Delta Integrale Evo II/III Reliability Modifications

[AJSG]

An opportunity has arisen (my car won't fit in the new work car park) in which I could finally slay the demon of Integrale ownership. Whilst I'm not scared of Italian cars (owned a 3200GT for 4 years, a Quattroporte for another 4 years, and currently own a 612), the Intergale reliability issue has been flagged by too many people to ignore.

I have been lucky up to now as in the last 11 years of "unrelaible" Italian car ownership nothing has ever gone wrong of significance.

I drive my car every day, always have and always will, so I need something that will deal with an hour of London traffic in August to the two inch snow drifts we get down here which somehow manage to block the south-east yet I still seem to manage to drive a 500+ bhp rwd car to work.

What I would really appreciate is a list of people's top modification for their Evo II/III with an eye to reliability rather than outright performance. For example it may be a bigger radiator to deal with traffic, all the way to a water pump carefully wittled out of Unobtanium 547 by Bolivian virgins.

Also apart from Walkers is there anybody else I should absolutely speak to about modifing this car for reliability, and maybe a tiny tiny power hike towards the 250'ish!?!

Much obliged...

Andrew.

PS Just in case, the answer is Royal Blue with Tan interior.

[viggyp]

Walkers is your best bet when it comes to reliable mods as they've been tuning them for ages but try Guy Croft. He deals with internal engine mods rather than bolt ons but he has worked in the turbo industry and is a font of knowledge. Best bet is to email him. Here's his site. http://www.guy-croft.com/

[keith HF]

I'd recommend Keith at Auto integrale been taking my cars to him for over 10 years now, he know hos stuff when it comes to integrales. To be fair in standard tune there pretty reliable problems only generally occur if some monkey has been messing with it. Just buy a good one with a solid body and plenty of history and it will definitely put a smile on your face!

[viggyp]

I can't believe I forgot about Auto Integrale. High BHP with a good reliability record.

[AJSG]

keith HF said:

I'd recommend Keith at Auto integrale been taking my cars to him for over 10 years now,

I wrote to him the other day about the 350bhp Blue one they have for sale, presume he is on holiday as I have not received anything back.

Getting quite excited about the idea now, wife wanted me to buy a 997 so she could use it as well! No such luck! Only other contender is a RZ/SZ, but apparently despite being based on the 75 they are very unreliable.

[AJSG]

viggyp said:

Walkers is your best bet when it comes to reliable mods as they've been tuning them for ages but try Guy Croft.

I'll give them both a bell next week, now I have to pluck up the courage to sell the 612.

Cheers...

[WayneWRC]

Integrales are as unreliable as you make them? They're the same as any other 20yr old car, you tend to get out of them what you put in.
Speak to most owners and they'll tell you that unless you buy a bad one they are quite easy to live with.

Good look in the search!

[jamieboy]

AJSG said:

Only other contender is a RZ/SZ, but apparently despite being based on the 75 they are very unreliable.

I' disagree with that. Like any other 20+ year-old car, you need to keep on top of maintenance. And if you need any of the bespoke bits (lights, suspension, windscreen, etc.) then it can be a struggle. But fundamentally they're quite simple cars with well-proven mechanicals, I've never been aware of them described as unreliable at all.

[Evo141n]

Andrew, I've a plan.
You buy the RZ/SZ and then swap it for my reliable integrale!

[AJSG]

WayneWRC said:

Integrales are as unreliable as you make them? They're the same as any other 20yr old car, you tend to get out of them what you put in.

Ok, so the message is don't mess about with it and keep it standard?

I was sort of hoping for some little nuggets of information with regard to small parts that go wrong regularly and can be swapped for aftermarket pieces which last much longer. For example on my 3200 it was the relays and the back boxes...on the Quattroporte the TPMS and the sunroof switches. On the 612 you can swap the bushes for aftermarket ones saving you 250 a service...etc, etc.

In an ideal world I'd like 250-270bhp and for it to be reliable...is that possible?

[AJSG]

jamieboy said:

I've never been aware of them described as unreliable at all.

Happy to hear those rumours are wrong then, some years ago I was at a North London alfa tuner and he quietly hated them...and he had 4-5 in for work.

[jamieboy]

AJSG said:

I was at a North London alfa tuner and he quietly hated them...and he had 4-5 in for work.

That's a big proportion of the total UK cars, if he had them all in at the same time I'm not surprised he was sick of the sight of them. Seriously, there are plenty of reasons not be buy an SZ/RZ, but lack of reliability isn't really one of them.

___________

Back on-topic, what is being sold as an "evo III" nowadays? Is it just any evo II that's been modified?

[viggyp]

jamieboy said:

AJSG said:

I was at a North London alfa tuner and he quietly hated them...and he had 4-5 in for work.

That's a big proportion of the total UK cars, if he had them all in at the same time I'm not surprised he was sick of the sight of them. Seriously, there are plenty of reasons not be buy an SZ/RZ, but lack of reliability isn't really one of them.

___________

Back on-topic, what is being sold as an "evo III" nowadays? Is it just any evo II that's been modified?

No such thing as an Evo 3. Just evo 1 & 2 16v catalyst cars. Evo 2's are harder to tune due to the cat.

[jamieboy]

viggyp said:

jamieboy said:

Back on-topic, what is being sold as an "evo III" nowadays? Is it just any evo II that's been modified?

No such thing as an Evo 3. Just evo 1 & 2 16v catalyst cars. Evo 2's are harder to tune due to the cat.

That's how I remembered it, and it's what prompted my question. But I figured I must be missing something, with people offering buying and tuning advice and no-one mentioning the obvious.

[WayneWRC]

AJSG said:

WayneWRC said:

Integrales are as unreliable as you make them? They're the same as any other 20yr old car, you tend to get out of them what you put in.

Ok, so the message is don't mess about with it and keep it standard?

I was sort of hoping for some little nuggets of information with regard to small parts that go wrong regularly and can be swapped for aftermarket pieces which last much longer. For example on my 3200 it was the relays and the back boxes...on the Quattroporte the TPMS and the sunroof switches. On the 612 you can swap the bushes for aftermarket ones saving you 250 a service...etc, etc.

In an ideal world I'd like 250-270bhp and for it to be reliable...is that possible?

Mine is running 290ish PS and apart from my own doing is been good as gold, DM me and ill give you a ring and ill be more than happy to chat about it. ( easier than fat fingerered typing on my phone!)

Wayne

[AJSG]

jamieboy said:

Back on-topic, what is being sold as an "evo III" nowadays? Is it just any evo II that's been modified?

Thought people referred to an Evo 3 as the 2 with Cats...

[AJSG]

WayneWRC said:

DM me and ill give you a ring and ill be more than happy to chat about it.

Done, speak to you at the end of the week or next week.

Thanks,

Andrew

[AJSG]

jamieboy said:

tuning advice and no-one mentioning the obvious.

To be honest I would have expected a few more tips on little things to change considering its age, no mention of HID headlamp conversions or wiring looms, let alone brakes or anything else.

I understand that a lot of people see fettling these vehicles as heresy but there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, in trying to improve on what was fundamentally a mass produced vehicle.

I don't know how many purist here have tried matching brake fluid/pads/hoses to their driving style? It can transform the way you drive and I have done this on several bikes and some cars. Makes a lot of diffrence to your confidence, you can brake later...or carry more brake into the corner..anyway I digress.

[viggyp]

AJSG said:

jamieboy said:

Back on-topic, what is being sold as an "evo III" nowadays? Is it just any evo II that's been modified?

Thought people referred to an Evo 3 as the 2 with Cats...

It's a tad confusing but here goes.

Evo 1 = 16v not cat
Evo 2 = 16v cat

For the Swiss market, you could get the Integrale in both 16v & Evo body shells but with a 177bhp 8v cat engine known as Kat. I hope this makes sense? Made sense in my head!!

[stuartmmcfc]

evocorner is the forum to visit and ask these sort of questions IMO.