First car: Alfa Romeo 156 JTS Ti

[trashbat]

When I was about 14, I saw the advert for the Alfa 156, having been recently released and also winning European Car of the Year, and I wanted one.



At about 17, my parents gave me driving lessons as a birthday present, but since I never had any money, did have a bike and always lived in the city, I never took them up on it.

That promise got a bit close to expiry at the ripe old age of 26, so I did learn to drive in July 2010, just for the skill set. Sadly, it turned out to be fun - who knew? That gave me the idea that I could actually do what I'd bked on about for so long, specifically 'not having a car until I have a shiny red Alfa'.

I spent three months looking for exactly that - facelift 156, red, leather, petrol - only to find them being sold before I could get there, time & time again. Finally in September 2010 I went to a dealer, laid down £5,000, got most of that right and bought this:









So. I love it. Obviously I don't have much to compare it to, but it drives really well and just feels right. In retrospect it's a bit underpowered for what I want, but a first car probably should be. My driving style is a sort of unexpectedly compliant IAM manner that largely involves sticking to limits but accelerating hard wherever possible, and it would have been nice to have the 3.2 for that. Not really any regrets though.



It's got the 4-pot, two litre JTS lump. For the unfamiliar, this is basically the Alfa Twin Spark with a new head on it. By 'new' I mean direct injection, and an early iteration thereof - introduced in 2002. Frankly the JTS gives me The Fear through endless tales of other people's woe. It's given me a serious problem once: the injectors, and this cost nearly £800 largely because they're hidden away behind the inlet manifold. It's not a highly thought of engine in this regard, but I'm neither critical nor deeply positive about this engine. I think it makes an alright sound for a 4 pot, and it's fun enough for now.

With that in mind, the best way to describe this car is 'more than the sum of its parts'. It's just a great package. One of the biggest components in that is the interior. The Ti spec gives you Recaro sport seats from the GT, dark headlining, a different steering wheel and a few bits and pieces. The binocular dials mean your missus can't see how fast you're going, everything points at the driver and I think the materials are pretty good for a car in its class - especially once brought out with Autoglym. If I thought I wouldn't end up sectioned, I'd just go and sit in it for hours - my happy place!









Ah, what else?

The Good:

• The looks! I think the only cars in the 'might one day feasibly afford' bracket that I prefer are the 156 GTA, the 159 and the facelifted Jaguar XF. I know the 156 facelift isn't to everyone's tastes, but I pull a stupid giggly face every time I walk away from it & look back, which is every single time.

• Actual reliability. One major problem in two years and 16,000 miles, and never left me stranded. Not enough evidence yet, but it's hardly fraught with disasters. I should say the previous owner was less fortunate - cambelt snapped and was fixed at a dealer for a few quid short of £3k. Ouch.

• The steering when driving - I think 2.2 turns lock to lock, not too light, not too heavy. It's completely planted everywhere it's been.

• I've met a lot of nice people. Alfa people are great! A special mention to the Alfaowner forum lot who help me out with all my worries and whims, to Mike at A&M, and Loz at Autolusso Bournemouth.

The Bad:

• Those fking injectors

• Cheese wheels. They look good but they're made of brie, and cost at least £150 each if you can find them. Two of mine bent (below) and were replaced. The other two are curbed and stained from the previous ownership, but not enough to worry too much.

• The brakes aren't brilliant; not really sure of their maximum potential but it feels a bit poor.

• The steering when parking - a stated turning radius of 238,857 miles.

• Not too fussed, but a typical 28mpg isn't brilliant. The best ever was 34.9mpg on 270 miles of pure motorway.

• The fact that it beats riding my very expensive bike and I spend too little time doing that. It's also how a drive from Southampton to Blackpool can take in Aberystwyth.

• I paid a premium for it, and only two years later, petrol cars of this type are worthless. Doesn't matter, it's hopefully a keeper.

The Ugly:

• The paint, which is a lovely metallic colour I like to call blurple, has been a headache. The whole front end was stonechipped when I got it, as well as scratches elsewhere. I then very gently drove into a few walls. The saga to fix this was a comedy of errors which you can see below. Fortunately it is all sorted now, and except some very minor chips and scratches, it's near perfect. The photos don't even begin to show how good it can look.

• 81p/mile on motoring, not including cleaning kit. In part that's the fact that it's a bit too precious and I spend silly time and money on keeping it that way.

• The stereo doesn't work when it's cold - some problem with the aftermarket amp the last guy installed. Warms up after a bit. One of the door speakers is giving me trouble too.

Things I've done besides routine servicing:

• The front badge!

• Took out the CD changer & stock stereo; replaced with an Alpine 113BT head unit and put an iPod cable through to the glovebox

• New radiator & thermostat

• Two new wheels, three new Eagle F1 Asymmetric tyres, four new centre caps

• Paintwork, several times

• Injector refurb and replacement, as well as sparks, a coil pack and wiring loom

• Powder coated wing mirror mounts

• Replaced the air con console what with its wandering temperatures

• Four wheel alignment

• Undersealing

• Handbrake cables after they broke

Blooper Reel

Paint job attempt #1 - note the wings vs bonnet



Paint job attempt #2 - how much more black could it be? The answer is none; none more black.



And behold the cheese wheels:



That's yer lot. Sorry about the essay. Hope it was faintly interesting

Rob

[Killer2005]

In a vaguely similar manner, I didn't really need my own car until i got to that age, and I bought an Alfa, mines a 147 though. I still have it and love it far too much, however it will shortly be going to a new home as I'm picking up a Honda S2000 at the weekend.

Yours does look bloody nice though, I will be having another Alfa in the future.

[anomaly]

Lovely car and a great write up. I still miss my Alfa!

[Yachtworker]

Great write up, it seems Alfa owners have all the best stories and well written to boot! You should read stuff like this;
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... To get an idea of dedicated but entertaining ownership.

[robsco]

Lovely car OP and great write up. Sums Alfas up to a tee in most respects, as well as the passion of ownership! I bought some of those TI wheels for my old 147, without really considering they might be square. They were and they didn't stay on long... they're also a nightmare to get hold of. As for the 156, well despite their quirks, they are a wonderful car (I had an almost genetic bond with my old one). The brakes are the biggest let down.

[trashbat]

Yachtworker said:

Great write up, it seems Alfa owners have all the best stories and well written to boot! You should read stuff like this;
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... To get an idea of dedicated but entertaining ownership.

That's a brilliant thread, ta! 'YOU CAN IMAGINE...'

In a similar vein, NEVER ADD UP THE COST OF MOTORING. Only a FOOL would do that.

[S10 GTA]

Were those pictures taken at Beaulieu Road Station?

• before you answer, I know they were*

[trashbat]

robsco said:

Lovely car OP and great write up. Sums Alfas up to a tee in most respects, as well as the passion of ownership! I bought some of those TI wheels for my old 147, without really considering they might be square. They were and they didn't stay on long... they're also a nightmare to get hold of. As for the 156, well despite their quirks, they are a wonderful car (I had an almost genetic bond with my old one). The brakes are the biggest let down.

You can at least buy identical replica wheels now, and they can't be much worse.

As for the brakes, like I say, I haven't ever tried for the minimum stopping distance from speed, but it doesn't feel great. I had to slow down to walking pace from 60mph for a cyclist the other day and let's just say it was a long way. I may uprate them one day, possibly to the GTA brakes. I'm keen to see how she's doing long term mechanically before I commit to stuff like that though, so probably post-cambelt and service this year would be the time to think about it.

[trashbat]

S10 GTA said:

Were those pictures taken at Beaulieu Road Station?

• before you answer, I know they were*

I went to a different car park just for you, but when I say different, I mean over the bridge.

[iggysport]

Gorgeous car, they are so cheap now but i always read the reliability reviews and do a legger

[trashbat]

iggysport said:

Gorgeous car, they are so cheap now but i always read the reliability reviews and do a legger

I know a lot about them now and I don't really feel that reliability is any worse than other cars, especially of that era. With the 156, and more so with the interior facelift in 2002, they moved a lot of the electrics from Magneti Marelli to Bosch and that was a bit of a sea change I think. Rust had been fairly well sorted by FGA in the 90s too. Do the cambelts on time, FREQUENTLY CHECK THE OIL and arguably avoid the JTS and I think you will do well. If it's diesel then you don't have the later problems of EGR, DPF etc so again happy days.

If you're posting on PH then you are probably competent enough to stay out of trouble - and by this I mean not the type to never open the bonnet, run out of oil, destroy the big ends and then post on some review site about how the engine makes a sad noise. You can't treat them like a fridge but they're not exactly divas either.

[S10 GTA]

The GTA on the other hand....

[trashbat]

S10 GTA said:

The GTA on the other hand....

Do you think the GTA would be 'unreliable' in the eyes of the ordinary punter? I always thought that it was because it was far more of an inherently special car that it demanded extra attention (and money) from us, but that objectively it's comparatively bulletproof. Not cheap though, as with most cars in its class, which is why I haven't made the jump.

[S10 GTA]

trashbat said:

o you think the GTA would be 'unreliable' in the eyes of the ordinary punter? I always thought that it was because it was far more of an inherently special car that it demanded extra attention (and money) from us, but that objectively it's comparatively bulletproof. Not cheap though, as with most cars in its class, which is why I haven't made the jump.

I have my head in the sand, and even I think its unreliable!

Actually, its not that bad. The problem is the fact it is so labour intensive to fix anything, it ends up costing the earth. It is no more or less unreliable than any other performance car.

[Johnboy Mac]

Good post OP. Nearly purchased one for Mrs.Mac.

[GTASmallville]

That looks lovely bud as you can tell I have a GTA but the JTS and TwinSpark 4pots are still good engines.

My mechanic told me about how much of a PITA the injectors are on the JTS which did make me chuckle :lol:

Regarding the brakes though, I found fitting fast road pads, braided hoses and super blue racing fluid makes a world of difference, maybe you should look into it

[trashbat]

A lex said:

Lovely the car, the Ti - and a great write-up.

Good to see that you arent blind to the 'quirks' of the JTS - too worrysome for me, and im happier with the TS in my Alfa.

Did they ever make a 156 JTD Ti with the 5-pot 2.4 diesel?

That would make a good car!

Yeah, it was just a end-of-life spec that they added to shift a few more - actually the first of two, the latter being the 'Sport'. At least I think they still did 2.4s at that point.

The biggest potential JTS pitfalls are carbon buildup and cam lobe wear. The former was a problem with engines made prior to April 2004, although it happens to them all (as it does any car). The latter is probably precipitated by faulty injectors putting fuel into the oil and thinning it. Both of them give nagging doubts about the longevity of the engine but it remains theoretical for me for now. Other common problems stem from the four lambdas and also the engine wiring. Unlike some other engines, it's also not used across many cars (only the Alfa GT used it) so in the very long term parts and expertise might be harder to come by.

If I could push a button and swap the engine for a TS or a V6 then I would, but it doesn't work like that. I wouldn't trade the facelift (in & out) for the earlier engines I don't think, and I can't afford to run a GTA, so there has to be a compromise.

[trashbat]

GTASmallville said:

My mechanic told me about how much of a PITA the injectors are on the JTS which did make me chuckle :lol:

It was something like six hours labour, and when reassembled the first time it leaked fuel. Plus they had to be sent off for reconditioning.

GTASmallville said:

Regarding the brakes though, I found fitting fast road pads, braided hoses and super blue racing fluid makes a world of difference, maybe you should look into it

Yes, definitely one to try. Do you have a clue on cost, out of interest? I might do that at the next brake service, which may not be too far off.

[trashbat]

Oh, I forgot. I did have to call the AA once. I locked my keys in the boot on Christmas Eve.

[GTASmallville]

I think the braided hoses cost me £65 for a set, the pads is totally dependant what you want to pay I guess, I recommend Ferodo DS2500 pads but I have a set of PF Carbon pads on the GTA and they are better but not sure how much they cost for a JTS. Best to have a look online, try the following sites...

shop.alfisti.net
alfastumper.dk

Be warned, you might see other things you want