My new 156

[Tas156]

Hello All,

I did introduce myself a couple of weeks ago in the 'Introductions' forum but thought i'd share a couple of photos of the new car.

I've had it for around 2 weeks now and am as happy as a clam with it, I couldn't have asked for a better car

Anyway, here are a few photos!

Ben

[John Hanslow]

Congratulations on your purchase.

Neat shape and beautiful lines for a wagon.

[scuzzyGTV]

Very nice 
Look forward to seeing it around.
scott.

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Beautiful car, the facelift wagon on those wheels is the best looking 156 after the GTA wagon and sedan I reckon.   The taillights look especially good on the wagon.  I love wagons.

Nice car, hope you enjoy the forum.

[Davidm1600]

Looks cool Ben  .  I like dark colours (especially blues), and it works well with your wagon.  I have to say that the 156 Sportwagon is such a great looking wagon.  I never thought I too would own one, but I am sure glad I do. Look forward to checking yours out in the metal.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how so many other makers have copied the lines of the Sportwagon, ie. Crapadore Sportwagon (even stole its name), the new Audi A4 wagon, the new Mercedes Benz wagon etc.  I guess it must be a compliment in a sense. I also think the 159 wagon also is a great shape.

[colcol]

Nice wagon Ben, i like wagons myself as they are very practical, and the 156 wagon looks as sexual as the sedan, BUT how will the average 156 airconditioner cope with the extra interior space to cool and the dark paint colours that soak up the heat, hopefully you can tell us how it goes, in the next few months in Victoria we are going to have a workshop \ garage night for the 932 series Alfa Romeo's, which includes the 156's, hope you can make it along, Colin.

[Tas156]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm very very happy with the car.

Thanks for the invite Colin, but the car and I are in Hobart. I guess the Vic plates kind of dont say that.

Cheers
Ben

[Davidm1600]

Hi Colin, now I can't comment on others experiences with the AC in their 156's be it sedan or wagon, and I am not even sure if paint colour really has much to do with the effectiveness of the system, let alone perhaps where one lives, but what I can say from my experience with my metallic light blue wagon over the past 3 + years is that the AC works perfectly well to cool the interior of my Sportwagon. 

From what I have previously read, early model 156's AC systems were not as good as later model JTS systems.

[colcol]

Paint color has a lot to do with heat on a hot day as the darker colors tend to absorb the heat where the lighter colors reflect the heat as proved on mythbusters, my 156 is Griggio Grey [Silver] and it is always cooler than my 33 which is Red, i find that if i use a sunshade and have the 4 windows down for 30 seconds or so the excessive heat is removed from the interior and then the aircon can start to cool down the interior, but the wagon has a bit more space to cool down in the back, but to the driver, just has cool air blowing on their face, so the extra cooling required is not an issue, the first JTS's had larger vents in the centre than the first series 156 and these seem slightly better, although the main problem is they are still a long way from the drivers face, the last series 156 has slightly bigger centre vents again, but i don't know what their effect is but i think they would be an improvement, but you get a fair bit of airflow through the vents above the eyeball vents on the extreme side of the dashboard, and even though the airflow is about half of what you get in a Commodore, i find the aircon is great in the winter [what?], as you can direct a nice cool breeze to your face without freezing your face or fingers, as in the GM product, i remember when i was buying my 156, all the ducks lined up except for the aircon, which i read was poor, so i test drove during a heatwave, it was reading 38c on the dashboard at 10am, and the aircon was fine, not cool you down in 10 seconds, but kept me cool none the less, Colin.

[Davidm1600]

Col, thanks for the detailed response, and especially in terms of the vents design changes over the model change.  Yes I do agree that colour does have an influence, given the obvious difference in terms of heat absorption-reflectivity.  For sure, technically a black painted car in theory should absorb more heat rays and therefore be hotter in the inside in comparison to a white car. 

However, my subjective observations/comments were based on my experiences over the years with a wide range of cars, different paint colours etc.  Let me explain my wife's BMW '97 318is is a 4 door saloon with a light grey cloth/leather interior, while my '03 Sportwagon is metallic blue but with the charcoal grey leather interior. Both of our cars have a level of tinting on the glass.  Mine factory applied, hers non factory done. 

Both cars have AC.  Both cars from my observation after sitting in the sun are essentially and subjectively the same temp inside.  Both cool pretty fast once the AC is turned on.  Bearing in mind I have never previously had a car of my own which had AC.  Perhaps I should be a little more scientific in my observations.  That is, measure the temps and time it takes to cool the interiors down.  Could be very interesting.

I have driven over the years a huge range of cars at work, Japanese, Australian etc, let alone privately (inc a huge range of Euro cars), and from my humble and again subjective assessment, the AC on my sportwagon is comparable to most other cars I have driven. 

I guess the real point is I am perfectly happy with the AC in mine.  When I bought mine I drove it home from Sydney back to Hobart and we encountered a broad range of weather from stinking hot to mild.  The AC coped perfectly.  In fact at times it becoming too cold !!

Down here in Tassie with our generally slightly milder climate, I would be certain that the AC in Ben's new toy should be excellent as mine is.

[colcol]

When i first had my 156 i was sure it was going to be horrid after parking it on a hot day, because it has a black leather interior which soaks up the heat, but i was pleasantly surprised, although it has a factory tint on the windows and i beleive this helps a lot, but the 156 has a good sized compressor and condensor, so i think the only thing lacking is good airflow through the undersize vents, the centre are too small and far away from the driver and passenger and the drivers eyeball vent is obscured by the steering wheel, but i don't care!, with a bit a fiddling round you can get the passenger eyeball vent to blow air on you, get the centre vent accurately aimed at you and those vents above the drivers eyeball vent do blow a lot of air at the top of your face, so its a matter of getting the little adjustments right, Colin.

[diglad]

I have just moved from a black car to a white car and the difference is very noticeable, the white is much cooler.

Also I recommend installing very dark tint which tends to absorb the heat on the glass rather than letting it through to be absorbed by the dark leather interior. The darkest legal tint in most states will allow 35% light transmission through the glass, although illegal (if you get caught!) I have installed 16% and it is brilliant! Looks good too!

[Rigi]

Totally agree with the last comment re window tinting - (whether you instal a darker tint than is legal is up to an individual) however, one way or the other, not only is the heat reduced, the decrease in glare is significant and of course the fabric/leather is also protected. Also worth mentioning once the heat is in the temperature in the 'oven' just makes the job of cooling that bit harder ... always amuses me when I see windscreen sun protectors on the inside of the glass.

[Brad M]

... always amuses me when I see windscreen sun protectors on the inside of the glass.

They may be pointless in keeping the heat out, but they make holding the steering wheel a lot more bearable on those hot summer days ... not that we had any in Vic this year.

[branko.gt]

... always amuses me when I see windscreen sun protectors on the inside of the glass.

why do find that amusing ?