Any tips to improve ride quality?

Goudy

Normal 500 or Panda wheels just aren't going to fit over the brakes.
The Abarth has a bigger offset wheel and larger diameter to fit over the larger discs and brake calipers.

They came with either 16" or 17" wheels depending on which model and I don't even think the 16" will fit a some models meant for 17" like the Competizione as they had bigger brakes again.

I've had a 595, ride and comfort was one major drawback but these 595 models tend to have better seats than the earlier A500 models.

I found you sat on the earlier A500 cars seats and sat in the later 595's seats, so if it's a earlier A500, perhaps a pair of front seats from a 595 Turismo might help, but they won't be cheap.

I opted for the 595 Turismo model as the seats where much better than the Competizione's Sabelt seats which I couldn't even get in and out over the high bolster.
The standard fabric 595 seats were ok but they are probably similar to as the earlier A500's.
If you can get in though the Sabelts are pretty comfy in most places if a little firm under the bum.

Again the different models came with different suspension, the higher end models came with rock hard Koni's.
I seem to think the Turismo only came with Koni's at one end, still not great but they did have a little more give in them
I seem to think you could buy a similar suspension kit in an attractive wooden crate for the earlier A500 to turn them into Essence spec.

There's not a lot you can do about this, it's just how these are.
Even if you throw lots of money at the problem, the base car (normal Fiat 500) isn't noted for comfort either.
If it's really bad, you might have to consider it's time to say goodbye or just wait long enough until it gets stolen, like mine did.

I enjoyed mine while I had it just as BP, Esso and Shell did, but never felt like I wanted another after it was stolen.
It was astonishing, but to a point, after which it became a bit of a headache.

One of the other major drawbacks for the A500 and 595 models is they still have a normal Fiat 500 fuel tank of 35 litres but are a lot lot thirstier, particularly if driven with a bit of vigour (while listening to Monza exhaust, another £1000 that some scumbag got away with).

I'm actually surprised you are complaining about the comfort on a long trip as long trips usually mean lots of short ones between petrol stations. That drove me mad!

lcc86

Thanks all, I've booked one of the pool cars from work (Ford Puma) for the next time I have to do a long trip, am going to see what difference a higher seating position makes. I've also ordered a seat cushion in the meantime. Am considering renting a compact SUV (I hate that term!) for a week or so as well for my personal use but I'll try the work car first.

I'd hate to get rid of it, I know it's nothing fancy but it's fun, mechanically it's always been sound, and it suits my other needs but my back issues have been getting worse (that's another story altogether) and it's becoming a pattern on long journeys, which I do a couple of times a month. Old age is catching up with me!

I did some reading on abarth forums yesterday which suggested Koni sports shocks would improve the ride but when I found a set with springs (circa £700) it said they lower the ride by 30mm which seemed contradictory to me in terms of ride quality so definitely won't be buying those! 

Fuel wise though I have to disagree, I don't find it particularly thirsty, but perhaps I am just used to it lol. I always have it in sport mode as well as eco mode feels sluggish to me.

Thank you all for your advice, I may just have to bite the bullet here and accept reality... it's a rubbish reason to consider selling a car but it is what it is!

prettyandfluffy

lcc86 said:

Thanks all for the responses.

So it's a 500 not a 124, apologies should've mentioned that! Wheels are 16 inch (I know some come with 17 inch wheels) and I wouldn't really want to go smaller than that. 

I wouldn't say the seats are hard, it's more the position, my knees are higher than my hips and I can't get the seat any higher (am 6 foot tall so not a huge amount of wiggle room). I'll try the cushion first and see how that works. I know it'll never be the most comfortable car, and it was never an issue until a year or so ago with my back. It fulfils all my other needs so any reasonable adjustments I can make I'd give them a go.

Buy it from Amazon, if it doesn't work you can return it as "not suitable".   If this doesn't work you may end up having to change car - get one with a height adjustable and heated seat, both make a huge difference.

EDITED to correct typo and to add: that sounds like a typical Fiat driving position to me (having owned 7 in my time, 4 different models including an Uno Turbo and a 16v Tipo) - also it used to be the case that you needed long legs and short arms or vice versa, I can't remember which! 

facade

I bought one of those expensive super special grade eggshell foam cushions for my car, to sit on, and it makes a huge difference.

When I drive along one of the "roads"  round here I can feel myself squashing into the cushion as the car crashes up and down, smoothing out the ride. I recall that trucks used to suspend the driver's seat.

The problem with changing the car is finding one with a decent ride, the days when you simply bought any Citroen have long gone. Small Citroens are just as harsh as everything else nowadays, comfort starts with the C4, which is odd, as the "roads" are far worse than they were in the 1970s, much closer to the ploughed field that you could drive a 2CV across.....

You really need air suspension, which means a ferociously expensive car with acknowledged poor reliablilty.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides/most-comfortable-cars-uk/

Slinky

facade said:

You really need air suspension, which means a ferociously expensive car with acknowledged poor reliablilty.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides/most-comfortable-cars-uk/

The air suspension went on my OH's BMW 5 series. Cue long ride back home via 3 lots of AA relay, and £1000+ bill.

facade

Slinky said:

facade said:

You really need air suspension, which means a ferociously expensive car with acknowledged poor reliablilty.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides/most-comfortable-cars-uk/

The air suspension went on my OH's BMW 5 series. Cue long ride back home via 3 lots of AA relay, and £1000+ bill.

But I bet it was a lovely smooth ride when it was working

Stateofart

An Abarth is not a car to long journeys in.  Swapping wheels etc. will dilute the original essence of the car.  I would sell the car and buy something more suitable.

Bigphil1474

OP, I bought a crossover SUV type car a couple of years ago - purely for my comfort/health, and it made a big difference. It won't win any prizes in the looks and high performance stakes but it's such a nicer driving experience for my aging knackered body then my previous car (Fiesta). I don't have to stretch my legs half as much after a long drive, and my knees are grateful as well.

Arunmor

It's an Abarth it is meant to have harder suspension as it's the sporty model.  It sounds like you need to make a choice car or back.

motorguy

lcc86 said:

Thanks all, I've booked one of the pool cars from work (Ford Puma) for the next time I have to do a long trip, am going to see what difference a higher seating position makes. I've also ordered a seat cushion in the meantime. Am considering renting a compact SUV (I hate that term!) for a week or so as well for my personal use but I'll try the work car first.

I'd hate to get rid of it, I know it's nothing fancy but it's fun, mechanically it's always been sound, and it suits my other needs but my back issues have been getting worse (that's another story altogether) and it's becoming a pattern on long journeys, which I do a couple of times a month. Old age is catching up with me!

I did some reading on abarth forums yesterday which suggested Koni sports shocks would improve the ride but when I found a set with springs (circa £700) it said they lower the ride by 30mm which seemed contradictory to me in terms of ride quality so definitely won't be buying those! 

Fuel wise though I have to disagree, I don't find it particularly thirsty, but perhaps I am just used to it lol. I always have it in sport mode as well as eco mode feels sluggish to me.

Thank you all for your advice, I may just have to bite the bullet here and accept reality... it's a rubbish reason to consider selling a car but it is what it is!

just catching up on this thread now.

Yes, wife had similar issues with our Cooper S when we had it - and a cushion really helped.

This is the one we went for.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00O62Q0R0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We had to sell the car in the end as my wife has rheumatoid arthritis and the act of changing gears caused her pain so we went to an auto.  

My MIL has a bad back also so she now uses the cushion instead and it seems to help her also.

You may have to accept that if you've a bad back, something as small and as hard riding as an Abarth isnt going to work in the medium to long term.

One bit of advice i have heard is, when eventually you change your car, dont "assume" a particular car will be the answer and will be comfortable for you.  What works best for someone elses condition may not work for yours, so do try to get an extended test drive of maybe a couple of hours at least.