Filip's GTV TS Clubsport project

[Filip 124]

So rather than getting a dual head machine, my alternatives are doing it by hand or buying a more expensive machine? 

[Filip 124]

Don't buy a dual head machine! Spend money on a DA instead! For example this: A cheap and good machine;

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/kestrel-das-6-pro-power-plus-da-polisher-and-free-pads-eu.php?manufacturers_id=54

 

Just make sure to get a 230V socket

 

Does the "pad" on this one have a floating midpoint, moving slitghtly at random while spinning as opposed to having a fixed midpoint like singel head cheapo machines?

[Alfaduden 226]

This is a DUAL ACTION machine. Rotates around its own axis...

[Filip 124]

Aah, that's what they are called!

[Filip 124]

The concept where something revolves around its own axis is mesmerizing...

Maybe it's just me

[GTV-TB 315]

Maybe it's just me

 develop it a bit  

[Filip 124]

 develop it a bit

 

Naah, you'd all think I'm high 

 

 

On April 27, I put the following on the to-do list:

 

• Rear spacers. The Ghiblis are ET35, so slightly better, but still too narrow for the rear. Got some thin non-hubcentric spacers that I will trialfit. If they dont work, I will go for Sparco hubcentric ones. 
• Rear silencer/tailpipe. Its poor construction creates a lot of resonance and doesnt muffle the sound very well. Photo to be posted... 
• Version 2.0 of the intake mount. Trimmed and painted, hopefully  
• Oil change to 10W-60.
• Gearbox oil change
• Re-bleed the brakes, again. A slightly spongy pedal feel on an Alfa? No... 

 

I ordered Sparco 12mm hubcentric spacers incl bolts. The 20mm I used on dad's TB were good so I'm going Sparco again. 

The intake mount version 2.0 was painted black and fitted before the trip to the Italian Car Meeting at Skokloster 2 weeks ago. 

 

The brakes won't get any more responsive/better from bleeding, but I spotted a moist master clutch cylinder = potential source of the problem.

Gonna look for new master + slave clutch cylinders. 

 

In the week to come, I plan on changing the valve cover gasket. Never done that before, so I'm excited 

[GTV-TB 315]

 Adding to the list:

• Rear spacers. The Ghiblis are ET35, so slightly better, but still too narrow for the rear. Got some thin non-hubcentric spacers that I will trialfit. If they dont work, I will go for Sparco hubcentric ones. 
• Rear silencer/tailpipe. Its poor construction creates a lot of resonance and doesnt muffle the sound very well. Photo to be posted... 
• Version 2.0 of the intake mount. Trimmed and painted, hopefully 
• Oil change to 10W-60.
• Gearbox oil change
• Re-bleed the brakes, again. A slightly spongy pedal feel on an Alfa? No... 

 

 Loosen the filling plug before you remove the drain plug,  just so you are sure that the plug loosens before draining the oil, it happens that the filling plug is almost impossible to remove.

 

[Filip 124]

 Loosen the filling plug before you remove the drain plug,  just so you are sure that the plug loosens before draining the oil, it happens that the filling plug is almost impossible to remove.

 

 

Thanks, will keep that in mind!  It's great that advice keeps coming in while I'm downtown having a beer or three. 

[Filip 124]

Went for a Friday evening drive today.I accidentally ended up doing 20 km of gravel roads, so much fun! The TS oversteers on gravel and felt really easy to control 

The RSR tires were very slippery, obviously, and let go fairly abruptly. They also blasted the body panels with gravel... Lucky I don't care about that sort of thing with this car   

 

I also pushed the car hard on a lot of twisty and worn asphalt roads. The springs and dampers are... worn. There were a lot of squirming and bouncing going on. I saw that several sites have FK coilover kits on offer right now... 

[GTV-TB 315]

 

I also pushed the car hard on a lot of twisty and worn asphalt roads. The springs and dampers are... worn. There were a lot of squirming and bouncing going on. I saw that several sites have FK coilover kits on offer right now... 

 Tempted   .. I understand  

 

 

[Alfaduden 226]

Buy a kit! After 500km on Nürburgring, I must say that I'm impressed with the cheap kit! It was surprisingly good!

I'm not selling mine anymore! sorry!

[GTV-TB 315]

Buy a kit! After 500km on Nürburgring, I must say that I'm impressed with the cheap kit! It was surprisingly good!

I'm not selling mine anymore! sorry!

How was the soft butt of your on Nürburgring?

[Filip 124]

Buy a kit! After 500km on Nürburgring, I must say that I'm impressed with the cheap kit! It was surprisingly good!

I'm not selling mine anymore! sorry!

Good! Some hands-on experience

Yours dont fit my car...

[Alfaduden 226]

How was the soft butt of your on Nürburgring?

 

It was great! After buying a http://www.biltema.no/no/Bil---MC/MC/Bagasje/Antisklinett-82536/ my butt was still attached to the stupid momo leather seat! I saw this in a M3 one time, had a good laugh, but then I realized that it actually was pretty genious!

When I got home I went for a test drive in the 4C and later a M3 Compact that I actually want to buy for a ring-racer...

 

But my samboer told me that "this was over her dead body"... So... Sell the GTV and buy a M3???

Problem is that I have spent so much money on my GTV now, and I   it anyway, soooo.... No M3 for me I guess... I should just win the lottery some day, buy a huge garage and some funny cars! Each for its own use

 

 

Good! Some hands-on experience

Yours dont fit my car...

 

After adjusting the stiffness on the front, I was very happy with it actually. Not so good on the street always, but for trackday, it is super for this kind of money!

[Filip 124]

It was great! After buying a http://www.biltema.no/no/Bil---MC/MC/Bagasje/Antisklinett-82536/ my butt was still attached to the stupid momo leather seat! I saw this in a M3 one time, had a good laugh, but then I realized that it actually was pretty genious!

When I got home I went for a test drive in the 4C and later a M3 Compact that I actually want to buy for a ring-racer...

 

But my samboer told me that "this was over her dead body"... So... Sell the GTV and buy a M3???

Problem is that I have spent so much money on my GTV now, and I   it anyway, soooo.... No M3 for me I guess... I should just win the lottery some day, buy a huge garage and some funny cars! Each for its own use

 

 

 

After adjusting the stiffness on the front, I was very happy with it actually. Not so good on the street always, but for trackday, it is super for this kind of money!

 

That Compact looks sweet. I have to admit that an M3 E36 Coupé is tempting... 

 

 

Good to hear about the FKs. 

[Filip 124]

Track premiere yesterday! 

 

 

Went to an open pitlane event at a nearby racetrack, Sviestad. 

Great weather, sunny with 22 C, but still not too crowded!

 

 

 

The 997 GT3 RS wasn't a rare sight. There were 2 more just like it, along with lots of other expensive cars. BMW 1 M's, Audi TTRS and Corvette ZR1 among others, but also some E36 BMWs, a CRX and a couple of other fairly cheap cars. 

 

All in all, the GTV behaved and I had a lot of fun.

Soft is a good way to summarize its behavior 

 

 

Missing quite a few of the "hairs" on the shoulder... 

Edited May 27, 2014 by Filip

[Alfaduden 226]

How was the tires? I'm waiting for a report!

[Filip 124]

How was the tires? I'm waiting for a report!

 

I'm satisfied with them. I've done about 900 km since mounting them, where about 100 occured yesterday at the track. In general, I'm impressed with the way they behave on bad roads, the noise level and the track performance. 

 

As you know, I have mostly used my GTV for spirited driving on twisty country roads so far. When I bought it, it had 7x17 wheels with Nankang NS2 tires in good shape and I considered them a positive surprise as well, both in terms of noise and comfort, but not grip...

They were predictable but slippery. Once I fitted the Federal RSRs, I believe the noise actually decreased a bit, or at least changed to a slightly more enjoyable frequency, at highway speed (100-130 km/h) and they are definitely not worse in terms of bumpiness. As of today, I've run them at 2.7/2.5 bar front/rear on the road. 

 

There is one difference, though. The Federals tramline in a way that the Nankangs did not. On a normal Swedish highway, which maintains decent quality, the two tires behave in a similar way, but when you're on metropolitan commuting roads and country roads that are not as well maintained, the Federals are more nervous and require some attention. However, I don't usually drive cars with wide/nervous tires, so I'm not exactly used to it, but I still don't find the Federals unbearable in any way. It is to be taken into account that the Federals are 225 wide and the Nankangs are 215 wide, but the difference in stability is most likely caused by the more aggressive tire pattern of the Federals. It reminds you of Toyo R888s. 

 

What about yesterday's track event, then? 

Before I began my first laps, I lowered the pressure to 2.2/2.0 (= cold temp). I used intuition to find this number, then googled quickly to see what others have tried on the same type of car. Seemed OK, so I stayed there. 

Keep in mind that this was my first time on the track with this car. I started out carefully, getting to know the car and the track (haven't visited it in almost 2 years), gradually increasing the pace. Here is where I was impressed with the Federals, not only for one but two reasons. First, they were predictable in their behaviour, signalling clearly when they were about to let go. Second, they were very consistent as I kept counting laps. With rising heat, their grip level stayed virtually equal. They did not get slippery and edgy as the heat rose but stayed grippy. 

 

It remains to be seen how they last over time. Note that my car is standard chassis-wise. I still haven't fitted my Eibach camber bolts

and I still haven't made my mind up and ordered an FK Silverline X coilover kit  It's important to point out that the car rolled a lot

in the corners, as it's soft both laterally and longitudinally. Of course, the camber in the front is far from ideal, but the Federals were

still strong enough to cope reasonably. As you can see in the photo I posted before, most of the top layer of "hairs" on the shoulder of the front tires are gone, so the camber should be increased. It's possible that they would have benefitted from a few extra hectograms of air in the tires as well, though I never measure the tire pressure when they were warm. 

 

I'd definitely recommend the Federal RSRs if you use your GTV for enthusiastic driving on winding roads and on the track. For twisty roads only, there are probably better alternatives from "the big dragons" of tire manufacturers. Similarly, for pure track use, a full-spec

R-compound tire like the R888, Yoko A048, Kuhmo V70A, MPSC, or why not try Federals FZ, copes better and most likely lasts longer. If you're just in it for the smile and don't mind every last tenth on your lap times, the RSRs are a genuinely good choice. 

 

How was that review, Mr Svendsen (and all the rest of you   )? 

[Alfaduden 226]

I LIKE this!
Get your self a proper chassis, then set up the camber. I need some camber bolts as well. 1,4deg camber is not enough. I want it to lean towards 2... 

[Filip 124]

I LIKE this!

Get your self a proper chassis, then set up the camber. I need some camber bolts as well. 1,4deg camber is not enough. I want it to lean towards 2...

Got it, Captain

Have you looked into changing the top mounts or wishbones?

There's just so much I want to buy/replace...

Might need a new radiator (and heater thingy, it's leaking). It seemed to run a bit hot after 5+ laps, hitting the next mark after 90. I don't trust the gauge that much, though...

New gauge too?

Damnit, expensive

+ coilovers. I need a sugar daddy.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Filip

[Alfaduden 226]

I added red line waterwetter in the coolant fluid reservior before I went to Nürburgring. Had no issues with heat. BUT I have new radiator and my heat register do NOT leak
 

Shit.. Spent sooo much money on this car now... Almost everything is new...

Edited May 28, 2014 by Alfaduden

[Damgreg 94]

Water Wetter!! Nice choice for nice product!

[GTV-TB 315]

Might need a new radiator (and heater thingy, it's leaking). It seemed to run a bit hot after 5+ laps, hitting the next mark after 90. I don't trust the gauge that much, though...

New gauge too?

Damnit, expensive

Drive faster more air is forced through the radiator.

[Filip 124]

Yea, a new radiator would give me some peace... But civil war in my wallet ...

Water Wetter, isn't that cheating?