Time for a trip to a specialist to find out everything that is broken on my Alfa Romeo GTA. Autolusso carried out a health check and I also found out a few more little issues with Fredo..
Can I just point out, for the sake of Alfa Romeo's reputation, that 90% of the issues Lenford found with the car were due to previous owners/mechanics modifications or poor maintenance? There's no issues here you wouldn't find on any 15 year old performance car. Rusty pinch welds caused by incorrect jacking. Missing clips from the engine bay causing pipes to rub etc. Also he was right - they are quite harsh even stock. They cure I've always been told about is Eibach springs and Koni FSD dampers. Goodyear F1 Asymmetric tyres will help LOADS with ride comfort too - they're my go-to tyre for my Alfas. Definitely get a set to replace the cracked old rocks on there now.
The car already has Eibach springs on the rear though! :) But as noted they seem to be wound up way too high, taking out the initial part of the spring travel.
@@harrykeane1380 Yeah I was about to chime in and say all those aftermarket bushes won't help at all, as they all add stiffness, and what he wants in supple ride.
Mr. Hurley has my exact thought: replace the tires. They must be changed anyway, so start there. And make sure they are properly inflated. The non-stock bushings in the rear may also be affecting the ride if they are not compliant or are binding. Good luck!
Agreed. I replaced the tires on my Mk7 Gti, which were only 4 years old and cracked. The difference was night and day - plus I went to Continental Contacts, which are way better than the old Pirelli all seasons. You might want to get some with more compliant sidewalls.
100% tyres make a massive difference. Those are going to be super hard and probably dangerous. Some new rubber should help with road noise as well as feel
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge You're very sensible. The tires are the only thing keeping in touch with the road... Therefore it never ceases to amaze me that people buy "driver's cars" or "awesome ride quality" and then run the car on either 10-year old tires or on Chinese crap.
Looking at those rear springs: the preload is wound up so far that the progressive stage is completely coil-bound, and therefore not working at all (see 11:01). The heavy gauge part of the upper spring is taking most of the loaded weight and this probably means the back of the car is bouncing around like a pogo stick - all to lower the car. I would take off all the preload, front and back, and just accept the height it settles at, then drive it again with the softer progressive part of the springs now active. It will give a much better ride. Also, even if only the harder-load part of the rear springs is the active part, then it's clear the damping is set too high to match the spring rate that it's now at. If it's adjustable, I would actually *reduce* the damping slightly to allow the spring to compress more before the damping kicks in. Frankly, it looks really badly set up. My neighbour ended up going for 1" longer, linear rears and kept the standard linear fronts. Gives the car a nice mean "nose down" look, makes it ride with a lot more stability (albeit with slightly heavier steering) and a much more compliant ride from the back end. Throw in the extra grip it gives, and it's great to drive. The mis-matched replacement bits ought to end up on eBay - get some decent, simpler springs with a lower linear rate, then match some adjustable damper cores in the struts, starting with lower damping than you would normally select. Great car, very jealous. Looking forward to seeing the next one. When you are down in Bournemouth again, swing over to Wareham and I'll buy you a pint :)
I have said this on the previous video, damping and bushes will dominate the feeling you are getting on the road, plus as Rob says, having enough travel for the dampers to do anything before they bounce of the bump stops. Someone like Meteor Motorsport can re-valve your existing dampers for a lot less than some new ones (which might be just as bad). If you are going to get some new dampers, make sure they are at least one way adjustable so you can soften them off to your liking.
The other thing that occurred to me after writing this - if the preload has been wound right up, the damper piston position at rest will move also, moving away from the centre of the damper travel length. This means the compression stroke will be shorter, and depending on the valving, might actually essentially turn off any progression in the damper. So you probably end up with (essentially) a shorter, harder damper strut, working against the shorter, harder, part of the spring. With reduced travel, you might even be experiencing the damper piston assembly banging off the top/bottom of the damper tube, immediately transferring the spring compression impulse directly to the chassis (the damper effectively becoming just a rigid tube with no further movement possible). At that point, the only compliant part of the entire strut becomes the bushes, and they have travel measured in mm. Lowering is frankly, a waste of time and money.
Agreed! 13 year old tyres are not going to do ride/feel any favours at all; they'll be more like hardened bitumen than performance rubber. Also, perception of ride quality is subjective - one man's acceptable is another man's unbearable and so other people's opinions should be considered but not counted on...
When I bought my 1987 Ferrari a year and a half ago, it had its original 1987 Goodyears on it. The small reflectors in the road surface felt like bricks when driven over. A new set of rubber transformed the ride and performance incredibly. Start there.
11:02 the adjustment on the damper is wound up so much that the initial progressive part of the spring is coil bound - no wonder you find the ride so harsh but your diagnosis that the initial damping just doesn't feel right and is too harsh is spot on. (Surprised this wasn't picked up at AutoLusso.) Just wind the damper platform down a bit and it will be transformed. New rear tyres will also help enormously. The rust at 6:16 looks like it has been jacked up there instead of the correct jacking point. Easy repair and nothing to worry about. Nice car overall though.
Never understood when owners spend thousands on engine, suspension, brakes, exhaust etc. upgrades/modifications but keep cheap budget tyres that will fall apart soon. Bang for buck one could argue that changing to a set of premium tyres will transform the car more than anything else. One only needs to watch F1 to know how important tyres really are but I guess they aren't sexy or flashy so people ignore them.
Years ago I bought a 205 Gti shod with ancient Pirelli p6000’s. They had loads of tread. I replaced them with Yokohama A539’s and that transformed it👍 The fact that had ancient premium tyres was an indication of how much it was driven. ie hardly at all.
@@PeteCourtier I should have added the word 'new' set of premium tyres as tyre technology has advanced hugely even from just 10 years ago. Funny enough when I bought my 156 GTA it had 8 year old Pirelli p6000s on the rears and upon quick research found out they don't even sell them anymore in the UK in that size and I was shocked when I realised that tyre model first came out in 1995, oh dear.
My 147 GTA never rode perfectly over bumps, even after I replaced all the wishbones and put fresh Eibach Pro Street coilovers on. The engine is so heavy that it always seemed to bounce around over undulations in the road, I think the shocks needed to have a higher damping rate at the front. The rear however felt sure and planted and coupled with the Eibach anti roll bars, she went round corners on rails.
Jack. The presentation and editing has gone to another level. Great work. You will have 100k subs soon. Knackered tyres have to go ASAP. Looking fwd to your next video.
I used to love messing with cars but having just spent the last 5 hours trying to get a seized injector out without success my enthusiasm is waining . about a day later the enthusiasm usually comes back.
bonkey dollocks did you try beating the bloody hell out of it with an hammer then tossing everything in the garbage.. I usually get to that point at some point in my repairs or take a pint and go hunting for the old lady and give her a proper shagging... Works every time 😹😹😹😹
@@buildindian8169 oh yes it started out with gentle persuasion with mole grips and gentle side to side rocking with a wedge, then applying some plus gas, letting it soak in for a bit, then more gentle teasing with the mole grips and more gentle waggling from side to side with the wedges, then more plus gas, then minute clockwise and anticlockwise movements with plumbers pliers, more plus gas, a little heat, then I rigged up a chain upward puller device thingy ( the proper tool is £99 f*ck that) and with a stout hammer through the chain at 90 degrees I started to use it as a slide puller, by this time I'd been at it for about two hours and my back was starting to give me jip along with my sciatic nerve in my right buttock, I decided to take a break, apply more plus gas, have a cup of tea, take the opportunity to drop anchor in poo Bay if you will, and come back to it with renewed vim and vigour. Feeling refreshed I started with the plumbers pliers, no movement, then the mole grips, no movement, each time using the wedges to move it left and right, still nothing, applied more plus gas and then went and tried the home made slide hammer contraption, no movement, I was then about four hours into it starting to lose my sh*t, so I started to use the slide hammer contraption a little too vigorously and it slipped, the hammer slid out and smacked me in the face and gave me a thick lip and I think slightly chipped my tooth where it goes into my gum. So I'm standing there with immense back ache, my sciatic nerve is killing, thick lip, and spent four hours basically not moving the injector one millimetre. The next part sounds bad. I got the chisel and mallet out. Just for a bit. The rocker box is alloy and I was aware of damaging it but the chisel just fitted lovely under the injector and nestled on the rocker box perfectly as a fulcrum. By this time I was losing the will to live so I gave the chisel a few light taps and if ever the injector was going to come out it would have been now, but it didn't budge. I managed to contain my anger and being as I have given up the booze and couldn't do what you do and shag your wife senseless (only joking!) I calmly reassembled everything, put the tools away and went for a ride on my motorbike. When I came back I moved the car and noticed the injector had sealed itself so all of the jiggling must have resealed it. I then attempted the the gearshift selector seal but that's another story........
@@bonkeydollocks1879 Working on a diesel? If so, let the engine run for a while before attempting to remove the injector. The plasticy stuff that caused the injector to get seized gets soft with the heat of the engine, making removing the injector much easier. Removing the rest of the black gunk should also be easier, but if not, use some sort of oven cleaner to get rid of it. Also, remove all the other injectors and replace the gaskets while you're at it so they wont start leaking as well.
@@TheMisterpino yes diesel, I have tried the warm and hot engine method, its stuck fast. With the proper slide puller no doubt it would come out but I'm loathed to spend £99 for one injector. The injectors come out in pairs on my engine, a bracket single bracket holds the pair in. I've already done cyl 1 and 2, 1 came out easily the other one was a two hour struggle but replaced both copper washers. I just noticed what resembled coal around no4 injector the other day so its obviously leaking and carbon has built up over time. I've cleaned it all off, planned to change the remainder two washers and it's good for another 120k I cleaned no1 and no2 injector up nice and just wanted to do the same on 3 and 4, I've got the stuff to clean them it's getting them out that's the problem. As I say it's my own fault, right tool it's a five minute job.
@@bonkeydollocks1879 Even with a slide hammer they can be b*tches to remove. I once spend like 2 hours banging on that thing to pull it out. This one was stuck because of all the rust, not because the seal leaking. I do have to admit it was a glorious feeling when I finally got it out. What you could do (and what I should've done with the above example) is to spray it with a lubricant every day for like a week. This may help a bit with removing the injector, but it still will be a PITA to get it out. Just be careful not to chip another tooth ;)
Canbus reset is all that's needed, happens every time I change a electrical component, I am running H&R, lowering springs with koni street shocks very comfortable and still stiff in corners, best of both worlds
When changing any of the electronic units, speedo, window switches, etc a proxy alignment needs to carried out. There were a number of slight design changes to the speedo gauges and this could be why the abs icons are showing. Try putting the other gauges back in and see if they go out. .
Enjoyable vlog. Great to see a vlog on a 147 GTA. May I suggest you bring the GTA to a motorsport specialist to get the supension set up correctly. It would make a great vlog and be very educational at the same time.
The talk about old tyres and pressures messing with handling is spot on (old tyres can cause weird pulls due to tredblock pulls), but to talk about the springs since you asked... Yes, those look progressive and could 100% have too much peload. You should raise and lower the car with the adjustable collar and *not* spring preload on progressive springs. You best starting place is going to be to look up the specs of the kit and find the stated preload specs for it. I am assuming the shocks are non-adjustable as well? If so, once you get preload set and new tires get a good alignment and see where you are at.
Firstly, congratulations on a very cool car there. And it has what i consider a version of the best V6 the world has ever seen. The leaking main seal is quite common on Busso V6’s, both 24 valve and older 12 valve versions. I’ve owned quite a number of Busso engined alfas, and still own 3, and all of them slightly leak at the rear main in some form or another. Best forget about it until a clutch replacement is due. None of my V6 Alfas has ever cost me large sums of money, or have been problematic. My 2002 156 V6 is probably the most reliable car i’ve owned. The only costly thing that must be done (every 4 years in my opinion) is a cambelt replacement, along with the idlers, tensioners and waterpump. For the rest, just change the oil regularly, and give her enough time to warm up to about 70 deg. C before givving her the boot. I’ve seen 2.5 busso V6’s with north of 300000km on the clock, unopened, with no excessive oil burn and good compression. When i did rings and seals on my ‘84 GTV6, the hone marks was still visible in the sleeves after who knows how many many miles... They are bulletproof if well maintained One thing i would recommend is to get yourself a VagCom interface cable, and a fully paid up version of a program called Multiecuscan. I only use this on all my Fiats/Alfas. Works great for turning off airbag lights (you will have plenty of those, as the under-seat connectors act up from time to time) and fault finding. If you need any help with setting it up, i am willing to help. I can also recommend the Novitec short shift kit for the 6 speed manual box. Have it on my 156 and it transformed the shifts. Easy to fit and fully reversible in 10 minutes. It is available on Alfisti.net. Have fun with the GTA. Cheers
My 156 2.5 V6 needs that shortshifter! Only had it a year but it's a total 'dead guys car' and is never leaving me...Tried a GTA and I preferred the 2.5, just perfect power for the road.
Definitely a car to experience if you have the patience and available funds to get it right 👍 look forward to seeing where you go with this one, and nice to see pepe getting back to his old self 😁
I've had just the same issue with suspension. Turned out that the springs were just too stiff and the shocks too soft. Cue some new and simple top adjustable Koni shocks (not coil overs) and Eibach springs (only 15mm lower than standard) and Robert was my Uncle. Smashing ride and amazingly taut handling!
I had 2 of these, the Twinspark versions. Both were over 10 years old , and I had no issues whatsoever with either of them apart from a few ware and tare parts , I covered about 12k in each and there were certainly no electrical issues.
Heh, nice video. I was watching this thinking, yep, every man and his dog will have an opinion on where the car's problems are :) My tuppence worth - standard springs and Koni FSD shocks. No pissing about with ride height it doesn't bring anything to the party. If you have the Eibach ARBs already, you're laughing. Should just qualify why FSDs are good - the initial travel over minor bumps is handled in a "compliant" manner, but larger movements are more firmly damped. I found this helped massively with the bottoming out that both the 147 and 156 suffered as standard.
I agree with starting with tires. Old, hard tires will feel terrible. Also, I've had some cars that had a pronounced change in impact harshness with poly bushings. It sounds like you have poly in the rear lateral links.
Welcome to old Alfa’s, you gotta love these things. Put some new tyres on it and go from there. Alfa suspension is always superb from factory, until somebody decides to mess with it. Should have been left standard imho. Coil overs are for the track or for young guys with too much money and no idea what to spend it on, they ruin road handling unless they are set up correctly. Get it set up right or put it back to standard, but first option......, new tyres.
I’ve got fully adjustable suspension on my GTA and have tried various settings. It does seem the rear requires softer settings than the front - perhaps because the rear, Camuffo-type suspension has a slight passive steering ability. With the rear a bit loose and the double wishboned front planted, the dynamics of the car can be exploited best. By the looks of it, your rear seems to be overly tight.
Personally having had a car with powerflex bushes everywhere I'd be changing them before I done the springs/shocks, wack some standard bushes in there make a world of difference to the ride (I lasted 3 months with the powerflex on that car when you wanted to make good progress thay were great but rest of the time theses no give in them) Get the rear tyres done & get someone who knows what there doing to set the suspension/alignment up Then see how she goes
The flashing dash could be a Blue and Me issue (if it's new enough to have it). The dash will flash if Blue and Me isn't connected due to changing the stereo out ........... Old tyres crack when they go hard. If they are hard they won't grip, drive or ride properly. Sort them asap, and the geometry.
Changed my 7 year old tyres that still had 6mm tread and no cracks because of age. I wouldnt be happy driving on 13 year old cracked tyres on any car! I suspect that the ride wont be that much better with new tyres though. I had a brand new Cooper S loan car this week for a day and I couldnt live with the choppy ride nd was glad to give it back.
Completely agree I did over 100K with my 147 and new tyres and correct pressures made so much difference to the ride quality. Watch that rust as that was what finally did for mine. They do ride harsh but you can soften it with correct tyres and pressures, old rubber is not helping.
Clarkson once said something along the lines of "A true petolhead must at some point own an Alfa. ..." and then goes on about reliability etc. I will quote something else; possibly from "The GF part 3" advertising...... "All the power in the world cannot change destiny". I hope that your budget can cope but the car does have much appeal. Was also, out of the 3 choices offered the most logical replacement for Pepe. That update is appreciated. Best of luck with this one Jack. That engine/soundtrack does give smiles to the gallon, if nothing else. Hate on me if you want... what would I know - as a P5B owner😆. Peace👍
Invariably “tuner suspensions” ride poorly (overly stiff and harsh). This is usually a result of the fact that most people put them on for aesthetics (want the car ride height lower). Correctly tuning a suspension is complicated and takes time and knowledge. Most people just buy new parts and put them on. For road driving, overly stiff suspension results in poor performance because the car bounces and therefore the wheels lose contact with the road. Appropriate suspensions for the conditions driven keep as much contact with the road as possible.
Couldn't agree more, I have an e39 sport and I'm sure it's not the stiffest but it's too hard for my local roads and the weight of the car. I'd quite fancy changing the suspension to standard.
Hilarious! Your eyes popping out above your mask when he is revving the car out! Also you asking is the ride any better, when we can already see you jumping out of your seat over every tiny bump in the road! Also great to see the Pepe progress 👍
I don’t know about this model in particular but in general the instrument cluster is not plug & play. It needs programming using dealership grade equipment to match the rest of the onboard electronics.
The instruments flashing: I did a similar swap on my Punto and the odometer flashes until you get an authorized garage to reset/reignite the cluster. Otherwise you’d get a lot of cars with untrue milage for sale.. Thats the reason for it I believe. And you could only adjust milage up, not down I remember. So - no! Not a ”Alfa-desease” this one either! :)
Glad you like the Alpha! Sadly, older cars need work unless you find one with a brilliant service History and you pay dearly for that Car! You will get it sorted out! I have faith in you my friend! Stay Safe and Stay Healthy! ❤🙏❤
Get a 986 Boxster S. It's a blast to drive and other than an oil change and replacing the oem water pump, the car has been "sound as the British Pound". Also, it's a blast to drive. Love your channel.
Rear shocks could be too long for the lowered ride height, causing the car to ride the bumpstops constantly. As bumpstops have an exponential spring rate this would cause the rear of the car to ride very harshly. Bumpstops could also be too long, for the lowered ride height so cutting the middle out of them to shorten it would free up some additional shock travel, raising the ride height will also give more travel. Other issues could be that the shocks are too aggressively damped, spring rates are too high, or the gas pressure of the shocks is very high which is sometimes referred to as 'shock preload' and causes an effective increase in spring rate, also contributing to a firm ride. Best bet would be to go back to OEM suspension or look into a good coilover kit from Eibach, Bilstein, H&R, KW etc
Try new tyres first Jack, could easily be them being so old. Interested in what head unit you get - please share the installation! Such a lovely looking car the GTA in red. One of the best looking Alfa’s I think 👍
Oh the joy of Italian car electrics! Lovely car and not too bad by the sounds of it. For the rust, I recently discovered "DEOX-C" from Bilt Hamber; it is awesome at removing rust and has done a fantastic job on my old MG. Will be adding some rust protection using "atom-mac" also from Bilt Hamber. Good luck sorting out the suspension.
I sold my car 8 years ago but I recall the ride was firm but never annoying. Go for standard dampers springs and bushes, put new tyres on and you will be amazed. Try and drive a standard car as a reference.
To sort various ECUs, error codes, service setting etc, I use FIAT Mutli ECU scan which runs on a laptop. With interface, cables and connectors it costs about £125, is the pukka kit and is really worth having. I bought mine from Gendan. All the best.
Since I own a V6 Busso myself, I would suggest to put back all the genuine parts in the motor an the handling set up. In my 147 I have Konni dumpers, but the genuine weren't bad at all. Q2 is a good choice
What I did on the rear with Minis (yes you can get different rubber balls for the suspension for that), is load it up and see if it got better. I'd put a few bags of cement in the trunk, get people on the rear seat. If it got better - well mate, then your springs are too hard. Alfas seems to be more fickle than even Jaguars on the electronics... quite glad my Jag never gave problems...
The adjuster on your shock absorber is for setting the corner weights. Your problem is the springs are to short or your seats on the shocks are 2 low, ultimately not giving you enough spring travel. Best sort that out before putting on new tyres and get the wheel alinement adjusted. polybushes come in many different hardnesses, so check compliance
It’s possible your springs are for lowering the car and the shocks are designed for standard springs, but also lowering the car, so incompatible with each other
I had a 156 2.5v6 and sure enough, the rear engine seal leaked a bit. On a recommendation from a friend (same car), I poured some additive, to stop oil leaks of gaskets and it did the trick. Leak was stopped. This may last long enough until you need to drop the gearbox, eventually. As for the suspension, if comfort is something, you want to maintain, go for Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks.
Funny how in the 80's Alpine was the absolute nuts now it appears to be guff! Definitely change those tyres before they disintegrate and a nice new pair of matching number plates, pressed steel would look good!
First, new tires. Sort the geometry. Then, try this...adjust coilovers to retain weight distribution on all four corners as close as it can be, to the factory setting, only on your prefered height...u will have to use scales on some standard gta and write the numbers down, or ask if someone in autolusso can help you. It is a glorious car.
Love it man. Typically, for an Alfa Romeo, it's got beauty and passion about it. It's not just a car - ie, it's not just a functional conveyance. In some sense, there's a bit of art to an Alfa. That's why they're worth the trouble. Very much looking forward to the progress with this one. Best of luck to you!
Even though it usually involves wholesale emptying of your wallet, there is always something special about going into an Alfa specialist workshop. If they are any good, you can bank on seeing some pretty special cars in various states of repair or restoration. It at least takes a tiny bit of the sting out of paying the bill...
Nice to see the Autolusso lads on there , done loads of work with Lawrence and co 100% trustworthy , you’re in good Hands .. re the ride “ consider “ 16” inch wheels , yes I know they won’t look very good but bottom line is they will make the biggest difference to the compliance of the ride...bushes will make a difference, as will returning suspension to stock ride height ...keep the GTA alloys for summer. All the other stuff is standard older car stuff , regardless of marque ..keep us posted and when you’ve had enough give me a shout , might well take it off your hands ..😏 Tyres , absolutely yes m they will make a significant difference , especially looking at those rears , no wonder it’s vague at the back.... Also, always felt the steering wheel was to big, had 2 Busso’s one in 916 flavour and a GT for a short time , always felt the wheel being smaller would improve the driving experience...
Nice update! I've put a Sony XAV-AX100 Apple Carplay/Android Auto in my Boxster and like it quite a bit. One of the few units I found with a volume knob. Paid $220 here in the US.
Need to get the n/s headlight bulb sorted too. You’ll need that soon in the winter months! You may find the rear tyres could be either high on psi giving a crashy ride or because they’re old I think it would benefit from a fresh proper branded set which might relieve some firmness. If the old ones have stiff sidewalls and ageing rubber they could be transferring a lot of road noise and feel?? Great car though, sounds lovely!
I had a similar experience with a fellow italian ... my Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo ... when I first got it the ride was awful. I changed out all the suspension for stock monroe, which the garage assured me would be like a 'magic carpet ride' in comparison. I also had a complete rear subframe and trailing arms ... so expectations were high when i got it back. It was 'ok' but still didnt feel great and for a while I put it down to my old bones not being able to handle sporty suspension! anyway as time went on I started to wonder about the tyres and the geometry. So I took it in and had that looked at. My rear tyres were mis-matched which I totally hadn't noticed despite having had the car over a year at that point. On top of this my rear geometry was out ... and.. one of my rear alloys was buckled. When all this was sorted my crashy ride issues went away.
Car looks really good for the age. I've always stuck to standard bushes and suspension on my integrales as it makes the ride very harsh and the powerflex bushes transfer the shock from the bushes into the chassis inducing chassis cracks. I'm pretty sure you could sell the upgraded suspension which will pay for standard shocks. Just replace with lowered Eibach springs to stiffen it up a bit. Standard everything else. Have a read up on the best tyre choice for it, possibly go for Michelin Pilot Sport II as they don't wear quickly and give a compliant ride. Love the car, slightly jealous as I always wanted one. Anything above 2.0 litres where we live is very expensive to run so had to steer clear of the glorious V6 GTA. So our garage consists of an Elise, integrale Evo2, Golf GTI and Golf Country syncro. Such is life... The GTI should have been a GTA.
Those old tyres need to go ASAP.!! And I would get a full wheel alignment check before any suspension mods, as there’s clearly something not right at the back..
Would also recommend just doing tires, they will improve the ride. Also, I'm not a suspension expert or anything, but the preload on the rear looks excessive. Fixing those two things should fix your problem with the ride, no?
I would set the suspension back to stock height , then a four wheel alignment and fit new rubber , and review the ride and handling 😀. Another splendid video ...
Hi there , Love the Alfa ❤ One thing to do before you start changing the suspension is Ditch the ancient tyres , New Rubber makes a massive difference to how a car rides and feels on the road. 👍👍👍
The main reason the ride will be harsh is because the car has a short wheelbase, there's less room between the axles for the bumps to be ironed out. Small cars imo tend to ride firmer than a car with a longer wheelbase. Take it to a suspension specialist have them take a look or set it up. Probably cheaper than changing it out
1. Tyres! Get some descent PS4S’s or something. 2. Alignment. Then try it again. Cheap coilovers can be pretty horrible but I bet the tyres would transform it. If still bad, fork out for some quality coilovers like Ohlins all round. The car deserves the best.
I had pretty much the same experience with a 147 2.0 Selespeed just over 10 years ago. Ride was awful, crashed over everything... flashed up random warnings on the screen, most bizarre of which was a glow plug failure given that it wasn't a diesel. Traction control would turn itself off if it got too slippy, and that's before I even get started on that satanic robot gearbox. I struggled to put miles on it as it was just in the garage all the time and ended up chopping it in for a big Peugeot. That said, I didn't learn my lesson and ended up buying an old 156 about 5 years ago. I put 25k miles on that and it was no problem at all. I still have it although it's no longer a daily. That's the thing with them, even if you get rid of one it's never the last one you'll own.
I love modern car electronics..error messages and all sorts of worrying lights. I had a Disco 3.. no trouble at all until 135K ....I changed the alternator and battery.. loads of codes popping up when my garage guy plugged a reader in. Turns out the battery was the wrong amperage and wasn’t up to the job.. 42 errors. Seat belt tensioner.. oil temp.. gearbox oil etc blah blah . Point I’m Making is cars now are so complicated. Flashing odometer.!!! Not in the old analogue Lego dial days. My 944 has one warning light.. big red exclamation mark at the top of the dials. One day I’m going to take it out and get it replaced with a £ sign. Keep the faith Jack, all car loonies love an Alfa 🥰
Get yourself Multiecuscan software for a pc and the correct connectors. It will be money wee spent and will allow you to do what is called a Proxy Alignment - this is what is causing the flashing dash. It is the ecu telling you that part of the network is not properly recognised. The wheel speed sensors do go on these cars and that will give you abs error, again you need the Multiecuscan to show which sensor is faulting. Good luck with getting suspension that suits you. To many of the options are too hard and only work on smooth roads. Try and get to travel in other 147 and see how they feel.
The odo is probably flashing because the car is due a "service". If you flick through the dash menu using the buttons on the far right, next to the air vent, there is a menu which shows when the "service" is "due" (of course for such old cars it's very unlikely they're still on the proper service schedule). It's likely showing 0mi which will cause the odo to intermittently flash; turning the car off/on will fix it but a proper fix would be to have someone hook it up to a computer and reset the service interval
If you change anything like that it will cause an error , I changed the electric window switch on my old 147 and that made the clocks flash . It just needs plugging in and resetting no major deal . 147 and 156 multi link rear suspension was actually derived from the Lancia Delta set up so it really shouldn’t be that bad at all . I’m sure you’ll find an optimum set up though and some new boots will Definitely make a difference.
Thanks for the update - looks like you are getting deeply acquainted with this attractive little machine. I know you're approaching the suspension issues in a measured way but if you have the cash, I'd throw it all out and return the setup to stock with new performance tires. 90% of lowered cars I see go down the road are bouncing and jouncing away, looking like no fun at all to drive. Sure, a nicely lowered car can be sexy but looks, as they say, aren't everything. Bit like dating a smoking hot girl or guy who's just got way too much baggage to make it worthwhile. At least with Fredo you can swap out the personality for something more livable...😉
*I had a do with a standard Impreza Turbo I owned with one of these back in the day and the Alfa couldn't get past and around bends the Alfa needed a a-z to keep up* *The funny thing is my mate who is from right by Ian Tyrells reckons Italian men buy Alfa's regardless so it's what you do*
I have 2005 Alfa GT and it's also very harsh. It had coilovers which i replaced with orginal struts and Eibach lowering springs. Didn't make any change.. Best decision was to buy new tyres. It had tyres stamped 2004. That made a huge difference. Still too harsh for comfy ride but at least it's fun.
Maybe get regular bushes, and see if you can get a Koni Special Active kit for that GTA, with stock springs. And I'll chime in: new tyres and an alignment can do wonders.
How do you want it to ride? Best thing I can suggest is take a ride in some others. Mine was lowered and stiffer for four years then I went back to standard shocks and springs and it's the best thing I ever did. At last, comfort, ground clearance and a decent ride. It's my daily too.
Once you get the geometry sorted and new tyres on you'll feel a big difference in the feeling of the car. Maybe sodter springs will work on this car as you won't be hooning around town.
