Alfa 166 Owners

[alfagtv152]

Thank you Paul,
And a Happy and safe Easter break to you.
Cheers
Andrew

[AndrewR]

Are all 166 owners called Andrew, yes another one.
I have owned my car for six weeks but have only managed to drive it for a total of a week. nothing wrong with the car but had to go overseas.
Monday transferring the registration plates to AR, the make of car and my intials are the same, and Tuesday getting the car detailed, Wednesday getting a Bluetooth system fitted Thursday just enjoy it. Well thats the plan.
My 166 is a facelift 2006 Ti with just 62000KM.
Andrew

[Garibaldi]

Great looking 166. I love the Black with Red Trim combination, simply stunning.

[Darryl]

Just to revive this a bit.. I recently bought this, and my name isn't Andrew. The car was in reasonable condition overall but it's had a few things fixed up by the Green team who jointly did a full detail inside and out. Also had some help with diagnosis and clean/repair of an intermittent recalcitrant throttle pot from Ferris and Alex at Quattromotive.

The car needed paint correcting before I got to it and still does after - but at least now it has shiny swirls I see detailing gurus recommending using a "practice panel" which is probably a reasonable idea before you get stuck into your Enzo with power tools but with the price of 166s these days...

Finding out how obscure the 166 is in the scheme of things - some parts in common with other 932s but others not so... And a few "features" that are really annoying (like the location of the top of the rear shocks... and just how much work it is to remove the seats and parcel shelf and the #$#@$ seat belt reels to get to them...)

Anyway - it's a nice car - nice seats, looks good, has a really nice sound (Remus exhaust). Main shortcoming is the suspension, which isn't really up to the job of providing a limousine experience on roads that aren't like billiard tables. I would like to fit *full height* (even a lift!) stiffer front springs if I could find such a thing. Crashy on typically bad Qld roads. Had hoped a nice new set of Bilsteins (from Squadra Sportiva at a very reasonable price) would be enough but it it isn't...

[alfagtv152]

Hi Darryl,
I sold my Blue 166 to a bloke named Rex!.
Yes the rear shocks are real pain to replace,did you remove the cradle for the rear suspension or figure out a short cut like I did?.
I totally agree on the ride comment,bet you have the 17" wheels,when I got my Black car I bought it some nice 16" wheels and tyres with as much side wall as possible and run as little pressure as possible to soften the ride.My bad back and the CD player are much happier for it.
When I first got my blue one I replaced the shocks thinking they were just hitting bottom on the bumps but with new boge shockers all round it didnt improve so I replaced the dreadful cheap tyres with some Bridgestone Serenity which were a lot better for ride but I think you need the 16" with as big a side wall as you can to help,the ride is excellent on smooth roads as you say.
Cheers
Andrew

[alfagtv152]

Hi ed175,
Hope you enjoy the comfort of your 166 as much as I do with no hassels. Very sweet engine and I really like the Sportronic Auto, you just need to remember it is not a sports car it is a limo!.
Cheers
Andrew

[bazzbazz]

Andrew, love the pics of the interior. (Honest)

But I am curious, do they call that "Bordello Red" ?   

For gods sake, don't do what one fellow I know of did, changed out
the white interior light for a red one . . . his missus refuses to get
in it at nite now! Claims she's to afraid people will misconstrue her intensions! 

Baz

[bazzbazz]

Hi Guys,
I bought another 166,Black with Red interior and I love the colour combo.Built 02 Australian compliance 03
It has the phone built in and I tried fitting my Optus phone sim back into it credit card size card that it came in and it did not register,I then had a look at another full size Optus card I had previosly and I noticed the break out spots were different from one card to another so I tried that one but still no go.
Next I looked up forums and others seem to work on Vodaphone so I went to Vodaphone today and bought a sim (Full size) for $10 that lasts 7 days but can be recharged for $20 with a 365 day expirey which I think would do me well as it wont get much direct use and can divert my phone to it I think.
Put the sim card in and it searches the network and comes up with 5 out of 6 bars but says emergency only!,I called Vodaphone and they were no help.
Does anyone have any ideas or answers for me?!.

Did you Activate the card, that's what will happen if the card has not been activated yet.

Baz

[alfagtv152]

Hi Baz,
That was 2 years ago!,yes I got it working and it was an issue with the card contacts in the info center. A bit of mucking around and a bit of tape on the opposite side of the card to increase pressure and it was ok but I still had to pop the card out and back in again when it wouldn't work. I have since abandoned it.
Cheers
Andrew