aww gawd damn it.... got infected again.

[wankski]

so, not an std     probably end up more painful tho...

drove a 2002 147 selespeed yesterday and now i can't stop thinking about it... talk some sense into me guys.... it was SOOO fun, the car handles pretty damn nice for a city run about. from a dealer, seem like nice guys, they agreed to about $11k for a 02 with only 55k on the clock....

selespeed not perfect but much better than the new 159 i test drove... my only complaint was that on the drive way (inclined) it lurched forward which can be dicey when parking.... and the 1-2 change was sometime VERY jerky, to the point of being unacceptable... but it's a fun car...

they did have a 05 stick for a few k more, what do u guys think? ditch the silly fun factor of the selespeed and go stick?

are all seles jerky between 1-2 or are the post 04s much better?  i've heard that a lot, but no one substantiates how the >04s are better...

anyways, i held off b/c i'm set to test drive 2x 04 sele 156s this week, so i guess i'll get to see if its better. Figured i should see what else is out there...

haven't driven a 156 before, i hope its as sorted as the 147, it's very chuckable and just a damn sorted ride. I live in the city and figure a 147 might be better for my needs, but looking online seems to be only 20cm shorter, so i figure not a big deal when it comes to parallel parking? I also like the fold-down seats of the 147.

tho the late 156s vs the 147 seems like no contest... 156 should be faster and more ballsy right?

we'll see.... late 156 sticks are nearly non-existant tho...

sorry guys, needed to type out my feelings about these alfas.... gawd am i sad.

joe

[dehne]

the jurkyness between 1st and 2nd can be fixed pretty easy now with a upgrade in the computer well as you all know i own and drive a sele 156 pretty frequently but this week ive been driving the ilaws 156 manual and what fun that has been the accel is much better and overall is prob more fun to drive but when in the city i would take the sele in a heart beat so much simpler to hit the city button and forget about the rest, the good thing with sele now apart from being cheaper to buy the parts are also becoming cheaper and are more readily available and if you know the right people they tell you how to fix most prob ur self and hence save you thousands, the only time i use a proper service provider is when i want the cambelt done or i want the car hooked to the diag machine, as i not sure how good i would be with the software avail to do ur self,
i think ur best option is pick what will meet ur needs with the option of having a little fun at the same time

[wankski]

thanks dehne, appreciate the words... in fact i intend to do most maintenance work myself with FES + diag cable.... that includes cambelt...

on one hand the sele appeals, cos yes, i live in the city, and on great ocean road, the paddles would be damn fun... also the sele is just one more thing to plug into and play with clutch rod length and calibration...

thing is, as i said on the driveway - its very jerky... could be a problem in parking... freaking smack into a car because of how it grabbed... i'm just hoping its a calibration/clutch rod issue... the 1-2 change... bad sometimes... makes u look freaking amateur!  

i want to like the selespeed, hence trying out 2 more later models... but if last 2 tries are anything to go by, i'll pass...

guess i wanted encouraging words from sele owners, about smooth changes, reliability and lots of fun...

the thing that has helped put me off is, i borrowed a prius from work to do some w/e work... the thing refused to start, but 2hrs later jumped into life... ofcourse that was enough time to make the intended trip pointless... i tells you, faced with electronic *kaput* is just maddening.... it's not a good feeling when u need the car at that particular time...

good thing about the manuals is mystery over... i figure a generalist gears place can overhaul for $1-2k ( replacing a synchro or two and bearings) and it'll be good as new... not really major money...selespeed could spend months confounding many mechs while each of them take a fistful of money for the trouble... I've read stories of the system failing and dumping the driver into Neutral while merging or going thru a major roundabout.... not a fantastic prospect when unreliability of a system can be damn near fatal...

jeez am i a confused bunny or what?    

[dehne]

apart from the sele pump going on mine ive never really had a prob and reliability my 90 has let me down 100 times more than the sele, when it comes down to it i would prefer to drive the sele 156 over the manual 156 for the fact the sele is technicaly classed as a manual anyway with the bonus of an auto option, and being able to chip the sele comp means you can get rid of any gear changing probs and it all works quicker and better

[wankski]

great! so who did your selespeed software update/tinkering?

cheers

joe

[dehne]

choder, both cars are great to drive and for city driving the sele is better, and i disagree on the sele haveing heaps of probs and being costly, complete gearboxes for both cars cost about the same and so does about everything else as well, if you know what the parts are worth the only thing that cost $$$ is the repair guy thinking here is a quick buck because no one wants to touch them hence i got quoted $2500 to fix the sele prob i had and i thought this was over priced as i knew the 2nd hand price for the part so i did it my self and it took 10 mins and cost $240. and i will not tell who the repaier was only that they are a club sponser/known supporter of alfa. and if you have the software you should not even need to use another person apart from getting parts, and there are plenty of these people around now

[wankski]

thanks guys, keep it coming

the sele wheen it was smooth, was VERY fun, i can see the point of it - revvy TS on the boil, ripping the gears, NOICE!

have to say...

big ups to Bruno of Maranello Pursang. Gave me frank and fair advice over the phone and was very helpful.

for those playing at home his tip was stick too...

much thanks Bruno... deffo be bringing the car i do buy to you for inspection - u know your stuff, u're a stand up guy with minimal BS, and the price quoted was VERY fair.

Whoop!