Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 servicing
Discussion
I drive a diesel GT as my commuting hack, but every time I get to road test a V6 at Motormech (my Saturday job), I fall in love with the Busso all over again - its a truly wonderful lump with SO much character
True, its a bit down on efficiency and 240bhp isn't a lot from 3.2L, but it just FEELS right
I reckon as the last car with the Busso, they'll very soon start appreciating in value - just read on Wikipedia that Giuseppe Busso died a few days after the last engine was built......
True, its a bit down on efficiency and 240bhp isn't a lot from 3.2L, but it just FEELS right
I reckon as the last car with the Busso, they'll very soon start appreciating in value - just read on Wikipedia that Giuseppe Busso died a few days after the last engine was built......
Nigel_O said:
I drive a diesel GT as my commuting hack, but every time I get to road test a V6 at Motormech (my Saturday job), I fall in love with the Busso all over again - its a truly wonderful lump with SO much character
True, its a bit down on efficiency and 240bhp isn't a lot from 3.2L, but it just FEELS right
I reckon as the last car with the Busso, they'll very soon start appreciating in value - just read on Wikipedia that Giuseppe Busso died a few days after the last engine was built......
I might be tempted to take it up to 270bhp. I just really hope there are a few good ones available later this year. The Busso is a really good engine.True, its a bit down on efficiency and 240bhp isn't a lot from 3.2L, but it just FEELS right
I reckon as the last car with the Busso, they'll very soon start appreciating in value - just read on Wikipedia that Giuseppe Busso died a few days after the last engine was built......
delta0 said:
Has anyone had a 3.2 with a Wizard exhaust? I'm wondering how antisocial they are at low revs/cold start?
It's on my to-do list, although as I intend to keep mine for a good many years I'm in no rush. I take the view that if I do it after owning the car for 1-2 years then it will help keep it fresh if you like, same goes for the diff which I really should get done 1st. I've just spent time so far doing the cheap to fix jobs, such as fixing the stiff and notchy clutch which is a common fault and of course painting that glorious master piece of an engine.The wizard costs around the £550-£600 but Long life exhausts will custom build you one for I think, £375, so you can specify what sound you like. I'm seriously thinking of going down this route as that price is fitted as well. Plus I'm pretty sure the standard system if in decent nick will sell on ebay as they are expensive to buy new (if you can at all).
As for loudness, they are a little louder when cold but as long as you have all the cats in place they are ok, if you decide to go down the CF2 route, then things become a lot louder from what I've heard.
WarnieV6GT said:
It's on my to-do list, although as I intend to keep mine for a good many years I'm in no rush. I take the view that if I do it after owning the car for 1-2 years then it will help keep it fresh if you like, same goes for the diff which I really should get done 1st. I've just spent time so far doing the cheap to fix jobs, such as fixing the stiff and notchy clutch which is a common fault and of course painting that glorious master piece of an engine.
The wizard costs around the £550-£600 but Long life exhausts will custom build you one for I think, £375, so you can specify what sound you like. I'm seriously thinking of going down this route as that price is fitted as well. Plus I'm pretty sure the standard system if in decent nick will sell on ebay as they are expensive to buy new (if you can at all).
As for loudness, they are a little louder when cold but as long as you have all the cats in place they are ok, if you decide to go down the CF2 route, then things become a lot louder from what I've heard.
The standard exhaust sounds great but I think the Wizard takes it to the next level. I will keep the cats and the silencer in place as I want the great sound but have some control on the volume at low rpm. I don't mind it being loud at high rpm. Hopefully it can keep the noise to a little burble at low rpm and cold start. I want to avoid annoying the neighbours. When i'm out into the country side having the Busso on full chat won't be a problem, in fact I want to hear all it has!The wizard costs around the £550-£600 but Long life exhausts will custom build you one for I think, £375, so you can specify what sound you like. I'm seriously thinking of going down this route as that price is fitted as well. Plus I'm pretty sure the standard system if in decent nick will sell on ebay as they are expensive to buy new (if you can at all).
As for loudness, they are a little louder when cold but as long as you have all the cats in place they are ok, if you decide to go down the CF2 route, then things become a lot louder from what I've heard.
delta0 said:
The standard exhaust sounds great but I think the Wizard takes it to the next level. I will keep the cats and the silencer in place as I want the great sound but have some control on the volume at low rpm. I don't mind it being loud at high rpm. Hopefully it can keep the noise to a little burble at low rpm and cold start. I want to avoid annoying the neighbours. When i'm out into the country side having the Busso on full chat won't be a problem, in fact I want to hear all it has!
Well I went down the longlife route and although it sounded ok I still wasn't 100% happy. The boom in the cabin could not be dialed out despite 2 attempts and it didn't sound great when in the higher rev range whenn even the original came to life. The best part was it's idle/low speed burble.So this weekend I finally got my hands on a wizard and my god it's good. The depth of sound it produces is truly amazing it really does sound like something exotic and to be honest no youtube video does it justice. It's not offensively loud at all even when cold, it just sounds really nice.
I get people walking along the road turning around to see whats coming only to be probably a little disappointed that its just a little blue alfa gt, and that's just pottering around.
If you can get your hands on an old 156 2.5 for around a grand and put this exhaust on then you'll have one of the best sounding cars this side of a masserati or ferrari for under £2k...trust me!
delta0 said:
Has anyone had a 3.2 with a Wizard exhaust? I'm wondering how antisocial they are at low revs/cold start?
Yes. Cold start is a bit spectacular, but as long as you tickle it away from home, it is not that bad. Not an offensive noise at all. Some performance exhausts just sound broken. You can get the mid pipe with the silencer in it, which calms the noise down a lot. I'm getting this configuration for my GTA SW.
WarnieV6GT said:
As for loudness, they are a little louder when cold but as long as you have all the cats in place they are ok, if you decide to go down the CF2 route, then things become a lot louder from what I've heard.
I'd second this - I have a Scorpion exhaust on my 156GTA and, with the cats in place it is absolutely perfect, but I tried the cat bypass and it was very antisocial at start-up and a bit droney at constant speeds. It sounded spectacular on hard acceleration, but the downsides were too great, so the cats went back in.Obviously, exhaust sound is a very personal issue but, if you try a cat bypass, definitely keep the cats in case you want to go back (also, I think they have tightened up the MOT....the cats in the headers are sufficient to pass the emissions tests, but I think there may be a physical check that the cats are in place now (possibly?)
WarnieV6GT said:
If you can get your hands on an old 156 2.5 for around a grand and put this exhaust on then you'll have one of the best sounding cars this side of a masserati or ferrari for under £2k...trust me!
I currently run a 156 2.5 and previously owned a Ferrari 328.A lot of people may disagree with me, but the Alfa sounds better than the Ferrari.
It's a shame the 2.5 is such a gutless wonder, because they sound better and rev harder than the 3.2s.
Its not that gutless, it just needs to be stirred into life.
The wizard on the 2.5 is fantastic. Better than the 3.2 version, I think there is something in the map that makes the 2.5 bang on overrun which is very addictive.
I remember pulling into a service station just off a dual carriage way. I was giving it some beans when I spotted the station, realised I needed fuel (downside of the Wizard, it encourages noise making), blipped it down into second and pulled up to a pump. The local "yoof" were all there examining their Corsas, and were very confused - an exotic had clearly pulled in, but all they could see was a silver saloon car with a middle aged bloke filling it up. They came over, all interested, I did the obligatory "bonnet lift" to reveal the V6 and they were rather impressed - and little bit gutted to realise they could drive this for about the same price as the bodykit they'd just screwed on the Corsa. I might have created some future Alfisti that day....
The wizard on the 2.5 is fantastic. Better than the 3.2 version, I think there is something in the map that makes the 2.5 bang on overrun which is very addictive.
I remember pulling into a service station just off a dual carriage way. I was giving it some beans when I spotted the station, realised I needed fuel (downside of the Wizard, it encourages noise making), blipped it down into second and pulled up to a pump. The local "yoof" were all there examining their Corsas, and were very confused - an exotic had clearly pulled in, but all they could see was a silver saloon car with a middle aged bloke filling it up. They came over, all interested, I did the obligatory "bonnet lift" to reveal the V6 and they were rather impressed - and little bit gutted to realise they could drive this for about the same price as the bodykit they'd just screwed on the Corsa. I might have created some future Alfisti that day....
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