Wheels magazine F40 vs Diablo

Nice post. Thank you Allan. Tires were a big problem at sustained high speeds back then. Sort of still are.

Rick

 

Very interesting. I was under the impression that F40's, though fantastic "drivers" car, was rather a bear on the street. Especually with its heavy clutch and rigid suspension. The last few articles I've read have said its quite a nice car to drive and doesn't feel like racecar for the road!?

Has anyone on this site owned/extensively driven an F40 (preferrably street) that can comment on this car's true characteristics.

Thanks for the article highlights allanlambo.

 

The F40 is a pain in the ass to drive on the streets.. the brakes dont really work , the clutch is hard , and the car is very spartan inside with the only comfy creature being the Ac.
The ride is harsh but not to the point of being painful..

I drove in in town for 20 mns btw.Then i took it on the highway

That said , i would love to have one as a daily driver !

 

How does the weight of the clutch compare to the later model Diablos? I have heard that the brakes were built for track use and are very ineffective until hot, is that true? What year diablo is the magazine comparing against the F40?

 

Is it true the 288 GTO brakes better of what I'v heard?

 

Braking problems, not that we noticed. On runs up Coldwater and Nichols Canyons in Beverly Hills and from Universal studios to the 405 on Mulholland, I don't think I have ever driven a car that handles those curves that well combined with the up and down motion, almost chicane like.

I am sure to agree on the not a fun daily driver in traffic, and back to the topic. Sounds like that tranny was worked like a $5 hooker.

I do believe that the Diablo is substantially limited by he drag of the wing. a variable position wing (ala vector or f1) would have let the top end meet the F40 on all respects. The F40 is still my favorite road car of all time.

The Diablo's weight with the tires is a factor. Speeds like those listed and the tire damage, could it have been a truly hot summer with higher than normal track temperatures, or were they factory rubber?

 

Interesting.

Car & Driver put the two cars together back in the early 90's. The cover was entitled, "Judgement Day". C&D gave high marks to the F40. Though the Diablo performed very well, they claimed it was 'flabby' over the F40.
I have that exact magazine burried somewhere.

Regarding the daily driver aspect of the F40, they were not fond of its difficulty to hold in the clutch in stoplight traffic. Other gripes included the F40's front grille collecting free floating McDonnalds bags and questionable ability to negotiate speed bumps.


- Gabe

 

This is probably going to sound crazy... but they trim the tires on the monster trucks (granted they aren't going 200mph). Could they possibly trim rubber from the Diablo tires(?) if it's such a problem... I imagine this is probably more dangerous then good... but could it fix the weight problem you talk about? You'll no doubt loose several laps of run time on your tires, but if you have 200k for a car whats 1k-2k on tires when you use it.

Happy driving everyone!

 

My car has about 30,000 miles on it. Personally, I think it fits like a glove. I love driving it. If I go more than 3 days without driving it I start to go into "withdrawals" My car is stiffer in the rear than most I have driven. I think that it is due to the adjustable ride height suspension. I don't find the clutch very heavy at all. It is a lot heavier than my Z06 and maybe just a bit more than my ZR1. The A/C works fine and because the car runs so cool at speed, the heater only works so-so on the Hwy but great in traffic.
My car does have 18" wheels and larger brakes and although the pedal effort is high, they will put the pasenger into the windshield if they are not buckled in.
As far as drivability goes, if you keep the RPM below 5000 and the throttle less than half it drives like a very responsive 328 that has been lowered and has wider tires. After all, it is basicly an 8 to 1 compression 308 engine.
The car has great feedback. No power brakes, no power steering. That is one of the reasons I enjoy driving it so much. My Z06 feels so isolated by compairison. I was driving the F40 today in the rain and it was a lot of fun!
4th gear will take you from a cruise on the freeway at 65mph to 150mph in very short order.
The biggest problem is trying to just drive 65mph on the freeway. It is so much fun to get it into boost and up over 100mph that you just KNOW a ticket is on the way.

Rick

 

what i meant was the weight of the car

 

Wow that sounds great. My friend had a F40 which he tracked quite often, in fact this was the car that was on the Cover of Road & Track last year against the McLaren F1 and the Porsche 959. The only problem he had at the track were the brakes. Other than that the thing was a rocket. I was doing about a 100 MPH on Newport Coast in my 355 and he blew past me like I was standing still. It looked and sounded incredible.

Allan, thanks for the article.

 

i thought the Countach was the only Lamborghini whose wing was actually a hindrance in speed...?

 

I owned a 512BB abd F40 at the same time. About the same effort clutch wise and about the same ride...the F40 is not sprung hard. The steering was lighter in the F40 and i think ZSNNF's description of a "responsive 328" is a very accurate assessment of city driving with it. It's a great all rounder as far as I'm concerned. The brakes worked very well when cold, but the standard pads struggled after a few laps on a track, but I never got fade.

 

GGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

I hate anyone with an F40. Just kidding, I mean envy. I woulden't care if it took both feet to depress the clutch and both hands to shift it, I'd still drive the sh#t out of it......

 

My bad. I have heard its bit on the hefty side... part of me says a prettier car then the F40. I guess its what part of the brain you wish to please. The F40 certainly looks aggerssive, where as the Diablo is more curvy. No doubt both near perfect cars though!

 

All wings are a hinderence at speed; if they weren't then they wouldn't be doing their job: downforce in the turns. The theory being what you lose in the straights are made up by faster turn speed. Unless the wing on the Lambo is there just for show, removing it would likely yeild much slower times on a track unless the straights were very long indeed.

Ken

 

Allan, I realize that you own a Diablo but did you ever consider an F40? If not, why not?

Steve

 

F 40 is just bad to the bone, PERIOD !!!