308 QV Shiftpoint etc - GTech Pro RR ???

I just bought a GTech Pro RR and tested it for the first time on my 308. Unbelievable how addictive this is!

I had the time of my life thundering around getting totally mesmerized by the shift lights. Can you say Ricer, fast and furious?

Anyway, a few questions:

- what is the average weight of a 308 GTS QV with a tank of gas, but otherwise empty (no spare tire, no tool kit)?
- what is the shift point on a 308 QV?

And bonus question for those familiar with the GTech Pro devices:
- What the hell is a redline?

They explain everything else, but not what they mean by redline. Is it the shift point? Is the peak torque, peak hp? Is the point where you MUST shift otherwise the engine goes kablamo? Which I believe on the 308 is about 7850.

Any feedback welcome.

PS: I was very sceptical about the "RPM sensing" through the lighter, but by gholly this thing works! Its display revs in perfect harmony with my tacho and the shift lights are making me feel 10 years old all over again.

 

Yup, although -usually- there's some leeway there. You see that section on your tach that's got a red background? Don't go there

 

Thanks.

I'm using 2,860 lbs as weight and 6,500 as shift point. Comments please?

 

First time I drove my 308, I was astounded to see the needle move so effortlessly into the high 7K's and bump 8K. I was used to the 330's 12 being wound tight and howling at 6K even after I switched to electronic ignition.

I don't now about weight, but 7000-7,500 seem to be good shift points. It still wants to rev, however, and I've had to remember expert advice to keep it where I do now.

 

I would use about 3070lbs as your weight figure. What ex are you using?

Shifting at 7700 is plenty. You gain nothing in a stock engine going past that.

 

What do you mean? What is "ex"?

 

exhaust.

 

Stock. For now. Tubi at some point down the road.

That's part of the fascination with this tool: I get to see the performance differences the "tuning" has. I LUV IT!

 

My god man, ease up on your engine and give it a break - 7,000-7,500 seems like a good shift point?? Here's a related thread as it relates to engine life:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251277

You're a lot more likely to jump a couple teeth on the cam belts by shifting at 7,000-7,500 than at a more leisurely 3,000-3,500. Even worse, you're more likely to strip a few teeth as well.

 

I was referring to occasional full-throttle, and my initial amazement at how fast the engine revved.

My usual around-town range is about what you say.

Everything's OK.

 

Ah, OK, got it. Yup, few of us can resist a blast up to the yellow range on the tacho once in a while....

 

These cars to be incredibly hard to launch just right if you are trying to go for quick 0-60 or 1/4 mile times. And when you do launch it just right, the clutch and drivetrain take a beating! I had a gtech meter in my car and used it to satisfy my curiosity, and I did.....but only once. I managed a mid 6 second 0-60 and quarter mile just under 15 seconds on a 70 degree day, but I will never do it again because of how hard the launch was. To launch it right, you don't just dump the clutch at 5.5k, you have to sort of feather it in to keep the wheelspin down but power up. This is bad!

 

Yes it is a fun tool. I can see why you are enjoying it so much.

Andreas - You know my history in getting great launches and good drag times. What you want for a shift point is the following:

For optimum acceleration - When you shift you want your RPM to drop back as close as possible to your optimum torque value. So... Research your engine type, look for peak torque (5500 RPM?), then go out and find a shift point that puts you near that value when going up through the gears (meaning if you run 1st gear to 7000 RPM and it drops you back to say that 5500 RPM once you shift to 2nd). That should give you the most acceleration through the gears - one by one.

Now THAT sounds like a fun project. Enjoy.

 

7700 - 7800 is the peak HP, I have taken mine to 10500RPM on a missed shift, but obviously not much was happpening, except the carbon flakes shedding off the valves......

 

The thing I have to watch is how fast it gets there.

You're braver than I.

On 0-60, I'll trust roadtests, factory figures. etc. My QV performs satisfactorily, though a little more lowend grunt would be welcome.

In my young days, a 6-to-7 sec. 0-60 time/15 sec. quarter was very respectable in a street car, and unhead of in import sports cars other than the highend Euro makes, starting with Jaguar and on up.

 

For the most part, these are bulletproof drivetrains, but no way should anyone make a habit of dumping the clutch or running the car at or near redline all day though. My curiousity was satisfied though.

It is interesting to note factory figures vs various magazine figures. I would think the factory obtained their published figures by using a somewhat modified engine, or just beating on a car with a trained Ferrari driver who specifically knows Ferrari driving until a figure is obtained they are pleased with. Or they could have just flubbed the figure along with everything else! It's no secret that many of these magazine testers had no idea how to really drive a Ferrari back in the day, heck even nowadays there is a 'secret' Ferrari method to launching the 599

 

Thanks Michael, I will follow your advice.

The 0-60 is actually just one aspect of the tool. The real reason I bought it is however to sample longitudinal and lateral G loads and RPMs on track days. The goal is to get that information displayed alongside the in car video. Indeed a little fun project.

 

Well I have been to the track (Road America) and shot some video footage during the leisurely touring session (pace car) while the GTech recorded the RPMs and g loads.

With some experimenting in post production I was able to come up with some graphics that make the whole thing now look like a scene from a video game.

Here is a link to the whole video on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41229106@N05/3930244818/

Because Flickr only allows 90 seconds of video length I had to speed up the footage, which makes it actually much more enjoyable to watch. That 308 sticks to the ground like a F1.
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That is really cool!