[acaciolo]

I've attached a picture of the 2 new hot italians in our house. Sorry for the crappy photo.

hot italian 1 is the brand new verde chiaro 500c, which we absolutely love. I blinged it out a little in the front (it came from virginia, so it had some massive holes drilled in the front bumper for the plate holder.) this was the best thing I could come up with to hide the holes.

Add the chrome A bar, hood strip, and a Sprint booster (which just went on today.) so far..super happy with everything.

The hot italian 2 is the Pink Vespa my wife is riding to our little ice cream shop. The look like they belong together...

tony c.
www.theinsidescoop.com
www.monogramcustomhomes.com

 

[rrucker]

I love those colors, reminds me of the old soft mints that came in green and pink.

 

[lorvar]

mmmmm, hot Italian ice cream sandwich shop. Makes me want to buy some Spumoni. Congrats!

 

[psilo110]

hello and welcome to the forum.

 

[Tweak]

Sprint booster, if only Rob had his ECU mod on the market you could have gotten actual improvement in power rather than the illusion the booster creates, by any means welcome to the forums!

 

[lorvar]

They can still bring the SB back and wait the two weeks for the ECU product.

 

[Deron]

Welcome.

 

[Tweak]

They can still bring the SB back and wait the two weeks for the ECU product.

If within the 30 day trial period...just seems like a better option to get with Rob and snag the ECU module for about the same costs.

 

[kitkatherine]

Nice!

I can't believe they pre-drilled the holes - I live in a state that has front licenses too, and mine didn't have it ready. I just left the front plate on since I was moving to a state that doesn't have front plates and probably doesn't care about me not having one / doesn't know Ohio even does that.

 

[psilo110]

I bought my 500 in NY and signed a no front plate! waiver at the dealership

way back when, neuspeed used to sell a billet aluminum license plate filler.

 

[acaciolo]

hello back to everyone..and thanks for the comments.
some answers:

yes..hard to believe that they drilled the holes (6 of them!!) but front plates are required in VA, so I guess that is the norm. I actually really like the black retro plate, so it all worked out.

regarding Rob's ECU vs. the sprint booster - I agree, for about the same price, i'd prefer to have real HP rather than imaginary. But...it looks like the original price for the ECU of $350 has more than doubled...and is now going to be closer to $800, which is a pretty big jump from the $299 sprint booster. So...I will be passing on the ECU.

The sprint booster did exactly what I wanted. Coming from a mini cooper S and an Audi S4, we are used to a little more ooomph off the line. The sprint booster absolutely eliminated the throttle lag and gives the illusion that the car is zippier. I know it basically is just giving the care more gas...but the new throttle curve makes it feel much nicer. Well worth it.

Finally...the only accessory that is giving me a headache is the front A bar. Looks super cool, but it doesn't quite match our bumper. So even with the strongest 3m automotive trim tape, the ends still pop off. I talked to the tech at 500madness, and he told me they have the same problem. It still looks great...but I might resort to using an adhesive.

The only other thing I am trying to figure out is if there is an easy way to upgrade some of the "no highs, no lows, must be bose" stuff. We had JL audio in the mini, and it was amazing (aftermarket.) I wont' change out the head unit, but I might look at using a jl audio cleansweep interface with that head unit and changing out the speakers/ sub. not sure yet.

thanks again for all the comments.

t

 

[lorvar]

regarding Rob's ECU vs. the sprint booster - I agree, for about the same price, i'd prefer to have real HP rather than imaginary. But...it looks like the original price for the ECU of $350 has more than doubled...and is now going to be closer to $800, which is a pretty big jump from the $299 sprint booster. So...I will be passing on the ECU.

t

This is incorrect. You read what Marc was offering, his is $750. Rob is still the same price and worth it. Reconsider this option, it will be available within the next few weeks.

 

[acaciolo]

ahhh! didn't realize that there were 2 different companies talking about ECU mods! thanks for pointing that out.

I wonder how the ECU mod would do with the sprint booster. I wouldn't be opposed to keeping both.

The think I really like about SB is how it remaps the low end of the curve. A slight push on the accelerator really gets you moving. Have an extra 5hp on top of that would be especially nice.