TR First drive impressions and questions!

Well to sum it up (200 miles) it was outstanding..........even had a County Sheriff turn on the lights to get past 5 cars to get right on my bumper to hit the sirens and give me a thumbs up.........but definetly thought I was about to be pulled over for who knows what................
But to the driving impressions, first I got every dollars worth of enjoyment out of this TR in one day......worth every penny I saved and spent...wow...only in a Ferrari! Great acceleration/handling and believe it or not what impresses me most....the braking is amazing! But I have a concern...................
I noticed that when exceeding 100MHP that there is a whole lotta' "buffeting", (spelling may be wrong, I don't mean chinese "buffet",) on the underside of the car, ie. the floor pan! There seems to be almost a drumming sound thru out the floor pan.........I mean I can actually feel it on the soles of my feet! I know that the floor pans are all solid , as well as the panels between the front spoiler and the suspension. The front didn't feel light, nor did I "feel" that the car was starting to lift, but the noise and vibration/drumming definitely got my attention..... It had the "positive" effect of making sure I did not exceed 120MPH...........but I simply felt that the TR just might get "unstable".........I have had a few other vehicles that could exceed 150 MPH and never got this type of feedback! So if anyone has any ideas I would appreciate any suggestions (other than slow down).
One other eyebrow raiser that was when shifting down or just putting the TR into 1st at a stop was that it would actually be in 3rd....in other words the shifter seems a bit "vague", non-precise . I overcame this "problem" by being very "definitive/precise" when these occasions arose........but wondered if it is a TR/Ferrari thing or if there is an adjustment or part that may need to be attended too?
By the way the skid plate I fabricated for the front spoiler works as hoped! Gives me an audible warning and the spoiler is unharmed, and the skid plate could care less...........seems the $180 investment is going to be well spent and able to handle the ups and downs that, that low, long overhang in front of the TR has.........
Other than the "drumming" and 1st/3rd thing...................Going to the dentist has never been this much fun! Kerry

 

It's got the gate........

Yeah...I will tomorrow get the tires and wheels rebalanced and order up new bushings for the suspension......thanks for the insight. Kerry

 

OK.................so I need to get it up to 120-130MPH and see if it smoothes out.................If it's a TR thing then I shall remain below 100 or above 120..........no problem..............I shall report back, can't wait!

The 1st/3rd thing is resolved by very "precisely" moving the shifter very distinctly from neutral or 2nd to the "1st" gear postion. In other words:
let's say if I am going from neutral to 1st............
all the way to the left
keeping tension to the left...pull back to the 1st gear position

if 2nd to 1st.........
pull straight back
push shifter left, when at the nuetral position, keep tension to the left and pull to the 1st gear position

Now if I just push from third (downshifting), into 2nd, pull back and to the left in a very "relaxed fashion" to the 1st gear position it's a 50-50 shot as to whether or not I'll be in 1st or 3rd. (when this happens the shifter is in the 1st gear slot in the gate, trans is in 3rd)

Not a big deal, I just have to become very "aware" of shifting precisely......which is not a bad habit to have become second nature. In fact I did not have the problem after it happened for a third time.......I learned to be "exact"!

Overall, I am just trying to find out if there is an adjustment that I may need to tweak a bit, and thought this may have been a common occurance with the TR.

Trust me, I will be finding all sorts of strange, "quirky problems" with this or any other car....it's my nature.......it's never right for me---LOL......I build/manufacture/design aftermarket transmission adapters and shifters for off road vehicles that have as many as 4 shifters to accomplish one gear change. Of couse these are "direct" shifters to rails and forks within the trans or tranfer case(s) enclosers.....this whole remote thing is a bit foreign to me (no pun intended) even though I just had a remote setup in a new project. I did quickly revert back to a direct shifter(s) even though they are now between my legs at the front edge of the drivers seat. I'm just accustom to a very positive disengage/engagement type of set-up.

Hell I was talking to fellow f-chat member carguy earlier this evening that the shift knob was not comfortable to me.......so I am about to have a round knob made that is a bit larger (50mm) and will have recesses machined into it that fit my thumb and three fingers............is that anal enough......anal may be THE inappropriate word in this instance since I never did assign a position for the pinky on the knob...!

Anyway things to do list for tomorrow are:
Exceed 120 MPH and see if buffeting disappears
Check transmission linkage for slop/wear/loose parts/etc.
Exceed 120 MPH
Re-balance tires
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Refill gas tank
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Exceed 120 MPH
Report back to this thread the results...................Kerry
Exceed 120 MPH

 

Well the results are in.......................

Definetly not wheel balance

At 130 MPH it still starts with the buffeting.....But.........

I believe it may very well be the access panels on the belly pan........

Will check and report back

Kerry

 

Ah yes..................

Still have not addressed that....An interesting thing did take place today though which leads me to believe it is an "adjustment" issue.
When shifting down from 4th to third........it went to 5th even though it was in the 3rd gear position in the gate.......I shall take a look and hopefully find it to be an adjustment issue. Thanks for giving me a heads up on that situation. Kerry

 

Belly pan is all intact........there is a slight gap 1/8th to 3/16th of an inch where the main pan and the access panel meet! So I am going to take and replace the access panel with aluminum and get it to fit "exact'. This may be the problem at high speeds.....we'll see............. Other than the "gap" ........Could it be that the main pan is flexing as the wind at high speeds hit it? Anyone had this type of problem where the pan starts modulating/oscilating at speed? Is there a certain location or part of the main belly psn I should pay special attention too? Kerry

 

I'll get some pix if possible.........there are 4-6 U shaped attachment points on the chassis that are extruded..the one large plate sits on top of these rather "around" them. This is where the gap I speak of comes into play. So yes it is a vertical gap, which indeed could be acting as a scoop of sorts...........It is what I thought of immediately.

The fewer seams I would think would be an advantage..........The plate is secure.........it just doesn't fit around all the extruded bits and pieces, it lays on top of them.
I think this might be the culprit........high speeds 95-135 mph it stays fairly constant.......it's a bit un-nerving!!


I had all four checked.............BUT..........I have found a place about 40 miles north of where I live that can do a high speed (100mph+) spin balance on the car, so that the entire tire/wheel/rotor/bearings, the entire rotating mass, will be balanced as one. I had this done on my Lotus cars in the 70's, but was under the impression this "method" was a thing of the past..........."Hello past!!" (Said in my best Ed Norton voice........as when Ralph says "Address the ball Norton"............."Hello ball!"

 

TR is an 87..............

The inspection plate will be resolved and proper ( in fact better than factory when I get done machining a new and improved this week).

Entire "unsprung mass" will be balanced at 150 mph equivalant Tuesday.....local tire dealer turned me on to a garage locally that does this for "high end, high speed" cars.................A plus is that if there is any suspension issues they will surface immediately!

Great TR - Cops story.
I am on a straight away that is about a 3/4 to a mile long in a the city nearby...........I see that there is a police car 3/8 to 1/2 mile back, lights blazing and quickly passing 5 to 6 cars between myself and them. Cars pull over and others are over taken at speed (35 mph zone I might add) by the cruiser. The Sheriff's car very quickly (probably in excess of 80 mph gets by the last car and immediately turns off it's lights and races to within 10 feet of my back bumper and stays there! Sh*t, what have I done? I am doing 35 mph and have been...so why? I signal to turn right, 500 feet before my turn (so obviously "law abiding"), and as I go to turn I hear a whoop, whoop of the sirens....I look left and to my amazement there is the Sheriff's passenger side window down and he and his partner are giving me a thumbs up with great big smiles on their faces............ Here I am thinking the worst and the cops have just passed at least 80 mph and lights flashing, 5-6 cars at 80-100 mph to catch up to me to give me a compliment.........To hell with public safety!! There's a Black Nero Metallic TR and we must catch it and let the owner know it's "*#)^!*'"! Life is good in my TR!!!.............I truly am amazed..............Hell 3 Asian Cornell students asked permission to take cell phone pix and promptly bowed tonight when I was fueling up! Can I get laid by a well educated, together, gymnast that has a winning Mega-Lotto ticket in this thing.............Cool............And I thought having a mid-life crisis at 53 was an obvious testosterone induced, bi-polar, neurotic move! ............I have NO life, NO friends and NO future...........but hey, I have a Ferrari........Now if I can find an Aisan law enforcement officer with a a pair of of han-cuffs and a nightstick, I might have to re-evaluate my submisive side (in Italian).....LOL........Kerry

 

Well here is an update concerning the "buffeting" sensation on the TR when exceeding 90 MPH....................

On the car balancing of the wheels/tires/rotors and other corresponding components will take place on Tuesday the 21st. I will let all know whom are interested in the results.

The "one piece" access panel issues are as follows:
Indeed the panel was loose so I tightened up the attachment points. Also there was a void/space between the panel and the chassis attachment points. I have made some spacers out of the appropriate ID tubing and plan on putting those in place Monday to relieve the ability of the panel to flex when the car is at "speed". As of this posting the weather here in upstate NY is a bit prohibitive to take out the TR and check the results. If this does not improve the buffeting I will then dive in back-first and fab up a new panel that will fit exactly into the area (which will probably happen anyway, just to clean the bellypan up and get it as smooth as possible).

Also something I discovered and corrected was that I replaced the plug that covers the access hole in the center if the front spoiler (where the tow hook screws in). It was something I "forgot" about after refinishing and attaching the skidplate to the spoiler. The reason the original plug was not inserted is because when I had the spoiler Line-X'ed the diameter of the original hole became slightly smaller, not allowing the OEM plug to be refitted. I found a substitute at the local hardware store that works just great. Now, why I bring this up, is that that "small" opening might have also been allowing air to enter the front underside of the car through the spoiler. Might be mis-guided here and giving that 3/4" opening to much "credit" for upsetting the areodynamic of the TR, but at speed it might indeed have been making a difference.

Questions: #1. Anyone had any experience with the BFG z rated tires on an F car?
The reason I ask is that BFG has always been a great tire on other non-exotic vehicles I've owned and the pricing is ridiculously affordable ($119/139 respectively).

#2. What tire air pressures are you running in on your TR's......manual says 34 front/36 rear.............seems a bit high a to me........any suggestions or comments?

#3. I need to get an ashtray for the drivers armrest to replace the missing one and also a new housing/holder for the marker light in the end of the entry door (the small red ones that illuminate when the door is opened) Just need the part that holds the bulb , not the lens or metal surround. It's made of a white translucent plastic. Is it a "ferrari" exclusive piece or is it shared with other vehicles? If shared the price to replace may be much less than the F car pricing.

I am now done rambling..................Kerry