what to buy AX 's may have to go

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 20 Jan 2005, 02:39

AXs have excellent brakes and handle perfectly for a road car. If you are not finding this then you need to drive a lot more smoothly.
Alfa 33s are a load of rubbish. They sound nice but that is at the expense of fuel consumption. The brakes are rubbish due to the amount of pitching they do which really slows down the rate at which the load can be transferred through the wheels and hence speed at which the load can be built up on the pedal - its that bad. But the absolute worse thing is the totally inaccurate steering. It may not concern motorists, who know nothing about driving on the correct line, but its a bit of a guess as to how the car is going to respond to the angle of the steering. There is a lot of hysteresis in the steering.
I dont recommend driving fast on the road to anyone no matter what age you are. Old drivers are as incapable as young drivers at driving fast - maybe worse. The required experience to drive a car fast cannot come from driving on the road no matter how long you do it for. Every now and then you will find you have a little moment on the road but they are too few and far between to really learn how to react to them. These 8 year old kids in karts will have several moments at each corner of a race track on every lap. Only by the time they are in their mid teens have they built the connections within their brains which direct what they are feeling through their sensors to what they should be doing with their muscles. It needs to be a hard wired connection because thinking about it is too slow.
The main reason a motorist gets away without crashing on the road is because road cars are extremely forgiving and require slow reactions to correct them. Plus a car will very untidily correct oversteer itself if you take your hands off the wheel.
Driving fast on the road is pointless. There is nothing to achieve, the feeling of satisfaction you might feel is misplaced (there is no real skill invloved trust me - no matter what you think), it is very dangerous for everyone around you and you will eventually end up in big trouble.

gardenpeas · Post by **gardenpeas** » 20 Jan 2005, 13:37

all very well but what car should i buy, as this is the question asked i want something fun and involving to drive the ax is good at this as 30 seems fast but i need something quicker for cruising on motorways etc

dan.2cv · Post by **dan.2cv** » 20 Jan 2005, 15:48

Get a petrol ZX then, Cheap to buy and insure, easy enough to fix, still in the Citroën vein and slightly bigger, faster and comfier than an AX.

Post by **martyhopkirk** » 20 Jan 2005, 16:16

My old ZX certainly handled better than the AX I have now - though I always found the brakes wooly. Fine if you drive sensibly.
Best to buy a dodgem car if your worried about crashing often, or maybe one of those rides you see ouside of Woolyworths for 20p a go[}:)]

CommY · Post by **CommY** » 20 Jan 2005, 18:23

ItDontGo I don't know what 33's you've been driving but your comments about the steering are just plain wrong, you must have been driving right dogs. I bet the car you've driven has had dodgy strut pan bearings as the steering accuracy is one of the 33's strong points and as for the brakes they are on par with any car of the same period, the car you have driven has had a badly adjusted handbrake I bet(this has massive effect on the braking efficiency). And you say they pitch badly, no way, you slag off the 33 and the bad points you claim are infact the areas they excel in (except the brakes). Read any reviews and the handling is ALWAYS without exception, praised. THERE ARE MANY MANY AREAS THAT THE 33 CAN BE DISSED, HOWEVER GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT BEFORE SPOUTING OFF.
And as for expensive parts, check out www.justsuds.co.uk , cheaper than the citroen parts on this site.

gardenpeas · Post by **gardenpeas** » 20 Jan 2005, 19:29

liking the idea of a 33 one of my mates was thinking i should get a 145 what u think, is the interior nice on the alfa don't like it when bits fall of in your hand and it's nice to have a nice seat/ driving position
cheers

Oscar Too · Post by **Oscar Too** » 20 Jan 2005, 19:33

Alright commy, no need to shout. We are all free to express our opinions.
Oscar

born2die · Post by **born2die** » 20 Jan 2005, 19:33

hi try a saab I have a lovely 14 owner 150000 mile examle full leather etc not too economical but if you have the time and inclination to fix it ie mot its yours for not a lot o cash good stereo in it though.

gardenpeas · Post by **gardenpeas** » 20 Jan 2005, 19:47

think i'll pass on the saab for a couple of years then might go for a mint 99
anyone know if a mk3 golf driver is anygood
or a similar german panzerwagon

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 20 Jan 2005, 19:49

Old Scirroco??- a friends just bought an '89 1800- great fun!!!!

dan.2cv · Post by **dan.2cv** » 21 Jan 2005, 03:22

Mk III Golfs were never praised that highly in terms of driver enjoyment, with may other cars in the same class doing the job better. Try and get hold of a Focus? Bear in mind that the early 1400's only came in base trim with squidgy suspension, the zetec models had tighter suspension and quicker steering and drive really well with the 1600 engine. Would probably cost you upwards of 3.5 grand though.

CommY · Post by **CommY** » 22 Jan 2005, 19:28

The 145's are a hell of a lot heavier than the 33 1200kg instead of 800kg so you loose the outright responsiveness of the 33. The build quality however is far far far superior, especially the interior. So the 145 offers a more comfortable, secure ride but if you want adrenaline fueled fun the 33 can't be beaten. Avoid the early 145 1.7 16v Boxers and any of the twin spark engines that have ANY knocking from the bottom end, no matter how slight. Also avoid any car that is burning/leaking oil. The sump oil capacity is small and the design of the crank shaft means that if it runs low on oil the bearings wear and as these are all that keeps the shaft true once wear has occoured a bottom end rebuild is ineviatable (this normally happens about the 70k mark). The front suspension lower arms are prone to fail at about 60k and are expensive to repair. Make sure that the spark plugs have been replaced on any car you buy as there are eight of then and they are £20ish a peice. Basically if you get a car with a service history and check/change the oil on a regular basis you'll be laughing. And remember most ALfa's are thrashed by their owners and often poorly maintained hence their undeserved bad reputation.
The Mk2 33 is a basic car with a fantastic indestructable engine. There are about eight things that need checking to make sure they are OK and if they are fine you will have a very relyable fun car. The 145 is more complex with extra electronic gizmo's so more to go wrong. The engines providing the oil is checked are pretty indestructable too though I am no 145 expert. My contact with the twin spark lumps are through the 164 where they go on forever.

wilkobob · Post by **wilkobob** » 23 Jan 2005, 15:06

I cant see what would be wrong with a ZX. best handeling car ive driven, and believe me ive driven a few. And, sorry, but the ax is a really bad handeling car in my opinion, and yes, the brakes on my push bike are better (incidentaly, the one I have driven was a 1.0l) I have had 4 ZX's, and I love them. Very cheap to run, nothing goes wrong with them. When they have the "volcane" style bumpers they look really good. 1.4 petrols are quick, but Im a diesel man (also a student, 20, who has a 35 mile uni trip 4 times a week, weird eh!?) and I much prefer the 1.9 TD ZX, its fast (faster than the 1.4 petrol) , handels like its on rails, and economical (at least 40mpg).
BUY A ZX!!!!!

Post by **martyhopkirk** » 23 Jan 2005, 15:23

Having swapped my ZX for an AX, the only real plus points are cheaper road tax and more MPG (to the tune of nearly 20mpg better).
The ZX handled a LOT better than the AX. Though the brakes on the AX are just as good as my ZX was, its just not as chuckable - probably teh light body and heavy cast iron lump slung over the front wheels is the problem there.... Anyway, its plenty slow enough for me.

caveman_si · Post by **caveman_si** » 23 Jan 2005, 17:42

Ive got the perfect car for you a peugeot 405 estate glx td. And ive got one for sale check out the For Sale &Wanted board.http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... C_ID=11546
Diesel so its cheap to run (good mpg and then theres always vegtable oil as well) its a TD so it shifts and it defo has better brakes then an AX.
It has always started for me no matter the weather which is v.important since i work funny hrs and spend lots time in the middle of no where canoeing.
contact me if interested!