159 handling improvements

[bazzbazz]

A remap I've considered, but again it's a pretty small gain when faster things are in the garage anyway.

No. It's a significant gain. My car is transformed since BPS touched it.

Don't forget, you both have different power plants, one 1750 TBi, the other early lower power Diesel.

[JPetrarca]

A remap I've considered, but again it's a pretty small gain when faster things are in the garage anyway.

No. It's a significant gain. My car is transformed since BPS touched it.

What config is your car...I have a 3.2 Q4


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[kaleuclint]

You actually make another point Baz.  We're talking a 1.75 litre engine in a reasonably heavy car for the TBi.  It needed to be bigger, like the Giulia.  Turbo not enough really given that's not big either.  If you are chasing performance you're coming from behind to start with.  Buying a car with a bigger engine would be a simpler performance boost.

Fortunately I drive in a civilised manner and am very happy with my 159!

[Stu159]

Hi Colin,

Was reading through this thread and noted you've replaced all of your suspension bushed with polyurethane, which I did also, a couple of years ago now. It does make a huge difference to handling. I then followed up with B16 Bilstein shocks and it sits very nicely on the road. Great to have adjustable shocks, would be even better if I could access the back ones without removing the rear seat 

Was wondering, have you come up with a fix for the sqeaky noise from the bushes? It's not constantly there and I don't do too many K's annually, so not a huge issue, but thought I might ask the question. I know of a guy who had grease nipples added. Any thoughts?

Thanks
Stuart

[Colin Edwards]

Hi Stuart,

I used Permatex copper based anti-seize.  I beleive the base lubricant is synthetic - petroleum based lubricant not good for poly bushes.

The copper / graphite based Loctite C5-A anti-seize I tried also seemed to work ok.  Most noise seemed to come from the anti-rollbar "D" bushes.

Colin

[Craig_m67]

You actually make another point Baz.  We're talking a 1.75 litre engine in a reasonably heavy car for the TBi.  It needed to be bigger, like the Giulia.  Turbo not enough really given that's not big either.  If you are chasing performance you're coming from behind to start with.  Buying a car with a bigger engine would be a simpler performance boost.

Fortunately I drive in a civilised manner and am very happy with my 159!

Isn't the 1750tbi considered the best "choice" in a 159?
Must be close to the v6 in Torques
All no doubt crushed by the 2.4 derv, but power delivery is everything

I haven't looked up the relevant stats

[Stu159]

thanks Colin, I'll give that a try. I'm having some work done next week, so I'll get my mechanic onto that. I wasn't aware of the issue with the petrol based lube, but they were all fitted by a suspension expert in Sydney, so hopefully he was?

All the best
Stuart

[Colin Edwards]

The Powerflex bushes I installed came with a small tube of jelly / grease type lube.  My 159 was my daily drive - squeak developed after about 6 - 9 months.  The anti-seize probably wont dry out like some greases and the copper / graphite virtually eliminates stiction. 

If you have replaced the front upper wishbone bushes with poly eccentrics, ask your suspension bloke to dial in more caster and dial out a bit of negative camber.  You and your front tyres will love the result!!
Colin

[Stu159]

thanks again Colin,

Since replacing the bushes, I've never had to replace the tyres. I sorted the bushes because I got sick of chewing out tyres and it got worse as the car got older. Each time I went to a tyre place, I'd explain the issue with the 159 and I'd get the same response "mate, the guy doing your car has been doing it for 20-30 years, he knows what he's doing", then, inevitably, I'd have uneven wear on my tyres within a few thousand k's.

The guy at East Coast Suspension did a great job on my car. It was money well spent. I found once the car reached about 80,000k's, the ride began to suffer and it all got a bit bouncy. The only issue after replacing all of the suspension & bushes, is staying in the seat around corners. I'm not sure how hard I'd have to go around a corner to lose it now. That threshold is one I'm not prepared, or need, to test any further than I have to date. The car sits perfectly, better than it did when new, but my ass doesn't hang in there on the seating any longer, something I'd never noticed before. I've just bought a full set of Ti seats in top condition, to rectify this problem now also  Looking forward to getting it all fitted

All the best
Stuart

[Ascari32]

With a fair bit of extra weight in the 159 now after my latest sub-project (Bazzbazz has seen my boot contents), it tends to roll a little more than when unladen.

Just for the uninitiated, picture a power amplifier sound system to the degree, that at night when sitting in the driveway, when you turn the stereo on it causes all the street lighting to dim!   

So it's a "Black Hole" sound system, devouring energy from the environment!