how do I drive my 308 gt4

These things are not that delicate. 1500rpm?? That way you are either lugging the engine or driving 20mph. Forget that. Just drive it normally. Keep the revs reasonable until the oil temp (not the water temp) is up. I usually stay below 3500 or so.
2nd gear will be your problem. While it's cold just skip it and double clutch it into 3rd until you get redline gear oil in the box during your next free weekend. Don't force it, it will just piss you off if you do.

 

Dr. Tommy is right on...you don't need to let the car sit and idle for an eternity. Perhaps one minute, then drive off, but keep the revs below 4k rpm until the oil temp reaches 160-170 degrees, then go for it!!

 

Like a man (sorry ladies) I agree. I check oil after every shutoff wait a minute and you might want to park up hill when cold start the car and bleed any air out of the radiatortor, there is a knurled nut on top. E-mail me and I will send you some gt4 pdf's if you want parts, service, updates etc!

Rob

gang sign for Northern Italy !
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Robert I thought that was a Mafia sign for your GT4 sleeps with the Horses!LOL.Rob I wouldn't mind you sending me any other pdf's or related GT4 material.Ive got the 1980 service bulletin and the 77 tech revision body.If you have any others would you mind sending them thanks.I'll pm my email address

 

Never did that with your Alfa? I think you HAVE to in mine just to use 2nd even when it's hot.

 

I'm not a big fan of 5 min. idles for warm up. As stated, drive up 3500 RPMs until the oil is warm. Then drive it like you stole it!

Ken

 

Mine has never taken more than a couple min's to idle smoothly after a cold start. Then I drive it easy until the temps start to near normal operating areas. 2nd gear on the GT4 is not a problem, but harder to get into when engine and trans are in the cooler operating temps. Once all is at "normal" -shifting through all gears is a breeze.


enjoy the drive

 

You actually don't have to do it in the Ferrari either. I just go from 1st to 3rd like any other gear change when I'm first starting out and the trans isn't warmed up yet.

 

Many older Ferraris (and some newer ones) have a "2nd gear cold" issue -- it's almost impossible to get the car into 2nd gear when the trans oil is cold and thick. It's normally not a problem when it's warmed up to normal thickness (thinness). Redline 75W90NS synthetic gear oil makes the problem just about dissappear in most cars -- it did in my 308QV.

 

Bleed the radiator check radiator fluid level and oil level, start the car and drive it 2500 rpm first mile , then 3500 rpm until oil temp hits about 140 degrees. After that enjoy the car as it was meant to be driven (with Gusto). Keep the oil level fairly high or you will have oil pressure starvation in long "high G" turns.
Martin Jansen
yellow '75 gt4 Lic Plate 3TY DINO (tweety dino)
So California.

 

As the other previous posts, Check lubs and don't cane it from cold. Would miss out 2nd gear until is has time to warm up. I give mine about 10 miles before I open her up. Good luck there's plenty of tech guy's on this forum who will help out on any problems or queries in the future.
For robertgarven, I wouldn't mind some pdf on gt4 tech stuff if it isn't a problem as well

 

First of all congrats! Then I say drive it with a BIG SMILE!


Kurt


There is nothing like a Ferrari, there never has been and never will be!

 

Check out www.redlineoil.com. Definitely good stuff. I use it in my Jaguars and in the Ferrari. I does an excellent job. They have a guide on the website for applications for the various oils. I've used MTL-90 in the sychro gear boxes and it works extremely well.

As for where, don't pour it in you cereal in the morning. It goes in the transaxel. Be careful when you start draining things and be sure to follow the instructions in the manual on how to top it up. Don't overfill.

Congrats on the new car, and enjoy it. Post a couple of pictures for us.

 

In the winter -5 to + 30 degrees I stuff the spong into the oil cooler inlet and let it idle for a few minutes . Then I drive it at 2000 rpm until I see the oil temp moving. Then I can drive it in the 3-4k range and as soon as I get oil temp up to normal I then "CLEAN" up the plugs. Enjoy the ride and drive it

 

Hi

308GT4 owners can get pdf's at http://dino308gt4.com . Some of them were supplied by Robert Garven, some came from elsewhere.

GT4's rule

Gerrit

 

Just like your Alfa Romeo GTV6 ... same temperature considerations. As others have said I believe 2nd gear synchro is difficult when cold, but many cars have this issue (just not quite as bad ... from what I have been told).

Ferraris are just cars ... pistons going up and down just like the Alfa ... probably same water temperature, etc. I also have to say that the Alfa v6 is probably as good as an engine as the Ferrari (2 valve) v8 ... one of the best ever v6 engines, and good sound too. Probably easily tune one to make the same power/cc too.

Pete

 

Big thanks to Robert for the pdf files.

 

ok guys here's the question. i used to double clutch my alfa's all the time for down shifting smoothly (esp 2d gear, even when warm). my 308 won't double clutch worth a damn. anyone else have this problem? if so, is this a transaxle characteristic (new to me ), oil choice? what do you think? jon s.

 

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I never need to skip 2nd on a cold-start drive. I can feel though it is recalcitrant, but I'm always gentle and ease it into gear... No crunching. There have been times where I forget myself after not driving it for a long time and I ham-fist it into 2nd and even then, no crunchies. They put second gear there for a reason, use it.

As Mr. Handa et al say, keep it below 3500 for the first few miles until the temp gauges move off their stops then drive it like it was meant to be driven.

Jon, with syncromesh trannies (like in the GT4), there's no need for double-clutching. You can blip the throttle a bit if you expect there'll be a big gap for the rev's inbetween gears, but that's about all that's necessary.

 

When my engine is cold I can't use 2nd gear because I can't get it in gently.
After 5 a 10 minutes, when everything warms up, I can smootly use 2nd gear.

This was with my 208gt4 and my new Mondial has the same. I drove several classic Alfa Romeo's in the past and thay had the same "problem" too. But don't see it as a problem, just something funny about driving a classic car.

 

rick,

The Ferrari instructions for the 3.2 litre V8 engine (328) are clear (ref Owner's Handbook) :

"Immediately after starting do not exceed 4000 rpm until water temperature has reached 150-160 deg F (65-71 deg C)."

and

"Do not fully press the accelerator pedal if the oil temperature has not reached at least 149-158 deg F (65-70 deg C)"

The 3 litre may be slightly different but I'd consider something like these considerations will still apply. Note that there is a history of oil-filter failures after cold-starts for some filter brands that may well be related to excessive rpm (= oil pressure).

ps: I often do the 1-3 change after moving off as it is definitely easier on my box & I'm moving downhill. After 2-3 mins the slight "baulking" into 2nd goes away.