I've had my C43 for about a month now and I sometimes still think about this decision. Was it the right one? I guess that depends.

When I was shopping for cars, which is always a lengthy process for me. I'm sure all dealerships within 70 miles of me hate me at this point because I will start shopping about 9 months ahead of time. I've driven a M340i, M3, M4, RS3, S4, C63, C43, Giulia Quadrifoglio, Tesla Model 3 Performance (didn't really care for the Tesla although it is blazing fast because it had no personality to it and I don't care to look like every other Model 3 out there). I didn't have a specific requirement aside from the car has to be sporty, it has to be fast enough to do sub 5 seconds 0-60. I don't care for "the fastest car" if that means I have to sacrifice a nice looking interior, overall feel of driving the car...or at least that's what I want to believe.

It came down to the C43 and the Quadrifoglio. Believe it or not, there were two 2019 Quadrifoglio for $60k (discounted from $77k!). I did not like the interior; it was nice, but somewhat plain. However, the performance was incredible. 0-60 around 3.8 seconds. Honestly, it was a bargain for that level of performance. However, I was a bit wary of reliability since I've heard a lot of issues with this engine and how the car goes into limp mode, cuts power after being pushed just for about 15-20 minutes. Then there's also the overall paranoia of owning an Italian car and having it in the shop 30% of the time.

I honestly fell in love with the C43's digital instrument cluster, the performance exhaust, although the Quadrifoglio sounded great, the tone of the exhaust just wasn't to my liking.

I am somewhat regretting this decision because the $60k Quadrifoglio was cheaper than my $65k C43...and it's faster...a lot faster. I like everything else about the C43 more, aside from the power output. After driving it for about a month now, the amount of power the C43 has is still more than enough; there's really no reason for me to want to go any faster...but you guys know how it is, sometimes, you don't NEED a reason to want to go faster haha. I still love the C43's interior but I am getting used to it because they are just not "necessities". I do crave that crazy acceleration the Quadrifoglio offered.

Does anyone else have similar regrets when deciding on the C43? For me, I was scared of Alfa's reliability and their interior was just really outdated.

 

So sounds like you purchased your C43 and not leased it correct? Even though the Alfa is cheaper - I am pretty sure when its time for you to sell, the C43 will yield you more $. For me a nice interior is really important. Its more important than the exterior for me.

 

Get a tune or a JB4 and it will get you power and performance increase you are looking for.

 

JB4 will really wake it up!

https://burgertuning.com/products/jb...0af9a3ab&_ss=r

 

For me it was difference of $15k for 2019 C43 fully loaded or brand new 2018 C43. Except for couple of threads I can't join ei my awesome digital dash!, I have no regret purchasing this at 15% off oppose to no discount on 2019 because I had to custom order.

 

It seems like a lot of people like the JB4 piggy a lot huh? Does anyone know if there are any throttle mapping changes? From my previous experience with getting a tune on other platforms, there were some shady tuners that shifted throttle mapping significantly so the car "feels" more alive and faster but in reality was making like 15whp gains.

 

Judging from the MSRP, that Giulia seems to be a lightly optioned specimen, while your C43 seems to have a good number of options on it. The Giulia starts at mid $70s and the C43 at mid $55s. I suppose the heavy discount makes it attractive, but the Quadrifoglio competes with the C63/S and the M3/4, not the C43. I would think there are similar discounts to be had on left over 2019 C63 and M3/4 if price is the deciding factor. The Quadrifoglio is also RWD, like its direct competitors, so really a different category of car from the C43. Other than the discount putting it in the same ballpark with your C43, you are comparing two cars in slightly different categories. An equally optioned Quadrifoglio to your C43 would have been different price-wise.

With all that said, the Quadrifoglio was naturally on my list next to the C63S and M4, but at the bottom. Alfa put a lot of money into the powertrain and driving dynamics of the car, but had to get the money from somewhere else. It's a great drivers car, but it does stand in opposition of the less than stellar reputation of Alfa's reliability and there is no dealer network. You'll have to get them serviced at a Fiat/Dodge place. I've passed for many of the reasons you mentioned. The overall package just isn't there with the Quadrifoglio, IMO.

 

I completely agree with you that it's a driver's car and my main reason for even comparing the Alfa is because of the heavy discount. The car was actually not base though, it did have some options. I guess this specific dealer just couldn't sell it and it was a 2019 model that they needed to move. When a car is above $50k, I start to care for other things, the whole package if you will, rather than just pure performance alone. Do you have any experience or have heard anything about JB4 and if it's worth it for the C43 platform?

 

No, I don't have experience with JB4, and I don't believe in tunes with stock turbos. All they can do is increase low and mid range torque/power, which throws off the balance of the car. Stock turbos are too small to make the power at the top where you really want it, so they increase the mid range mostly, but then fall flat at the top. The philosophy I believe in, and the only kind of tuning I would do is what Steve Dinan explains in the following video. It's for the C63, but they do it the right way. You need new turbos that can handle the top end, and then have a proper tune that goes along with it and make the car pull all the way to redline. The first half of the video is about suspension tuning, same philosophy there, the engine tuning is in the second half of the video. I don't know if CarBahn has anything similar for the C43.

 

What you said makes sense, but with the ~4psi boost and about 40hp gains that the JB4 claims to achieve is minimal enough for it to be possible with the stock turbos in the C43. Maybe it's just pushing it towards the top end? If it claimed +80hp then okay yeah it doesn't make sense there but that video is interesting...it does make me second thought getting a piggyback.

 

You have to look at the torque/power curve to see where those additional hp are. Generally they are in the mid range and not at the top and you just end up falling off harder at the top. The turbos become very inefficient at the top if they are too small and all the additional power turns into heat instead of usable power.

 

I do see this graph that the JB4 website provides. Does this mean that it's just overall better in all rpm range?

 

The JB4 is definitely doing more than just making the car "feel" faster. Using the preconfigured Map 2, C43s have run 11.9-12.1 quarter miles, which is an improvement of 6-8 tenths over stock. That's a huge difference. With well tested and tuned Map 6's and higher than 93 octane, people have run mid 11's with the JB4. It's definitely more than a pedal tuner.

 

Oh, you can use Map 2 with 91 octane? I live in California so there's really no easy access to above 91 octane. There is ONE station that is 45 minutes away from me, but that's not realistic for me to always go there to fill up.

 

No, not with 91 octane. That's a challenge. You can buy a product like Boostane to bump up the octane, but I wouldn't want to run octane booster 100% of the time. You'll be replacing plugs a lot due to deposits. Even at 4 psi over stock, you'll still get a noticeable gain. Even tunes are going to be limited with only 91 octane fuel.

 

In general terms, I do not necessarily disagree. However, the proof is in the pudding regarding c43 tunes or a c43 with a JB4. As noted above, the 1/4 times and 0-60 times are significantly reduced with a tune/JB4. Anecdotally, OE Tuning’s Stage 2 shows a top-end gain of approximately 80 whp (approximately 100 peak whp).