New spider owner

[howard bobrow]

Hello, What a great site! I purchased a 91 WHITE spider this past summer. It had 32k original miles. one owner, mint condition. Ive owned a number of sports cars in the past,. I cant say Ive ever had more fun, than driving this little machine around on weekends. The Harley in the garage is getting ticked.Ive done some modifications,a nd I am contemplating others, but I need a little direction.from my fellow Alfisti. I ve upgraded the suspension with IAP poly bushings, Koni adjustible sport shocks, rear sway bar. Ive left the stock springs. Its made a world of difference in the car and how it handles. I decided not to change the springs because I didnt want the car any lower or compromise the ride. My next consideration was to get more power out of the 2liter engine. The power stack air filter has helped. Im also looking into the Squadra CHip from Holland. I hear it really smoothes out the rev range, adds more torgue throughtout. Any feedback? Lastly, its the tires that are now the weak link. The pirelli p 4000 and 15 in wheels, dosent do it for me. Im thinking about 17in wheels, with 215 by 45. I know Compomotive, Ronal, put out wheels for the spider. with the 4 bolt 108 pattern. Any other wheels available? Aside from the above has anyone port and polished the heads, to provide better flow? Ive come to realize that there isnt much you can do to this engine, aside from a turbo kit to really enhance performance. I would like to keep the mods to a minimum. Well thats a mouthful. Anyone out there?

[conedriver]

Hi Howard,

Welcome to the BB!. This is a great forum for Alfas, and Alfa owners.

I also have a 1991 Spider, and have installed a Squadra chip. While there is not a big difference, there is a definite change. Another Lexington Alfa owner and myself spent an afternoon driving his '91 with a Ricambi chip, my '91 with a Squadra chip, and his wife's '94 CE Spider with no chip. The two "chipped" cars both ran better than the strictly stock '94 car. Our collective seat of the pants didn't find any real difference between the Alfa Ricami chip or the Squadra chip.

You didn't say if you have a Spider (14 in. wheels) or a Spider Veloce (15 in. wheels). Mine is a Veloce, and I bought it with Pirelli 195/60x15 Pirelli P6000 tires worn to about half tread. The car had really squirelly handling and I installed a polyurethane rear trunion bushing with no improvement. I ordered poly. trailing arm bushings, but before these arrived, I installed Bridgestone RE750 Potenza 205/55x15. These cured the loose rear end problem and I have not yet installed the poly. bushings. I have a '76 Spider that is used for autocrossing, so I'm not interested in too many upgrades to the '91. I have not seen many Spiders with 17 in. wheels, although 16 in. seems fairly popular. I do know that 225/50x15 tires on stock wheels will rub on the inside of the rear wheel wells under vigourous cornering.

Be sure to post some pictures of your car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by howard bobrow Hello, What a great site! I purchased a 91 WHITE spider this past summer. It had 32k original miles. one owner, mint condition. Ive owned a number of sports cars in the past,. I cant say Ive ever had more fun, than driving this little machine around on weekends. The Harley in the garage is getting ticked.Ive done some modifications,a nd I am contemplating others, but I need a little direction.from my fellow Alfisti. I ve upgraded the suspension with IAP poly bushings, Koni adjustible sport shocks, rear sway bar. Ive left the stock springs. Its made a world of difference in the car and how it handles. I decided not to change the springs because I didnt want the car any lower or compromise the ride. My next consideration was to get more power out of the 2liter engine. The power stack air filter has helped. Im also looking into the Squadra CHip from Holland. I hear it really smoothes out the rev range, adds more torgue throughtout. Any feedback? Lastly, its the tires that are now the weak link. The pirelli p 4000 and 15 in wheels, dosent do it for me. Im thinking about 17in wheels, with 215 by 45. I know Compomotive, Ronal, put out wheels for the spider. with the 4 bolt 108 pattern. Any other wheels available? Aside from the above has anyone port and polished the heads, to provide better flow? Ive come to realize that there isnt much you can do to this engine, aside from a turbo kit to really enhance performance. I would like to keep the mods to a minimum. Well thats a mouthful. Anyone out there?

[JoeCab]

Howard,

You may want to consider a 15 x 7 or 16 x7 wheel and tire combination instead of going to a 17". The extra inch of width does make a noticeable difference. Remember, these cars are based on a chassis first produced in 1966 - and some amount of sidewall flex was part of the original design brief. With too short of a tire sidewall I am afraid it might be twitchy and chassis flex may also be a problem.

I find my '91 with 15 x 7s and 195/60-15 Yokohama AVS ES100 tires works pretty well. It is on stock springs and Konis.

Joe

[Jr. Z]

I agree w/Joe Cab, these cars don't need large dia. wheels & low profile tires. Don't forget, increasing the width, dia., or height of a tire does NOT "put more rubber on the road". Heavier vehicle weight, lower air pressure, or softer sidewalls are the ONLY factors that increase contact patch size. The only reason larger dia. wheels came into fashion was to clear the huge brake discs & calipers on larger, heavier cars with high top speed potential. Large wheels & tires increase unsprung weight, always a BAD thing, & often overlooked. The narrowest width, smallest dia., highest profile tire you can get in a sticky compound will work the best in terms of cornering & braking grip, road feel, and comfort. When it comes to tires, smaller is almost always better, not the other way around, contrary to popular belief. Also, check the DOT date code & don't forget to throw away tires made more than 5 years previous to today's date. I'd be willing to bet some new Falken Azenis in the same size as the Pirellis would make a shocking difference in the handling of your spider. Bruce

[Davy13]

Welcome! I understand how the Harley feels... I think mine is the same way... Regarding the springs, it has been my understanding the 1" lower springs simply allow the Alfa to sit as the factory intended, rather than as how U.S. crash test specs mandated. I may be wrong with regard to the later spiders, and I am sure someone here will correct me... This is a great site. So much knowledge, with a keen understanding of the passion involved in owning these cars... Great bunch of folks, too. You'll find yourself checking here often, to be sure... Good luck. Post some pics, if you get a chance!

-Dave.

[howard bobrow]

Thank you all for the input to my questions. Its great that the marque has this kind of following. My spider is just the tonic when it might be a little to chilly in the northeast for the Harley. Moving through the gears, sound of the exhaust note is pure sport. I dont care how much money you have or what you can afford to drive. I love that little white car!

[John M]

Hey Howard:

Welcome to the board and congrats on the new ride. I personally think white on an Alfa is by far the best color..... ......sorry guys...I may be partial.

I haven't done really anything to my 92 except maintain her. She does have performance springs, red koni's, and adjustable control arms on the shelf awaiting install. My 78 I did port and polish the head, balance lower end and cam shafts, oversize all the valves with new 3 angle valve seats, 10.4 pistons, 11mm lift cams, etc...etc...and it all adds up to give around 170-180hp at the crank depending on who you listen to. I would imagine one could do the same with a series 4 motronic. The man to talk with is Jim Steck. He definitely has a few tricks in his shop in OH to make one fly....but they are not cheap tricks!

I think the best option is to wait until rebuild time...saving up the money as you enjoy the car...and then bam...all at once. There are higher compression pistons, different cam shafts, larger valves, lighter rods, aluminum flywheels, etc that one could choose to purchase to build a normally aspirated monster. I think the limit there is around 200hp at the crank for normally aspirated. Or Steck offers the pieces to put together a turbo or supercharged setup. Or there is the option of a twin spark conversion yielding from 150hp in stock form and can be built up too for more. Then there are the V6 conversions from the Milanos and 164s that people are managing to squeeze beneath the hood.

So, sit back and enjoy and plan your 'Alfa Corse' of power....

Best Regards,
John M

[jrflyboyVP2]

I just put Falken Azenis Sports 195/60/R14s on my Stock 76 spider. I can't believe how it corners now! No sliding at all. In a way I kind of miss hanging the rear out in tight corners. But if you want stick, these tires really stick. My only complaint is a slightly harsher ride. I now feel every slight variation in the pavement. I am still messing with tire pressure to see what is the best street compromise. What are people using for pressure for everyday driving?

John

[77SpideRacer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrflyboyVP2 I just put Falken Azenis Sports 195/60/R14s on my Stock 76 spider. John

[jrflyboyVP2]

Yes, Stock turbina rims.

John

[Giallo]

Howard, great looking car! I have 17" Racing Direction wheels on my 1982 Spider with 205/50ZR17 Kumho Ecsta Supra tires. They are on modified hubs - 5 bolt 5 X 98 via the Milano and GTV6. The rears rub a little on the insides during hard cornering - but hub spacers would solve that problem as the track is rather narrow on the rear of the spider. There is plenty of room for 205's 215's and maybe 225's if you have the correct offset. But there are other 17" wheels available for the standard 4 bolt.

Unsprung weight is certainly an issue when you move to larger wheels - but 17" wheels can be had that weigh LESS than the factory 14's or 15's. You just have to pay the price for forged alloys and do some research.

Putting better rubber under your car and moving to a stiffer sidewall via a low profile tire will certainly reveal the limitations of your suspension. I have modified everything from the '82 Spider to a '68 Pontiac GTO to a '98 Audi A4 Turbo - and this is true of all cars.

To achieve the same feel of the suspension you need to have adjustable shocks and play around with it. My '82 is not too harsh with 17's. And they look MUCH cooler than wimpy little 14's or 15's.

Your speedometer may be off if you move to a larger overall diameter - but Alfa's are notorious for being 15-20% off anyway quite often! My speedometer only goes up to 85 anyway - so I just pretend the speedometer is decorative...

Those guys who tell you to put a sticky skinny tire under your ride need to get back in their time machine and set the dial to 2004!