Hello from europe :) I found this forum this morning. I decide to join to get to know some new alfa owners from another country.
My Alfa 156 2.5 V6 is from '98 and I own her for about six years. I'm fully satisfied with this car. Even after this six years, it still offers me so much fun.
Currently I'm working on the 3.0 V6 swap. I bought the engine from Alfa 166, which I'm now taking a part to replace all minor parts. Along this I'm also taking care about the visual part by replacing some not necessary plastic brackets, small hoes and things like that. :)
The Alfa is on the 18" Mille Miglia rims with 225/40 18 tires. Two years ago I fitted the XYZ SuperSport coilovers which makes the handling much more precise. The front brake discs are Tarox G88 with some semi-sport pads. The exhausts tail section is from AMA Exhaust Systems (our local custom Exhaust Systems company) It has nice deep sound, luckily not annoying during long trips.
So, I hope, I will be able to share some useful information and some interesting photos with you all :)
p.s. sorry for my english :)
A few images of the car:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Djy8WKdYZNA/TwILDqjI_5I/AAAAAAAAACU/uOttLGDjURU/w622-h467-no/alfa_1_SAM_1165.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EFRdv0GTe0o/Ub4ipegQPkI/AAAAAAAALiI/8i0T1EfMLH4/w622-h467-no/10072011306.jpg)
Some parts:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kj00N4AFAys/Ub4jfMek0cI/AAAAAAAALjA/WdcUP9T5ap8/w622-h467-no/DSC01100.JPG)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OhJ2OYgRMX4/UeZ3q-DtnzI/AAAAAAAAL2s/axBZ7Ub01rQ/w622-h829-no/Fotografia0038.jpg)
3.0 V6 Swap (in progress):
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4owoXJdlgSs/UydO6L-nhlI/AAAAAAAAO_M/ulCjAqkHhJQ/w622-h412-no/_DSC1164.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zgUl0KhrvMg/U81cf8beZxI/AAAAAAAAQdM/x7plW0u86fY/w622-h412-no/_DSC2493.jpg)
Hello, welcome to our forum. I really like your car, it looks great. Maybe you can tell us a little about the Alfa Romeo owners and car clubs in your country. Don't worry about your English, it is very good. I look forward to sharing some information with you. :)
Welcome Vsixer,
Love your ride. I too own a 6sp Series 1 2.5L V6. Lowered suspension on teledials.
I love everything about it, especially the sound. And sometimes I just like to open the bonnet to stare at the chrome. Is there anything more beautiful than a Busso?
Thanks for the welcome :)
We have 3 Alfa clubs here in Slovakia. Official club is down for more than a 6 years, I guess. Remaining two are the Alfa156 and Alfamania. I'm the owner of the first one.
Alfamania is oriented more to car events and news from the Alfa Romeo world. My club, or forum is oriented more to sharing of technical knowledge and solutions between members.
Many of the people who own the Alfa has diesel, probably due to low operational expenses and the ease of the power gain trough chiptuning :) But we have also a few petrolheads with the Twinsparks. A friend of mine is building the Alfa 145 2.0 TS for hillclimb racing. Sadly, we don't have much people who own the V6. You can count them on the fingers of single hand in the single city.
I'm wondering, which engines are popular in Australia?
poohbah: I love the same things :) Also love that feeling when you goes through 4500 rpm :)
Our small local meeting:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kE7HPpFz0Sw/UaTblGdEF0I/AAAAAAAAAhk/Pm7rGoSRoDU/w622-h467-no/15082010203.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-beKz2xnAETw/TwnaE6xN3FI/AAAAAAAAAIU/ky9xP5CLlws/w622-h467-no/DSC03286.JPG)
Some racing events:
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0fG5RKrdXcw/TzOlnBgOm5I/AAAAAAAAAbs/PG6NeWoi07Y/w622-h467-no/slovakiaring_fero_431_20110709_1652821644.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U89SMNtRzYY/UZo8_Uh6m1I/AAAAAAAALXk/mhCbsajc6sU/w622-h415-no/DSC_5642.jpg)
we are helping to each other :)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rR12eh9cf08/UZtViOVJizI/AAAAAAAALYo/UpLU8xqKoEw/w622-h467-no/DSCF0252.jpg)
I'm going to create a new topic in 932 Series category so i can post the potos an information from the swap procedures :)
All engines are popular in Australia due to the price of fuel being lower than in Europe. We have 2.0L Twin Sparks, JTS'S,V6's as well as Diesels.
Here are a few pictures from one of our Early Morning Runs.
Beautiful. I really love these old and youngtimers from Alfa Romeo. But in our country they are extremely rare :/ If you could spot even one, then it is only once or twice in a year. :( We have here a lots of 156, 145, 146, 166, a few GTV '98 then 147, 159, many of the 156 owners going for 159, and of course the latest models. People here are afraid of the italian cars... I don't know why ;)
People here, with the exception of us Alfisti are generally afraid of Italian cars too. They still remember the bad old days when they rusted and build quality and reliability was not good. They still don't sell here in big numbers, it is more a car for the enthusiast. We are very lucky that we have a number of older Alfa Romeos here, particularly the 105 series. It is due to our climate being a lot kinder to the cars than the weather in Europe, particularly winters.
Here are a few more pictures for you.
Hey VSixer,
We are lucky enough to have plenty of Alfas from different eras on the sunny west coast of Oz too. I posted these pics last year of the Italian car day in my home town. That's my 156 between the two GTV6s. I think my favourite Alfa in Perth is the black Junior Z.
We have a pretty big Alfa club over here - something for everyone!
But as Garibaldi says, lots of the uneducated here still equate Alfas with rust and dodgy wiring.
I wish we could have such community here :) and also the weather because, personally, I'm winterhater. Cold, salt, snow on the car, frost on the windows so you have to wake up earlier... nah...
Owning the classic Red Giulia Sprint is my dream :)
poohbah: "uneducated" that is the right word. Many people likes Alfas, they buy it, then just driving without any care and when the car brakes down, they are like: aaa, stupid italian car.
I like your ride, it seems like you have the same color as i have. Is it BluCosmo? :) Also like that GTV6s.
Yep, sure is cosmos blue. Of course I am biased, but I think it is the best colour for the 156!
We are lucky to have a warm dry climate, makes it a lot easier to keep the rust monsters away.
The interesting thing about this color is that during night it seems to be black, during day it is blue or green. :) Alfa has many nice colours.
You are lucky :) I have to buy winter tyres, summer tires, in case of interest in some racing events I have to buy another set for this kind of use.
I'm wondering what you are thinking about the stock V6 brakes. Is it enough for you? Or do you have any brakes modifications?
All stock. It's my daily driver so while I can be enthusiastic with the loud pedal, I don't really hammer it. If I was going to do track days, I would probably want to upgrade the brakes. The thing I really like about the 2.5 is that it sounds fantastic from anything over 3000 rpm, so you don't have to floor it to make it growl.
I will be interested to hear how you go with putting in the 3L. As its an older motor, do you reckon you will get a lot more grunt without mods?
I am keeping my eye open in case a reasonable GTA turns up in good condition and at a reasonable price. I would dearly love to have one of them to play with!
Ooops, just realised you already said you got your 3L out of a 166, and the pic shows it is the 24V, so has quite a few more horses than the 24V 2.5L.
Should pull like a train then!
Yep, the sound is amazing :) Sometimes get scared myself :D especially when i'm next to crash barrier and need to pass or move quickly so I downshift from 6 to 2 :D
What suspension do you have? Is it a big difference if you compare it to stock?
GTA is a great option, when you have garage. I think it's a sin to left it parked on public parking lot... People here are dumb... They smack their doors to another car and acting like: What? nothing happens... it's just a car...
I really looking forward to 3.0 first run :) but now I'm still too far from that point :) I'm just finished the cleaning of some small parts at my balcony. It's fairly weather for this :D
People here are dumb too. They also smack doors into cars. They have no respect for other peoples property. You can park your car well away from all the other cars in the parking lot and guess what, when you come back someone has parked next to you and put a door into your car. What the? >:(
Its not always strangers in the car park either ... my wife's efforts parking her car next to mine at home have been the subject of much vigorous discussion! She tells me it is a coincidence that the little marks are all on the side next to her drivers door.
On the suspension set up, I don't know the technical specifications VSixer, it was a factory option with the sport pack (I bought the car in 2012 and am the 3rd owner). But I have driven a 2.0 TS with stock suspension and I was shocked at how floaty it felt, and how much body roll it had around corners, compared to mine.
I think having the V6 has also spoiled me, to the point I'm not sure I could really enjoy any of the fours now. The 2.0 sounded perky enough, but really felt breathless lugging the weight of the car around.
So if I could have another few Alfas in the garage, they'd include the 156 GTA, an 81 GTV6, and perhaps a 164 QV. Though purely on looks, I'd love a 105 too!
VSixer, I just did a little research, and can advise the the Sportpack suspension option has Eibach springs, which lower ride height by 25mm, with Bilstein dampers.
Poohbah: It has to be difficult to solve this kind of situations :) My girlfriend doesn't have a driver license now so I'm curious how it will be then.
Suspension: I asked, because it looked much lower than the SP series suspension :) I thought that you have some aftermarket sport suspension. I had the GTA suspension with 18" wheel but I felt that the wheel are sitting on the road but the body still floats. After I try the XYZ suspension on friends Nissan Almera GT I decided to buy a set for my car and, I can only recommend :) The handling is awesome now.
Yep, the 164 QV is another nice piece from Alfas history :) Btw what it takes to own more cars in Australia? Here in Slovakia, you have to pay insurance, which is charged by the engine capacity, for each car and also you have to visit the technical and emission inspection every 2 years. And it's hard to legalize some modifications :/
It certainly isn't cheap to own a few cars here, though maybe not as expensive as Slovakia. I'm not sure if it is the same in all states, but you have to pay for injury insurance as part of
your registration, and it is also based on engine capacity. I think my Alfa costs about 500 euro a year to register, but on top of that you also pay accident insurance which is based on the value of your car, and your age, gender and " risk". My nephew who is 19 was going to have to pay 200Euro per month just for third party insurance on a 1.6 Suzuki. But for me, in my 40s, I only pay maybe 550 Euro per year for full cover on my Alfa. So it gets cheaper, the older you get!
If you have an older classic car, in some states you can get club registration, which is cheaper but means you can only drive it for club events.
Nice, then it is more expensive than in Slovakia. I'm 28 this year and my total costs for Alfa per year are 150€. Well, officially is it about 205€, but it depends who you know. There is always room for some discount. This covers both, injury and third party insurance.
I did a little research about the V6 prices in Australia. I was surprised how many CF3 V6 Alfas I found. Average price was about 4000-5000$. Here in Slovakia, my car has price somewhere around 1000€, CF3 around 3000€
And what bout the modifications? Are they rising the costs of insurance?
Sorry for asking to this kind of information, I'm just curious. :)
Yep, plenty of V6s here in Oz, which may be partly because six cylinder cars have traditionally always been favoured here. Though that has changed in more recent times as buyers have downsized to more economical 4s, or upsized to SUVs.
"Modern" Alfas are dirt cheap here. That is due to heavy depreciation mainly because of the perception they are more prone to mechanical/electrical/rust problems than other makes.
As far as modifications go, they can have a massive impact on insurance costs - assuming they pass roadworthy inspection to begin with. Anything considered likely to make you a riskier insurance bet will drive up the price.
Hello,
your 156 is really great, the best colur. Did you think about Bilstein absorbers?
Best regards from Perth (http://perth-fan.org/)
poohbah: For example here, the modification not affect the isurance costs. When I finish my project, I do not have to tell anyone about that, well officially i have to, but no one from police, insurance company or technical inspection know the difference between Alfas 2.5 and 3.0 engine. So I'll be able to pay insurance just for the 2.5. Also no one cares about parts like sport suspension or bigger brakes.
The other thing is tail section of the exhaust, or complete exhaust and bigger wheels. It is hard to get permission to fit the bigger wheels than the importer declares. The exhaust you are able to get to the papers when you have original certificate from the producer that declare compatibility with your car model. And even if you have these documents, you come to the police and only a very few people there knows what to do.
That is the reason why many people here does not have the legal modifications.
johnperth78: Hi, if this question was adressed to me: I have fitted the XYZ Supersport coilovers.
You can also get away with "illegal" mods here by not telling anyone, but if you prang your car and the insurers see mods they aren't aware of, they will refuse to pay out your claim, which could be a big problem, especially if you have hit anyone else's car as well.
The police also keep a look out for obviously modded vehicles. If you do have one, they they will often stop you and go over it with a fine tooth comb. Which generally ends with a yellow sticker, which gives you a month or so to fix any defects, or a red sticker, which means you can't drive the car until its fixed and passes a roadworthy assessment.
Of course, I can only do this with the 2.5 - 3.0 swap, because both engines look identical. Here the police officers take your licence plates and vehicle registration so you have to call tow truck to move your vehicle home, then fix the problems. In case of smaller problem he takes only the vehicle registration and you are able to drive to your home. Fine for both offences is about 60€. So it is something similar to the stickers you mentioned.
The problem here is the bureaucracy, sometime is pretty hard to get the papers back as soon as you fix the problems :)
So far, it didn't happen to me :) The only problem could be the xenon headlamps. Fortunately they are from the GTA so they are not like the dazzling HIDs
Sounds like the constabulary are quite similar in their approach in both countries.
Question - aren't you required to advise the licensing authority of a change in engine number? I understand most people won't spot the difference by looking under the hood, but won't a non-matching engine number create problems with any insurance claims and also if you wish to sell the car later on?
Last, i think 7 years, is the engine part that can be replaced so we don't have engine number in vehicle registration or in insurance papers. Of course you can replace the engine only for the same type. And there is a room for a little cheating if the both engines look the same.
When you building a track car, just for driving on local race track, you have to register it some special way and pay some special insurance?
Unfortunately I have no idea what the requirements are for track-only cars. I imagine it would depend on the regulations of the particular class of competition it would be used for, or if it is only for occasional use on track days (so not organised competition), the minimum safety requirement of the particular track.