Preparing a 75ts for some club sprints.

[Alpine Chapter Inc.]

Hi All,

Thought l would start this off with my experience with my 75ts at Winton.
My 75 is standard apart from Koni Yellows, and slightly more open exhaust by removing the back muffler and adding a hot dog. It,s quiet at 110ks on the Hwy, but has a nice note when driven on the track.

The first time l took the 75 to Winton was also my first time on a track. As far as preparation went all l did was the BASIC STUFF, New Oil and filter, Air filter, bleed out all the old brake fluid so it had all new fluid though the system. l had just done the front brakes up, so l new all was good there, but l did re check wheel bearings. l used new Lucas brake pads front and back and had no problem at all with the brakes.

Even in it's standard form it was exceptionally good to drive, fast and lots of fun. The only thing l have changed since is front brake pads, l went to a full track day brake pad from "QFM" recommend to me by Bruno at Maranello Motors. l should do the same with the rears but haven't yet, still running the Lucas in the rears.

Hope that is helpful to anyone looking to take a 75 to a club sprint. l highly recommend taking your car to Winton even in relative standard trim you will learn a lot. The 75ts is a particularly good performer on the track. The Alfa club sprint days are very well run, friendly and always have plenty of help and advice on hand if you need it.

Cheers Paul
A few pis from Winton.

    

[Paul Gulliver]

Interesting you raise this Paul, talking to Neil Choi the other day he said there were a lot of owners on the edge of putting their toe in the water with their first  sprint.

I found this article produced by forum oracle Evan Bottcher buried in the club archives. Maybe a good time to pull it out and re read.

http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,40/func,startdown/id,91/  ( hit the download link)



For any members that have possibly just put an old alfa onto club plates or owners that have just wondered what Sandown racetrack looks like from the other side remember the Sandown meeting on 12/06/2011 is re introducing parade laps during the lunch time break.

PARADE LAPS

The parade laps will hopefully be scheduled at lunchtime (somewhere between 12pm-1:30pm) for 20 minutes lead by the Presidential and Safety Alfa.

The conditions for parade laps are:
- limited numbers so you should get in touch with me to book a place
- no excessive speed
- no lagging behind, a maximum of 5 car lengths behind leading car
- passengers allowed, no helmet required but seat belts fastened
- SAFETY being priority

Regards
Neil
0433 11 66 47
neil_choi@optusnet.com.au

Great opportunity to have a look or "put a toe in the water" for something that deep down every red blooded Alfa owner would love to do.

Come out and have a look stay an hour or stay the whole day . Free admission . Enter of Dandenong Road.
See you all at Sandown.

Gully

[Paul Gulliver]

Bump,

Here's some vision of club member Steve Aarons having a lot of fun in his road going Alfa 75 at Sandown May last year.

http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=4891.0

[Ads]

Great stuff Paul, if I recall correctly you were quite quick at Winton too!

The only thing I'd add is for prospective sprinters is to familiarise yourself with the supplementary regs and have the correct helmet, along with getting a fire extinguisher installed.

Neil and the other volunteers always run a great day and for that AROCA should be proud as their reputation is glowing throughout the club communities.

[alanm]

Hi Paul

It was great to have a chat with you at Winton about your car and Sprint experiences.
You have indeed inspired me, having thought about it for years I think I am ready to have a go.
Just need the right car now, most likely its going to have the numbers ‘75’ on the boot lid!

Cheers
Alan

[dehne]

paul there is a funday at winton on the 8th july and a sprint on the 9th you should come over and have a play, there are a few alfas that get there for these days now.

[redsky]

Thanks Paul,

Now I'm quite inspired to get my newly aquired 75 to the track. All i really need to do is get some tyres, the rear brakes sorted, (perhaps a new set of EBC Greenstuff pads too) and if possible find a fix to get the tacho working properly, it reads way to low.
That way i'll get a good baseline on the stock car an have a lot of fun too. I've only been to winton a couple of times before, and that was years ago.

Cheers

Darren

[dehne]

sorry got the dates wrong its sat 9th sun 10th, as per usual this will conflict with a alfa sprint day but if ur not going its good for a bit of light fun

[redsky]

Hi all,

I was having a good look under the 75 TS on the W/E and noticed that the rear sway bar bushes were chewed out, bits of rubber hanging out etc. none of the other bushes on the car seemed that bad, but nothing looked new either... so i'm after a bit more advice; what bushes to use. Also, which ones on the car are most likely to need replacing, or do i bite the bullet & get the lot done?

The other big question at the moment is tyres. I run 17's on the road with Kumho tyres (over diameter by quite a bit) and i'd rather not scrub them out on the track.
i am looking to get some rubber for trackdays and have two sets of rims i could choose from; original 14 x 6.5's or 15 x 6's off a 90. not looking to spend a fortune and after some thoughts as to brand, size, availabilty etc. i would be putting them on just for the event and the trip there and back (which is a couple of hours in my case.)

thanks in advance for your thoughts,

Darren

[bix]

I too have been thinking about having a "go" in my TS 156.
redsky, I bought a second set of rims and purchased some second hand Potenza's (Roadworthy) from a local tyre shop for just over $100.00 which might be worth investigating at a store near you.

[dehne]

hi darren
where abouts are you located, i run 16's on my 90 but i have a few stock 90 rims avail if you need some, i have a set there with very used semi slicks may be a bit of fun still there, in the 75 i would travel over on ur normal rims and then just change them when you get there (thats if ur driving it there) you can get federals semi slick 15's about 170 each but look on ebay there is always second hand rubber for both sizes.
bix there are a few 156 running around so my advice is just have a crack

[Alpine Chapter Inc.]

G’day Darren,

I would replace the sway bar bushes with the standard ones. As for all the rest there is no need to replace them unless they look knackered or something is obviously wrong. The only suspension rubbers l have replaced are the front caster bushes/rubbers. A pretty straight forward job, l used the better type from Pace Engineering.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find a knackered rubber bush, so grab a large screwdriver or a small tyre leaver and apply some pressure in the opposite direction if you can, but don’t bang your hands up in the process. Really from my experience, l have never found a problem with the suspension rubbers on my 1984 Alfetta GTV or 1989 75ts.
 
I would look CLOSELY at the condition of the three rubber dough nuts on the main drive line first, also the rubber boots on the drive shafts coming off the side of the gearbox. Front gearbox mounts and engine mounts tend to give up way before suspension bushes do, so have a good look at them, well that’s what l have found. Check your front and rear wheel bearings as well.

The only real pain l have found is the exhaust system in the middle, which hangs down a little and is prone to touching on some driveways, other than that l don’t need to worry about the old girl, she just gets up and goes time after time.

Grabbing some track day wheels and tyres is a good idea,  15’ is perfect with some half decent tyres you will have a ball. Try Hugh at Monza Motors 9720 4442. or Marc Milano spares 9462 2138.

The 75ts doesn’t need to be flogged hard around Winton, it actually will love just being driving properly fast, but not flogged, it makes peek power at about 5300rpm. so you are wasting time going past that. The gearbox has near perfect gearing, so keep it smooth and don’t rush yourself or the car around the track. You will have a great time in the 75ts. Remember to flush out all the old break fluid with brand new fluid.

Cheers Paul  

[MD]

If you just want to dip the toe in being on the track with your 75, Pauls' outline is great. Keeps the car street usable and you get a chance to sniff the atmosphere. Adding appropriate track tyres, brake pads and fresh brake fluid still keeps costs down and will enhance your experience.

As things evolve however, you will find the 75 has too much performance robbing weight around the place and once you start the downhill run of weight reduction, it's only a matter of time before it becomes a dedicated race car needing a trailer and its own budget.

So keep it real and be under no illusions. Make a clear choice for yourself and stick to it. You will have unexpected expenses in whatever stage you want to use the car in and in any case, you need to be ready for that. There is nothing more frustrating than to have a tow truck take your daily driver home because you have broken couplings, CV's, fried the clutch, blown a brake hose,radiator hose or some other hoodoo nuisance all of which you need to understand could happen (and does).

[hammer]

Hey Darren,

My 2 cents worth now: I started sprinting in a bog standard 75 twinnie and had a ball. if you are going to invest in a set of semi slicks for the track, buy a set of 185/60/14s and put them on your original 14 x 6.5s. The offset of those original 14s is factory perfect, looks hot and will be a great fit for the 185/60s. Also the rolling diameter of the 185/60 is 577.6, which is nice and small, keeping the gearing as low as possible for the twinnie's 4.1 final drive. The team at Stuckey's will fix you up with a set of Dunlop DZ03Gs, which are a very nice tyre. Go for the hard compound to begin with, as they will last longest and with stock suspension you won't make the most of a soft tyre anyway.

Having the donuts checked is very good advice.

While the other bushes won't make or break your sprint day, they'll sure help firm things up and make the 75 feel better.

Have a blast. After a few meetings you'll be cursing how softly sprung the old girl is, but you can drive them to the limit and they're extremely forgiving. Damn I want another 75, but I'm completely out of garage space, yard space and street parking.

Cheers, Brent

[Alpine Chapter Inc.]

G'day Alan,

Hows the hunt for red October going? (75ts) it was good chatting with you at Winton also. Your GP GTV6 looks a million bucks, a really nice example of one. There were some nice Alfas in the car park that day. Nigel's red 75 3lt. really gets my attention, dam that's a nice 75.  
Hope to see you on the track one day soon, it really is a lot of fun. l remember my first time in the 75ts, l was pretty nervous about it, didn't know anyone other than Neil from a few phone calls to orgainise things. l knew one or two faces in the pits and that's about it. l think l was lucky that day, l found Ivan and Claude, both BIG TIME 75ts fans who helped me out with tyre pressures and general advice. They really made me feel right at home that day, and nothing was a prob. Out on the track Claude showed me the lines and things to look out for. After a few sessions l was amazed at the 75ts performance, l'll never forget the feeling of just flowing the car around the circuit, l loved it. Was it fast? l didn't really know, l didn't care, l was just glad to finally get out and do it.
 
Latter in the day, l had what is still probably my best ever time, as in fun, at a club track day. l was very very slowly catching a Goldish coloured 75 that looked pretty racey so l tried harder to catch it. The sessions that followed were just brilliant, chasing, drafting and heaps of fun, thanks John if your reading this, it still makes me smile thinking back to that day.

Anyone thinking about a club track day in a standard Alfa, l say have a go, plenty of good people who are more than helpful. l have found it's not that hard on the car really, the breaks are the only part that work hard, but they recover well.

Cheers Paul