ALFAGTV6.COM

[Fernando]

Thought you guys might enjoys this.Some poor chap was bust by our Metro cops on Sunday doing 261 km/h in a Nissan Skyline GTR on his way to the Fastest Street Car in South Africa competition that was held at Wesbank raceway this weekend.

The 31 year old will appear in court this morning so no idea of the fine he faces...all I can say is he had better be rich or it could be goodbye Skyline GTR to pay the fine.

The odd thing is he was caught on a stretch of highway that has become notorius for speed trapping over weekends!

[Barry]

Yup,I reckon they might just take his car as well...Law changed recently to cover this type of thing..

Plus I reckon R30 000.00 fine..Thats about 6000.00 dohlas..

[MD]

261 eh ?
Poor bastard. Must have been stuck in second gear..

[Fernando]

This bloke was quite the news item on radio yesterday.First off the news reader thought it was quite the joke getting a Nissan Skyline to that kind of speed....she had no clue about the GTR heritage and thought it was the crappy Skyline's they sold in SA back in the 80's.

Now this chap has opened up a can of worms because his car was wearing Botswana number plates!

Most of these 'grey' imports are left hand drive cars,which are illegal in SA,so they get around this by registering the cars in neighbouring states but driving them in SA.

The thinking behind this was mainly to protect our local car industry from cheap imports,but they allow cheap Chinese crap to be sold here now which kind of defeats the purpose in my mind.

As an aside,Barry I just love the sound this engine now makes.Crikey it puts one major smile on my dial and gets people to stop and stare at the car waiting at intersections... This morning on a brief burst down the hill towards my office it reminded me of just why I love Alfa's...

[lucass81]

Hey Fernando did you tested your car top speed?

[Barry]

241km/h with a Gps..Dont tell F that i drove his car like that though...

[lucass81]

241, thats not much for a 300hp car. Did you hit the rev limiter in fifth? Is the gearbox too short for that 3.6?

My GTV6 shows at the speedo meter 220Km/h at 6500rpm. It has the std 12v 2.5 with the Autodelta cams and a custom exaust. Stock air intake, stock gearbox-diff. and 205/55vr15 Pirellis all around. And the rev limiter is eliminated. Although it has a slower top speed than many modern 6cil cars, it is faster to 220 than them. For example I beat some 325s and 328s Beemers accelerating from 140 to 210.

[MD]

241, thats not much

It's not always the cruising speed that is important. Sometimes it's the rate that you get there that is of equal importance.

I am told by somewhat reliable sources that when BAzza got out of the car, he was sporting a wet patch, a set of white knuckles but a Cheshire cat grin.

He's a worry that boy..

(Don't talk to me about laxatives. you owe me 14 chickens..)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7_4zugYycM

[Mats]

I'd say that 241Km/h true speed is very fast in such an aerodynamically useless car as the GTV.

[Fernando]

Not bad going Barry.

Lucas as Mike says it's the speed at which a car get's to top end that is also important.I am still running the origional GTV6 box and along with my 205 X 15 X 50 profile tyres gives a final drive gearing of about 33.56km / 1000rpms.

You won't believe just how easy or quickly this engine bangs into the rev limiter of just under 7000rpms in any gear.I was telling Barry that on one stretch of my fav highway there is a rather lengthy uphill section where I feel relatively safe in maxing the car.Remember our Metro cops and there beloved radar speed traps! Anyway,the 3.6 hit's it's limiter in 5th climbing uphill and this is not just a mild gradient type hill either. This car f^&s off is the nicest way for me to phrase it...I am one very happy customer.

Mat's our poor old GTV6's with their CD of 39 aren't too great compared to today's products but at least it's pretty stable at those speeds...

[lucass81]

Yes 241 real speed is not bad, problably most cars that show on the speedo meter 250-255 are really going about 240, but still I think that with that kind of power you could get a higher top speed.
Anyway you beat almost anything in the street to 240 so there`s no need on losing accelerating for a higher top speed. For street racing there is no need of a higher top speed than that. And for track racing neither cause today tracks are too short.

[Fernando]

We might look at the Alfa 75 gearbox at some stage but for now I am happy with mine.I have to sort out brakes and suspension before I worry about gearing.

[SimonB]

Are the brakes and suspension standard? How well does it cope with all that extra power!

[Fernando]

Hi Simon,amazingly well with standard suspension.After driving Kevins GTV6 you realise there is miles of scope to improve the handling to take even more advantage of the 3.6 motor.

As for the standard brakes they wilt in no time on a track day just because your approach speeds are that much higher. Also I would like the added safety of having an uprated braking system as it just inspires so much more confidence in the car.It's lousy doing a track day and braking earlier than you otherwise would, just to try and get the car to scrub off some speed appropriate for the next corner.

Take the one I did earlier this year at Kyalamy.Coming down the Mineshaft it's a downhill straight into a roughly 45 degree left hand bend leading into a very tight right hander.With the 3.6 I was pulling just over 6000rpms in fourth gear through the left hander then accelerating for a little extra after the apex but then having to stand on the brakes with everything to scrub off enough speed to take a corner that's sharper than 90 degrees. I managed about 6 laps and my brakes were finished with smoke pouring off the front and rear discs.

I also have no intention of ever selling my GTV6,so it's a life long hobby for me to try and improve it and one day let my nephew inherit it from me.