360 Hard Acceleration Hesitation??

You could have a bad plug wire. My 348 was doing the same thing at different rpm's, and it turned out that my #2 spark plug wire had burnt a hole through it. If it is bad it will arc causing the spark to discharge on the closest thing to it, instead of at the spark plug were it should be. I think you will need to hook it up to a scope so you can see exactly what is going on with the wires at the high rpm's.

 

Did you have the traction control on or off?

It defaults to being on, so if you stop for anything (fuel) you have to turn it back off if that's where you like it, even if you had turned it off before you stopped.

 

That's the first place I would look also. Usually a visual check of the wire or extender, or boot will reveal a black spot on the outside which goes through and shows as a corresponding spot on the inside. It can be anything from a pinhole to the size of a pencil eraser. It happens on my Mondial every few months so I always have a supply of sparkplugs and extenders on hand.

I don't think the 360 has separate extenders but rather a long boot as part of the wire. Good luck.

 

360 has individual coils, so no exposed high tension components. The coils do go down on occasion, but very rarely.

Individual cylinder misfires are almost unheard of in my experience on 360, and even then it's not a hesitiation, it's just a loss of general power.

My gut feeling says traction control.....when it goes off it feels like fuel surge.

 

My guess is the traction control as well. While I have not had the pleasure of driving a 360, most of today's TC systems cut timing while applying the brakes so it feels as if you have a large hesitation/foul plug when it occurs. Please keep us updated with what you find.

 

Well, based on the dyno graph on my 360 something happens to torque and HP right at about 5600 or 5800 RPM. If I am not mistaking that's when the variators do something. Or it could be the variable length intake, I am not sure. Someone who works on these cars can tell us what it is and I'll be educated as well (ferrarifixer, any input?). I never notice it while accelerating because the duration is so quick (see the dyno result). I am wondering if the your variators were acting up??? What year model is your car? Do you know the engine serial number?

If it never happened to you with ASR on, I am not sure why it would happen then. You probably know your driving style better than anybody can judge from far. When the ASR kicks in it is so obvious, I wouldn't mistake the ASR action with something else.

Matt
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If it was a misfire on a cylinder, i.e. something not under the control of the ecu (intermittent bad coil, etc), would that not then trigger the OBDII to trigger a check engine light. I thought misfires were one of the parameters "watched" by the ecu. Thus, I would have to think that is related to something under the control of the ecu, i.e. traction control or something else.

-Kevin

 

If you can feel some hesitation this must be a significant momentary loss in power and is not normal – that you experience the problem @ around 5000 1/min is suspicious

timing variator activation thresholds: Rload > 35%; RPM > 2920 1/min
exhaust by-pass thresholds: Rload > 70%; RPM > 2920 1/min
Variable intake manifold: Rload > 45%; on > 5500 1/min
There is also the compensation valve (between the two banks) which has a more complex on/off pattern

Note that before the switch from long to short intake pipes at 5500 1/min the banks are controlled by the opposite throttle body and air mass sensor! – if there is an air leak this might spell some trouble

ASR on means that the computer may intervene in two different ways:
-different skid at the rear wheels – apply brakes similar to abs – improves traction
-same skid at both wheels – 1.) reduction of spark advance 2.) injector cut-out 3.) reduction of throttle

what is missing in your description is the gear in which all this happens, i.e. at what speed

 

I don't think it is the ASR, on cold tires and when you are getting side ways may be but not when the tires up to temp. The ASR is pretty much inactive unless you are really getting it out of shape. By then you are thanking god that power is being cut off and saving your...

It may be what Thomas_b is mapping out. I would have it checked out! The engine serial number is right next to the oil filter. It is tough to get to it. I don't think it is important anymore. I thought it could have something to do with your timing variators. You should have it checked by a trained technician.

By the way, I drive mine where the oil temp and the engine temp both are at the middle when it's hot out. That is the hottest it has ever been, even in the last few days when temperatures have been in upwards of 96F. I would think in the hot weather you would tend to get detonation (combustion before spark) if you are running low octane gas and therfore the power would be lower through out the band, not just loss of power at certain point.

Matt

 

in the end what I am saying is that it would be surprising if you can brake the care loose in 3rd gear - ASR is not the reason

 

If the car has had work done, it is very easy to connect the modular intake vacuum valves incorrectly.

The valves are on top of the RH fuel tank behind the black panel. One has a brown plug, and it's vacuum hose should go to the actuator near the oil filter that changes the lengths, the other valve has a white or green plug, and it's hose should go to the compensator valve on top between the plenums.

I doubt it's a variator problem. They dont have problems with operation until they snap, causing a whole load of bent valves and a very obvious problem!!

Is your car F1 or stick shift?

Another thing to look for is the main air inlet hose. It can become detached at the bodywork end and fall into a spot where it plugs itself shut. Had that a few times on Challenge cars with the flexi hose, but a roadie should be better protected with its plastic pipe arrangement.

When a coil goes, bad by the way, it shows no errors on the SD2. The way I diagnose it is to use an infra red heat sensor on each exhaust manifold pipe in turn until I find the cold one (as close to the head as possible).

ASR can be active in strange circumstances. I think it's over sensitive and a little wheelspin in the right spots is quite safe.

 

Despite some posts to the contrary, I would bet that it is the ASR. I had a 360 Spider and the ASR kicked in way too much for my liking. Not just in 1st gear, but in 2nd and 3rd as well. Small variations in the road, sudden steering inputs, or hard acceleration would cause some funny instances of ASR intervention. Once I realized that, I got into the habit of shutting the ASR off immediately after I start the car. Never had a problem after that. I suggest doing the same type of driving with the ASR off, unless you absolutely feel the need to have it there for safety reasons.