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Alfa is Back

7K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  RKT ROY 
#1 ·
Alfa Romeo is here with the 2015 4C. One is sitting in my drive. I'm so excited I probably won't sleep tonight.


She is: 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition 015/500 and Alfa Rosso (red). Had 10 miles on her.

She will be at the January event (Willow Springs) doing what she was designed to do. Making noise, going fast and getting lots of attention.
 
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#4 ·

She's in my driveway. I drove her there. She must be my car.



At the dealer's. The lights are not on, that's a reflection of the flash.


I went into my dealer today, Santa Monica Fiat and Alfa Romeo, to see if they had sold their first car or not. They had not. My salesman opened the door and told me I could sit in it. I've sat in three already, but OK.

Then he gave me the key. I'm no dummy, he wants me to start it, so I did.

Well, I must have blacked out or something. The next thing I knew it was my car. It was a long black out. I went to my bank and came back with a cashiers note for the full purchase price.

My wife was kind of pissed that I spent $98,500 (including taxes). After a few hours she calmed down enough to go for a ride. By the time we got home she was ecstatic.

Took my brother for a ride to our father's house. Dad was so excited I thought he was going to pee his pants. Took Dad for a ride. Let my brother drive it back home (my home).

015 is Alfa Rosso and had 10 miles on it when I sat down and fired her up. There is an aluminum license holder provided for the front plate. Mine is in the trunk. No holes defile the the front fascia. She had been fully prepped including a full tank of gas.

The steering is easy, even at full rest. At normal speeds I was able to have a comfortable conversation with all my passengers. The tires pick up on the rain grooves more than I'm used to, but not as bad as my motorcycles have. I can feel certain types of road surfaces, more than most cars, but nothing severe.

Have not turned on the radio. Defrost works well. Headlamps light the road nicely. Seats feel comfortable, the wife gave her approval.

Still in dynamic mode, manual only. Paddles work well. Computer takes care of the rev-matching for very smooth shifts. The few times I ran her out, she up-shifted early on her own, at about 5,000 or 5,500. Red line is 6,500. Doing about 30 MPH on the Blvd and it would not let me shift into 6. Go slow enough and she down shifts on her own. This is Dynamic Manual mode.

Tomorrow my wife wants me to drive her out to one of her quilting stores. I think it about 50 miles each way. I know a few nice canyon roads on the way.
 
#5 ·
Excellent! Videos would be appreciated by all, I am sure!
 
#7 ·
You are one very lucky man Racer Z! It is nice to hear initial impressions of a 4C from someone who is not a motoring journalist for a change. The trouble with those guys is that they are too used to being critical and tend to approach a car in a different way to the rest of us. Most of them do seem to like the 4C though. Keep reporting on your experiences with your new toy and yes some video would be nice. Enjoy!
 
#8 ·
We put on about 170 miles today. My wife promptly fell asleep. I think that says a lot, in a good way. It's not so noisy or uncomfortably that you can't nap. She likes the seat. "Most headrests bother me, but not this one."

Because of the break-in restriction, I was in Natural mode all day. The computer won't allow Dynamic or Race modes until 180 miles. It seemed, hmm, under-powered, sort of. Very smooth is a more realistic statement. Full throttle freeway on ramp got going real fast real quick, but not with that neck snapping sling shot effect I was expecting. Smooth.

We were able to converse easy and naturally. I think the wind rushing in the windows was louder than the exhaust at 60 to 80.

Some road conditions could really be felt. We both agreed that it was a lot like my work truck while empty. The car picks up the surface ruts easy and transmits it into the steering wheel. The wheel jigs and the car jogs. I don't fight it. Just as quick the steering wheel jogs and the car jigs. Never skipped a beat. Never got out of shape. Never changed course. Never had to force the issue. Well manured.

Took a few interchange sweepers that I'm used to. In my work truck, 70 feels like the safe upper limit. In my Abarth (Fiat 500) 80 mph is comfortable, not the safe upper limit, just comfortable. In the Alfa at 80, she wants to run. "Why are you holding me back, Master?"

The steering is light. Even at full stop it's not hard. I can easily one hand it around town. Now, maybe I need to point out my comparison cars. My work truck, a 3/4 ton with manual steering. My race car, a Datsun 240Z. My Abarth with electric assist. The truck I can one hand but only while moving. The Z has a heavy wheel, but I like it. The Abarth gets heavier in "Sport" mode. The Datsun, Abarth and Alfa all weigh the same, just under 2500 pounds. The Alfa feels like the Abarth in Sport mode. Anybody that thinks it's heavy needs a lot of exercise.

Just a few miles from home, at the end of our day, I was able to go into Dynamic mode. So I tossed her into Race mode right quick. Well, let me tell you. The exhaust note changed considerably. Louder. Meaner. Growl Snarl Spit. Cough. Fart. Oops, last two were me. Goose the throttle and she jumps like a slingshot. First time all day my wife yelled, "Slow Down!"

I didn't go fast. I just goosed the throttle. Neck snapping response.

Went to a shopping mall. Got a lot of comments.
"I saw one of those at the LA Auto Show. Was told they wouldn't be available for two months."

This kid (19 or so) asked me, "Do you like it?"
"Well, it's mine. I just bought it."
"Did you test drive it first? Did you test drive the Cayman first?"
"No. I didn't test drive iether one. I just bought the Alfa."
He looked at me like I was an idiot or something and walked away.
A man walked up and said, "That was really dumb question. What kind of car is this. It sure is cute."
We had a nice conversation about Alfa Romeo.

While driving, another kid (young man) looked admiringly at the 4C. Told me it looked great and asked what kind of car is it.
"Alfa Romeo."
"Oh. Who makes it?"
"Alfa Romeo. Fiat owns Alfa Romeo."
My wife had to remind me that most people, especially the young, never heard of Alfa.

The attention just never stops. I'm not complaining. I knew this was part of the deal. I'm proud to an Ambassador of Alfa Romeo.
 
#9 ·
What class will your 4C run in? I'm guessing N. Really looking forward to seeing you run!
 
#12 ·
Drove to work in the rain today. Was temped to take the Abarth as it would do better in this type of weather. It was a real rain, near downpour at times. Used the 'A' mode and used my helium foot. Had to leave the lead foot at home. She did just fine. Never broke loose or got squirrelly.

It rain all day and on the way home too.

The defroster is a joke. The windows started fogging up. Turning the heat on and setting it to defrost seemed to make it worse. Both sides and the front.

The rear defogger works great. Both rear windows fogged up, the small horizontal and the bigger angled glass. Turned on the rear window defogger and both panes cleared up.

The front and sides just kept getting worse. About the time I was ready to pull over and look for a rag, I remembered something. I have A/C. All A/C units have a 'dryer'. So I hit the A/C switch and twisted the knob to cold. In seconds the glass cleared up, all three.

It was a long slow drive, idling in second on the Highway at times. So I had time to play with things. Not that thing, get your mind out of the gutter. Leaving the A/C on and setting the heat control to where I was comfortable is what worked best. :idea:

I played with the radio for a while. What a hunk of junk. In 'A' mode at slow speeds the radio can heard because the car is quiet. The radio actually goes quite loud. It sounds like dog water. It is hard to use the controls.

My conclusion: Leave it alone and never ever turn it on again. Or, toss it in the trash and replace it along with the cheap speakers. As a daily driver, stuck in slow traffic for two hours a day, a real radio seems in order. Seeing the Alfa logo is not a substitute for bad music.

When I told my wife about the defroster not working, she told me to take it back to the dealer and get it fixed. "But it's an Alfa. It's got to at least one minor problem."
 
#13 ·
Thanks for posting your latest update Racer Z. With regard to the defroster; in my experience defrosters by themselves don't work too well on most cars. From memory, even the two Volvo 480s we owned weren't perfect in that regard. My 75 struggled when I was unable to use the aircon. I remember being amazed the first time someone demonstrated using their aircon to instantly defrost the windscreen to me years ago, so I wouldn't consider that a major fault with the 4C
 
#17 ·


Seven weeks, 3000 miles, 225 track miles, two hay bales and a concrete wall.

Yes, that's an 8C in the background.
Yes, you can see what's under the hood now.
Cold tires and to much enthusiasm.



The start of the Alfa Time Trial event.





The green wall below the bleachers is what I hit the next day. The rear end stepped out and I went along for the ride.​


I'm OK, a little stiff and sore, most of which is normal after a race weekend. The seat belt worked! It kept me in my seat and from slamming forward into the steering wheel. The air bag didn't go off, probably cause I was in Race Mode.

The root cause of the crash is simple: "cold tires" don't grip as good as warm tires. Overheated tires don't grip as well as warm tires. My tires were still cool and I was pushing it to hard. It was the third turn of the first lap of the final event of the weekend.

The car has 60% of the weight on the rear axle. The rear end steps out before the front gets loose. Not enough throttle and the rear end breaks loose. To much throttle and the rear end breaks loose. To much speed and the read end breaks loose.

The P-Zero tires don't have the grip of a true track tire. They do better than most "street" tires.

Brakes work quite well. The fronts seem to skid before the rear, which is best for a street car.

On Saturday I let my father and brother drive it as well as myself. They both have years of track time at Willow Springs. Our run groups were back to back, half an hour each run. The car never overheated. Clutch / transmission light never came on. I was up first and when they came off track (into pits) I could smell the hot brakes. Not that it seemed to be a problem. Tires never heat faded.

It's a lot of car. More car than I've ever driven and my first rear weighted car. Did I mention the rear tires loose grip before the fronts? I'm ready for real tires and real pads now. I definitely need a racing seat and harness. My wife thinks I should stick to the 240Z as the repairs to it cost less. I bet I can buy a fully race-prepped 240Z for the cost of the repairs to my 4C.

Well, somebody had to be the first to wad-up a 4C. I was hoping it would be somebody else and I was hoping it wouldn't be this soon.

The car is at the dealers so they can examine the carbon fiber tub. If that's undamaged, the rest is just bolt-on parts.

I was having problems with my GoPro. It turned off for no reason shortly before the crash :( There was another 4C on the track with me. I should have good film (digital video) of him. I knew he was waiting on a car, but didn't know he had it yet. He has 500 miles on it and bought a second set of rims (17/18) and put on Pirelli Trfeo tires. His car seemed more composed than mine felt.

My brother took a few pictures of me on the track.

Looks like more body roll than I felt, actually, I never even noticed any body roll.


Both are at the same place, exiting turn three / entering turn four.

This was taken moments before I hit the wall.


Talked to my dealer today. They say the carbon fiber tub looks undamaged. That was my biggest concern. The wheel is bent and the lamp is cracked. Lamp is $900 dollars. Wheel is about $300. I asked if they can get the Euro fly-eyes since I have to replace the one. The preliminary estimate is $17k without paint. The new body panels will be primer and they tell me the side is scratched badly.

Tomorrow morning I have time to stop by and look at it. Will take some pictures. Some of the parts estimate is for parts that have small scratches that nobody will ever see. I'm concerned about structural things, not cosmetic things. If I can't see it from a normal viewing angle, I don't care. I can trim some of the 17k down.

Maybe I'll paint the car orange. I'm not going to try to color match it. Something that will go well with the red interior paint.
 
#18 ·
What a pity! That's bad luck. At least you are being philosophical about it. I hope you have it back together soon.
 
#19 ·
This is part of the risk involved with being on the track. I accepted that something like this might happen before I went out. I'd rather crash on the track than in the canyons. I'm a little let down, but not upset.
 
#20 ·
*L* .... Can I just say well done!!
(Great attitude)

Paint it maserati pearl blue!!

$17k for a wing/fender and some bits seems excessive.
 
#21 ·
BTW: defrosters on modern cars only work if the AC is on. In fact I am sure one of my cars used to turn the AC on automatically when you pushed the windscreen defroster button.

Would be interesting to see what the manual says.

And yeah pity about the off, but unlike some you are actually using yours and enjoying it. Fix her up and get back out there :D
Pete
 
#23 ·
Ouch Robert!
I'm glad you didn't get hurt and the car is on it's way to being fixed.
The same thing happened to me which is why I left the track early. I'm lucky that I just broke my oil cooler which is in the nose of my car. Check out minute 3:40 of this video, I bet it will look familiar to you.



Blessings.
Roy.
 
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