Alfa 156 questions for a new Alfa "tifoso"

[Anth73]

Hi All,

I've been looking at replacing my 10 year old Excel with a mid size sedan. The Excel was bought for fiscal reasons four years ago and has served it's purpose well, but now it's time to enjoy driving again and I need something bigger also. My benchmark car is the '93 Pulsar SSS I owned before the Excel and I'm looking for something with that unique combination of performance, handling and flair.

I've researched all the Alfa 156 buyer's guides and now understand the model's lifecycle here in Australia, but there's no substitute for feedback from previous and current owners. I'd be looking at a model 2001 to 2002 with the Twin Spark 2.0 four. By all accounts the Selespeed is technically impressive but flawed, but then again the manual is apparently weak in a few key areas. Any feedback regarding ownership experience is greatly appreciated. Alternatively I may wait 6 more months and try to stretch the budget to a JTS engined 156. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Anth

[Pete Y]

There is another thread on here from someone recently asking about 156, I'd find it for you but Im in a bit of a rush...

A couple of pointers.

1) Wait til you can afford the JTS, better performance and reliability.
2) Check out the other thread on here, and also www.alfaowner.com, its a british forum with lots of 90s/00s Alfa owners.

Ciao

Pete

[Fast Eddie]

anthony,
look for the previous thread on this site re 156's.  I had a selespeed and NEVER had any problems.

[Evan Bottcher]

PY's advice is sound - if you CAN get into a JTS then by all accounts it is a much better engine in all aspects.

Having said that I have the twin spark in our 2000 156 Monza Selespeed with 75,000km, and it's a lovely engine.  I'm told to keep it in very good oil with regular changes, and check oil levels fairly regularly as they can use a bit (ours doesn't).  Anything up to 1L/1000km is normal apparently but ours rarely needs a top-up between 10,000km changes.  Our motor has two common faults - it weeps a little oil from the balance shaft seals (I think that's what it is from memory) which will apparently gradually get worse and it'll have to be torn down to replace them properly.  I'm told $20 in parts and $500 in labour, so live with a little weep until it becomes a big leak.

The other issue is very common and is the camshaft variator is noisy on startup until oil pressure gets up in the head - it makes a dieselly rattle for about 3-4 seconds when cold.  It's a fault in the design of the variator, it can be fixed with a kit but again it does no harm so is nothing to race out to get fixed.  I've driven 3 156 twin sparks and they all exhibit the same noise.

Sounds like the selespeed system has caused SOME people great pain including an expensive replacement actuator unit and/or pumps, however others (like me) have had few problems.  Touch wood.

I like the sillyspeed myself - 98% of the time it does exactly what I want it to and it's great in heavy traffic not to be constantly on and off the clutch.  Much more engaging than a sludge-box but more convenient than a proper manual.  My left leg is getting a bit vestigal however - perhaps I should take up left foot braking?

Common complaints (including some from my partner-in-crime):
- very long second gear - not sure if this is just the selespeed gearbox as I haven't driven a manual.
- it changes down automatically when revs drop below a threshold, sometimes it does this just as you press the button (say 3rd->2nd) and it shifts down two gears and you end up in 1st at 5000rpm.  Embarrassing. (I reckon just change down earlier!).
- jerky up-shifts - well actually there is a slight technique to changing smoothly, back off the throttle slightly as it changes then feed back in like you were changing manually and it's much smoother.
- shift buttons stop working!  This happened on our 156 (pre-facelift) so I pulled the wheel apart and cleaned up the offending switch with contact cleaner, seemed to fix it.

Mostly though I enjoy blasting the car up to a corner, braking hard and flicking the down switch a couple of times while the car does perfect heel-toe downchanges in no time at all before turning in.  Makes my manual car driving skills look pathetic :-(

I recommend having any potential purchase checked over thoroughly - consider getting in touch with one of the main dealers listed in our club sponsors and requesting an inspection as they can check the service history and look for the model's common faults.  Damon Earwaker at Lance Dixon for example would be worth getting in touch with when you have a car your sights.

[Pete Y]

I'm very glad that Fiat engine has gone - using 1L/1000kms and having faulty variators just isnt acceptable in 1998-2003's market and unfortunately has only served to hinder Alfa in that segment. Compare it to a VAG 4cyl - bulletproof and smooth, whether in 80kw N/A or 165+kw hi-press. turbo. Thankfully it is one less burden the 159 will have to shoulder.

Having said that, a lot of people havent had any problems at all, its just that those people who unluckily do have problems tend to have problems of the big and expensive type.

I believe most of the problems regarding Selespeed have been in higher output applications (147GTA et al) where the transmission is actually a bit too fragile to cope with 200+ bhp.

[redalfa]

Don't buy a JTS, you could get a bomb like mine

[Brad M]

My left leg is getting a bit vestigal however - perhaps I should take up left foot braking?

Mate we are simple folks here, could you dumb that down a bit?
BTW: Don't bother with the left foot braking I here it is a waste of time and no use on the track 

[Doug Gould]

In my opinion, you either like selespeed or you don't. I've had several selespeed loan cars and I just can't get used to it and much prefer my manual one. I think the choice is down to which one you like.

I agree that the JTS is the only engine to have. redalfa's got s**t on liver because his has a problem, but its a great engine that is international renowned. It was pretty much the first direct injection petrol engine that was commercially available. It has more poer, revs better and has better fuel consumption than the twinspark. In the early days there were concerns about fuel because of Australia's high sulphur content. This is why many people recommended against optimax. But when australia's fuel standards came into line with the rest of the world (when shell changed from Optimax to V power), this concern has pretty much gone away. But, in Australia the only refiners of 98 octane are Shell, BP and Mobil. Everyone else either imports - typically on the spot market and typically coming from Singapore) or are buying from Shell / BP or Mobil. You should stick to branded fuel from large volume outlets and like all Alfa's you should change oil in between the scheduled services (ie 10,000km).

Doug Gould

[Scott Farquharson]

Doug, the selespeed is something that takes a few months to get used to and then it is hard to imagine life without it, particularly in a daily driver.  The journo's shitcan it all the time because they get in one for 5 mins and don't have enough time to get used to it.  I love it in a daily driver.  The joy of a manual plus the wonderful ability to stick it in auto when you are sitting in the carpark (eastern freeway) in peakhour.  Just wonderful.

[Fast Eddie]

Big fan of the Selespeed from my 4 years of ownership of a 2000 156

[Doug Gould]

Hey

I know that Selespeed is a good thing. And I know the guys that love it, love it. I'm just not one of them. But then again, I'm dopey enough to buy a basket case 2600 which proves I have no judgement.

Doug