Beautifulbusso's 147GTA

beautifulbusso

New Member
Messages
265
New here as is everyone else, but thought I would tell everyone who wants to know about my rather highly modded 147GTA.

I brought her in September 2011, I had always wanted a GTA of some kind since owning my 1st Alfa when I passed my driving test. So when I finally saved enough money I went shopping for one, took me months and months to find one though.

This is what she looked like after her 1st wash after I got her :)





She came with a wizard exhaust system too, which was a bonus as I was going to buy one anyway :D


I said to myself no more mods to her, which didn't last long tbh :lol:

The 1st things I did were to upgrade the braking, I had fitted Performance Friction pads, braided hoses all round and ATE super blue brake fluid, this made a great upgrade and was rather chuffed with it :)

I then added a Quaife diff to the GTA, mainly to save the original diff going bang and costing me ££££ to fix. This totally transformed the car, made her much more nicer to drive, able to get the power down without an issue, love the feeling of the diff pulling you round the corner but you have to be careful as it can make the back end much more prone to stepping out ;):D

Had her on a rolling road where she made a good 257bhp with no mapping.


I then used her in this spec for winter while I gathered yet more parts to have fitted. (in the back ground, notice my modded Fiat Cinq Sporting)



One night down Ace Cafe next to my Cinq.


Come round to March, I took her to my specilist in Aylesbury (AforAlfa) who fitted the following parts for me :)

  • Eibach ARBs
  • BC Racing coilovers
  • Polybushed upper and lower arms
  • CF2 manifolds
  • Wizard downpipes
  • GSR intake hose
  • Pagid RS14 pads
  • Other stuff i've forgotten

Photo's from that day and finally meeting who has turned out to be a very good friend and fellow GTA owner. :)



 

beautifulbusso

New Member
Messages
265
Part 2!!

So then started my obession and help in developing the carbon fibre plenum. I headed down to Crawley a lot in helping with the plenum as my car was the car it was developed on, kinda wish it weren't as she was not running spot on for a long time!!

Just a few photo's from that time.






She made 272bhp on the day which was surprising, but this turned out to be **** mapping and very bad tuning! :(


So from then on I spent months and months trying to sort out the poor mapping and the poor running which had me end up at Gus aka Alfatune who done me a very bespoke map, as of yet I do not know what she is running but feels rather blooming quick, quick enough to keep pace with a friends mk3 Focus ST mountune and mk2 Focus RS :D :D :D

I then went back to Gus as I had another carbon plenum made but to fit with a bigger throttle body off a Ferrari 430, which turns out caused a big headache come mapping time, reason being was down to too much air entering the engine, so more fuel was chucked in, to the point that it's running more fuel than a 3.8!! :lol: :eek:

Then my next issue was that my cold air feed was strangling the engine at over 5krpm, so started playing with different setups. A few photo's of various setups, last one being my current setup.





So that's where I'm at now, she is running spot on, super quick, drinks like an alcoholic and sounds insane!!

I am currently trying out different exhaust setups though, I currently have the CF2s, wizard downpipes, straight through decat, wizard catback. This sounds intense, very very VERY ******* loud, pops and bangs plus she now spits the odd flame out the exhaust too :D

Here is a quick video of my favourite setup though, it's for the CF2s, wizard downpipes, 100 cell racing cat/small silencer combo, wizard catback. Enjoy :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFLPfvvZHII&feature=share&list=UUxrFimwjLlDbRIaUuJMYDVw
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Stunning mate, I like what you have done with the engine, thats my only gripe with the Arese, it does tarnish badly and looks poor, but I see you have put that right.

Are the spark plug covers carbon fibre or carbon fibre effect?
 

beautifulbusso

New Member
Messages
265
Stunning mate, I like what you have done with the engine, thats my only gripe with the Arese, it does tarnish badly and looks poor, but I see you have put that right.

Are the spark plug covers carbon fibre or carbon fibre effect?

Cheers mate, it took me months and months to choose a colour scheme, then one night I woke up with my current scheme. The carbon fibre sets off the red covers perfect though, which were a royal pain to get perfect as its a crinkle finish :)

The spark plug cover is a proper carbon fibre item, had it specially made up and glad I did now, but tbh I weren't sure on the look straight away.
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,038
Looks lovely...The first pictures really does show how good a condition she is in...
 

Smaky

New Member
Messages
161
Sounds like that **** of a 1.0 litre corsa that races off the lights by mine every day at 3am.
 

Smaky

New Member
Messages
161
I'm not sorry Nick, it's an opinion and that is what forums are for, last time I heard something so tinny pull off it had "JUST MARRIED" in shaving foam on the back window.
 

Smaky

New Member
Messages
161
And Carbon covers... though look to be crafted well, the point of the finned alloy original ones was to dissipate heat, something that carbon fibre does not, meaning that the engine will be left with increased hotspots in critical areas.
 

Chris155

Member
Messages
196
Gus, is the popping and banging the op describes down to your remap or the exhaust system? My cat less cf2 156, the one you were so dismissive of :p, never did this...
 

beautifulbusso

New Member
Messages
265
I'm not sorry Nick, it's an opinion and that is what forums are for, last time I heard something so tinny pull off it had "JUST MARRIED" in shaving foam on the back window.

And this is why I like forums, if this was a certain other forum we wouldn't be aloud to say a bad word about anything!!

The noise is either a love/hate thing granted, I do like it but once I have the funds, I am going to Hayward & Scott who's based down the road from me for a full manifold system. This will also make the sound much much more like standard but louder :)
 

beautifulbusso

New Member
Messages
265
I'm under the impression that it's a combination of increased fuelling for the plenum and TB, plus the sports cat etc. The GTA has been very pop and crackle this morning due to the colder air btw ;)
 

Smaky

New Member
Messages
161
I'm under the impression that it's a combination of increased fuelling for the plenum and TB, plus the sports cat etc. The GTA has been very pop and crackle this morning due to the colder air btw ;)

Colder air would request more fuel via the MAF signal, but the poping and cracking is unburnt fuel entering the exhaust...this is a bad theng and upsets the pulse tune of the gases being exhauted which if left will cause valve and seat damage.