Pikey tyres

SteveH wrote:

> For the rest of us manly drivers, lift-off oversteer is a desirable
> characteristic.

You didn't say that about the 33 you bought off me

Cheers
Tony

Tony R wrote:
> SteveH wrote:
>
>> For the rest of us manly drivers, lift-off oversteer is a desirable
>> characteristic.
>
> You didn't say that about the 33 you bought off me

It's bloody wonderful in the Sprint


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

Tony R > wrote:

> SteveH wrote:
>
> > For the rest of us manly drivers, lift-off oversteer is a desirable
> > characteristic.
>
> You didn't say that about the 33 you bought off me

Hi Tony.... didn't realise you were still about!

Erm, that 33 was 'special' in that it did under and oversteer all at the
same time until we put a set of Pirellis on it.

Mind you, my point of reference at that stage of my life was a 33 16v on
Yokohamas which were so sticky they only lasted 2.5k miles.

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso -
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Toyota Prius T-Spirit

SteveH wrote:

> Hi Tony.... didn't realise you were still about!

Still lurking occasionally! Wifey has a Fiat 500 and my eldest daughter
a Punto Grande so there is still an affiliation with Italian cars even
if I have gone over to the dark side with an Audi company car.

Watching with interest though the new 1750 TB engine, plus I followed a
pristine 156 home the other day and went all mushy over Alfas again...

> Erm, that 33 was 'special' in that it did under and oversteer all at the
> same time until we put a set of Pirellis on it.

I couldn't bring myself to change the tyres that were on the car when I
bought it as they never "needed" changing - i.e. didn't seem to wear at
all. I guess that should have told me something

It was entertaining in the wet though, not fast, just entertaining!

Cheers
Tony

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:52:32 +0100, Catman
> wrote:

>Perhaps it should be:
>
>'Since most people think they can feel a difference in traction balance,
>have done no training since they passed their test and are probably
>using tyres with < 3mm tread on them, we recommend that the new tyres
>are put on the rear'
>
>
>
>Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

LOL. Maybe we are actually in agreement!

>Downer. I thought the 156s were all galvanized.

They are, but maybe there's more to rust proofing than just
galvanising.

>Was it shunted and repaired?

Nope. Never. Seams along the sills inside the doors were growing and
other seams were too, one door bottom was rusting, the wheel arch
between the back door and the turned in edge was blistering (i.e. on
the outer body surface). Generally there were signs of corrosion
creeping under the paintwork in many areas of the car. It was the
final straw that made me seek solace elsewhere. If only the rust had
been more localised so I could reasonably deal with it but it wasn't.
I couldn't bear to see my pride and joy rust away as well as spend as
much time in the garage getting repaired as it had been in the last
year. It had hoisted the 'bottomless pit' flag and I took the hint.

This debate has got me thinking in strange ways. Here's an example.. I
wonder if, having owned a diesel Alfa, I'm qualified as a 'petrol
head'? Top Gear didn't cover that though, IIRC, JC liked the 2.4JTD
quite a lot.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)

Tony R > wrote:

> SteveH wrote:
>
> > Hi Tony.... didn't realise you were still about!
>
> Still lurking occasionally! Wifey has a Fiat 500 and my eldest daughter
> a Punto Grande so there is still an affiliation with Italian cars even
> if I have gone over to the dark side with an Audi company car.

Happens to the best of us.

I've had a Passat TDI and currently have a Prius as a company car -
although I did hand the Passat back and buy a 156 Sportwagon with my
opt-out money, before being made redundant.... ended up in a job with a
compulsory Prius.

> Watching with interest though the new 1750 TB engine, plus I followed a
> pristine 156 home the other day and went all mushy over Alfas again...

I'm more interested in the rumours of a 166 replacement with RWD and a
V8

> > Erm, that 33 was 'special' in that it did under and oversteer all at the
> > same time until we put a set of Pirellis on it.
>
> I couldn't bring myself to change the tyres that were on the car when I
> bought it as they never "needed" changing - i.e. didn't seem to wear at
> all. I guess that should have told me something
>
> It was entertaining in the wet though, not fast, just entertaining!

That's one way of putting it! - it was just lethal if you lived in
Milton Keynes, with all the roundabouts!


--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso -
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Toyota Prius T-Spirit

Zathras > wrote:

> >Was it shunted and repaired?
>
> Nope. Never. Seams along the sills inside the doors were growing and
> other seams were too, one door bottom was rusting, the wheel arch
> between the back door and the turned in edge was blistering (i.e. on
> the outer body surface). Generally there were signs of corrosion
> creeping under the paintwork in many areas of the car. It was the
> final straw that made me seek solace elsewhere. If only the rust had
> been more localised so I could reasonably deal with it but it wasn't.
> I couldn't bear to see my pride and joy rust away as well as spend as
> much time in the garage getting repaired as it had been in the last
> year. It had hoisted the 'bottomless pit' flag and I took the hint.

Galvanising isn't the ultimate solution - 75s are galvanised, but still
rot where plastic bits are tacked on and even galvanising will give in
to penetration from salt-laden water as it ages. Mostly it happens if
something has broken through the galvanised layer - both my Passats had
rust bubbles where stones had chipped through the paint and galvanising.

For some reason, once you do get damage to the galvanised coating, the
rot seems to spread rampantly from something that looks like incredibly
minor damage.

I suppose the problem with any protective coating is that it gets
damaged when you weld panels and attach trim - so it's near impossible
to completely rot-proof a car.

Bear in mind that most of the 156s which are starting to go are now 12
years old - that's quite remarkable when you consider how quickly all
cars rotted right up to the mid 90s.

Ford have even had issues with the Focus and MkIII Mondeos and rust.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso -
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Toyota Prius T-Spirit

Zathras wrote:
> On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:52:32 +0100, Catman
> > wrote:
>
>> Perhaps it should be:
>>
>> 'Since most people think they can feel a difference in traction balance,
>> have done no training since they passed their test and are probably
>> using tyres with < 3mm tread on them, we recommend that the new tyres
>> are put on the rear'
>>
>>
>>
>> Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
>
> LOL. Maybe we are actually in agreement!
>
>> Downer. I thought the 156s were all galvanized.
>
> They are, but maybe there's more to rust proofing than just
> galvanising.
>
>> Was it shunted and repaired?
>
> Nope. Never. Seams along the sills inside the doors were growing and
> other seams were too, one door bottom was rusting, the wheel arch
> between the back door and the turned in edge was blistering (i.e. on
> the outer body surface). Generally there were signs of corrosion
> creeping under the paintwork in many areas of the car. It was the
> final straw that made me seek solace elsewhere. If only the rust had
> been more localised so I could reasonably deal with it but it wasn't.
> I couldn't bear to see my pride and joy rust away as well as spend as
> much time in the garage getting repaired as it had been in the last
> year. It had hoisted the 'bottomless pit' flag and I took the hint.

They do that, don't they though? Bit of sod, though.

> This debate has got me thinking in strange ways. Here's an example.. I
> wonder if, having owned a diesel Alfa, I'm qualified as a 'petrol
> head'? Top Gear didn't cover that though, IIRC, JC liked the 2.4JTD
> quite a lot.

I think I'll give you honorary membership


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

SteveH wrote:
> Zathras > wrote:
>
>>> Was it shunted and repaired?
>> Nope. Never. Seams along the sills inside the doors were growing and
>> other seams were too, one door bottom was rusting, the wheel arch
>> between the back door and the turned in edge was blistering (i.e. on
>> the outer body surface). Generally there were signs of corrosion
>> creeping under the paintwork in many areas of the car. It was the
>> final straw that made me seek solace elsewhere. If only the rust had
>> been more localised so I could reasonably deal with it but it wasn't.
>> I couldn't bear to see my pride and joy rust away as well as spend as
>> much time in the garage getting repaired as it had been in the last
>> year. It had hoisted the 'bottomless pit' flag and I took the hint.
>
> Galvanising isn't the ultimate solution - 75s are galvanised, but still
> rot where plastic bits are tacked on and even galvanising will give in
> to penetration from salt-laden water as it ages. Mostly it happens if
> something has broken through the galvanised layer - both my Passats had
> rust bubbles where stones had chipped through the paint and galvanising.
>
> For some reason, once you do get damage to the galvanised coating, the
> rot seems to spread rampantly from something that looks like incredibly
> minor damage.
>
> I suppose the problem with any protective coating is that it gets
> damaged when you weld panels and attach trim - so it's near impossible
> to completely rot-proof a car.

Should really galvanise it as the last step of shell prodcution. cf
Megabuilders, the Ferrari episode.
>
> Bear in mind that most of the 156s which are starting to go are now 12
> years old - that's quite remarkable when you consider how quickly all
> cars rotted right up to the mid 90s.
>
> Ford have even had issues with the Focus and MkIII Mondeos and rust.

And that's before we even start about the rust

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:24:16 +0100, (SteveH)
wrote:

>Bear in mind that most of the 156s which are starting to go are now 12
>years old - that's quite remarkable when you consider how quickly all
>cars rotted right up to the mid 90s.

Absolutely. I remember shoving huge amounts of cataloy and fibre glass
on a galvanised Volvo tank in the seventies when the car was 6. I knew
its sills and rear wheel arches intimately!

>Ford have even had issues with the Focus and MkIII Mondeos and rust.

Even so, looking about, most cars do seem to last better than my Alfa
did. My local independent commented on its rust which was a bit
disheartening as they seem to only work on the oldest junk still on
the road. Also, a mobile touch-up firm refused to fix a paint chip due
to unrelated rust nearby! :-(

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)