MikeyRules

Well that's the 3 of us increasing the Lancia brand in the UK ha-ha! There technicians should be able to with the diagnostics... From memory it's not that difficult, and only a matter of finding the right menu and option... Whether they will be willing to is another matter! One of y friends was the head tech at Mangoletsi and would do stuff for free, but alas he now works for Amari Supercars!

Yeah I'll post some pic's when it arrives and once installed... The You tube vid's look great so I'm hoping for the best! I do like Bravo T-Jet wheels, so might keep an eye out, but love the circle designs Alfa's have as they really shout Italian to me! Any Idea what size they are? Are they 18's? Too late unfortunately with regard the wheel centres as I have a set of four Lancia ones winging there way to Blighty from Italy already I thought I could stick some Lancia badges on the existing caps once I'd removed the 'wings' but the badges don't cover where the wing tips would have been if that makes any sense?

Thanks fella, I'm really pleased with it! Yes I did look at the earlier grills, and do know what you mean about it flowing better with the lines of the car. However I'm going black and grey for a bit of a meaner look, (Mirrors were already black) and will eventually have the alloys powder coated black or maybe even try some Alfa alloys (8C style) in a dark anthracite. The Sat Nav I first saw on Italian eBay, but after further bit of investigation I found the company website with an English option and after a quick chat with the owner via email ordered directly. As mine doesn't already Nav he is including the right plug 'n' play loom, and I decided to get it in Piano black rather than silver. Link here: http://www.almigliorprezzo.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55 It's cost me about £450 including UK shipping, which I think is pretty good as it maintains the original equipment look and feel plus gives me some great tech! I do have a few concerns over postcodes as Italian post codes are only 5 digits and not 6 like ours, plus whether the TV frequency range will match etc.. I have bought a separate reverse camera too, so am hoping that will be plug 'n' play once I've installed it into the tailgate and wired it into the reverse light feed eek!

Yes it came complete. I must admit the badge is bigger than I remembered, but having said that it does follow the centre line of the bonnet so doesn't look out of place. I had a guy squinting at the car through his rear view mirror yesterday as we both pulled into the petrol station. When he got out he said ah Lancia, I wondered what it was... that looks fantastic was it expensive!? Made my day! Interestingly most of the Alfisti on Alfabook seem to really like it, but most of my friends think it hit the ugly tree on the way out of the factory hahah

No opted not to remove the bumper and simply snapped the lugs off the old grill to remove... The new grill secures at the top and bottom anyway and I used some tiny blobs of tiger seal on the back (at each lug point) to make sure it stays put. There's always a few airbags on Italian eBay to be honest, although a lot are second hand which I didn't want. I ended up getting a brand new one by emailing the seller for a 'buy it now' price including UK postage and she came back saying £95 all in. It's a complete unit though as the front doesn't separate.

Well thought I'd start a new thread now I've actually got the car home and have started doing some rebranding and modifications to track the progress and help others who fancy going down this route. As bought/standard: Rear Badge removed: Standard head unit: New Sat Nav / DVD / TV / WI-FI /Rear view camera head unit: (I'm still waiting on this and hope to have it installed before Xmas) New Momo Design black grill: I'm now waiting on a new Lancia Airbag, Sill plates, rear badge and 4 hub caps, ah and a set of mats...

It all ebbs and flows fella...some years they're cheaper...some not! Hence me saying it always pays to shop around each and every year. I've seen the feedback before... You'll always get horror stories when it comes to people not happy with claim outcomes etc. I've had track day insurance and modified car insurance with them on and off for nearly 20 years, and they have sponsored my car club including buying us a marquee and 5000 flyers. They have been good to me when I've had a claim in the past and have generally always tried to beat any premium at renewal time to be fair. Although having said all that Direct Line were the cheapest for me this time around.

Haha I had to read your post twice Chris... I'm still not 100% sure I follow you completely! Insurance has always been money for old rope regardless of the hardship stories they'll have you believe about bogus claims etc... Some of the more specialist companies like Adrian Flux can be worth a try... The key is to always shop around each year and not just simply renew! Also not all the comparison sites list the best deals either.

Oh I don't know... I think a lot of cars have a limit where they become dangerous if tweaked too much. I've had a few cars over the years that would bite you hard if you weren't careful. (Nismo 350z / VX220 turbo / Maser 3200) These all used to give me goose bumps when ran out of talent lol! Thanks I'll keep an eye of regens... I've driven the 1.9 TTID that's in the Saab and really liked that! (Same engine) In fact a Saab was on the shortlist, but a saloon was too restricting with the boot aperture and the Sportwagon a little too fugly. A real shame we didn't get the twin turbo in the Alfas and of course our beloved Delta. Yeah the emission's are the reason a lot of engines are biting the dust for sure, and why we're seeing 0.9 twinair's and the like sporting turbo's... and you're right it is a load of tosh, but I guess we're being herded in that direction whether we like it or not! In regards to Marchione and ruining Lancia and Alfa... I'm not sure either of these brands will ever recover under Fiat ownership or at all given how run down they've become model wise. Most UK owners have long moved on, the dealer networks now sell multiple brands to survive and even the Italians think Fiat is a cheap budget brand like Dacia! He may have bought Chrysler and be laying the tracks in America to sell the family jewels but has left Europe without in doing so. Too many false promises too to be believed anymore.

Have you spotted any other bargain must have's? I quite fancy a Boot tray to keep the carpet clean and dry... I've only found ones in Germany so far and they seem to be about £40 plus postage!

Those 2ltrs are incredibly versatile and map extremely well tbh... With a better intercooler, induction and free flowing exhaust they really come alive! I'd have preferred yours to mine if I could have found one within budget. The 2.4, 5 cylinder JTDm in the 159/Brera/Spider is probably the best diesel I've ever owned and a real shame its no longer available... Marchione doesn't know his ar*e fro his elbow... The sooner that pillock moves on the better...

Yeah I've just got a set of genuine delta mats for £20 including postage off fleabay... They've not arrived yet, so will have to see what the quality is like! I'm not expecting much lol

Right I've installed the latest CRD2 Plus map this morning and I have to say it's completely transformed the car! The average gain is roughly a 40% increase both in power and torque, so the quoted figures won't be far from the truth in my experience although all cars do vary slightly. In recent years I've had my car's remapped on a hub centric rolling road (wheels off and hubs bolted directly to the machine) and then had a couple of hours tuning to perfection. However this time I've gone with the latest digital tuning box from my friends company (DTUK) which has had 3 maps loaded all with the same output, just that they deliver it differently. All maps can be increased/decreased +/- 30% in 10% increments to suit the application. So at the moment I'm running map 1 set to plus 20% and it seems to suit the car really well. The turbo spools up instantly with no lag, the throttle seems lighter and more responsive and for a little engine defies its 1.6 litres. Rosso I wouldn't mind betting given the weight difference over the 2ltr block there wouldn't be much in between them.

Nello, which dealers were selling off parts? I've tried to Google and it's not thrown up much! I've ended up sourcing stuff off Italian eBay!

Sorry fella I must have misunderstood - I thought you had tyre pressure sensors by what you had said? Ok I'll have a mooch - Ta!

Any idea what the Apps called Rosso? Yeah the tyre weld completely fubars the tyre if you use it. There is an American one available that's water soluble and washes out... Does only the Limited have the tyre pressure sensors?

I'd rather cut my head off and sh*t down the hole than own an iPhone! Android the land of the free for me... One would hope it works on windows phones lol too! I'll give my HTC a try tomorrow... Today has been mainly removing that awful badge off the boot (and a Mangoletsi sticker) and polishing the glass and boot lid where they were. Has anybody got a spare wheel, or like me got a silly compressor and tyre weld thing!? I might have to get the tool kit and spare as I don't like boing without.

Has anyone got Blue & Me to read their text messages yet?? I don't think I've managed that yet on any of my Alfa's...

Cheers fella! Well the good news is that there weren't any faults stored on the ECU, and the small parking dent in the front wing has been removed by their dent guy, so body wise it's now as new.... So I've done the dastardly deed and bought the little blighter! Lancia black grill, rear boot badge, Sat Nav with WI-FI, Digital TV and reverse camera ordered, and a new set of mats too... Ooh and nearly forgot it gets remapped tomorrow too so quite pleased for the money! I don't think anything comes close for this kind of money...Amazing!

Well my shiny black Discovery 3 beast drove off into the sunset yesterday with a very happy new owner, so that leaves me without a car! (Well apart from the wife's) So having beaten £500 off the price of the 1.6SR I linked above, I'm thinking this is a bit of a bargain, and for £300 I can map the 1.6 to 165bhp/375nm which may be enough power to keep me happy. I've also found a company in Italy selling Sat Nav head unit's that match the original unit shape and looks and maintain the Blue & Me plus audio controls for around £450. They do them in piano black or silver too... Can anyone tell me where the diagnostic plug socket (OBD port) is located? I want to plug in and see if there are any stored fault codes before I think about buying it?

Ah yes that the one... I've seen darker grills for sale on Italian ebay although they look more bronze than black!

Ah sorry to hear that Rosso! Hopefully It won't come to you having to sell up fingers crossed and all that... Been there and wore the tee-shirt a long time ago unfortunately so know what you're going through. I had to sell a 306 turbo S and a track day car plus remortgage to get rid of my first wife lol! I've threatened my second wife already that she's not taking my cars... she can have the child instead haha!

I wonder how much a vinyl wrap would cost just for the roof section?

Thanks guys, and yes you're both right. Would prefer the 2.0ltr diesel if I'm totally honest, and the sat nav as it makes the dash look classier especially in the piano black finish. I don't really want to spend any more than 8k max and at the moment the couple of Limited models and the black edition grill ones are 10k plus. I might still have a drive of this though to get a feel. The tuning kit would take it to 165bhp @375lbft torque so not bad for a tiddler! I've also found the latest version of the Nav unit in Italy with wi-fi for around £450 plus shipping...so that maybe an option!?

Well I've found a grey SR to see which is local to me, so going to try and get to see it early this week. It's only the 1.6 diesel so will be interested to see how this copes and what it drives like. http://www.chromemotors.co.uk/used-cars/chrysler-delta-macclesfield-201411269255525 What do you guys think on first glance?