James Junior

Ha ha I remember many a red faced car parking incident or seven point turn in my old GT. It had a turning circle like a bloody boat!

Thanks for the tip Smaky. MAF on my TT was integrated into the pipe running from the airbox. Presumably the Spider will be similar? I have some electrical contact cleaner somewhere I think. Is removing the EGR a big job? Not done one before, but not afraid to have a go... Thanks for the input. Was planning to have the EGR shut off completely when I have the car remapped, but this may not be for a few months yet.

I collected a 200bhp 2.4 Spider recently, but as I jetted off for a holiday the day after, I have only now had chance to get some decent wheel time in the car over this weekend. I have driven a few 2.4s in the past, but usually only for brief test drives (though did get a phase 2 Brera 2.4 on weekend loan from Mangos at one point.). Now between test drives and plenty of forum time I thought I was prepared for the poor fuel economy and known flaws of the 200bhp 2.4 in standard guise. Even so, I am quite staggered by just how poorly the engine performs in day to day driving. Now don't get me wrong, the mid range grunt is lovely and very useful on motorways and for the odd overtaking manoeuvre. However the lag is beyond a joke - I simply cannot believe Alfa let the car leave the factory like this. I have never driven a car before that suffers such epic lag in every gear, even first. I don't mean the sort of 'slow turbo spool' lag you expect from some forced induction or common rail diesel engines. I mean this car just has NOTHING below 2,000 revs. Get caught in the wrong gear at the wrong revs and it is borderline dangerous. Even pulling off from a standstill requires you to give it lots of revs, otherwise you struggle to pull off the line which makes nipping out at busy junctions awkward. Equally then there is the fuel consumption. I was driving home on the motorway this evening and set the cruise control at 80mph. Resulting mpg was averaging around 30, with any slight upward incline resulting in mpg steadily falling to mid to high 20's. Tried reducing to 70mph. Little difference. Tried 60mph and got a some improvement, but still not great. Now I know the engine is a five cylinder and wasn't expecting miracles, but really don't see why at 2,000 revs with the cruise control on doing 70/ 80mph why the car should not be capable of high 30s at least. I know these are issues that can be improved via a remap (which I had already factored in as an essential before buying the car), but am just frustrated I guess that even having set my expectations low, the engine is still disappointing. What have other people's experiences been with the 2.4 and just how much has a remap improved the above? Any input from 2.4 drivers appreciated.

Wow - big job! Hopefully she will be better than new when done though, plus just think of all the bad karma that the previous owner now has after stitching you up.

What is Aphrodite then and what work has she been having done? BBIAB - I take this means GTA time is close at hand? I should also be picking up my Spider this week at some point. The wait has been killing me!

God that's awful - sounds like a costly repair? Is the car running okay now?

Amazing that these things go on, just goes to show how careful you need to be. In this case they had deliberately disabled the EMS warning light too, to help hide what they had done. The paintwork was a bloody good job really and was only really visible under proper lighting. I am usually pretty good with cars and still cannot believe I got stung. Oh well, life goes on. Roll on small claims court. I have written off the money now anyway, so if I do get anything back then I just see it as a bonus...

Hi Al, hope all is well with you and family. :-) BBIAB - bet you can't wait, my anticipation is killing me waiting for the spider and it's only been a week! Look forward to hearing more soon... I bought the TT off a trader selling high end Bentleys, Porsches, Rangies et . It seemed pukka with low mileage, but then the problems started...and went on and on. Soon discovered the trader's premises had been raided by police not long after I bought the car. Equipment for clocking cars, forging service history and suspected proceeds of money laundering were seized by Bolton police. Double checked the mileage against Vosa and confirmed service history and it was genuine. Had the car inspected by TT specialist and discovered it had been damage repaired (not listed on HPI) and had been in the receiving end of a phase 1 engine transplant and it was a phase 2 TT, hence all the problems! Trading standards as much use as a chocolate teapot so opening a case with small claims court as I am over £3k down. Very stressful!

Yes the black one is the way to go. I would definitely have one like that! The rest are FUGLY!

Muchly. Bah - once I am putting out north of 400 ft lb of torque after a remap I am sure I can live with the compromise! Just don't tell my clutch... Back on topic, I had a full custom system made up for my GT by JP Exhausts in Macclesfield a while back. It was a superb mod that really improved the drive of the car. If I was having another exhaust I would definitely go the whole hog and have a full system made up. In fact I plan too once my bank balance has recovered a bit after the purchase of the Spider...

Thanks both. Naturally I get onto some serious pic-whoring ASAP once I have the car. When does the GTA arrive then BBIAB??? I was playing the 'I-wonder-how-much-these-cost-now' game with GTAs on Autotrader and Piston Heads last night. Amazing that £6k will get you a nice low mileage one now. Pipedream for me though as I need a car for business miles, hence the Spider 'JTD'... I especially love the white pearlescent colour they do. Nom nom nom!

Thank you so much for instantly making me feel slightly disappointed that I am picking up a DIESEL Spider tomorrow...

Hi guys and gals, After a brief hiatus I am back in the fold as of tomorrow hopefully. Just had a disastrous 4 months in an Audi TT which I bought as a track and fast road project, but had to abort quickly due to numerous issues that I'd rather not go into! Have just traded it in for an Alfa Spider JTD which I should be collecting tomorrow from Mangos. This will be my third Alfa (previously ran a GT and a 159 Ti) and I doubt it will be my last. Whilst the brand has its faults I do really enjoy the whole Alfa ownership experience and like what it stands for. I am no fanatical Alfa fanboy though by any means and have big love for all fast cars regardless of marque or providence! I have been a member of AO for a few years and have found it a great resource and met some nice people through the forum, though do find some of the posters a little narrow minded and obsessive about the marque! Like the idea of what sounds like a slightly more relaxed forum environment so happy to be a part of things if you'll have me. Look forward to talking Alfas, cars, life and random oddness with you all.