I have been out in mine a few times since I bought it 4 months ago, I am still working on the gremlins from the past owners. My speedo indicates about 80 and the tach is close to 4,000 RPM, is that about what other 308 are doing? I have had it up to 135 or so, and to be honest I wasn't payin g much attention to the instruments I can't see hidden behind the steering wheel. Doug
Just a suggestion...I put 1" spacer under my steering wheel. Now I can see my gauges plus it is more comfortable to drive even though I am 5'11" and have long arms. And I agree 4000 in 5th 80-85mph
get a mondial tranny and drop 500rpm at those speeds. i see 3500rpm at 85mph. cruising the speed limit of 60mph puts me just under 3k, 2600~2800rpm.
Really... (?) Hmmm.... Then maybe that's why my friends '88 Mondi got such better (21 vs. 16-17) MPG than I did going to Medford and back here to Los Angeles? <thinking> No no no no no.... I am NOT going to get upside-down in this. I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!
Could the difference be the trans or the rear end gears? If it's the trans, can the same thing be done by changing a gear or two?? Doug
i posted thread awhile back, i.e. a few weeks ago. the difference is in the transmission from what i recall. not sure about the diff though. let me dig it up. and the longer legs do indeed help with MPG. i averaged 25mpg at 90mph going down the 5 into socal.
Maybe you can just swap out 5th gear. Never understood why the 308 didn't have a taller 5th gear for cruising. There is just no need for the engine to be turning 3K at 60 MPH. The other thing about the mondial is that first gear is much shorter than the 308, meaning the 308 will go faster in 1st than a Mondial. It makes the Mondial easier to launch, but 1st is useless otherwise. The 308 has a more "useful" 1st gear but it is steep so you have to slip the clutch more to launch it, and I have always thought that it hurt the 0-60 times because it's hard to get off the line fast without bogging it a bit or beating the crap out of the clutch. In the 308 I go down my driveway (about 200 yards of gravel) in 1st. In the mondial, second. (This is with a Mondial QV and a carb 308. No idea about other models). Birdman
Doug, I can't speak for how fast a 308 is because I have never had the opportunity to open mine up all the way. I have a 78 carb'd 308. Anyway, I can speak for the fact that the speedometer (at least in the 78) is inaccurate as heck. Take a look the speedo posting I did a while back (search on Rjay - I'm not real good at this link copy stuff yet). When you add tire size, the relative diameter as a function of the rotational velocity of the wheel, there are lots of inaccuracies. The only way you'll really know with accuracy is to have it timed on the track or a laser gun. Good luck with the speed check and keep posting those results! -Rjay
About 140mph max and the car here has Euro gearing. Frankly, i'd like a final gear that allows higher rev's at top speed to better be in the max hp/tq zone as the car is tracked a lot. In fact i'd like 4th and 5th a bit better tuned, though 2nd and 3rd are fine. Problem is, this also varies depending on the track, and so goes the rub and desire for straight cut gears. Perhaps a 308 QV could do more than 140, but the car here is raked a bit due to preferred corner weighting, so lowering the rear could reduce some of the aero drag and make for higher max mph. My gauge is spot on accurate at 60 and 90mph verified by GPS. Not sure how accurate it may be at over 120mph.
My 5th gear is pretty doggy when doing the speed limit at 60. If I want to take off, I always drop it into 4th. Is that what the rest of you experience as well? My impression is that 3rd and 4th gears are the "money gears" on the 308. First and second just get me up to speed and 5th is just for put-putting on the freeway at low RPM. Paul
Remember that the US used to have the 55 national speed limit, and even had restrictions against speedos reading over 85. Some of the imports from that era did gear down for the US market. Just as today japanese cars have to widen the seats for the US market.
I recall the 308 QV's top speed spec to be 150 MPH as well. That's probably fairly accurate though I wouldn't be surprised if you would hit the wall at around 140 MPH. Paul
On the street, yes. Drop it into third and GO Seem to be where the car here hits the aero wall. Will know more in September at Watkins Glen on the back straight as the car now has GPS data loggging system and WG offers a very long passage until the bus stop chicane.
I must be babying my Ferrari by not dropping it into 3rd at 60mph from 5th when I want to take off. What speeds are fairly safe for 3rd gear? I have never gotten anywhere near the redline. I typically shift at around 4000 RPM. Am I being a wuss? Paul
Never over 4k on the revs? Have you then not heard the glorious sounds of the engine at full scream......you're missing out.
...and I fear large repair bills. So do most of you take it up to the redline every once-in-awhile? I can already tell she's a screamer. The car really has a wonderful sound and i can only imagine what it sounds like at higher RPM's. Paul
Car here has seen 8k rpm quite a few times during one section of NHIS track last year, but have learned to take it faster in 4th versus staying in 3rd due to experience and also now using better (grippier r-compound) tires. On the track she regularly experiences 6.7k without worries, though have been a bit more conscience about 'stretching' a gear to 7.5k+ and have been downshifting to lower the revs instead. Still, max'ing at 4k rpm... she really needs to see higher revs to blow things out IMHO. As for sound... here is a video of Watkins Glen and note the LONG back straight is where the car has seen max mph. In the video i shift AFTER the big blue armco to the right (goes over a tunnel and also has high fensing), though will try shifting about 150 feet before the armco and see what the data acquisition system tells me is faster. back straight begins at 17 seconds into video and goes until 48 seconds, armco bridge is at 32 seconds. http://www.ispexperts.com/glen050406.wmv
328 owner here, but yes, 4K RPM is just getting started on any of these cars. They're designed to rev that high - it's the "benefit" in the expensive Ferrari maintenance cost-benefit equation.
It will not hit the wall at 140 MPH. Trust me on that. done 155 in the car several times. I used some boost to get there but cruised with little or no boost at sustained 155 Indicated. Speedo has been tested to be accurate at lower speeds. The car was amazingly stable. I would love to have a 6th gear! Paul
Paul, the musical Ferrari symphony begins at 4000 rpm and goes to redline. You should try it some time. Your ears will love it so much that they will want to do it all the time. Paul
I am waiting on changing my cam belts before I rev over 4,000, I did earlier this week run the car up to 135 playing with a Ford suv that thought I was a sleeper
100 percent correct. These cars are rev limited by gearing more than hitting an aero wall. I have had my GTB QV to an indicated 158 for a long sustained run, although I was getting a tow from the car ahead of me and we were running pretty tight so the draft was being used for you NASCAR types. It loves it as does the driver. This was all on legal roads of course. More horsepower will help slightly but changing the drop gears a tooth or two is the real secret to opening up some more top end. If you got crazy with it, you would soon hit an "aero wall". Just make sure you guys aren't hitting any concrete walls!! Spang
