1988 Spider (Quad & Grad) Power Steering?

[boston_gadget]

Hi Alfa BB,

I'm new here and have been test driving Spiders for the past two weeks. Last week I drove an 88 Quad and this week I drove an 88 Graduate and a 91 which was a salvage. I'm not sure which trim the 91 was.

Anyway, I noticed a huge increase in handling between the 91 and the 88s. Given both 88s were stock and the 91 had modified suspension and a roll bar. I also know the Graduate did not have power steering and that the 91 did. I'm not sure if the 88' Quad has power steering.

So my questions are the following...

1) Do any of the 1988 models (grad, quad, or veloce) come with power steering? If not, which year did power steering become an option or standard?

2) Do the 91s outperform the 88s when it comes to handling? Or was this simply a result of the modified suspension and roll bar that was added to the 91 that I drove?

Thanks a lot for your responses! I am planning to purchase in the next 2-3 weeks and am glad to have found this forum.

[Zunige]

First, welcome to the BB!

Only the series 4 Spiders, which start with the 1991 models have power steering. This was not an option. All series 4 cars were fitted with power steering.and later Spiders have power steering. None of the series 3 Spiders (Graduate, Veloce or Quadrifoglio) had power steering.

A stock series 4 is not a better handling car than a stock series 3. The series 4 Spiders weigh over 3000 lbs, while the series 3 weigh no more than 2600 lbs. The lighter cars do feel more nimble and the series 4 Spiders are generally described as being more "touring" than "sports cars". In reality, placing the heavier feel aside, the cars are very similar. The later cars had a little more compression (10:1 compared to 9:1) and higher lift cams, but any performance gains were pretty much offset by their heavier weight. All Spiders that are fitted with "sport" springs, or have improved suspensions will out-handle a stock set-up and they will feel dramatically better.

Which edition is better is pretty much a matter of choice. (For example, I much prefer the '84 to any other year.) You may want to look around the BB for opinions on the different cars, but what you are doing, which is driving the specific model is the best way to find out what suits you best.

Last, but most important... Edit your original post by changing "Alpha" to "Alfa", unless you want to get endless grief instead of answers!!

Best regards,

[boston_gadget]

Thanks for the heads up. I should have known better than to do that, I think I must be tired!

[Tifosi]

...... pffft, monopod instrumentation. bah.......


In regard to the handling differences you mention, and regardless of the known mods on the 91, is that based on taking all 3 cars through the same bits of road to literally compare, or is it based on your perception of what felt like it was handling better?

I ask because the non-PS models can feel a bit heavier in the steering than the PS models (obviously) but that doesn't neccisarily mean it's handling is at lesser level, only that one is easier to steer than the other. (psychological thing: easier to steer = better handling, otherwise it would be hard to steer )

In a perfect scenario you'd use the same stretch of road for all test drives, and ideally be allowed to push a bit closer to the envelope than what a usual 'cruise around the block' test drive would consist of.

All that aside, as Enrique said, upgraded suspensions will (generally, unless they're really poorly executed) out-do the stock stuff by a pretty fair margin so it may boil down to more of a case of which body style appeals to you more and whether or not you really want power steering.

Beyond that, you can always do alterations of your own at your leisure to get things more in line with what you think it should be like.