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New Alfa 3.2 V6 GT Review



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 8th 04, 10:00 PM
Graham
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Default New Alfa 3.2 V6 GT Review

http://www.motoring.telegraph.co.uk/...6/emfalf04.xml

Graham


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  #2  
Old September 8th 04, 11:19 PM
Alfistagj
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Could be worse ;-)
But who cares about the rear seats in a coupé????
--
Ciao from Holland
AlfistaGJ (Gert-Jan)
Alfa red 156 SW 1.8 Madeno tuned (2000)
Golden Montreal 1428700 (1973/4)

"Graham" > schreef in bericht
...
>

http://www.motoring.telegraph.co.uk/...6/emfalf04.xml
>
> Graham
>
>



  #3  
Old September 9th 04, 09:27 AM
Zathras
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On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 00:19:55 +0200, "Alfistagj"
> wrote:

>Could be worse ;-)
>But who cares about the rear seats in a coupé????


Indeed! I prefer the criticism of the suspension and note that this
car will bottom out and crunch on British roads.

It's a real shame that Alfa feel unable to fix this as it's the same
on my old 156. It removes a HUGE amount of the pleasure of driving
them when you smash your sump and drop the oil, smash off the entire
front bumper/spoiler, destroy the under-tray or wear away large areas
of metalwork and fixings under the car over time. An old 1 litre Ford
Fiesta on 3 cylinders and a flat tyre would be quicker than any GTA on
many British roads that would, otherwise, be an absolute blast to
drive with the Alfa.

Sorry about the rant but..it gets right on my t!ts when I've to slow
down on a straight and let somebody in a FAR slower car overtake just
because I spot the road undulation ahead and realise the Alfa is going
to take a big hit unless I ease off!! Once past the undulation, I've
got to get past the bugger again and he thinks I'm playing some stupid
game!! Judging by what I see of other (reasonably normal) cars, this
appears to be an Alfa-only feature.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)
  #4  
Old September 9th 04, 10:44 AM
Tom Boltwood
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> From: Zathras >
> Organization: NTL
> Newsgroups: alt.autos.alfa-romeo
> Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 08:27:55 GMT
> Subject: New Alfa 3.2 V6 GT Review
>
> On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 00:19:55 +0200, "Alfistagj"
> > wrote:
>
>> Could be worse ;-)
>> But who cares about the rear seats in a coupé????

>
> Indeed! I prefer the criticism of the suspension and note that this
> car will bottom out and crunch on British roads.
>
> It's a real shame that Alfa feel unable to fix this as it's the same
> on my old 156. It removes a HUGE amount of the pleasure of driving
> them when you smash your sump and drop the oil, smash off the entire
> front bumper/spoiler, destroy the under-tray or wear away large areas
> of metalwork and fixings under the car over time. An old 1 litre Ford
> Fiesta on 3 cylinders and a flat tyre would be quicker than any GTA on
> many British roads that would, otherwise, be an absolute blast to
> drive with the Alfa.
>
> Sorry about the rant but..it gets right on my t!ts when I've to slow
> down on a straight and let somebody in a FAR slower car overtake just
> because I spot the road undulation ahead and realise the Alfa is going
> to take a big hit unless I ease off!! Once past the undulation, I've
> got to get past the bugger again and he thinks I'm playing some stupid
> game!! Judging by what I see of other (reasonably normal) cars, this
> appears to be an Alfa-only feature.
>

Sounds like a modern Alfa only feature, it doesn't happen on my 164 QV and
that's got a pretty heavy front.

  #5  
Old September 9th 04, 03:26 PM
Ppelectron
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

>>> Could be worse ;-)
>>> But who cares about the rear seats in a coupé????

>>
>> Indeed! I prefer the criticism of the suspension and note that this
>> car will bottom out and crunch on British roads.
>>
>> It's a real shame that Alfa feel unable to fix this as it's the same
>> on my old 156. It removes a HUGE amount of the pleasure of driving
>> them when you smash your sump and drop the oil, smash off the entire
>> front bumper/spoiler, destroy the under-tray or wear away large areas
>> of metalwork and fixings under the car over time. An old 1 litre Ford
>> Fiesta on 3 cylinders and a flat tyre would be quicker than any GTA on
>> many British roads that would, otherwise, be an absolute blast to
>> drive with the Alfa.
>>
>> Sorry about the rant but..it gets right on my t!ts when I've to slow
>> down on a straight and let somebody in a FAR slower car overtake just
>> because I spot the road undulation ahead and realise the Alfa is going
>> to take a big hit unless I ease off!! Once past the undulation, I've
>> got to get past the bugger again and he thinks I'm playing some stupid
>> game!! Judging by what I see of other (reasonably normal) cars, this
>> appears to be an Alfa-only feature.
>>

>Sounds like a modern Alfa only feature, it doesn't happen on my 164 QV and
>that's got a pretty heavy front.
>


My 156 V6 used to bottom out regularly until I had the upper front wishbones
replaced. Seems to have cured it.
  #6  
Old September 9th 04, 05:11 PM
Alfistagj
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Posts: n/a
Default

Fortunatily the bottoming out is a curse of the V6 and JTD (heavy engine)
The 4-cylinder version do not seem to have that problem says he who was on a
budget when ordering his GT 2.0JTS in stead of the most wanted 3.2V6 ;-(
And still has to wait until week 42!
--
Ciao from Holland
AlfistaGJ (Gert-Jan)
Alfa red 156 SW 1.8 Madeno tuned (2000)
Golden Montreal 1428700 (1973/4)

"Ppelectron" > schreef in bericht
...
> >>> Could be worse ;-)
> >>> But who cares about the rear seats in a coupé????
> >>
> >> Indeed! I prefer the criticism of the suspension and note that this
> >> car will bottom out and crunch on British roads.
> >>
> >> It's a real shame that Alfa feel unable to fix this as it's the same
> >> on my old 156. It removes a HUGE amount of the pleasure of driving
> >> them when you smash your sump and drop the oil, smash off the entire
> >> front bumper/spoiler, destroy the under-tray or wear away large areas
> >> of metalwork and fixings under the car over time. An old 1 litre Ford
> >> Fiesta on 3 cylinders and a flat tyre would be quicker than any GTA on
> >> many British roads that would, otherwise, be an absolute blast to
> >> drive with the Alfa.
> >>
> >> Sorry about the rant but..it gets right on my t!ts when I've to slow
> >> down on a straight and let somebody in a FAR slower car overtake just
> >> because I spot the road undulation ahead and realise the Alfa is going
> >> to take a big hit unless I ease off!! Once past the undulation, I've
> >> got to get past the bugger again and he thinks I'm playing some stupid
> >> game!! Judging by what I see of other (reasonably normal) cars, this
> >> appears to be an Alfa-only feature.
> >>

> >Sounds like a modern Alfa only feature, it doesn't happen on my 164 QV

and
> >that's got a pretty heavy front.
> >

>
> My 156 V6 used to bottom out regularly until I had the upper front

wishbones
> replaced. Seems to have cured it.



  #7  
Old September 9th 04, 05:19 PM
Thomas Strandtoft
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Posts: n/a
Default

Zathras wrote:

> It's a real shame that Alfa feel unable to fix this as it's the same
> on my old 156. It removes a HUGE amount of the pleasure of driving
> them when you smash your sump and drop the oil, smash off the entire


Sounds pretty nasty.. Have you ever considered changing dampers
and springs? I know Alfa has nurtured the suspension setting in
order to make the car drive great, but if the car isn't designed
for the crappy roads in your neighborhood, it might make sense to
try other solutions.

My home town is the epicenter for bad asphalt, the streets are
littered with potholes, speed bumps, metal plates and that sort of
crap. I bought Bilstein shocks made for rallying, it actually came
with mounting instructions that said "If you reckon on jumping a
lot with the car, mount these nylon straps to catch the wheel in
order to save the shocks the strain". Coupled with a set of
swedish produced springs, the car was actually raised 8-10 mm. It
was a blast to drive, you could totally ignore anything smaller
than boulders, just keeping the loud pedal floored and flying over
obstacles..

Then ofcourse, it wasn't an alfa, just a "swedish brick", so you
might treat your car more tenderly.. :-)

--
Hygge..
Thomas

<http://www.carftp.com> - a library of car videos.
  #8  
Old September 9th 04, 05:41 PM
Zathras
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 18:19:24 +0200, Thomas Strandtoft
> wrote:

>Zathras wrote:
>
>> It's a real shame that Alfa feel unable to fix this as it's the same
>> on my old 156. It removes a HUGE amount of the pleasure of driving
>> them when you smash your sump and drop the oil, smash off the entire

>
>Sounds pretty nasty.. Have you ever considered changing dampers
>and springs? I know Alfa has nurtured the suspension setting in
>order to make the car drive great, but if the car isn't designed
>for the crappy roads in your neighborhood, it might make sense to
>try other solutions.


I did consider certain possibilities but, I don't have the skills
necessary to genuinely improve the suspension of a veloce (lowered)
Alfa 156. The options I did look at (suspension mods etc) all led to
compromises in other areas (comfort mainly, but handling too) that I
wasn't happy with either. I've left it as the Italians designed it.

>My home town is the epicenter for bad asphalt, the streets are
>littered with potholes, speed bumps, metal plates and that sort of
>crap. I bought Bilstein shocks made for rallying, it actually came
>with mounting instructions that said "If you reckon on jumping a
>lot with the car, mount these nylon straps to catch the wheel in
>order to save the shocks the strain". Coupled with a set of
>swedish produced springs, the car was actually raised 8-10 mm. It
>was a blast to drive, you could totally ignore anything smaller
>than boulders, just keeping the loud pedal floored and flying over
>obstacles..


Even the *thought* of 'jumping' a 156 brings tears to my eyes - you'd
just break it!

>Then ofcourse, it wasn't an alfa, just a "swedish brick", so you
>might treat your car more tenderly.. :-)


Got it in one!

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)
  #9  
Old September 9th 04, 05:46 PM
Zathras
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 10:44:46 +0100, Tom Boltwood >
wrote:

<Snip>
>Sounds like a modern Alfa only feature, it doesn't happen on my 164 QV and
>that's got a pretty heavy front.


That could well be right. I have no experience of the 164 but have
heard that Alfa deliberately softened the suspension for the 156 to
increase the comfort after previous hard cars. Also, the 156 is quite
low and has a long overhang in front of the front wheels just to make
it really difficult!

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)
  #10  
Old September 10th 04, 02:49 PM
Tom Boltwood
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



> From: Zathras >
> Organization: NTL
> Newsgroups: alt.autos.alfa-romeo
> Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 16:46:49 GMT
> Subject: New Alfa 3.2 V6 GT Review
>
> On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 10:44:46 +0100, Tom Boltwood >
> wrote:
>
> <Snip>
>> Sounds like a modern Alfa only feature, it doesn't happen on my 164 QV and
>> that's got a pretty heavy front.

>
> That could well be right. I have no experience of the 164 but have
> heard that Alfa deliberately softened the suspension for the 156 to
> increase the comfort after previous hard cars. Also, the 156 is quite
> low and has a long overhang in front of the front wheels just to make
> it really difficult!
>

I, in turn, have no experience of the 156, but the 164QV is lowered and has
a fairly larger overhang on the front wing that is maybe 4 or 5 inches at
most off the ground. However, the suspension is like rock even when it's not
in sport mode, so if the 156 is at all soft in suspension I guess that would
explain it.

 




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