Pikey tyres

#31

Catman <catman (AT) rustcuore-sportivo (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Quote:

Not the last few weeks but August was total shit. I think the extreme
wetness to be found in these parts helped my Alfa to rust more than I
had expected and hoped for. :-(

Downer. I thought the 156s were all galvanized. Was it shunted and repaired?

I think there have been issues around front floorpans.

I can only speculate, but suggest that this may be caused by the habit
156s have for bottoming out and catching on speed humps.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso -
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Toyota Prius T-Spirit

#32

SteveH wrote:

Quote:

Catman <catman (AT) rustcuore-sportivo (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Not the last few weeks but August was total shit. I think the extreme
wetness to be found in these parts helped my Alfa to rust more than I
had expected and hoped for. :-(

Downer. I thought the 156s were all galvanized. Was it shunted and repaired?

I think there have been issues around front floorpans.

I can only speculate, but suggest that this may be caused by the habit
156s have for bottoming out and catching on speed humps.

Hmm. Could be. There's a bit in the AROC mag by Jamie about underseal
not being good enough.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

#33

R C Nesbit wrote:

Quote:

Catman spoke:
I suspect the perception of change in balance is either due to
1) Psychology i.e. you think you should feel a change, so we do.
2) The sharpness of the tread edges / release compound / not fully
curing of the tyre etc etc. In short, because the tyre is *new*. Brand
new, and this stops happening within n miles.
3) Marketing

I suspect a mix of 1) and 2)

When I put the cheapos on the 156 I was wary - first opportunity I
deliberately did a wheel spin, and very hard braking.

Throwing cheap tyres into the mix should serve to complicate the
discussion

Quote:

Cornering I was
'cautious' about and the car definitely felt different, but this was with
new tread replacing almost illegal tread.

Within a day or so things calmed down and it now feels sharper handling
than it did with the old rubber on.

I'm not overly surprised. Personally I tend to stick with P6000s cos I
can get them, and I know they do good. Bit like Avons on the Sprint IYSWIM.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

#34

SteveH wrote:

Quote:

For the rest of us manly drivers, lift-off oversteer is a desirable
characteristic.

You didn't say that about the 33 you bought off me

Cheers
Tony

#35

Tony R wrote:

Quote:

SteveH wrote:

For the rest of us manly drivers, lift-off oversteer is a desirable
characteristic.

You didn't say that about the 33 you bought off me

It's bloody wonderful in the Sprint

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

#36

Tony R <tony.rickardno (AT) spam (DOT) blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

Quote:

SteveH wrote:

For the rest of us manly drivers, lift-off oversteer is a desirable
characteristic.

You didn't say that about the 33 you bought off me

Hi Tony.... didn't realise you were still about!

Erm, that 33 was 'special' in that it did under and oversteer all at the
same time until we put a set of Pirellis on it.

Mind you, my point of reference at that stage of my life was a 33 16v on
Yokohamas which were so sticky they only lasted 2.5k miles.

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso -
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Toyota Prius T-Spirit

#37

SteveH wrote:

Quote:

Hi Tony.... didn't realise you were still about!

Still lurking occasionally! Wifey has a Fiat 500 and my eldest daughter
a Punto Grande so there is still an affiliation with Italian cars even
if I have gone over to the dark side with an Audi company car.

Watching with interest though the new 1750 TB engine, plus I followed a
pristine 156 home the other day and went all mushy over Alfas again...

Quote:

Erm, that 33 was 'special' in that it did under and oversteer all at the
same time until we put a set of Pirellis on it.

I couldn't bring myself to change the tyres that were on the car when I
bought it as they never "needed" changing - i.e. didn't seem to wear at
all. I guess that should have told me something

It was entertaining in the wet though, not fast, just entertaining!

Cheers
Tony

#38

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:52:32 +0100, Catman
<catman (AT) rustcuore-sportivo (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Quote:

Perhaps it should be:

'Since most people think they can feel a difference in traction balance,
have done no training since they passed their test and are probably
using tyres with < 3mm tread on them, we recommend that the new tyres
are put on the rear'

Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

LOL. Maybe we are actually in agreement!

Quote:

Downer. I thought the 156s were all galvanized.

They are, but maybe there's more to rust proofing than just
galvanising.

Quote:

Was it shunted and repaired?

Nope. Never. Seams along the sills inside the doors were growing and
other seams were too, one door bottom was rusting, the wheel arch
between the back door and the turned in edge was blistering (i.e. on
the outer body surface). Generally there were signs of corrosion
creeping under the paintwork in many areas of the car. It was the
final straw that made me seek solace elsewhere. If only the rust had
been more localised so I could reasonably deal with it but it wasn't.
I couldn't bear to see my pride and joy rust away as well as spend as
much time in the garage getting repaired as it had been in the last
year. It had hoisted the 'bottomless pit' flag and I took the hint.

This debate has got me thinking in strange ways. Here's an example.. I
wonder if, having owned a diesel Alfa, I'm qualified as a 'petrol
head'? Top Gear didn't cover that though, IIRC, JC liked the 2.4JTD
quite a lot.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)

#39

Tony R <tony.rickardno (AT) spam (DOT) blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

Quote:

SteveH wrote:

Hi Tony.... didn't realise you were still about!

Still lurking occasionally! Wifey has a Fiat 500 and my eldest daughter
a Punto Grande so there is still an affiliation with Italian cars even
if I have gone over to the dark side with an Audi company car.

Happens to the best of us.

I've had a Passat TDI and currently have a Prius as a company car -
although I did hand the Passat back and buy a 156 Sportwagon with my
opt-out money, before being made redundant.... ended up in a job with a
compulsory Prius.

Quote:

Watching with interest though the new 1750 TB engine, plus I followed a
pristine 156 home the other day and went all mushy over Alfas again...

I'm more interested in the rumours of a 166 replacement with RWD and a
V8

Quote:

Erm, that 33 was 'special' in that it did under and oversteer all at the
same time until we put a set of Pirellis on it.

I couldn't bring myself to change the tyres that were on the car when I
bought it as they never "needed" changing - i.e. didn't seem to wear at
all. I guess that should have told me something

It was entertaining in the wet though, not fast, just entertaining!

That's one way of putting it! - it was just lethal if you lived in
Milton Keynes, with all the roundabouts!

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso -
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Toyota Prius T-Spirit

#40

Zathras wrote:

Quote:

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:52:32 +0100, Catman
catman (AT) rustcuore-sportivo (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Perhaps it should be:

'Since most people think they can feel a difference in traction balance,
have done no training since they passed their test and are probably
using tyres with < 3mm tread on them, we recommend that the new tyres
are put on the rear'

Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

LOL. Maybe we are actually in agreement!

Downer. I thought the 156s were all galvanized.

They are, but maybe there's more to rust proofing than just
galvanising.

Was it shunted and repaired?

Nope. Never. Seams along the sills inside the doors were growing and
other seams were too, one door bottom was rusting, the wheel arch
between the back door and the turned in edge was blistering (i.e. on
the outer body surface). Generally there were signs of corrosion
creeping under the paintwork in many areas of the car. It was the
final straw that made me seek solace elsewhere. If only the rust had
been more localised so I could reasonably deal with it but it wasn't.
I couldn't bear to see my pride and joy rust away as well as spend as
much time in the garage getting repaired as it had been in the last
year. It had hoisted the 'bottomless pit' flag and I took the hint.

They do that, don't they though? Bit of sod, though.

Quote:

This debate has got me thinking in strange ways. Here's an example.. I
wonder if, having owned a diesel Alfa, I'm qualified as a 'petrol
head'? Top Gear didn't cover that though, IIRC, JC liked the 2.4JTD
quite a lot.

I think I'll give you honorary membership

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk