Er, gauges!!!. I'm sure even Enzo recommends looking at your gauges to see all is ready. Early Alfa Sud's used to have a green light which illuminated when the engine was cold ... one it went out it was ALL on Pete
Touche. What I really meant to say but took a shortcut was "Check your manual for what Enzo says ...There will be advice about what min temps are required to be reached before exceeding 4000rpm. Then watch your gauges and wait for the engine to get there" Re the Alfasud, I always imagined that all Italian boy-racer cars were expected to be driven pegged at the redline straight out the factory gate and continuously everywhere else. If it blew up then the factory was required to replace it under warranty. Don't exceed the redline tho', cause then it doesn't apply!
I still miss my GTV-6. Slick machine. You can shift an F-car into second when it's cold, but you have to have a feel for the machinery -- no speed shifts, and double-clutching helps. But the V8 has enough grunt that you can just push the revs a tad in first then skip straight to third without double clutching. Clutch and shifter feel were weak points of the GTV-6. I eventually dumped my 6's twin plate clutch for a Milano single plate clutch with a much better clutch feel -- the twin plate was a bit too "hair trigger" for my tastes (I guess for people who didn't want to have to move their clutch leg). And I've heard the Alfetta chassis' transbox shifter described as "a broomstick in a bathtub". No shift gate there. The GT4 will have the stickiness of the GTV-6 (and then some), but where the Alfa was front engine/rear transbox, the GT4 has the weight in the middle, so it will rotate quicker -- faster turn-in on corners, ... and less resistance to spinning. So take it easy at the limits until you get a feel for where the "trip point" is. I can't say for a GT4, but my 328 has much more tendency to power oversteer than the Alfa had, especially in the wet. One thing the Alfetta chassis (with the diDion) did exceedingly well was late braking -- the GTV-6 had very little suspension shift between braking and power, so you could downshift and brake hard during turn-in and go on the loud pedal near apex without disrupting the traction. Don't count on that ability in any other car, even a Ferrari. Get your downshift done before turn-in, and take it easy on the throttle in turns until you get used to the limits. On the plus side, you could dislocate an ankle trying to heel and toe a GTV-6, but the Ferrari practically begs you to play the pedals. (But pedal set up tends to vary from one car to the next. YMMV) The Ferrari will have less body roll entering a turn than the GTV-6. The Ferrari talks to you, as the Alfa did, but the Ferrari doesn't shout. If my (aging) memory serves, I think the GT4s are carb'd, so you'll probably get better throttle response than the Alfa's L-Jet system provided. If you get a CIS (K-jet) car ... "never mind". For warm-up, just don't push to max revs or max torque until the oil temp comes up -- about five miles or so of normal driving (less in a Houston summer).
my gt4 is carburated. all of them are, I think; I also really miss the gt-6, in fact I had been looking for one, but really good examples were going for big money (for an alfa), in the teens or higher (bobcor for example) and this dino came along and I couldn't resist; one problem I'm having is that it takes a certain angel to fully depress the clutch, I have a tendency to go about 90% down with my foot on a slight angel. also I've ordered the steering wheel extender from hill engineering, which I think will help make seating position more confortable. having driven the dino only a couple of days (it's in the shop now for a shift selector fork adjustment, and having the brakes looked over), it's very different driving it; not only low (I have a vette so I'm used to low) but not seeing the hood is alittle disturbing; in a good way, almost; actually it's alittle unnerving; ok I'll admit it, it's alittle scary, though I have less than 50 miles on it. reminds me of being in a glider; the wings are way the hell behind you, it feels like you're sitting in a chair in the air. The dino is really like a go cart, nothing in front of you, low to the ground and a big engine behind you. The steering is also like a go cart; much more immediate, much more so than my alfa, which drove like a regular car. this is a completely different experience.
HAven't had that problem with my 308. I double clutch it a lot. Especially on the track where I can sometimes move a little qiucker then the syncros want me to. Besides, I enjoy it. The Alfa I always do into 2nd, even when hot. It's just habit now in that car. I'll never understand that whole Italian 2nd gear thing. I have had it explained to me but I do not believe there's an excuse for it. The Ferrari's problem is different (thick gear oil, small passage ways, etc.) but Alfa's are just weak there period. I have seen VW"s and Honda's drive to the moon and back with idiots behind the wheel that maintain their car only at gunpoint. Those cars (most anyway and all the ones I have seen) will shift like butter forever no matter how you drive it. We maintain our cars and drive carefully when cold, etc. and second gear will always have a story to tell. How many time have I seen an ad for an Alfa with a mention of , ..."usual weak 2nd gear" or something similar? Go read a paper today and try to find the same description for a Toyota ad. If every other car manufacturer in the world can make one that works, at least for a good long time, why can't they do the same in Italy? Are Fiats like that too?
Tommy, I believe the difference is that the Japanese would have considered that a weakness and thus invested considerably to solve the problem ... and as usual done it. The Italians instead ... 'cause the are basically talented but lazy people, just palm it off as character. Everything can be solved if you really want to ... Italians simply don't want to, and owners have to buy into this ownership experience Pete
I accept it as part of ownership with these things and they don't actually bother me when I drive because I am so used to it. It's just when I start thinking about it too much...
I agree but some things are annoying ... it really frustrates me these Italians, so bloody clever but flawed in their attitude to quality (IMO). The Japanese really have the right attitude and keep on working at everything until they get it complete idiot proof ... hence their auto companies are doing better than Italian ones. As the modern car owner wants an appliance ... not a finicky, living device. Pete
Pete, Talented or not, without the right attitude & application you'll not get anywhere great (so I keep telling my 16 y.o!). I think you malign the Italians unfairly. Ferrari is a great achievement & I'm sure Enzo was no lazy bugger. Ditto their great modern & classic designers. I agree they have a very healthy laid-back attitude, but then so do we Aussies. I betcha the Japanese have a much higher rate of adult suicide than the Italians! BTW I see I'm sharing the same town & vocation with you!
Agree, but Ferrari (the company) came into being in the quaint old days. I cannot see his (Enzo's) methods being so successful nowadays. Basically Ferrari grew along side the automobile. Now we have just about sussed how to build a good petrol powered automobile, thus everybody expects it to be perfect and as easy to use as a fridge ... but not back in the 50's, 60's, etc. Regarding Aussie's ... hmmm, I heard on the radio this morning that our brilliant (?) government is thinking of importing another 20,000 immigrants due to a skill (?) shortage for certain unskilled jobs. I wonder if Italy has this trouble, ie. we are all to clever to do the so called lower jobs ... while forgetting that this is how Australia got where it is today, ie. by rolling up our sleaves and getting in and on with the job, instead of the modern pretentious lot we have turned into. Personally we need to set more accurate expectations in our children ... so when they leave school they are not dreaming of being Bill Gates, or some stupid rock star (ie. the Idol program cr@p) and as you say, teach them that hard work and starting at the bottom is how it works. The modern generation want everything way to easy ... it is embarrassing to witness. Returning to Italian products (cars, etc.) ... I absolutely love Italian products, things and their artistic-ness, culture, etc. ... but I am cursed with this love, because everytime I work on something they make it makes me scratch my head and wonder how they can be soooooo clever and soooo fncken stupid at the same time. Take my Alfa Romeo for example (yep I'm not a Ferrari owner), it is great to drive, very involving, has great components but you try and say replace the right front inner suspension bush ... you have to remove all the carb's first, etc. ... a nightmare. On top of that the thing rusts and general build quality of the body is absolutely shockingly bad ... and so is the trim. Now these were not cheap cars when they came out, infact you could buy 2 Jaguar E-types for the price of ONE 1750 GTV ... so what gives. You are paying for the Italianness that is all, the end product is debateably worth it. Now that was okay in the old days ... and heck I still love the thing, but in this modern world everybody expects perfection and things just to work, well the Italian auto industry (and any other manufacturing industry they are involved in) better step up, because the Japanese HAVE shown the rest of the world HOW to build a car. I own a Toyota Tarago people mover (yep dull and all) but that thing NEVER, EVER needs between service maintenance ... infact I never need to open the bonnet ... I just jump in and turn the key. I have put 20,000 km on it in less than a year (now 150,000 km's) and it just runs ... and everything works. Again the culture is the difference. The high strung culture of perfection in the Japanese might not mean they are the cleverest people on the world, but if they can do something better next time, they will ... and thus we all benefit. Aussies and Italians on the other hand, quite frankly do not give a fnck ... just give me my pay packet and I'll turn up tomorrow. That is a very sad IMO, and does not make me proud ... Life is most definitely about living, but you should also be proud of what you have done and achieved ... the Italian workers that very much killed Alfa Romeo should be ashamed of themselves. That company had everything, prestege, heritege, etc. ... but thanks to a lack of forward thinking and change died the death it really deserved (yes I know that the badge still continues, but from the 159 on Alfa Romeo no longer makes ANY engines ... thus only the name continues, it's dead). Pete ps: Heck I'm writing this post while supposedly working ... so I'm a slack Aussie too I note you are an IT Consultant ... hmmm, so am I. EDIT: I also realise (after a re-read) that I had a little rant above ... appologise , but I am generally concerned at Italian auto-industries future
This sort of reminds me of a couple of watches I own. I have -and still wear- a Casio that I bought with yard cutting money when I was in 8th grade back in 82. It keeps better time then my Rolex and it doesn't have to be reset every time I skip wearing it for a few days. It's less trouble and actually works better for a LOT less money. Where's the logic in what we buy ourselves sometimes??
