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Alfa 156 2.5 V6 - Camber Sensitivity??

5K views 35 replies 5 participants last post by  Kendr 
G
#1 ·
Calling all 156 2.5 V6 owners....!

Heeeelpp!

I bought my Alfa 156 V6 from Westover Motors in Bournemouth in October last year. Have been absolutely delighted with the car except for one thing....the fact that the car always seems to want to pull to the left!

I have been told by the dealer (after investigating tracking and certifying in spec) that the 156 V6 Veloce (with sport suspension and 16" wheels) is very sensitive to camber i.e. in pulling to the left, the car is actually just following the natural camber toward the nearside on most UK roads.

In most situations I can put up with this, but on a straight and level Motorway, I only have to let go of the wheel for a second or two and I'm heading for the hard shoulder. This gets very wearing on a long drive.

Had the tracking investigated by a third party and they concur that all looks OK.

Do any other 156 V6 owners have the same experience?

Please comment, it's driving me mad!!
 
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#29 ·
Odd, isn't it? Whenever there is a complaint about an Alfa pulling to one side, it's <u>always</u> to the left. Never to the right.

I have a had a whole load of Alfas since I bought my first one in 1986, and whenever I have had a problem like this it has always been pulling to the left.

There used to be a rumour around that Alfa set their cars up to pull slightly to the left to compensate for the camber in Italy. No special dispensation given to UK models!

It wouldn't surprise me. I remember having a meal in an Italian restaurant many years ago when Alfas still suffered from rust problems. The restaurant owner had a GTV like mine at the time, and I recall saying to him how great Alfas were to drive, but it was a pity they hadn't got the rust problem sorted. He just shrugged his shoulders and said "...but in Italy the cars do not rust because of the weather".

Er.....
 
G
#33 ·
Sure AO, I can use Desira Motor Company, 129 Heigham Street, Norwich, NR 2 4TG. If you give me a date I will see if I can make it. I can show you what checks we do and how we can cure faults like this.
 
#34 ·
Hi Numan.

My other half's Italian. I gave up trying to understand her years ago
.

Dunno about the atittude to life. A good night out with the lads in Italy seems to consist of hanging around outside a Gelateria tucking in to your favourite ice cream cone. Yawn......
 
G
#35 ·
Hi all,

Interesting to see that AO has the same sort of problem on a 155.

Would be very interested to know if NR is able to sort this out. This would encourage me to go to a company like Elite Designs myself. For the moment, I'm just putting up with the leftward drift....I can forget if I concentrate on the sound of that V6!!

Regards,

Jon
 
#36 ·
I've yet to collect a new car, Alfa or otherwise, where the drive set up was perfect. In almost all cases they need adjusting. Even on may latest 156 sport arrival. While I'm not in the market to give advice on cures, one thing I would say is never to even bother going back to the dealer with these sort of problems. Generally their guys aren't able to sort it out and don't use the same computer based equipment specialists use. This gear is available at the chains like Kwik Fit as well. I've had months of tracking problems solved by a young lad at the Advance chain here who probably spent half a day learning to use the computer. Even when the car's under warranty, I prefer to fork out on the small fee at a tyre chain to get it fixed quickly. Alfa dealers may fix it eventually, but after a while 6 months of visiting the dealer to sort out minor niggles is just not worth it. I think they are issued with the "don't take your hands off the steering wheel" line in tech bulletins!.
 
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