles down the road then what makes you think that they're a competent machine 100 thousand miles down the road?

> Chad
You mean Fabio

...

Dunno if you're Italian, but that's actually the perfect ItalianChad name

I see what you mean, but I think I'll have to cope with a lesser car.