Handling of the new dampers and springs:
(The following comment is largely based on comparison with the Sachs set, however, it may not be a fair comparison because the Sachs dampers and springs have run for 4 years and deteriorated a lot. Moreover, I’m not a skilful enough driver to push both suspension sets to their limits in the corners.)
Highway and city centre
In a sunny morning, I had a chance to drive a bit fast and concluded that the improvement of handling is huge.
On high-speed and long winding corners on highways, the new suspension gives me much better confidence to get through with significantly higher speed.
On frequent left-right-left turns, like passing the small roundabout, the suspension firms up the car with less body roll. Again it gives me confidence to go faster in this scenario.
Mountain route
It is in the very challenging scenarios that tell the difference. I tested the new set up on a winding road with steep up and down.
Be frank, in most cases I could not engage the right gear for corners because of not being skilful enough and not familiar with the road. Even so, in the endless tight left-right-left corners, the car feels rocky stable in both upward and downward directions, and surprisingly comfortable. More importantly, I can feel the subtle movement of the tires and the whole chassis that gives me a lot of confidence. Many times, I rolled my body in my seat because the corner is so tight but the car indeed doesn’t roll much.
There is an almost 120-degree upward left turn, it is really the corner surprised me. At the apex, I had under-steering first, release a bit of the accelerator, then depressed it again while giving a bit more steer turn; the car just zoomed and went through. No problem at all, fantastic.
About a year ago, I did the same route with the old suspension set, the difference is huge. I was embarrassed at that time with a lot of steering correction needed. After one trial, I didn’t want to do it again. Having said that, the Sachs at that time had deteriorated a lot, so this is just for reference.
Verdict of the B12 dampers and springs on Alfa 156
In a nutshell, the B12 kit does awake the car and show how good the Alfa 156’s chassis and suspension design are. If I can tell there is a lot of room for better performance with my lousy skills, the improvement is more solid in the hand of a master driver.
For those with budget concern albeit without a big concern of offering good comfort, the B12 kit deserves consideration.
If you are interested in my thought about the ride quality, you can find it here – Experience of ride quality
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