156 GTA ground clearance

Not satisfied with a classic Alfa in the garage, my illness has reached a point where I'm looking at 156 GTA's (as a possible replacement to my trusty 100,000 mile Honda which has never, ever put a foot wrong and sails through every MOT).

I've looked into most of the GTA issues but there is one thing I'd really appreciate some feedback from guys who live with the car everyday - how is the ground clearance? I'm thinking speedbumbs, potholes etc

Any thoughts appreciated...

Its pretty low and I get scraping quite often, not on the spoiler though, but from the engine cover. Having said that theres no real problem with the cover scraping. Ive got a metal replacement one which I will get round to fitting one of these days, and that increases clearance by a good few cm apparantly.

In general everyday driving including humps etc.. I have never had any real problems. That said you cant go crashing up large kerbs!

No real problems day to day on standard wheels and suspension. Drive slowly over speedbumps, no issue with them. The biggest issue is not the ride height but the standard damping - gives a crashy ride (seems to be common to many versions of the 156) and can cause grounding when driving over undulating roads. Better dampers appears to address this if you can afford them....

Go on, get one, they are reasonably priced at present.

Cheers,

Nigel

That's what tempting me. A lot of car for the money, but it'll also have to be a car to live with every day, as it will be my daily driver too...

Is it worth the damper upgrade? I have the Harvey Bailey upgrade on the Montreal which transforms the car.

Be interesting to your thoughts on how the GTA worked out as a daily driver.

Thanks

Chris

Chris
we've been in touch through my ad on Pistonheads.
Ground clearance isn't the best to be honest, it's goes with the type of car really. Mines is quite a bit better with part of the undertray missing, and I believe the aluminium ones are better still. They don't taketoo kindly to really rough roads though to be fair.
I agree with Ferryman about the damping too, just like the Monty and my 105 a HBE kit would be a good investment in the long term.

Originally Posted by halfnelson

That's what tempting me. A lot of car for the money, but it'll also have to be a car to live with every day, as it will be my daily driver too...

Is it worth the damper upgrade? I have the Harvey Bailey upgrade on the Montreal which transforms the car.

Be interesting to your thoughts on how the GTA worked out as a daily driver.

Thanks

Chris

I don't use it daily as I work mainly from home - that's why I now have a GTA instead of a 2.0 TS! However, I do have to do the odd long journey for business and use it at weekends for anything I need to when the wife's estate isn't available. I find it really practical and it just eats the miles up on a long journey. Biggest issue is staying at near legal speeds....

Cheers,

Nigel

Mine is my everyday car and I can't really fault it,(over 3yrs now) sometimes you do get fed up having to practically stop for speed bumps but tis a small price to pay.
The hardest part is trying to keep such a special car in mint condition when you use it everyday.

Originally Posted by halfnelson

Be interesting to your thoughts on how the GTA worked out as a daily driver.

Thanks

Chris

Mine is a daily driver and it is absolutely fine for it. Its done 63k miles now, and 59k are mine in 3 years. It tootles around town no probs and been to Italy once and France 2 or 3 times. Great as a motorway cruiser, clutch a bit heavy in traffic jams.
I get around 28mpg in general use and a few more on a long run. It uses little oil and is still on original battery and exhaust (much touching of wood!) and the car is coming up to 4 years old

Around here the roads are quite rough. Still I've only had one engine undertray scrape in ca. 5 months of ownership. Had the dampers been better it would probably not have happened; I think mine must be worn at 68000km, but I have nothing to compare with. Then again, I don't drive as if it was a rally car...

DJ
--

Although mine has flown through both it's MOTs, I would be a little nervous suggesting a GTA will give you the trouble free motoring you've come to expect from the Honda. You *WILL* need to spend money on it at some point ... but what a car!

Undulating roads at speed often results in grounding - I'm looking to invest in better shocks.

Ground clearance was an issue for me when I was looking at GTAs, mine was a specific problem though as my driveway has a steep downward entrance and was afraid of beaching it in the middle. In the end I had to modify the driveway with a pick axe! As for day to day driving the biggest bug bear by far (for me anyway) is the turning circle as I have quite a tight car park at work and it is a daily mere of a job getting it into and out of a space. As said above though speed bumps are a very slow gentle affair, road dips at speed will ground the undertray (not a nice sound!) but I have found the GTA no wear near as bad as my old 156 2.0 ts. Avoid pot holes at ALL costs I speak from an expensive experance! But all that aside all these issues are minor inconveniences when traded off against the car you end up with. Go get one you will not be disappointed!

Being new to the alfaowner forum (previously used the AROC forum) I have to say that it really is a great source of info and advice. Reading through all the back topics and being able to access all this advice is invaluable.

Going to start lining up a couple of cars to see next week. Any last pieces of advice more than welcome!!!

Cheers

Chris

Originally Posted by halfnelson

Going to start lining up a couple of cars to see next week. Any last pieces of advice more than welcome!!

Try to get one with the optional HID headlights (available in RHD from late 2002). Std 156 headlights are shockingly poor.

Originally Posted by David C

Try to get one with the optional HID headlights (available in RHD from late 2002). Std 156 headlights are shockingly poor.

Or just buy the HiD's from ebay for about 60 pounds and fit em away

Originally Posted by David C

Try to get one with the optional HID headlights (available in RHD from late 2002). Std 156 headlights are shockingly poor.

They're not "shockingly poor" - I find them quite adequate.

Interesting David,

We have both, one with HID and one with normal, I have to say that there is some difference I guess but to be honest it is not something that I normally notice when out and about.

Perhaps it comes down to what you notice and what annoys oneself.....

Try driving down an unlit A road (at night obviously!) on just the dip beam.
My 1994 Fiat Cinquecento has a better dip beam than the std Halogen 156.

With HIDs in the 156 it is a different story though, you can see perfectly.

I agree DAvid, my first GTA has the HIDs and they were brilliant. When I was looking for a replacement I couldnt find one anywhere with them so got the standard ones. It was like having 2 small candles! Things can be improved with brighter bulbs, like Osram silverstar. I wouldnt go down the route of aftermarket HIDs because unless you put self levellers on them they are not legal. (May pass MOT but in the event of an accident you may have a problem

Nothing decent bulbs can't fix, got Philips Power X-tremes (80%) they make a world of difference. Disappointed when Osram Night Breakers (90%) came out soon after, but turns out they aren't as good as the Philips according to Auto Express

Test

Haven't had mine long enough to really pass judgement on the lights, but after a few days driving around Wandsworth's dire pavement, which is littered with sleeping policemen/speed bumps/humps, I can't say I've had any problems. Admittedly I have been attacking the speed bumps fairly gingerly, and my car currently lacks the undertray, which I guess increases the ground clearance

I'm more concerned about how quickly said roads are going to wear out the suspension bushes and shocks. I'm about to start using the train to go to work as my hours are changing, which means dealing with rush hour traffic - blow that. Like Ferryman, this is how I justified trading the TS on a GTA

Anyway, get one, it is simply fantastic!

Use my gta selespeed everyday - and sometimes make an excuse just to go and drive it.
done 27k miles last 20k mine in 18 months - absolutely fantastic no problems
yes slow down for bumps and bad roads cos they are low and ride is firm.
can be driven fast or slowly and behaves perfectly

sunroof great for listening to the roar of that sweet engine

averages 25mpg but i don't drive slowly

get one

If your bushes wear out just get polybushes wishbonoes next time, they stand up to a lot of abuse, are quiet, improve handling, and reduce torque steer.