Fiat 500 Abarth 1.4L Turbo Tuner

[Vas@Diablosport]

No one here is slacking, we leave these threads to generate interest, plus we have been replying to all of your emails within a very short period of time. The other threads get moderator response quickly as the OP is usually requesting a solution for an issue.

[slickhead]

"It's not something we see 100 people wanting a device for and can generate it based on that."
"Realistically, there will have to be hundreds in for it to start being considered"

These are not the answers we're looking for.



Although if you take the word of the vendors on the FIAT forums at face value , they are selling piggypacks by the hundreds at a much higher price point. A tuning solution from DiabloSports would be a greater value and it is doubtful many more piggybacks would be sold at all.

[shadowshaggy]

^From what I gather from that statement above; I'm supposed to gather support for what, something like 100k in sales? So by my math, $400 (per tuner) x 250 units = 100k in sales. So, I have to come up with 219ish more people that want this in order for it to be considered?

I know that R&D is expensive, I also know that it's not a 15 minutes process. That being said, would it be a reasonable enough request for me to gather 1/2 that support before you start the R&D process; or am I supposed to generate more? I want a realistic number, I don't like blindly going for some project; we need a goal in mind. Obviously, you guys have some sort of number in the back of your mind from previous projects. After all, you guys built a tuner for a 3 year run of PT Cruiser's, and those are terrible. This is at least a car with 50+ years of heritage from Europe.

I think I poked the bear this time guys

[shadowshaggy]

Yes Vas, you have responded to my emails, and I appreciate the prompt responses. From what I see with most of the other threads, a Mod will say something in the first 10-15 posts in regards to there having been a post. I didn't say that no one was paying attention, you guys apparently read what I had to say since I got 2 responses immediately.

No one here is slacking, we leave these threads to generate interest, plus we have been replying to all of your emails within a very short period of time. The other threads get moderator response quickly as the OP is usually requesting a solution for an issue.

[garrett]

^From what I gather from that statement above; I'm supposed to gather support for what, something like 100k in sales? So by my math, $400 (per tuner) x 250 units = 100k in sales. So, I have to come up with 219ish more people that want this in order for it to be considered?

I know that R&D is expensive, I also know that it's not a 15 minutes process. That being said, would it be a reasonable enough request for me to gather 1/2 that support before you start the R&D process; or am I supposed to generate more? I want a realistic number, I don't like blindly going for some project; we need a goal in mind. Obviously, you guys have some sort of number in the back of your mind from previous projects. After all, you guys built a tuner for a 3 year run of PT Cruiser's, and those are terrible. This is at least a car with 50+ years of heritage from Europe.

I think I poked the bear this time guys

you are missing the point. We aren't tuning 50 years worth of heritage. If we are tuning your vehicle, for example, the computer may be different from year to year, the software from year to year may also be different. There are a lot of factors that go into tuning. i can guarantee you that the vehicles computer in a 2011 is nowhere near the same as a 2008.

You're also comparing a run of vehicles that in your opinion are worthless, but have definitely been a great selling tool. What you dont know is the computer for a PT GT is identical to the SRT4's computer, so when we released support for srt4 PT GT was a given.

[garrett]

they are selling piggypacks by the hundreds at a much higher price point. A tuning solution from DiabloSports would be a greater value and it is doubtful many more piggybacks would be sold at all.

With that being said, wouldn't it make sense that the majority of those who would've tuned have already spent money on a piggyback style defice, thus making the need for tuning solutions smaller and less likely to sell?

[mikel]

^From what I gather from that statement above; I'm supposed to gather support for what, something like 100k in sales? So by my math, $400 (per tuner) x 250 units = 100k in sales. So, I have to come up with 219ish more people that want this in order for it to be considered?

I know that R&D is expensive, I also know that it's not a 15 minutes process. That being said, would it be a reasonable enough request for me to gather 1/2 that support before you start the R&D process; or am I supposed to generate more? I want a realistic number, I don't like blindly going for some project; we need a goal in mind. Obviously, you guys have some sort of number in the back of your mind from previous projects. After all, you guys built a tuner for a 3 year run of PT Cruiser's, and those are terrible. This is at least a car with 50+ years of heritage from Europe.

I think I poked the bear this time guys

the 3 year run of PT cruisers fell into the SRT4 application, which to date, has been one of the most successful applications we ever supported. Nobody said 'oooh, lets do PTGT'...but it only made sense since we did the SRT4, and SRT4 only happened because they share a PCM with the HEMIs, which we sell more tools for yearly than there are 1.4 turbos on the planet. We have to weigh potential sales vs any new development, and we dont see the masses looking for a 1.4 tuner at the moment, at least not as many as say 2014 Ram, which is next for a development effort

Heck, I have more guys here looking for Hyundai tuners than anything else, which is looking better and better each day....

[slickhead]

they are selling piggypacks by the hundreds at a much higher price point. A tuning solution from DiabloSports would be a greater value and it is doubtful many more piggybacks would be sold at all.

With that being said, wouldn't it make sense that the majority of those who would've tuned have already spent money on a piggyback style defice, thus making the need for tuning solutions smaller and less likely to sell?

Perhaps you're right but many piggyback buyers seem willing to upgrade to newer versions at nearly $700 a pop for even slight increases. A real tuning device would likely become the must have device for every wannabe with an aftermarket intake. I understand that's easy for me to say since I don't have to put up the money and take the risk. Too bad we can't crowd-source such a device.

[shadowshaggy]

No sir, I get what you guys are after. The PCM's in the Fiats, 2012/13/14 shouldn't be all that different than the Dart 1.4L turbo per say. After all, they're basically the same powertrain and such. As Chrysler/Fiat are one in the same now, and the PCM has a Chrysler stamp; and presumably the similar encoding as the 2011+ Hemi's PCM's ought not to be all to different.

If you had some vague form of idea what may be involved we wouldn' t be having this conversation. Say its not similar to the other Chrylser PCM's, or maybe it is nearly identical. If it used the same/similar encryption, then you guys would have your work cut out for you. If it is totally different, they one of the engineers could at least chime in with something pertinent to that. I'm working with a notion now, that you guys won't even start R&D for some time; even if I had 1,000 people ready to buy today.

I think you miss what my point was, but it's clearly stated above. I don't mean to be an ass, but you guys are pretending that the Abarth is some fly-by-night play toy. They've been around for 50+ years, and have been tuned by many great companies. you want your opportunity to be a part of that, great. If not, there's other companies for me and my companions to take our money to.

As slickhead said, Perhaps you're right but many piggyback buyers seem willing to upgrade to newer versions at nearly $700 a pop for even slight increases. A real tuning device would likely become the must have device for every wannabe with an aftermarket intake. I understand that's easy for me to say since I don't have to put up the money and take the risk. Too bad we can't crowd-source such a device.


With all the money being pissed away weekly on piggyback "tuners", we could be putting forth out cash into something useful.

you are missing the point. We aren't tuning 50 years worth of heritage. If we are tuning your vehicle, for example, the computer may be different from year to year, the software from year to year may also be different. There are a lot of factors that go into tuning. i can guarantee you that the vehicles computer in a 2011 is nowhere near the same as a 2008.

You're also comparing a run of vehicles that in your opinion are worthless, but have definitely been a great selling tool. What you dont know is the computer for a PT GT is identical to the SRT4's computer, so when we released support for srt4 PT GT was a given.

[mikel]

No sir, I get what you guys are after. The PCM's in the Fiats, 2012/13/14 shouldn't be all that different than the Dart 1.4L turbo per say. After all, they're basically the same powertrain and such. As Chrysler/Fiat are one in the same now, and the PCM has a Chrysler stamp; and presumably the similar encoding as the 2011+ Hemi's PCM's ought not to be all to different.

If you had some vague form of idea what may be involved we wouldn' t be having this conversation. Say its not similar to the other Chrylser PCM's, or maybe it is nearly identical. If it used the same/similar encryption, then you guys would have your work cut out for you. If it is totally different, they one of the engineers could at least chime in with something pertinent to that. I'm working with a notion now, that you guys won't even start R&D for some time; even if I had 1,000 people ready to buy today.

I think you miss what my point was, but it's clearly stated above. I don't mean to be an ass, but you guys are pretending that the Abarth is some fly-by-night play toy. They've been around for 50+ years, and have been tuned by many great companies. you want your opportunity to be a part of that, great. If not, there's other companies for me and my companions to take our money to.

As slickhead said, Perhaps you're right but many piggyback buyers seem willing to upgrade to newer versions at nearly $700 a pop for even slight increases. A real tuning device would likely become the must have device for every wannabe with an aftermarket intake. I understand that's easy for me to say since I don't have to put up the money and take the risk. Too bad we can't crowd-source such a device.


With all the money being pissed away weekly on piggyback "tuners", we could be putting forth out cash into something useful.

you are missing the point. We aren't tuning 50 years worth of heritage. If we are tuning your vehicle, for example, the computer may be different from year to year, the software from year to year may also be different. There are a lot of factors that go into tuning. i can guarantee you that the vehicles computer in a 2011 is nowhere near the same as a 2008.

You're also comparing a run of vehicles that in your opinion are worthless, but have definitely been a great selling tool. What you dont know is the computer for a PT GT is identical to the SRT4's computer, so when we released support for srt4 PT GT was a given.

We have already confirmed that it is an entirely different PCM than anything in our fleet currently, and we have poked/probed it a bit, as thats just what we do

If we poked it and it spilled its guts, well, yeah, we'd likely have a tuner for it whether we thought there was a market or not, easy is easy. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but who knows.

[dsmithpdx]

I would buy one for sure! Let's do this!

[shadowshaggy]

Well hell fire, I poked the bear enough to get a real response. Thank you. That's the first real answer I've gotten in regards to working forward with this. So it's different that the Dart 1.4L Turbo PCM? I don't exactly believe that as they're the exact same engine/turbo config. Since you don't seem to have anything for said Dart yet, I presume that you meant the '11+ Hemi PCM's.

Like the email I just got back from Vas, I do acknowledge that you can't go around delivering empty promises to people. I get that, and appreciate that you don't do so. I do, however, think that since you guys have poked and prodded a little; we should have a better answer that "We'll look into it with enough support". You gotta realize, we hate than answer in a bad way.

we're in the 20's on support. Working towards that 1/2 million in sales slowly............

[shadowshaggy]

1. shadowshaggy
2. slickhead
3. musicsurf
4. mudking
5. shaggie
6. modular
7. crossfirecat
8. trevc
9. zyxelenator
10. ScorpionSkins
11. sk8ace
12. nevadaabarth
13. 1.4ldartowner
14. steven4264
15. racer
16. luka
17. sporadicMotion
18. redred
19. stubtail
20. d-abarth
21. tjgluth
22. dsmithpdx

[garrett]

we're in the 20's on support. Working towards that 1/2 million in sales slowly............

Great, you've done your part. Now if the need is really there the posts will show it.

[banzaitoyota]

1. shadowshaggy
2. slickhead
3. musicsurf
4. mudking
5. shaggie
6. modular
7. crossfirecat
8. trevc
9. zyxelenator
10. ScorpionSkins
11. sk8ace
12. nevadaabarth
13. 1.4ldartowner
14. steven4264
15. racer
16. luka
17. sporadicMotion
18. redred
19. stubtail
20. d-abarth
21. tjgluth
22. dsmithpdx
23. Banzaitoyota