Wouldn't all Ferraris feel faster if............

Woudn't all Ferraris feel faster if..........they had less throttle pedal range? Let me put forward a thought, and you tell me what you think.

I find that full throttle position on my 328 is much further than on any other car I have ever driven. What happens then is what on other cars would be half throttle, on the F-car is only say a quarter throttle. So you "think" you're stepping into it....and nothing's happening! Whereas you are only in it for a quarter throttle, so you are disappointed. I think the pedal at 3/4 position on an F-car, previous cars I've owned would be at full throttle. I had a Vette and it isn't rated as being faster than the 328, but it felt it. I know it had more torque, but I also attribute some to this issue. Also, since my replica is custom made, the throttle position is probably half what the F-car is, and so it feels faster, yet I know it isn't. A shorter throw would allow quicker, more dynamic requests.

So, I have a few questions:
1-Do you agree, are F-car throttles longer throw?
2-Do you think the idea has merit to develop an accessory to pack more throttle into less movement?
3-Have any of you seen the linkage where the pedal is hinged, is this possible to modify?
4-Should we all ask Hill Engineering to look into this?

Comments?

Wes

 

The shorter the "throw", the less control (per se) you have. It is akin to the amount of turns the steering wheel takes to make a turn. The longer it is, the finer the "resolution" of differences.

Technically, what i mean is, since it takes more physical room to make an adjustment, the adjustments are finer for the same physical amount of movement.

 

The number of times I've floored it when I really thought I already had...
Answer to Q1: Yes
Q2: No way
3: No, might be
4: No

 

American cars have historically had a short, even abrupt, throttle pedal range of motion. The idea being that an unsuspecting driver would, on a quick test drive, be impressed with the sudden amount of power. Good for a first impression, bad for good car control.

 

Yes, but there is such a thing as TOO MUCH gradiation. F-cars have soft power delivery as it is, so you would never get a "surge" like on a torquey V8. Nobody's advocating undrivable throttle response, there's a middle ground too.

Wes

 

Soft power delivery ? Maranello, anyone ?

 

I'm referring to the 308's and 328's, over which there is constant complaining on this web site about lack of power.

Constant.

Wes

 

are you lazy or what just put your foot down its not hard

 

Wes, these are DECADES old cars. For their time they were very good, yet time has marched on. If you want MODERN power turbo/NOS/Blower the 3x8... or buy a modern car.

 

The idea is an old one. Mercedes started changing the throttle map in their extremely slow (0-60 in 30 sec) non-turbo diesels back in the seventies-80% throttle with 20% pedal movement. Of course, you got next to nothing for the next 80% pedal push.

US pushrod V8s can feel similar; ie, my Ford Explorer has a bit of surge in the initial settings.

Today, you can get the same thing with the M3 SMG; change to sport mode and the throttle map changes to make the car feel faster and more responsive.

To me, since the real gain in power is zero, I don't see the advantage. The throttle in the 360 seems fine to me as is. I would prefer linear settings.

steve