I am now a true petrol head! Bought an Alfa !! (Giulia Quadrifoglio)

Gibbo · 7 Dec 2022 at 12:59

HI there

So the two main wear points on the interior is the drivers seat bolster and the steering wheel, so lets replace the steering wheel, a very easy job:

Tools required:
- Small flat blade screw driver
- Allen key
- 24m sock with small extension

1. Unlock car, open door and boot, disconnect battery negative terminal using factory quick release.
2. Wait 30 minutes or so to ensure everything has dis-charged, probably no need but when handling explosives I am taking no risk.

Some pictures of the 113k worn shiny wheel:

Then using the allen key, insert it into the small hole at the base of the wheel and give a good firm push:

The air bag will pop out and gently pull it away to gain access to the electrical connectors on the rear:

Using a small flat blade screw driver push the tabs in or out and then gently easy the connector out, be gentle as these are small brittle plastic connectors.
Then using the 24mm socket, undo the nut and gently pull the wheel towards you and ensure any wires are gently fed through the holes.

The the installation is a reverse of the above, results in reply post!

Gibbo · 7 Dec 2022 at 13:02

The results:

This is the optional wheel to the added carbon fibre inserts and suede which all nicely matches the interior, this wheel came from an 8000 mile car so is very fresh, cost me £210 delivered.

Also helps on these cold frosty starts, suede is not as a cold to hold as leather.

Very happy with the results, upon reconnecting the battery turn the wheel lock to lock five times and key cycle the car to clear all the error codes from battery disconnect.

You could do this in 10-15 minutes if you don't want to wait after disconnecting the battery, it is that simple and easy.

Robbo · 7 Dec 2022 at 13:07

Excellent decision, I hate worn/shiny steering wheels!

Housey · 7 Dec 2022 at 14:08

It is a fantastic looking car and I had not realised where these were now price wise (not that I am watching the market to be fair).

champ222 · 7 Dec 2022 at 17:02

Nice!

I bought a Giulia Veloce new in 2018. I'm about to move on, since BMW have FINALLY built by new car, but i will miss the Alfa a lot. One of the things i'll miss the most is being able to select drive by clicking the right hand paddle.... all cars should be like this. The BMW isnt... this will annoy me.

The battery charging logic is illogical, so the battery doesnt really get charged enough, but they are great cars. Here is mine, which is for sale as it happens (sorry to hijack)

Gibbo · 7 Dec 2022 at 17:30

champ222 said:
Nice!

I bought a Giulia Veloce new in 2018. I'm about to move on, since BMW have FINALLY built by new car, but i will miss the Alfa a lot. One of the things i'll miss the most is being able to select drive by clicking the right hand paddle.... all cars should be like this. The BMW isnt... this will annoy me.

The battery charging logic is illogical, so the battery doesnt really get charged enough, but they are great cars. Here is mine, which is for sale as it happens (sorry to hijack)

All those kind of features like that are all design cues from the same guy who did the 458 so different stuff like:
- Paddles to select drive
- Hold the left paddle down whilst braking and keep it held will make the car keep dropping gears for maximum engine braking
- Fast steering with sharp front-end another Ferrari trait, and the ackerman effect, not sure if Veloce got the fast steering rack though?

I've really gelled with it, amazing bit of kit to drive.

Rob200sx · 7 Dec 2022 at 20:17

Silly question as most people won’t care but how’s the boot space on the Giulia?

Gibbo · 7 Dec 2022 at 21:57

Rob200sx said:
Silly question as most people won’t care but how’s the boot space on the Giulia?

Not got much to compare to but plenty big enough for my needs.

mikeh501 · 7 Dec 2022 at 22:07

Ha, we spoke about that clarkson comment about not being a true petrol head until you’d had an Alfa at the biddulph meet a couple of months back. If you were really brave you’d get a really old one like mine lol.

Glad you like it, they are great fun and pretty practical.

panthro · 8 Dec 2022 at 10:44

Can you fit roof bars to it?
I was close to buying an F80 M3 last month until I found out you can't fit roof bars.

Gibbo · 8 Dec 2022 at 11:03

mikeh501 said:
Ha, we spoke about that clarkson comment about not being a true petrol head until you’d had an Alfa at the biddulph meet a couple of months back. If you were really brave you’d get a really old one like mine lol.

Glad you like it, they are great fun and pretty practical.

Your such a bad influence.

You going to the Chrismas one this Sunday at 15:30 onwards?

panthro said:
Can you fit roof bars to it?
I was close to buying an F80 M3 last month until I found out you can't fit roof bars.

It has the runners and this link would suggest you can:

Roof Rack System For ALFA ROMEO Giulia

Let us help you find a roof rack for your Alfa Romeo Giulia. We make it as easy as possible for you to buy a set of roof bars for your car with free next day delivery on all roof bar kits

roof-bars.co.uk

mikeh501 · 17 Dec 2022 at 20:22

Gibbo said:
Your such a bad influence.
You going to the Chrismas one this Sunday at 15:30 onwards?

It has the runners and this link would suggest you can:

Roof Rack System For ALFA ROMEO Giulia

Let us help you find a roof rack for your Alfa Romeo Giulia. We make it as easy as possible for you to buy a set of roof bars for your car with free next day delivery on all roof bar kits

roof-bars.co.uk

Didn’t realise it was on tbh. If it’s the carol singing I’ll pass!

Mekrel · 20 Dec 2022 at 20:17

Just watched a YT video of how to get to the serpentine belt on these.... yeah, that's not something you want to do

Scania · 20 Dec 2022 at 21:09

I was amazed to see your Mac parked outside OC/U.K. yesterday (I was in the truck parking) you’ve got an Alfa winter hack, why aren’t you using it?

Gibbo · 20 Dec 2022 at 21:29

Scania said:
I was amazed to see your Mac parked outside OC/U.K. yesterday (I was in the truck parking) you’ve got an Alfa winter hack, why aren’t you using it?

It was 13c so wanted to drive the McLaren.

Scania · 21 Dec 2022 at 07:03

Gibbo said:
It was 13c so wanted to drive the McLaren.

Fair do’s, I’d just presumed you’d prefer to keep the salt off it, that said, at the rate you change your cars I suppose long term corrosion won’t be a concern….

Gibbo · 21 Dec 2022 at 10:29

Scania said:
Fair do’s, I’d just presumed you’d prefer to keep the salt off it, that said, at the rate you change your cars I suppose long term corrosion won’t be a concern….

I try to limit it but at same time I don't want to leave it sat for months, the car handles amazingly well in the wet, obviously the chassis is very good but the new Pzero PZ4 in Mclaren grade is clearly very good even in the wet, something I'd thought I'd never say about a Pzero. I even had the roof down, doubt I will change it to be honest, like the 458 it is a truly amazing car, so special but so useable as well.

DRZ · 21 Dec 2022 at 11:33

Scania said:
Fair do’s, I’d just presumed you’d prefer to keep the salt off it, that said, at the rate you change your cars I suppose long term corrosion won’t be a concern….

There is almost nothing on the car that salt would cause a problem for. Some fasteners maybe but that's it.

RobTi · 22 Dec 2022 at 23:41

Oil extraction pump any problems with it and what model is it, getting too old to crawl under the car now .

Gibbo · 4 Jan 2023 at 17:38

Hi there

So in the end I had to give up trying to do diff oil myself, the under trays would not come off (clips just spinning on opposite side) as such I decided to let Andy at AWJ sort it as he was going to do the gearbox anyway for me and alignment.

As such dropped it off with him yesterday morning:

He removed the under trays (had to snap a few clips, but he has replacement ones), gearbox cover/filter off, all THREE diff plugs removed and oil left draining over night:

All drain plugs refitted and new gearbox service kit fitted:

Andy has the ZF8 software so was able to do a cold fill, then bring gearbox upto target temperature to do the warm fill.
Andy was also able to reset the differential adaptations so the car is aware it now has new oil.

The gearbox oil which came out of the car was not that bad.
The OS and Centre diff oil was clean, the NS was dirty.

As such they either have been done in the past though its not documented anywhere or part of the servicing requirements by Alfa, though ZF who make the gearbox recommend an oil change every 45,000 miles and the rumour is the differential oil should ideally be changed every 36,000 miles with it been a more complex E-Diff with torque vectoring (hence 3 drain plugs).

Alignment also done, though car was not that out:

The cost of this:
- Gearbox service kit including ZF oil = £250
- Ravenol Diff oil = £40
- Alignment & Labour for above = £200

So £500 essentially including the parts.

So how does it drive?
Gearbox - Changes seem smoother, less harsh, but it is very minor.
Now the big one, the car is way more eager to set off and it now properly engages hooligan mode, can easily light the tyres up now in race mode and mashing the throttle in 1st gear, car is also more keen to break the rear end lose on 2nd and 3rd gear corner exits. Needless to say I absolutely freakin love it, literally feels like its gained 50HP or more in 1st and 2nd gear, just become a lot more responsive. Car feels properly awake now!

The reasoning for this is that the differential learns and adapts over time as the oil ages to protect itself, the Alfa MES service software has a differential reset, which is recommended to be actioned when the oil has been changed, needless to say its made a big difference.

Over the moon, what a car this thing is!