40 years behind!

[turboalfa]

Alfa's need to go back to rwd! and building there own engines.. thats what will bring the true alfisti back .... but never will happen.

Now lets be honest. . . Alfa have always been great looking! to bad for the reputation they built back in the day.

Although people who have owned these cars appreciate that and realize alfa's truly have their own personality.

and you cant tell me the a 3 series SEDAN looks better then the 159 ! honestly there is not a chance and that may sound baisis but i would never own one myself...

Due to the fact they weight 1.7 tons! ... its a commodore in my eyes that handles a little better, with a well underpowered motor which ever way you look at it !.. 2.4

diesel is by far the best option.  but hey its LOOKS great! .. Alfa's need to go back to rear wheel drive before experimenting with all wheel drive cars. unless they put

Big HP into it. . . which has never been Alfa's trait. and in my eyes never will ! .. look at the 8c .. its a slug for the money you pay!.

Although my GTV only has 168kw or there about's it weights less and drives great and every day i hop into it i wish it was rear wheel drive but hey they did a

fantastic job! and i love it to bits. but at the end of the day i wish it was more of a succeed er then the original GTV6 but Ive driven and owned both and i know its
not!

I've kind of lost the point in this post .. but Really guys i don't think alfa is going to ever be ahead the way they were.. back in the day they were so far ahead of their time it wasn't funny. which is why they were great but at the moment the 10 years behind at a minimum.

The only way Alfa romeo will succeed is if they start building sporty cars they way they were, maybe then trying to enter the family sector!. going the wrong way about it .. they need a new title something that makes everyone want one .. just like BMW did.

Need to set the issues straight! before entering unknown territory! alfas known for the sportiness and handling and styling .. and a few other bad things we all know what they are .. but that's what need to be cleared .. up every car manufacturer has problems just Alfa's seem to be Magnified when something goes wrong!

[oz3litre]

.. back in the day they were so far ahead of their time it wasn't funny. which is why they were great but at the moment the 10 years behind at a minimum.

I don't know that that is true. What about JTS and Multi-air? I know they are Fiat inventions, but as far as I know they are well ahead of other engine designs. The 1750 turbo has some pretty advanced technology too and is as much ahead of its time as the old twin cam was in its day I would think.

[colcol]

Direct injection [JTS] was used in aircraft in the 50's, but that was for relatively fixed engine speeds, with the advent of smarter and quicker computers in cars the direct injection can cover a wide range of engine speeds, the actual JTS injector has its own pump built in, and a jet of fuel can go through your finger!, on 156's they used the JTS motor as did Lancia, the cast iron block was from FIAT, Colin.

[kartone]

I believe direct petrol injection was first installed in a mass produced car by Mitsubishi in ... 1996.

[colcol]

The Alfa Romeo JTS stands for JET THRUST STOICHMETRIC, which is high pressure fuel injection, as it was developed and made by Bosch, and it was only used on the more upmarket cars as the direct injection costs more than standard injection, for example a direct injector costs $1000 each!, you are right kartone, Mitsubishi was the first car maker to use it on a petrol engine in 1996, Alfa first used it on the 156 in 2002, Colin.

[mczero]

My recent choice of the V6 Brera Spider had a lot to do with the AWD (and a bit to do with Giorgetto Giugiaro.)  I would have been happy with RWD, but it was great to avoid just FWD, albeit at the expense of too much weight. The Holden block with a timing chain on the other hand might be 40 years behind!  I took a chance on that. Seems weird though, having bought a new FIAT 124 coupe in 1975 with a belt driven twin cam (still got it too.) In a perfect world Alfa, Ferrari and Maserati would still be individual companies, but I can't think of a better owner for Alfa than FIAT. There's more to the choice of a car than just the 0-100km time. It get's down to how it makes you feel. My Alfa makes me feel great. (I polished it again this arvo, after work.)
Cheers,
mczero

[Darryl]

What exactly is wrong with a timing chain? All the best alfas (the ones with the cylinders in a straight line as god intended) have them

[mczero]

Hi All,

At the risk of side tracking the thread onto timing chains: "What exactly is wrong with a timing chain?"
In a well-engineered engine: Nothing, they are low maintenance- don't need to be changed monotonously.
But the world has moved away from them. Why?
Lightness - free revving engines.
Cheaper assembly of OHC engines (Probably the main reason)
Easier to replace, especially as you do it often.
On the other hand:
Some timing chains get noisy and have to be changed, much harder than a belt.
More expensive than a belt.
Does the chain stop the Brera 3.2 engine revving out as it should. Maybe or maybe it's the just ECU map.
Will the Brera 3.2 engine get a noisy timing chain when it ages? Time will tell. It's a curse in some older engines. I took a chance on this engine, so I'm hoping for the best.

Cheers,
mczero

[Darryl]

And has moved back to them:

Cheaper servicing/longer warranty - less risk of early failure (under warranty)

By the time you pay for all those "easy" replacements a chain is cheaper

I'd dispute any open/shut case on what RPM a belt vs timing chain is good for - certainly both are practical to well above what a "normal" road car engine needs. fwiw the Honda S2000 engine revs to 9000rpm and uses a timing chain.

[ALFAAA]

Hi Guys,
I have a 2004 V6 Spider,

I have always had rear wheel drive cars till my Spider, The V6 is great being a real Alfa engine, But I cannot complain about the front wheel drive, the car really handles great, its a fantastic car to drive up
MT Dandenong and holds the road well.

No matter what Alfa you drive, they all have there own great characters ,
Alfa forever.