sunday morning ride at 29 degrees | FerrariChat
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sunday morning ride at 29 degrees

Discussion in 'Rocky Mountain' started by Yoric, Dec 4, 2005.

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  1. Yoric

    Yoric Formula Junior
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    #1 Yoric, Dec 4, 2005
    The roads were dry, the sun was out and I hadn't been out in my 328 for almost a month, so--after letting the engine warm up for a little over 5 minutes inside the garage--I took an hour's drive out in the flats around Boulder this morning. Not much in the way of comfort from the heater, but it sure was a blast with the mostly empty roads all to myself. In fact, the only bad part of the outing was some guy who insisted on talking to me while I was filling it up and trying to stay warm in a breeze at 29 degrees. You know, "What model is it, how much does it cost, how much for maintenance, where do you take it to get it serviced?" I did my best, but I made my answers as short as I could. I'm still getting used to all the attention the car draws, having only driven and owned it for a little over three months. I think it's as much of a treat for me as it is for all of the curious admirers.
    At any rate, get out there and drive it, the cold doesn't seem to affect the running and, so far, there's no sand or gravel on our Colorado roads. All of that is bound to change too soon!
     
  2. Roland E Linder

    Roland E Linder Formula 3

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    #2 Roland E Linder, Dec 4, 2005
    nice going ! no harm to drive them when cold, just takes longer to have fun...
    Roland
    F40LM
     
  3. MRyan

    MRyan Karting

    Apr 25, 2004
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    #3 MRyan, Dec 4, 2005
    Yeeeehaaa!
    I was out in the 328 a couple of days ago as well. One of the first times this year with the top on!
    You're right the roads around Boulder are fine, but be carefull up on the fun roads. I was driving the Peak to Peak and Lefthand -- snow, ice, and gravel up there! Still had a blast.
     
  4. hardtop

    hardtop F1 World Champ

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    #4 hardtop, Dec 4, 2005
    Ric,
    The 328 heating system should cook you, even today. Did you have everything open and the fans all the way up? BTw, many owners are afraid to drive in the cold, don't know why.

    Dave
     
  5. Matt308

    Matt308 Formula Junior

    Feb 16, 2004
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    #5 Matt308, Dec 5, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  6. Koby

    Koby Formula 3

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    #6 Koby, Dec 5, 2005
    glad to hear you stretched her legs a bit, the one caveat about driving in the cold is tires-- high performance summer compounds do not work as well below 40 degrees
     
  7. ferraripanoz

    ferraripanoz Formula 3
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    #7 ferraripanoz, Dec 5, 2005
    Yeah, over in Denver here we had gusty winds and rocks flying everywhere on the roads. I think the sunny weather is put on a pause for alittle while in Colorado!
     
  8. Yoric

    Yoric Formula Junior
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    #8 Yoric, Dec 5, 2005
    Dave,
    Given the confusing set of heater/ac controls I can't guarantee that I had the heater on correctly. I know did have the two fans on (noise, twin yellow lights on upper part of dash) and the temperature bar lights (5 or 6?) all lit up on the console, but it was not putting out much heat at all. Granted, it was cold as a witch's epidermis outside (29 F or lower), but I also noticed that my water temperature never went much beyond the "I" mark between 140 and 195 and the oil temperature never went much past the "I" mark between 140 and 210.
    Perhaps I should be looking for a new thermostat, but I'll likely wait until spring when temperatures are above sixty degrees and I can get a better "reading."
    I remember driving the car in Dallas (late August) during the test drive, with the A/C on and clearly hearing the 2 radiator fans come on--the water temperature then was 195 or slightly above. Ditto in Boulder when I first got the car home. However, once I substituted a test pipe for the catalytic converter, I don't recall having the fans come on but one time--of course by then it was mid October. Too many variables here, I'm afraid for a correct diagnosis.
    It could still be a defective thermostat (open) since my car has been sitting for most of its life as you know (presently just over 6k miles). The symptons are that if the ambient temperature is cool/cold the car runs cold, if it's warm/hot outside, the car runs hot. In other words, the thermostat is not regulating the engine temperature as it should, the ouside air is.
    I'm also fighting the wire mesh/screen under the aluminum vanes on the engine lid (on the pass side), which between 3,000 and 3,300 RPM rattle/vibrate in a most annoying fashion. I'm trying to either separate the two metals or else have them in constant contact so that no harmonic vibration exists. So far I've been only partially successful in attenuating it, but haven't eliminated it completely.
    Whoever said that owning a Ferrari was like owning a boat (lotsa $$, lotsa maintanence but lotsa pleasure), knew what he was talking about.
    I love my Ferrari!
    Ric
     
  9. hardtop

    hardtop F1 World Champ

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    #9 hardtop, Dec 5, 2005
    Ric,
    Did you also have the amber LEDS lit up? These open the vents so the hot air can get in. I have found that in cold weather, all of my Ferraris show lower temps, but the heat is always hot, so I figure it is the guages or the senders. I think the water gets just as hot, though the oil will, of course, be cooler. Ther fans are unlikely to come on unless the car is sitting idling for quite a while this time of year.

    Dave
     
  10. Yoric

    Yoric Formula Junior
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    #10 Yoric, Dec 5, 2005
    Oooops!, No, Dave, just the red LEDs were lit. Next time maybe I'll get it right. Now, there's another good reason to drive the car more--to familiarize yourself with all of the controls.
    Thank you for the lesson.
    Ric
     
  11. hardtop

    hardtop F1 World Champ

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    #11 hardtop, Dec 5, 2005

    Have you figured out the heated seats yet!?

    Yer buddy,
    DAve
     
  12. MRyan

    MRyan Karting

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    #12 MRyan, Dec 6, 2005
    Dave,
    I thought the yellow LEDs on the console were just to direct the heat toward the windshield defrost or toward the feet - -am I wrong? You know more than I do.

    Ric,
    Great to hear of another 328 in the area. Who all is in the Boulder area now? Ric, Mike P., Steve S., Superior 328?, others?
     
  13. hardtop

    hardtop F1 World Champ

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    #13 hardtop, Dec 6, 2005
    You'll never get much heat towards the feet. If you don't use the amber LEDS to open the vents, you'll freeze like Ric did.

    Dave
     
  14. cavallo_nero

    cavallo_nero Formula 3

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    #14 cavallo_nero, Dec 6, 2005
    steve m. is in boulder with his 91 tr. i am near conifer with my euro carb 308.
     
  15. bottomline

    bottomline Formula 3

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    #15 bottomline, Dec 7, 2005
    And I thought that was cold!

    Factoring wind chill: -17 degrees last night!!!!!!!
     
  16. ferraripanoz

    ferraripanoz Formula 3
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    #16 ferraripanoz, Dec 7, 2005
    Yeah, it was certainly cold last night. Atleast the highways weren't bad, just the side roads. Hopefully, we don't have to many of those this year!
     
  17. cavallo_nero

    cavallo_nero Formula 3

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    #17 cavallo_nero, Dec 7, 2005
    up near conifer at my house, it was -19 degrees this morning without the windchill. inside the garage was a balmy 32 - just right for ferrari hibernation.
     
  18. Alex_V

    Alex_V F1 Rookie
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    #18 Alex_V, Dec 7, 2005
    I guess im the lucky one of the bunch, it was only -3 in my area this morning!! :p
     
  19. Mike328

    Mike328 F1 Rookie

    Oct 19, 2002
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    #19 Mike328, Dec 8, 2005
    The heater controls are definitely a bit tricky--designed by engineers for engineers clearly. Hey, it's very manual but is nice in that it's "dual zone" and you can get a fair amount of control.

    The key is the amber LEDs, as pointed out. If they're not on at all, then the vents are completely closed--so no outside air will enter in the cabin through this system from outside. Your heat comes by heating air outside in the heater cores heated by engine coolant (the red LEDs control this latter flow).

    Amber LEDs off, vents closed--no air anywhere.

    Amber LEDs on fully, 100% of the air is routed to the vents on the dash. As fewer amber LEDs get lit, more and more air is sent to the bottom vents. (Make sure these vents are physically open--they point down into the wheel wells and can be closed shut at the vent opening--I keep mine open).

    In general, heat is supposed to be routed to the bottom of the car from a passenger heating standpoint. If you don't need defrost, I direct all air to these bottom vents. I've found that three LEDs of "openness" directs most of the air to the bottom vents but still appears to keep the main vent input completely open--this is the heating "sweet spot".

    Don't forget you can boost this by turning on your left and right vent blower motors / fans (the knobs directly in front of the each LED bank set).

    --Mike
     

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