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Agree Philster....except for the 10,000miles / 6,000kms conversion ;-) (ya....I went there lol)
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Typo -- not ignorance! 10,000 miles / 16000 kms :p

I remain one of the few who make the effort to speak in stupid Imperial and also metric.
 
I initially had the same feeling: a golf r, audi S3, etc would be faster on a twisted road. Currently I don't think this anymore.
I have some race track experience that helped me find the limits of the car --> For this reason I avoid driving to the limit on the street --> The grip and the speed is much lower on the street.
Currently on a twisted road I believe I am faster in the alfa 4c but I have to concentrate much more than in other mentioned cars. If I want to drive fast I feel that I really have to be 100% involved: aka brake as late as possible, turn hard, accelerate hard, push the car to the limit in all it's capabilities where the golf ... you can just drive it fast without being too involved or demanding. The main difference is: the golf feels like a street car driven on the street while the alfa feels like a race car driven on the street (not in it's habitat).
On the race track though ... I am way more faster with the alfa --> On the race track the car feels at home.
 
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Typo -- not ignorance! 10,000 miles / 16000 kms :p

I remain one of the few who make the effort to speak in stupid Imperial and also metric.
Hahahaa.....I KNOW!

As an aside, and a reflection of a moment in STUPIDITY: one of my primary school "teachers" (boy if I could go back how many I would have had fired lol) taught us up here that our American Cousins did not want to adopt the metric system because if/when the "Russians" invaded they would get confused with the conversion from imperialism. :ROFLMAO::LOL:

Metric we have adopted....yet we still buy 2x4s for construction :unsure:
 
In dynamic the car will emulate a rear diff so you can accelerate more efficiently. In race mode you can spin rear tires easily and loose time.
Don't worry, you can still spin the car, loose control or whatever in dynamic --> By the time it intervenes you can already be off the street. The main difference that I find is that in relation to the electronic diff.
 
The above post and its thoughtful and diverse responses speak volumes to the quality of this forum. In particular the opinions on the relative lack of seat time many of us have with mid engine cars can't be understated. In a situation where you have to make split second calculation change based on the shifting momentum of the car mid corner for example, we inevitably revert to what our minds tell us has saved our asses in the past. When the mid engine car gives us a different outcome than expected, we feel a momentary loss of control or perception thereof. That feeling is why many of us are here, and why I adore this car to no end. A common analogy where I live is the car feels like a stripper; an unthinkably attractive lust object you would love to think you can one day control, buy inwardly you know that's never going to happen....
+1 on the lowering springs by the way. Lose them and the ride quality and control will improve.
Schwab
Vegas...
 
Hahahaa.....I KNOW!

As an aside, and a reflection of a moment in STUPIDITY: one of my primary school "teachers" (boy if I could go back how many I would have had fired lol) taught us up here that our American Cousins did not want to adopt the metric system because if/when the "Russians" invaded they would get confused with the conversion from imperialism. :ROFLMAO::LOL:

Metric we have adopted....yet we still buy 2x4s for construction :unsure:
Do you talk about kilometerage or mileage when discussing fuel economy?! :unsure: :p

(I prefer metric, ftr)
 
When you're attacking a winding back road in the 4C, there's so much feedback that it's if the car is shouting at you. Providing that you understand what it is saying, this is a delightful car to drive fast. With that, here are a few things that I have noted.
  • You can futz with geometries, blocks, etc, but it's really not necessary and if you don't know what you're doing, you can easily make things worse. Get the car aligned properly by someone who knows what they're doing. My tuning shop corrected the toe and fixed the alignment up better than my Alfa dealer could do.
  • Fore/aft weight transfer is especially important in this car under acceleration and deceleration. It's short-rigged and has a heavy rear bias. A quick tap of the brakes can help put some weight down on the front wheels when you're trying to change direction. Conversely, when you're on the gas, don't expect a lot of grip out of the front going into a turn. Managing weight transfer in this car is a big part of the experience.
  • Dynamic mode is very enthusiast oriented and will allow you to throw the car sideways. On the street, it's not holding you back and it's pretty unobtrusive. Aside from launches, I don't see the point of driving in Race mode on the street. Oh, if you have your 4C sideways, as with any car, you better have a plan, because you can do things in this car where the 4C stability control isn't going to save your ass. This isn't a 911 with supercomputer-level nannies.
  • Tires. My PZeroes were bald at 8k miles. I've got 4k miles on the Bridgestones. They're considerably stiffer and grippier than the Pirelli's requiring a recalibration for spirited driving (see weight transfer). With the OE wheels, 18/19 options are extremely limited, but there's a surprising amount of offerings if you've got 17/18s.
  • If you've spent your years driving front-engined cars, mid-engine cars are a different animal. It is the best configuration, but accept that it can take time to understand them. Get some track instruction/autocross time in.
If you don't feel like you're in step with the car, slow down and take the time to understand it. If you're not listening to the car, so-called "limits" are irrelevant. Be safe and have fun. On the street, it's not a race.
 
I love it.

A Cayman will be an easier car to drive fast. Also less visceral and more practical. A great daily driven sports car if two seats is enough. Manual and NA options are available.

To me the rear bushings were very important for any aggressive driving at all - makes the car predictable - but everything else has been extra credit. I had a basic alignment done before taking delivery so perhaps that’s necessary too.

The Alfa is extremely rewarding and fun to drive when you understand how to manage the weight transfer, the short wheelbase, and rear traction with the turbo. Hilarious fun at times! I find the car provides plenty of feedback and makes it easy to control if you’re quick about responding to the road. But if those things aren’t intuitive to you yet, this will be a very hard or even dangerous car to drive fast.

I like race mode in dry conditions as it feels more authentic/natural. I don’t like the traction control in dynamic as I occasionally feel it interfering slightly with the car which really throws me off emotionally. In my 2017 Porsche I didn’t mind the traction control, so I think it has to do with how it corrects inputs. The Alfa can be a bit ham fisted on bumpy surfaces. And if I weren’t comfortable handling the car at speed in a spin without nannies I would definitely leave them on for safety.

If you want an easier car to drive with some of the benefits of the Golf R, really do go drive a Cayman - they’re great. But if you want to see why these cars are so much more fun than most other cars, get some time in at your local track. It doesn’t have to be in the Alfa if you’re new to it - there’s a lot to learn before the mid-engine dynamics will be a big asset to you. You probably need to be at a point where you can stop a surprise spin with no drama (keeping yourself and your car’s suspension calm the whole time) and where you stabilize the car’s rear end by steadily applying the throttle through fast corners. Obviously the track is the best place to practice that type of thing.
 
I don't agree with everyone here saying you should use dynamic on the street and race mode on the track. For me it's the opposite.
At the track I really push the car. The 4C is indeed a very hard car to drive on the edge. Especially because of the mid engine layout, with a lot of weight on the rear wheels. If it goes, it goes. When pushing on the track I'm often on the edge and it did save me sometimes on the track.
On the road I also like spirited driving, but not even close as how fast I go on the track. I therefore love to put it in race mode. On tight corners, accelerating out of corners, etc., I really like to slide it. That's perfectly controleble on low speeds.

I think the whole thing about the feeling going faster in other cars is because the limits are so much closer. A Golf R will slide at speeds where the 4C (with some good old AD08R tyres) will give you the idea: "can't you go faster?" It's just a handfull to drive, so you are not so much experiencing the speed, but purely the car.
 
Good thread, but problematic in one way:

There is no 'correct' overall alignment. There is one compromised alignment that best addresses what you are going to experience most often while making the less frequent experiences ok, too.

On the tightest corners and on roads with hills (where the lift reduces grip) and HARD braking, there is an alignment. Slower average road speed, where quickness to change direction really matters, and there is an alignment. Tight, twisty, hilly roads. Back mountain stuff, with rapid changes of everything.

On roads with sweepers, more trail braking and higher overall speeds, the same alignment will wash or scrub the front terribly.

I cannot bring the same speed into any long sweeper that I can on a longer wheelbase car that has more front tire. But... my alignment is best for the roads I get up early to drive on: Tight, twisty, hilly back woods stuff.

But it was worth stating. Set it up for what you are going to drive on most often.
 
For all those golfers here (anyone?) ... I relate the 4C to a set of BLADE player's irons. The Cayman et al is like the super game improvement irons. With blades .... you really have to work for a good shot, but you always KNOW when you've hit that good shot. The ball comes off the blade in complete harmony, no vibration and perfect tajectory. If you mishit it .... YOU WILL KNOW. The blade iron will automatically provide feedback. You have to be GOOD to play blades in golf.

A Cayman et al are like super game improvement irons. Just aim and shoot. The irons are designed with large faces, huge amounts of offset, large bounces, and tons of MOI. Any less talented golfer can play these irons and hit decent shots, but less rewarding in the feel department.
 
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Just to follow up on this thread...

Short wheelbases have notoriously been deemed "twitchy". I remember when BMW was campaigning their Z3 GT/GT3 car. The BMW drivers always commented how the smaller wheelbase on it compared to the other GT cars made it a handful to drive around the track. They weren't saying it was terrible, but just the fact that they had to work a bit harder than the other drivers to achieve competitive lap times.

That being said, the 4C given it's short wheelbase will seem twitchy compared to something like a Cayman. The Cayman will definitely seem more stable and driveable compared to the 4C. Cayman is a great vehicle, no doubt. It just comes down to what you use your car for and what you enjoy.

However, I would definitely recommend experiencing your 4C on a race track before you make any decisions. ;)
 
Just to follow up on this thread...

Short wheelbases have notoriously been deemed "twitchy". I remember when BMW was campaigning their Z3 GT/GT3 car. The BMW drivers always commented how the smaller wheelbase on it compared to the other GT cars made it a handful to drive around the track. They weren't saying it was terrible, but just the fact that they had to work a bit harder than the other drivers to achieve competitive lap times.

That being said, the 4C given it's short wheelbase will seem twitchy compared to something like a Cayman. The Cayman will definitely seem more stable and driveable compared to the 4C. Cayman is a great vehicle, no doubt. It just comes down to what you use your car for and what you enjoy.

However, I would definitely recommend experiencing your 4C on a race track before you make any decisions. ;)
When the rear starts coming ‘round it comes around quickly for sure. Do some skid pan work to see for yourselves if you haven’t experienced it.
 
I'll reiterate. Tires, period. I understand that there are more options in the 17/18 wheels, but the top street tire for the 18/19 are the Potenza RE71r (correct me if wrong) to keep planted at street speeds. They have caused me to desire more hp since they hold so much more than factory tires or even the Pirelli ARR, which I found on tire rack, and I understand were the euro sport version of the US AR Pirelli factory sport tire. After 5+ years of DD ownership, I must admit I'm missing the third petal but this is such a fantastic car. If I could only figure a possible was to scratch both itches...
 
I'll reiterate. Tires, period. I understand that there are more options in the 17/18 wheels, but the top street tire for the 18/19 are the Potenza RE71r (correct me if wrong) to keep planted at street speeds. They have caused me to desire more hp since they hold so much more than factory tires or even the Pirelli ARR, which I found on tire rack, and I understand were the euro sport version of the US AR Pirelli factory sport tire. After 5+ years of DD ownership, I must admit I'm missing the third petal but this is such a fantastic car. If I could only figure a possible was to scratch both itches...
For grip these appear the best. Value for money, Hankook R-S4s are up there. They’ll last ages longer than the Bridgestones, only giving away a little in grip while only costing half as much. I‘ve heard on the grapevine that Bridgestone is currently testing a RE71R replacement. More grip than the new Yokos, I believe.
 
For grip these appear the best. Value for money, Hankook R-S4s are up there. They’ll last ages longer than the Bridgestones, only giving away a little in grip while only costing half as much.
A lot of track / touge folks I know swear by RS4's. (y)
 
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