2.0 twin spark Vs, JTS
Discussion
I'm looking at getting a 156 at the moment, more than likely in a 156, preferably in red and with tan leather sportwagon form, but I'm not being too strict about that.
I'm looking at 2.0 as its a compromise between economy and performance and both the twinny and JTS appear to be with budget.
How does the newer engine compare? Is it still a 'fun' engine?
How is it for reliability, do they still need regular oil top ups and cambelt changes?
How do they compare in terms of economy?
The newer engine has IIRC 15bhp on the old twinspark, is it worth it for the extra power?
I drove a 155 2.0 a while back and the engine sounded great, does the JTS still have the Alfa character?
All feedback welcomed, I'm currently looking at cars around £1500 - £2500.
I'm looking at 2.0 as its a compromise between economy and performance and both the twinny and JTS appear to be with budget.
How does the newer engine compare? Is it still a 'fun' engine?
How is it for reliability, do they still need regular oil top ups and cambelt changes?
How do they compare in terms of economy?
The newer engine has IIRC 15bhp on the old twinspark, is it worth it for the extra power?
I drove a 155 2.0 a while back and the engine sounded great, does the JTS still have the Alfa character?
All feedback welcomed, I'm currently looking at cars around £1500 - £2500.
Depending on the year it was made the 2.0 Twinspark can either be 150bhp or 155bhp, the earlier cars having that extra 5 horses. I know a few people who've had the JTS engine and it's been known to under perform. One guy over on Alfaowner.com had his dyno'd and it was only around 138bhp! I've driven the 156 with both engines and the twinspark makes a lovely noise (especially if you install the GTA Air intake) where as the JTS is a bit flat sounding.
One thing to look out for on Twinsparks is oil consumption, they guzzle it, around 1 litre per 1000 miles, so if you look at a car make sure the engine has been looked after.
One thing to look out for on Twinsparks is oil consumption, they guzzle it, around 1 litre per 1000 miles, so if you look at a car make sure the engine has been looked after.
I think most will agree that the TS is preferable to the JTS unit, but with both - proper maintenance will ensure reliability in either case.
Being a 2.0TS owner, I have to say it offers the best package. I obtain 360 miles (at worst) to 445 miles on a tank of fuel with a mix of driving styles, town, country and motorway. The beauty of the 2.0L is that its not much slower than a 2.5V6, but will be kinder on the purse in all areas.
I tested a 1.8TS, but found you had to work the gears more and thus found it less fuel efficient and not as smooth as the 2.0TS (forget the 1.6TS, especially with the AC on it will be like waiting on paint to dry).
IMO - 2.0TS is the way to go !!!
PS. Look out for the Momo Sport Leather Pack (Momo Logo is embossed to the side of the front headrests). This was a really expensive option (got it on mine
)... You'll find the Lusso has a softer suspension setup to the Veloce (Sport Model). Personally avoid Sport Pack 3 with the high level wing - spoils the lines IMO and you can't see out of the rear view mirror too well either. I wouldn't consider a Turismo spec - your budget is high enough to get a decent trim model. If you did go down the route of Satan (aka Diesel) then the 2.4JTD can be costly to fix and the 1.9JTD is probably the best all rounder there... but being a diesel it won't sound like a true Alfa, if that is what you want... Then Alfa + Petrol + Leather (or Recaro's) provides the true Alfa experience in my humble opnion... Well that's what I like and that's what I bought 
When you get one remember to put some pics up matey!
Being a 2.0TS owner, I have to say it offers the best package. I obtain 360 miles (at worst) to 445 miles on a tank of fuel with a mix of driving styles, town, country and motorway. The beauty of the 2.0L is that its not much slower than a 2.5V6, but will be kinder on the purse in all areas.
I tested a 1.8TS, but found you had to work the gears more and thus found it less fuel efficient and not as smooth as the 2.0TS (forget the 1.6TS, especially with the AC on it will be like waiting on paint to dry).
IMO - 2.0TS is the way to go !!!
PS. Look out for the Momo Sport Leather Pack (Momo Logo is embossed to the side of the front headrests). This was a really expensive option (got it on mine
)... You'll find the Lusso has a softer suspension setup to the Veloce (Sport Model). Personally avoid Sport Pack 3 with the high level wing - spoils the lines IMO and you can't see out of the rear view mirror too well either. I wouldn't consider a Turismo spec - your budget is high enough to get a decent trim model. If you did go down the route of Satan (aka Diesel) then the 2.4JTD can be costly to fix and the 1.9JTD is probably the best all rounder there... but being a diesel it won't sound like a true Alfa, if that is what you want... Then Alfa + Petrol + Leather (or Recaro's) provides the true Alfa experience in my humble opnion... Well that's what I like and that's what I bought When you get one remember to put some pics up matey!
Edited by PJ3074 on Tuesday 28th June 16:41
jamcam23 said:
Yep, I had the Momo option on my 2.0TS, very nice seats. I'll have to disagree with the 2.0 vs 2.5 though, the performance jump is pretty noticeable, especially at 3.5k upwards and the torque in any gear is a lot better. But that's another thread..
On paper (as it were) doesn't seem much in it, but I do agree that a 6-Pot will always provide the smoothest, nicest sounding experience. But I know I cannot afford to run a V6 as a daily driver, hence the 2.0L offers the best compromise. I would go TS over JTS, the JTS suffers from too many emissions related problems - annoying warning lights, bad wiring and dodgy lambda sensors.
Only downside is the dash is nicer in the JTS although the carbon effect with orange dials in the older Veloce/Sport Pack does look pretty cool.
Only downside is the dash is nicer in the JTS although the carbon effect with orange dials in the older Veloce/Sport Pack does look pretty cool.
crostonian said:
I would go TS over JTS, the JTS suffers from too many emissions related problems - annoying warning lights, bad wiring and dodgy lambda sensors.
Only downside is the dash is nicer in the JTS although the carbon effect with orange dials in the older Veloce/Sport Pack does look pretty cool.
Just to add to the above..on the JTS it has something like x3 CATs with x2 on the front exhaust pipe. The front flexi area can be prone to cracks and if you are going to replace that front pipe it can be Mega Coin(£500+) to fix. I had to replace this part on my 2.0TS (CF2 Engine) and only cost me £160.00 as only has a single CAT (2001 model).... Incidently my TS has the aforementioned Orange Dials and Carbon - it's quite Ferrari-Esque and if you look at a Classic Ferrari 412, the dials are near enough identical Only downside is the dash is nicer in the JTS although the carbon effect with orange dials in the older Veloce/Sport Pack does look pretty cool.
as per this pic...
I've got a 02 JTS (140,000 miles and MOT due in August...gulp), really like it but can confirm annoying lamba problems, had the usual "Motor Control Failure" warning light on for pretty much 13 months on and off. Which was quite scary the first time I saw it come on at 70 on the M1!
I have replaced 4 sensors in that time and the fault light keeps coming back on, my usual indie eventually just turned round and said, the sensors are working fine, no actual problem, so either chuck a load of money trying to find the problem or live with it and come back once a month to get the fault code checked and cleared for a few weeks of fault light free life.
Still great fun watching passengers faces when they get in and see a bloody great message on the display saying "Motor Control Failure"!
Not driven at TS but for all its problems and issues love the JTS, black Momo leather, Bose stereo, lovely place to be whilst you stare at fault lights.....still glad I didn't buy a mondeo or something!
I have replaced 4 sensors in that time and the fault light keeps coming back on, my usual indie eventually just turned round and said, the sensors are working fine, no actual problem, so either chuck a load of money trying to find the problem or live with it and come back once a month to get the fault code checked and cleared for a few weeks of fault light free life.
Still great fun watching passengers faces when they get in and see a bloody great message on the display saying "Motor Control Failure"!
Not driven at TS but for all its problems and issues love the JTS, black Momo leather, Bose stereo, lovely place to be whilst you stare at fault lights.....still glad I didn't buy a mondeo or something!
I have a JTS. It's my first car (!) so no personal comparisons but I've read a lot about this by now.
The JTS is actually largely the same as the TS but with an updated head. Early JTS engines had some kind of overfuelling problem that led to carbon build up. A few people got them on dynos and found they were way down from the claimed 165bhp. Whether the two are the same thing, not sure. Alfa apparently fixed the former by mid-2004 builds.
As well as the other stuff in this thread, I'm told they can have excessive cam lobe wear especially if the oil isn't maintained. I had my 2005 one checked recently and they said it was holding up OK. Other expensive things: lambdas (four of them) and injectors. They changed the spec'd oil to 10w60 so it uses less but you still must keep it checked. Cambelts are still 36,000mi or 3 years.
I normally get just under 30mpg from mine - mixed use mostly for fun - but it has been down to 24 recently, maybe due to the aircon or maybe a fault.
All things being equal I might want a TS. As it is, I'd base any decision on the rest of the package - do you want a facelift exterior or not? Does it have to be after 2002? Note that they kept selling the 1.8 TS, which I wouldn't rule out either - although not the underpowered 1.6.
The JTS is actually largely the same as the TS but with an updated head. Early JTS engines had some kind of overfuelling problem that led to carbon build up. A few people got them on dynos and found they were way down from the claimed 165bhp. Whether the two are the same thing, not sure. Alfa apparently fixed the former by mid-2004 builds.
As well as the other stuff in this thread, I'm told they can have excessive cam lobe wear especially if the oil isn't maintained. I had my 2005 one checked recently and they said it was holding up OK. Other expensive things: lambdas (four of them) and injectors. They changed the spec'd oil to 10w60 so it uses less but you still must keep it checked. Cambelts are still 36,000mi or 3 years.
I normally get just under 30mpg from mine - mixed use mostly for fun - but it has been down to 24 recently, maybe due to the aircon or maybe a fault.
All things being equal I might want a TS. As it is, I'd base any decision on the rest of the package - do you want a facelift exterior or not? Does it have to be after 2002? Note that they kept selling the 1.8 TS, which I wouldn't rule out either - although not the underpowered 1.6.
jts is a lovely engine,torque is much better than TS,mine pulls 30mph,in fifth no rumbles at all,floor her and she pulls quite well from that speed.would't say it's any faster though.but fuel comsumption is by far better in the JTS.I rarely see below 30mpg on a run easily hits 37mpg.had no problems with electronics of the engine.had to change a noisy tensioner that's all in the 25k I have owned it for.like any car you can get a good one or an bad one.
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