Saabretooth

Did some suspension work. Had a customized set built and installed. They're still fabricating the canister brackets but here's the set of pictures that I've got since. Battery was just moved to the back today. So no pictures of that yet. http://s1320.photobucket.com/user/Daries_Ng/slideshow/Novitec%20Alfa%20Romeo%20GT/Radical%20Chassis%20Solutions%20Motorsports%20Coilovers PW/ Suspensions

Thanks. Good news for me then. How about the 2.0 JTS selespeed. Which gearbox has the next lower set of gears that can do a similar swap?

Thanks Smaky, so if I can get my hands on a 2.5 or 3.0 Final Drive, I can swap it over to my 3.2 gear box. Any idea what the ratio is?

Just exploring a bit of after market fiddly diddly.... What are the ratios or the number of teeth of the final drive for all the 147/156/GT varieties? 1.8 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.2 I'm thinking of replacing the 3.2 V6 Final drive with something a bit shorter for quicker throttle response. Since I'm not going after more power, but better delivery of that power in its rpm range, the final drive is the simplest modification to get that. Yes, higher fuel consumption and lower top speed will be the limitations, but I don't travel at 270kmh regularly so its something I can live with. Cheers guys!

Master and Slave Cylinders getting replaced tomorrow. Not sure if the old ones can be refurbished.

How's the progress of the repairs so far? My friend's GT has got the same issue of not getting into 6th at all.

Thanks. Will soure for the Bosch Part. Yes, its the 3.2 Cam locks. Someone told me it could be a slipping timing belt.. Will only get to bring in the car this week. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Thanks. Will get it checked out. I had my cam belt and tensioner changed 4000 km ago only. Hope that it didn't skip a tooth. Do you have the part number for the denso? Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

I'm getting 6.2km per litre, which is a big drop from my regular 7.2 The first time it happened, all sorts of codes came up, and I had drop in power and could only cruise till I reset and cleared my fault codes. Now, there is no real loss of power but MSCF comes on and off intermittently, a few times, especially in low rpm driving, 1000-3000. but above 4000 rpm, even for long stretches, its got no issue at all.

Hi Smaky, Mine's a 3.2 V6 and I've just gotten this P1173 error. Nothing else at the moment. Coil packs just replaced. Plugs are 20,000 km old Any idea on troubleshooting? Thanks!

That's a nice looking GT what kit and rims is it on? Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Its almost like you're giving me a rope to hang myself but its not my car, I'm just doing the research for a buddy who isn't so internet savvy. but if I'm doing it, at the least, I thought of documenting it for the rest of the guys to follow or avoid this path...

You just killed it right from the start.... ... ... .. stillborn....

Just thinking of another project, and I'm looking for some directions to parts and so on. I've got a 159 2.2 JTS which I am thinking of increasing its capacity to 2.4 or thereabouts, with the same compression ratio. Its a selespeed and has been maintained well over the years. I'll probably be needing lighter pistons, piston heads, new gaskets, liner, maybe a stronger crank and stuff. Could someone point to me the necessary parts? Cheers

Thanks Smaky, Cause there's another guy who wants to go my route, but for the sake of engine noise and stability, I told him to skip the cams and the heads, not worth the hassle for that final bit of gains. I'll just show him your route and see if he wants to take it up. We all have Quaife LSD now cause it was better priced at the time of purchase, but it seems that EBSpares is doing a better deal on the Q2 recently. In anycase, I'll just be updating this thread as I go along. I'll get the other guy to dyno his if he should do what you suggested. Cheers

Smaky, you're probably right and get 275 horses on stock internals exhaust/manifold changes and a tune. That saying, getting from 240hp to 275hp is not too shabby I suppose. Sounds like you're giving me the Smak-Down considering the job I've undertaken with this project What would you have done if it was done your way? As for as I know, I am taking the road a little less traveled. didn't pay off as much as I wanted, but I suspect a few bits are old and thus the dyno didn't do it justice. At the same time, the Dyno guy eased off after 6800, so I never did get to the new 7300 limit to figure out the new hp. Not sure if you've seen the dyno chart attached and where the 50% and 80% of peak torque came in, over a larger area, how would your recommended set up compare?

Some weakness being shown in the ignition coils and will be changing them out soon. On another note. did a brisk drive this afternoon in cool weather. Car is getting amazing to drive. There are 3 distinct engine/exhaust notes 1) Vroom... while at idle and easy pick up to cruising speeds 2) VROOM when it gets brisk from 1500-4000 on half throttle and 3) Screaming Roar when in 3rd - 4th and 8/10ths throttle pull from 100-170kmh on the run.... the kind that would wet the pants off a grown woman... Now to get the coils sorted out....

I was given the option of larger ports, but I declined as I wanted low end responsiveness as well. Didnt want it to feel so empty in the lower rpms. As it is, the engine feels very racey and 1st and 2nd felt too short, (for now anyway) the limitation now is probably the driver and I'll be sharpening up my shifting and shift points. keeping the rpms constant and at about 3000-4000rpm, you can literally hear the busso at work..... as I was climbing an incline up to the expressway. Holding it in 3rd or 4th, felt so effortless. The rush is definitely after 4000 rpm, as if a mini rocket was shoved under the rpm needle.

Bling pipes? you mean the chrome pipes? Just did a fresh full tank of 98 octane gas.... car feels a lot quicker and the idle more stable. but I doubt its going to add another 10hp.... if it did, the queue at caltex is going to be long....

Well you guys got the first hand news to this Might just do a touch up on the car sometime down the road. I am on the F430 TB as the workshop mixed it up and installed the wrong one for me. I was supposed to get the the 78mm TBwith a fabricated adapter, and my buddy was supposed to go on the F430 TB once his ordered parts are in. If I switch out to the 78mm TB, I'll do dyno again and re-tune to see how it goes with the mapping and power band.

Finally, got the car tuned up. It was running rich across the rpm range. Slightly rough idle due to the overlap in the cam profile. Did a on the day dyno and came in at 257Hp and 317Nm. Not surprisingly, due to the bigger throttle body and plenum, the air speed slows down more. After tightening up the fueling and a touch of fine tuning, its running at 275hp and 330Nm. Its no where near 300hp but I am not going to complain. I am not surprised at the lower readings as the fuel was on its last 1/3 and has been in the tank for over a week. Ambient temps are a little higher as well...... The torque is up across the entire band and has a slightly larger area under the curve. She drives very smooth now, maybe like a slightly larger bored engine.... or a very mild turbo charged car with the gains nearer the mid range onward. Will watch and monitor the readings and will get a data logger to see how she is behaving. Water and oil temps are steady. No real change from pre-tune.

Thanks for the advise guys. I don't pretend to know too much about the Busso engine and all I am doing is a researched work on it. There is no French part in the car, unless we're talking about croissant crumbs on the carpet. Its still the same original cams that came with the engine, that has been re profiled for a little more lift duration without having to change lifters etc. The heads have been milled down 1.3 mm. its upped the compression with enough clearance for the pistons and all the moving parts to clear. The milling of the heads is not necessary, but it was an extra step I took within the tolerance of the engine. At worst, I have a spare set of heads to replace it with. The next step is tuning the ECU fueling to match the new parameters...

Yeah, thats the plan, to move the battery to the back. ECU is adapting and its dumping fuel in the lower rpms now, so its getting sluggish, loss of low end, but when the revs pile up, the car roars and pulls.

Here it goes

Day 4/5 Took the car for a spin and gave it the gas a bit more. Pulled it up to 5500 rpm and she responded very well. Felt a bit weaker on the low end for some strange reason..... might have been the car adapting.... BUT.... On the way to the workshop to take a look at the MSCF error code, she started to behave like a boxer engine, with the mistimed firing and a lot more raw. Still made good power, but you know its not normal. Cruising in, and had the bonnet opened for the workshop manager.... lo and behold a split vacuum hose pipe, causing the car the have really off air/fuel mixture. Not only that, via the FiatScan ECU, noticed that cylinder 6 was not firing. Checked the ignition coil and confirmed it was dead. It was replaced with a spare used one and she was running smooth again. The low end power came right back on with no more MSCF. Note from the workshop manager, to get the intake piping elbow sorted out with a fabricated one ASAP as the current set up is only temporary. The odd angle due to the extension of the piping puts unnecessary stress on the other pipes, especially when the engine rocks and rolls under hard acceleration. The manager suggested that I get cables and move the battery to the boot and create both space and air flow for the intake piping. It was a nice to have project, but looks like it has to be a must do project if I want to create longevity for this car. Will work on the pics, audio and video clips too. Watch this space