US vs. Italy 2.0T Engine

[LCW]

For 2021 and 22 there should be very few Italian 2.0's (if any) in the JL's now as the US factory is fully up and running.

Mine is a ‘22 JLUR. Built Jan 2022. Just looked at my window sticker and engine country of origin is Italy.

Surprised the trans (ZF 850RE) isn’t Germany.

Edit: A-ha on the trans…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torqueflite_8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_8HP_transmission

Sponsored

 

[dcmdon]

My other car is a Fiat: it is stylish, a blast to drive, the car is well put together, the engine sounds totally mean and it’s been trouble free.

But I realize 9 out of 10 Americans —and Canadians— wouldn’t touch a Fiat due to that company’s dubious quality 40+ years ago.

By all accounts, the 2.0T is a solid engine. In my individual case, I didn’t want both my vehicles powered by a Fiat engine that was made in Italy —just in case, you know...

For better or worse, that’s how reputations work.

Except that your Fiat 124 is made in Japan by Mazda. So reliability should be stellar.

 

[SecondTJ]

Surprised the trans (ZF 850RE) isn’t Germany.

850RE is made by Stellantis in the Kokomo, Indiana plant... not ZF

 

[Heimkehr]

Except that your Fiat 124 is made in Japan by Mazda. So reliability should be stellar.

It is a hybrid of sorts. Marinara on sushi.

"Final assembly of the car takes place in the Officine Abarth in Turin, Italy, where the model specific parts are installed on the Japanese built roadster." (Source)

 

[QC22]

2020 JLURR, Fredo

 

[viper88]

It is a hybrid of sorts. Marinara on sushi.

"Final assembly of the car takes place in the Officine Abarth in Turin, Italy, where the model specific parts are installed on the Japanese built roadster." (Source)

Originally the 124 was possibly going to be an Alfa Romeo. That changed when FCA boss Marchionne determined Alfa Romeos would be manufactured only in Italy. So that was a no-go because it was being built in Japan by Mazda.

The regular Fiat 124 Spider was manufactured along side the Mazda Miata in Mazda's Hiroshima plant. The final assembly of the Abarth "RALLY" model might have been in Italy? I am fairly certain the regular Abarth 124s were made in Japan by Mazda.

 

[JuzaMe]

Note: The Italian units run smoother by adding two garlic cloves with each olive oil change...and the exhaust smells heavenly.

 

[viper88]

Except that your Fiat 124 is made in Japan by Mazda. So reliability should be stellar.

Mazda is known to have high QC/QA and be reliable. Fiat not so much. The partnership definitely helped with the 124 Spider's quality.

The 124 is possibly the most reliable Italian car made. It is gorgeous and has soul. The exhaust note is much superior to it's Miata sister's exhaust note.

The FIAT 1.4 MultiAir has had a few reliability issues. The Multiair system can loose oil and cause loss of compression if not run for several weeks/months. The result is no-starts until oil is primed or feed back into the MultiAir system or "brick" as owners call it. There are also coolant loss issues. Mostly from bad thermostat housings. This seems to be a very common problem.

Ironically the early manual transmissions for the ND-series Miata are a lot less reliable then the older NC-series manual transmission used in the Fiat Spider. Those early ND manual transmissions are like glass. The Fiat is more reliable then the Miata sister car in that area. The 124 uses a older NC-series Miata manual transmission that is more robust.

 

[dcmdon]

One other benefit of the 124 over the Miata is that it comes from the factory with a turbo engine.

Its much easier to tune a turbo engine to make lots of HP than it is to do the same with a NA engine.
A new tune, exhaust, and intercooler would probably net you 60 hp.

Although I realize that the joy of a car like that isn't about power. My wife's Miata was an 01 and it made very little power. But it was more fun to drive than my 400 hp Sti.

Its funny, I took this pic in 2006 of my dog and cat. But in the background are the great pre-kid vehicles we had. The Miata, STi, and Montero.

The crazy thing is that if I had stopped daily driving that Subaru at that point in time, it would be worth $50k now. Ha. Oh well. That is the one car I regret ever selling.

 

[Brsox]

My other car is a Fiat: it is stylish, a blast to drive, the car is well put together, the engine sounds totally mean and it’s been trouble free.

But I realize 9 out of 10 Americans —and Canadians— wouldn’t touch a Fiat due to that company’s dubious quality 40+ years ago.

By all accounts, the 2.0T is a solid engine. In my individual case, I didn’t want both my vehicles powered by a Fiat engine that was made in Italy —just in case, you know...

For better or worse, that’s how reputations work.

You know your Fiat is a Mazda Miata with some different sheet metal and a Fiat engine, right? It was manufactured on the same line as the Miata in Japan. Great vehicle though. I had a 2019 Miata. What a great machine. The wife and I were crushed by a huge construction dump truck on the way to Cape Cod. Said he didn't see us. It was a miracle we walked away. Enjoy your 124. I wish they still made them.

 

[aldo98229]

You know your Fiat is a Mazda Miata with some different sheet metal and a Fiat engine, right? It was manufactured on the same line as the Miata in Japan. Great vehicle though. I had a 2019 Miata. What a great machine. The wife and I were crushed by a huge construction dump truck on the way to Cape Cod. Said he didn't see us. It was a miracle we walked away. Enjoy your 124. I wish they still made them.

Thanks! I love the car.

Yes. Spiders were made in Japan by Mazda, but Fiat gave it its own body, turbo engine, unique suspension tuning and an amazing exhaust sound. I test drove both before buying: Spider's overall experience was/is much more special than Mazda's.

 

[Ratbert]

Thank you! Appreciate your input. I just tried it, but sadly because mine is a Canadian VIN it does not show that breakdown I’ll need to find another method, maybe on the engine somewhere or an under hood emission decal.

Some Canadian window stickers show up on jeep.com. You've probably already tried it, but if not: https://www.jeep.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=xxx

 

[Ratbert]

FIAT also owns Ferrari guys.. so those of us with the 2.0L baisically have Ferrari motors.

I'm pretty sure that that ended in '16.

 

[Brsox]

Thanks! I love the car.

Yes. Spiders were made in Japan by Mazda, but Fiat gave it its own body, turbo engine, unique suspension tuning and an amazing exhaust sound. I test drove both before buying: Spider's overall experience was/is much more special than Mazda's.

Well, that's all subjective.....lol. I was very torn when I bought my Miata. I'll admit that I did like the look of the 124 better. I had been looking at a 124 Abarth. In the end, I fell in love with the Miata engine. In 2019, they reworked the engine, bumping the HP to 181 and the redline up to 7500. Rowing her through the gears all the way up to redline was amazing. The power delivery was so smooth and linear. They're both great cars though. It's a shame the 124 just didn't sell and was discontinued. Fiat/Alfa Romeo just don't seem to sell here. I don't think there's a better driving experience for the money with one of these vehicles. Part of the reason for my Wrangler order is because I miss the open air driving of my Miata and I don't think the wife will ride in another Miata as we came close to death in one. They're pretty scary on the highway with all the big trucks out there. Damn...I miss that car though. Enjoy that 124!

 

[WRANBO]

Some Canadian window stickers show up on jeep.com. You've probably already tried it, but if not: https://www.jeep.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=xxx

I’ll check! Thanks!

Sponsored