Driving impressions
I soon found out that the 8v is a fast car above 4500 rpm with enough
pull between 2000 and 4500 rpm. In town I usually drive at 60 kmh in
4th gear and on the motorway I usually drive in 5th gear even as slow
as 80 kmh when there is a lot of traffic. I hardly found myself in
the wrong gear when acceleration was asked for and obviously this
helped my fuel economy.
What I also like is the fuel cut-off when you get of the accelerator.
I was once driving on the German autobahn for an hour and a half with
speeds of 180 kmh and had to lift several times for slower traffic.
When fuelling up I found out that this fast drive only had a little
influence on my overall fuel economy.
I further like the pickup above 100 kmh. When in Germany I had to
slow down several times for slower traffic travelling at 100 kmh
(trucks and buses).
I enjoyed it when some big Audi, BMW or Mercedes
got stuck behind this little Alfa without spoilers or 16v badge. As
soon as the slower traffic moved over to the right lane they also
expected this little Alfa to move over. Which i did while
accelerating in 5th gear from 100-160 kmh. Only the very big boys
managed to pass me.
A good torquey engine and a good old fashioned *lightweight* chassis
helped a lot.
I once raced against a VW Golf III 16v. We both accelerated from
50-100, his car still in 2nd gear and screaming, the Alfa all the
time in 3rd gear. He managed to keep up with me.
It is a pity I cannot give a comparison between a 8v and a 16v 33.
I have no complaints about the brakes. They seem a little weedy in
town, but they are up to the job on the German autobahn were
sometimes a fast deceleration is asked for.
I also love the handling, especially during cornering. My Fiat was
lowered and the dampers were stiffened by a Sachs sporting set. I
soon found out that I could easily reach the same cornering speeds
with the standard 33 set up, once you get used to the 33's body roll.
The front spoiler works well at higher speeds when you feel the front
hug to the ground and give an ensuring driving feeling.
The steering is direct with a lot of feel, which speaks for the big
turning circle. Almost a race touringcar! You cannot have it both
ways.
I find the vents in the dashboard very practical, which by the way
are the same as used in the Lamborghini Diablo and the Ferrari F50!
Impressions on the mods I've made
I had to install a smaller grippier steeringwheel and more body
hugging sportsseats (left and right) to get comfortable.
The Momo Martini racing harness pads around the seatbelts are a bit
more comfortable too.
Perhaps I ought to install a 4-point racing
harness as well.
I found the airfilter to give a slight plus of torque above 4500 rpm.
I opted for the K&N filter as this gives a good airflow providing at
the same time standard filtration.
The Sebring exhaust should be fitted to every Alfa 33 as this looks
and sounds much better thant the standard pipe. This mod, together
with the airfilter, provided more torque and power.
Recently my car was put on a rolling road. Advancement of the
ignition gave a 5 hp increase on the whole rev range and more torque
as well. For an hours work this has been the cheapest tuning so far!!
Pick up in every gear was also improved. The tuning company advised
me to use super ron 98 fuel in the future. During a holiday in Italy
I already fueled up with ron 98 super and found my fuel economy
improve and the engine run bettter as well.
Conclusions
I want to own the car for a long time with some more mods to come.
Hopefully a 1830 cc or 1970 cc engine upgrade by Autodelta of London
in the future.
For the time being I just love the good handling, steeringfeel, fuel
economy and acceleration in gear from my car.
Copyright © 1997 Tom Verwoest