Dino Saga 061217 _ Unusual Throttle | FerrariChat

Dino Saga 061217 _ Unusual Throttle

Discussion in 'Corbani's Corner' started by John Corbani, Dec 17, 2006.

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  1. John Corbani

    John Corbani Formula 3
    Honorary Owner

    May 5, 2005
    1,153
    Santa Barbara, CA
    Full Name:
    John Corbani
    #1 John Corbani, Dec 17, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Dino Saga 061217 _ Unusual Throttle

    After renting 2 compacts, getting back to the Dino was a delight. Never heard anyone talk about the throttle response of the Dino. It is unusual and adds to the delight of driving the car. It also adds to the myth and the reality that the car has lousy acceleration. It all depends.

    Dino has 2.4 liters, a flat torque curve from 3500 to 7500, 200 Hp. Car weighs about 2500 lbs. Has very low frontal area and a very low drag coefficient. 5 speeds plus reverse. Max speed in gears is 41, 60, 83, 112, 148.

    Unusual transmission. Clutch is on flywheel, drives a heavy gear train down to gearbox, then spins a lot more gears. All synchromesh gearbox and the synchros have to work hard. Synchros speed up or slow down lots of mass compared to inline gearbox. First to second shift is slow, 2-3 is better, no sweat from there on.

    Double clutching can help the gear change but not much. And then there is the bottom end of the engine. Torque is almost non-existent below 2500 and you can’t get that without opening the throttles all the way. Turns out there is no good way to jerk the car off the line. Particularly if you have gone to wide tires. If you rev to 3000-4000, pop the clutch, you stall. You have to feather the clutch as you go to full throttle. Then you are at 6000 and 35mph and have to shift. Takes forever. That is where the 7 second 0-60 time comes from. Then you shift into third and the car comes into its own world. You are always at max torque from here on out and acceleration is just great.

    Now the fun begins and the throttle response makes sense. Once the Dino is moving, it requires no power. You can cruise at 60, 90, 120 with smooth gentle movements of the throttle. Want to match speed with another car, punch it and you are there. Lift and tap the brake and you are back. I have a great time flying formation with higher end motorcycles on winding roads. I can stay exactly 50 feet in back of them and have a blast as they really lay it over. Can’t accelerate with the big ones on the straights but in the twisties the Dino can outcorner them.

    Compare that with the typical car. Jack rabbit starts with just small throttle movements. Large throttle changes with speed. Very sensitive throttle and difficulty maintaining speed. All kinds of funny thing happening in the twisties. No thanks.

    I’m spoiled.

    John

    P.S. Bumpers finally showed. Test fit for pictures. Look fine on outside. Will paint backside so no more rust and corrosion back there. Final fitting next week and then time to relax for the Holidays.
    JC
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  2. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    You're right. The Dino is reallly in its element on moderately twisty roads with third and fourth gear curves. Keep the revs above 5000 (I rarely take mine over 6500 any more) and the car just seems to love it. It's certainly possible to keep up with a lot more modern machinery.

    This is somewhat off topic, but... John, do you have any sense of how much the braking improved on your car with the fitment of the modern tires? Road & Track's (XWX shod) 1972 road test car stopped from 60 and 80 mph in 140 and 273 ft., respectively. My daily driver '03 Camry will beat that by a wide margin. It would be interesting to test the car with modern rubber. (With apologies to those who cringe at fitting anything other than XWX$.)

    Your car looks stunningly beautiful, by the way.
     
  3. Pantdino

    Pantdino Formula 3

    Jan 13, 2004
    2,069
    Full Name:
    Jim
    The touchy throttle you describe is an attempt to make the car seem more powerful than it is and is common in Japanese cars, in my experience. It seems like the initial 1/3 of the throttle throw applies 2/3 throttle, and little happens after that.

    As you say, this makes it very difficult to accurately modulate the throttle. A good driver's car has a linear response.
     

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