Anyone know the drag co efficient of the dino?
I am not sure that driving your Dino in drag would be very efficient as your high heels would get caught up in the pedals anyway.
Actually i would like to see the figures on this my self as i have often wondered how much difference the headlamp covers make over a standard model. Also as modern designers get crazy about small changes to the shape of wing mirrors and the like, then the blending of those flat fronted lights must be worth an extra 10 mph at least.
I've often wondered about that myself. One of my Dinos has the headlight covers, and one doesn't. The upright round headlight lens must have a fairly significant effect on the movement of air over the front end of the car. I must say, with a fitted car cover on, the covered lights give a much better profile! Fred
I think the covers does matter. On a early Alfa Spider there was between the 1300 Junior without covers and the 1600 or 1750 graduate/ Duetto Spider also a gap in high speed reported. Had to lokk in the old magazines how much that was.. Last but not least Ferrari tested the Dino from the beginning on WITH the covers in the wind laboratory! See the picture from the modell the y used. I took pictures of it in 1990 at the L´Idea Ferrari exhibition in Italy. Regards Nicolai Image Unavailable, Please Login
It is possible to create a formula for max speed, making lots of assumptions eg car is geared so that, at max speed, it hits max power...however assuming that all these things work (and in a dino vmax is nar power max, pretty much vmax (mph) = 53.25 x cube root of (power (hp) divided by (frontal area in sq ft x Cd) so for a dino, assuming 190bhp, reduced by 15% for optimism ? vmax of 148 mph (per Motor in 71) width = 67 inches, height = 44 inches so Cd = 0.4 or similar to a Triumph Spitfire; a countach or a testarossa R
Trouble I had with the covers is that they move at speed so I took them off. I looked at the time for a way to seal them like..the 275gtb, chrome or frame etc. tried making a clear silicone frame to seal the air gaps but it did not work. I believe Ferrari did not use them because US regulations at the time prohibited the use of covered headlighs, I also believe that's why the daytona went to those horrific pop up headlights.
Nathan Beehl in his book "Ferrari Dino 246 GT" speculated at page 43, photos 17 and 18, that the headlight covers only added about 1 mph to top speed. If they added anything near 10 mph, it is highly likely that most of the Dinos delivered to Germany would have had the headlight covers as standard equipment, but they didn't. And, while the NART 246 at Le Mans (02678) in 1972 had covered headlights, I believe that was primarily to protect the headlights from rock and debris damage. Mark
Here are a couple of original prototype pictures that show something interesting. They are old photo prints and I have no idea who is the copyright holder. They show the Dino 206 mules testing. Interesting that they have headlight covers..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
My only complaint with the covers (a very small one) is that, due to the impossibility of a perfect seal on the "bare" covers, small amounts of dust and other debris accumulate over time. I usually remove the covers to clean the coves about twice per season. A small price to pay for the improvement in appearance, in my opinion. Fred
I fully agree. I think the same and do the same. I was worried at the begining also about the risk of damaged paint at the cover contact area due to vibrations. But I also have not realized the idea of any clear silicon sealing. As normally I´m not driving the Dino in bad wheather the effort to remove and clear is minor. And yes, of course they also protect the hedlights. Their glases still looks brand new. @tx246: Very nice mule pictures, thanks !
I think 0.4 is too high. The 246 is with 195 HP and 240 km/h compared with very effectic modern cars still fast. I found a list on the web with the newer Ferraris guessing the 246 would be around 0.31.. 0,32 1980 Ferrari 308 GTB 0,42 1993 Ferrari 348 Spider 0,32 1991 Ferrari 348 TB 0,33 2003 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale 0,36 Ferrari 365 GT/4 "Daytona" 0,36 1986 Ferrari 412 0,29 1993 Ferrari 456 GT 0,34 1992 Ferrari 512 TR 0,33 Ferrari 550 Maranello 0,33 1995 Ferrari F355 0,34 1991 Ferrari F40 0,37 1996 Ferrari F50 0,34 1986 Ferrari GTO 0,38 1986 Ferrari Mondial 0,33 Ferrari Testarossa
