Diesel With A Bit Of Power

l33t-krew

Hotwheels wrote:

Second that....

Have a 159 JTDm now with 35,000 Miles an excellent machine, a hoot to drive

havent read anything, but shouldnt any car be fine at 35k miles

You should only start to think about a car after 120-130k

OKenora

but shouldnt any car be fine at 35k miles

Buy a brand new car, you will spend more time in the dealers than you would have with your 120k car on most new cars. Admittedly this affects new models more but with most manafacturers bringing out new models every few years it's quite common.

By 35k you expect most these to have been fixed. Don't beleive me - say the word "wishbones" to a 20-30k miles Audi owner and watch their body turn to jelly then swell with rage.....

m_stan

unkel wrote:

Pessimist! Actually it's even more than I thought

Just looked it up and Celtic Tuning claim to chip an '03 20V JTD (175BHP / 385NM) to an astonishing 225BHP / 495NM :eek:

But maybe the one in the ad is the old 10V model?

Filled in an enquiry form to see if they'd turn my 130bhp A4 1.9 tdi sport into a 185bhp version, as is suggested on their site. Now that would add to the fun alright !

OKenora

see if they'd turn my 130bhp A4 1.9 tdi sport into a 185bhp version

Yes they will, or very close, about 50bhp and 65lb/ft torque extra.

The difference is not subtle, it really is a different car to drive after this is done. Beware of clutches afterwards though, continuous enthusiastic driving with the extra power will wear your clutch.

Fook, that's the same figures as the new 330cd

I have a standard 330d SE and the Alfa is tuned to about 200bhp and about 380nm but the Alfa feels as fast as the BMW, due mainly I would say to the BMW being 300kg heavier.

unkel

peasant wrote:

Even if it should break down once or twice more than the equivalent Beemer would have ...it would still have been ten grand cheaper ....you can get quite a few niggles fixed for 10k

That's exactly it! Small, newish BMW diesels keep their value too well, so they're overpriced as a second hand buy

Some cars are better bought new instead of second hand in this country. Examples: New model Honda Civic, most small Toyotas, any BMW diesel, Mercedes C-class diesel

zoemax

Ciarsd, fair points. If you read enough of these threads almost every car gets a hard time for some reason or another. My car knowledge stretches to the models I have owned over the years (corolla, polo, s40(s), focus, x trail, passat - in that order) and no further.

OKenora, I have driven my brothers Saab 95 diesel and its a great drive. I'm shocked that it has essentially the same engine as an Alfa (see my lack of knowledge is coming through again:) )

Eoin, is it easy to change the headlight bulbs yourself? I drive with my lights on all the time and when I had a focus changing the bulbs every 10k miles was a real pain in the ass (big hands - small spaces).

I think I'm just about sold on an Alfa diesel, pending a test drive. As I drive long distances comfort is also important so hopefully that wont be an issue. Now which to try out, the 1.9 or the 2.4..........

unkel

zoemax wrote:

I have driven my brothers Saab 95 diesel and its a great drive. I'm shocked that it has essentially the same engine as an Alfa

I'll shock you a bit more. Saab is owned by General Motors (owner of Opel). The current Saab 9-5 is based on the 1989 Opel Vectra. The diesel engine is developed by FIAT

Eoin

zoemax wrote:

Eoin, is it easy to change the headlight bulbs yourself? I drive with my lights on all the time and when I had a focus changing the bulbs every 10k miles was a real pain in the ass (big hands - small spaces).

Not too sure, what used to be Victor motors was on my way home, so I was able to drop in - they had it done in a couple of minutes, but I have heard that they can be awkward to get at. I'd say I went through maybe 3 dipped beam bulbs in a year.

What's handy about the Alfa 156, and perhaps other models, is that you don't have to turn the headlights off when you turn off the engine. Rather than sounding an alarm, the lights just turn off - so you can just leave them on full time.

siralfalot

the headlight and dip beam bulbs on the 156 are easy to change, the side light bulbs are a bugger to do, its a tight fit but managable without any great fuss, I find the lights switching off automatically brilliant, I just leave them on all the time. performance wise the newer 1.9 JTDm from 2004 onwards is very similar to the 2.4JTD 10v, but the 2.4 has a much wider torque band, making it more drivable