[Chanosh]

Happy New Year to all. I just felt like sharing this. Stop reading now if you want!
Like most of us here I have my favorite on/off ramps, roundabouts, and corners. One in particular is an off-camber left turn at a stoplight. Tramway onto Paseo Del Norte for the ABQ crowd. 1 outta 10 times the stars line up and there is no traffic, the light or arrow is green, and it can be taken at some degree of speed. The limit on Tramway is 50ish mph, and same on Paseo. I used to love a very gentle drift in the M and couldn’t imagine a more manageable rear axle. Again this is on cold tires, off-camber so please don’t imagine a Tokyo drift scene! It is low speed, and at the hours I’m able to do this there is no traffic.
Soooo. Two days before Christmas I was shuttling my wife and daughters all over town. I had the car in race, and was feeling my age. I got home and felt a bit tired. I was just a bit........frazzled maybe. I was disappointed and wondered when I got so $###$$ing old! So the next few trips I put the car in N and was again impressed with how docile it can be.
Back to my corner! Couple mornings ago I was on the road early, and came to this intersection in race mode with no traffic in sight. A gentle prodding of the throttle midcorner, and the rear tires gently let go and the entire car was SO settled. No rough transition back to grip, no tank slap...nada but pure joy. As the road was open, I ran up through 5th gear and it was glorious! Anyway, sorry to go on and on, but who else can I tell??!! I’m not frazzled anymore. :grin2:

 

[lost1750GTV]

it's the moments that make silly cars worthwhile for most of us.

but I'm not sure how a motorcycle term, tank slapper, get's carried into car talk.
the tank is no where near the steering apparatus on a car.

 

[Eagle7]

Sounds like the new girl has breathed new life into the old guy hehe.

I've had my Ti Q4 since mid September, and the more time I spend in it, the more I'm impressed with this car. It's so competent, nothing seems to ruffle it's feathers. Even driving on snow and ice, it behaves perfectly without any drama. I have a 2010 Camaro with 500 hp I tricked out for road course so it's very fast and capable. Driving it on city streets you feel like an eagle among chickens when you're on the road. It gets a lot of attention. It also has more power than I can even come close to using on the street. It's fun, exciting, sounds glorious and is distinctly unrefined.

The Giulia is a completely different animal. The Giulia reminds me of the classic difference between a muscle car and a sports car, which is refinement. The Giulia isn't as fast, but it's such a beautiful car to be in and drive it's hard to describe. Everything about the Giulia is more refined and nicer, from the body to the interior to the handling and just about everything else. The Camaro feels like riding a wild horse that you have to keep an eye on every second; powerful and fast, almost too much. The Giulia feels like a well-trained, sophisticated thoroughbred horse that knows exactly what to do and is ready to elegantly perform as you wish. I have to be in the mood to drive the Camaro. With the Giulia, it's such a beautiful experience I keep finding reasons to drive it. Even driving to work and back is enjoyable.

Whatever magic came together to create the Giulia, it definitely included a frazzle remover.

 

[ferraripete]

i got the tank slapper remark the lsd on the alfa makes tail out driving pretty smooth and largely uneventful.

 

[BostonDMD]

As my QV is sitting in a shop getting "beautified", your story is not helping my situation.......>

I am happy for you tho...... you old fart........:laugh:

P.S. I ain't no spring chicken either......:grin2:

 

[lost1750GTV]

I know what he means, but it's just out of place in car talk, it's not the same thing, and the description just ain't right for a car

 

[ferraripete]

go watch some cars and coffee epic fails on youtube...watch for the mustang gt owners doing burnouts for the crowd. you will see a tank slapper or two))

 

[BostonDMD]

Tank slapper is used often in (club) car racing
world as to describe a driver with slow hands in correcting a slide....

 

[Chanosh]

it's the moments that make silly cars worthwhile for most of us.

but I'm not sure how a motorcycle term, tank slapper, get's carried into car talk.
the tank is no where near the steering apparatus on a car.

Thanks for the info. Not being a motorcycle guy I never knew the term had two meanings. My use in car stuff refers to the gasoline slapping the side of the tank when a sudden lateral force is ungracefully experienced. The motorcycle tank slap is scarey.

 

[lost1750GTV]

yeah, I get that the term is used in car circles, it's just that it has been wrongly applied. it makes no sense.
the oscillations on a bike (a rare occurence) cause your hands/handlebars to slap the gas tank, sometimes vigorously.

of course no such action exists on a car, because it doesn't have a single vertical hinge located right in front of the tank. cars just plain don't do this, people steering slowly or incorrectly are a different thing entirely. sloshing about in the tank? naah.

that being said, tank slappers can be partially initiated and worsened by a rider with rigid elbows and a death grip on the bars.

 

[Lowflyer]

I guess I can see some people in car circles using term tank slapper for out of control situation even though as pointed above it makes no sense technically...

I went through some of these while racing 250s in my youth, scary stuff, you feel and are mostly completelly out of control....slapper stops by itself by bike slowing down or in the nearby tree, it is a scary and very violent self propagating oscilation caused by precesion of the front wheel in exactly right conditions....even today there is no real cure for it despite sophisticated steering dampers except for slowing down the steering by changing geometry of forks or lenghtening the wheelbase

 

[DavidNR]

As an old bike racer tank slapper to me only applies only to the handle bars uncontrollably oscillating as shown in the video, hence "tank" slapper... never had a steering wheel do that to my gas tank!

 

[pigwet]

Happened to read your post and saw some familiar street names!

I'm contemplating purchasing QV as a second vehicle. I've come from a whole host of fun cars including a F80 M3, a 2016 CTS-V, a 2018 ZL1, and now in an X5. I try and sell frequently, doing by best to pick up very low mileage used cars at a good price.

My biggest issue with the QV is the automatic, but reviews say it is good. And I'm a little concerned about how the brakes behave. And the reliability.

Did you purchase through the ABQ dealership? Order it, or was it available? Were you able to test drive it before? Did you get any price breaks?

Happy New Year to all. I just felt like sharing this. Stop reading now if you want!
Like most of us here I have my favorite on/off ramps, roundabouts, and corners. One in particular is an off-camber left turn at a stoplight. Tramway onto Paseo Del Norte for the ABQ crowd. 1 outta 10 times the stars line up and there is no traffic, the light or arrow is green, and it can be taken at some degree of speed. The limit on Tramway is 50ish mph, and same on Paseo. I used to love a very gentle drift in the M and couldn’t imagine a more manageable rear axle. Again this is on cold tires, off-camber so please don’t imagine a Tokyo drift scene! It is low speed, and at the hours I’m able to do this there is no traffic.
Soooo. Two days before Christmas I was shuttling my wife and daughters all over town. I had the car in race, and was feeling my age. I got home and felt a bit tired. I was just a bit........frazzled maybe. I was disappointed and wondered when I got so $###$$ing old! So the next few trips I put the car in N and was again impressed with how docile it can be.
Back to my corner! Couple mornings ago I was on the road early, and came to this intersection in race mode with no traffic in sight. A gentle prodding of the throttle midcorner, and the rear tires gently let go and the entire car was SO settled. No rough transition back to grip, no tank slap...nada but pure joy. As the road was open, I ran up through 5th gear and it was glorious! Anyway, sorry to go on and on, but who else can I tell??!! I’m not frazzled anymore. :grin2:

 

[Chipshot]

I enjoy the moments my Giulia provides (or is it facilitates?). Any humdrum errand has the potential to produce smiles. "Sure, I'll be happy to go pick up dinner." Of course on the way home one must take care not to spill. Keep enjoying.

 

[MarksGiuliaQV]

Still love driving my e46 M3. It makes me feel OG.....lol.

 

[Chanosh]

Happened to read your post and saw some familiar street names!

I'm contemplating purchasing QV as a second vehicle. I've come from a whole host of fun cars including a F80 M3, a 2016 CTS-V, a 2018 ZL1, and now in an X5. I try and sell frequently, doing by best to pick up very low mileage used cars at a good price.

My biggest issue with the QV is the automatic, but reviews say it is good. And I'm a little concerned about how the brakes behave. And the reliability.

Did you purchase through the ABQ dealership? Order it, or was it available? Were you able to test drive it before? Did you get any price breaks?

Hi pigwet,
Firstly, I wanna ride in your ZL1 please! I ordered mine from Alb Fiat/Alfa. They are good folks, but are still adjusting to a car of this caliber. I didn’t get a price break, but I am the world’s worst negotiator. The auto transmission is light years better than the CTS-V, and is very similar to dual clutch in the M. The brakes are absolutely fine but take a short time to get used to. If you are in the area, we can meet up and you can check out my car. Also the Alfa dealership has cars and coffee on the third Saturday of the month. If you go in ask for Zach. He knows a bunch about the car. Let me know if I can help.

 

[pigwet]

Hi pigwet,
Firstly, I wanna ride in your ZL1 please! I ordered mine from Alb Fiat/Alfa. They are good folks, but are still adjusting to a car of this caliber. I didn’t get a price break, but I am the world’s worst negotiator. The auto transmission is light years better than the CTS-V, and is very similar to dual clutch in the M. The brakes are absolutely fine but take a short time to get used to. If you are in the area, we can meet up and you can check out my car. Also the Alfa dealership has cars and coffee on the third Saturday of the month. If you go in ask for Zach. He knows a bunch about the car. Let me know if I can help.

Unfortunately the ZL1 is gone. Wish I would have read this earlier as I would have stopped by cars and coffee. My outgoing PMs are disabled still. Stopped by and met Zach today. I did see a beautiful QV there today and drove a normal one. The QV has carbon brakes, so not sure...

 

[Chanosh]

Unfortunately the ZL1 is gone. Wish I would have read this earlier as I would have stopped by cars and coffee. My outgoing PMs are disabled still. Stopped by and met Zach today. I did see a beautiful QV there today and drove a normal one. The QV has carbon brakes, so not sure...

Next time! The carbon brakes are pricey, and an unnecessary expense for me(especially when I think about what that money can buy instead). I was at C and C for a bit, but had work and family obligations so I didn’t stay long. Zach knows how to contact me if you wanna go for a spin in mine.

 

[eatmydust]

I love my 135i. The Q is the first car I've seen that has me thinking seriously about replacing it. Looked at the M3, AMG 63S, and took a pass. But when I got behind the wheel of a Q, holy smokes. Came here looking for reasons not to pull the trigger and keep finding just the opposite. This thread isn't helping.

 

[John_K_348]

I always understood tank slapper to refer to fuel in the tank. My dad and brothers rode motorcycles. Not anymore. I never did because our squadron commander in the Airlift squadron I trained with said no way for his pilots and aircrew. That was a long time ago, and fuel does slap the tank if you fling the car around. Heck even potholes will do it.

So how do you recover from that without damping? Reduce throttle? Symmetric braking? Didn't seem like he let off at all.