[ncng]

The 308 is a wonderful car. My only complaint is lack of power.
Of all the power upgrade options I have seen in the past this was
the most appealing in Forza magazine this month.

http://www.carobu.com/html/forza_article.html

I have no connection to them.

ncng

[Granucci]

260-280 sounds very reasonable hp/wt ratio for that two seater.

[Gcalo]

They are very good and Nick's Forza in Washington State has a few tremendous mods as well.

[ncng]

Thanks for the Nick' Forza tip.

[Gcalo]

A few years ago at Concorso he had quite a bit on display including a series of cars w/his upgrades.

It was quite impressive.

He knows what he's doing.

[Daytona73]

The 308 rally cars prepared by Michelotto in the Eighties had 310 hp for the 2V.

[archiegibbs]

The only niggle I had with my old 308 QV (240 HP) was lack of power at low revs in low gears. The engine had to be revved hard to get anywhere. In comparison my old 328 (270 HP) was much quicker off the mark at low revs.

Another 30 or 40 HP and better delivery of the power lower down the rev range is all the 308 needs. They are still tremendous cars and great fun to drive, I'd never disuade anyone from owning one.

[Pete04222]

It's not a dragster. Look at the power curves. The 308 doesn't start making any real power until 4000 RPMs. That's when the car comes alive. It took me awhile to get used to it. You just have to be in one gear lower than the gear you think you should be in. If you are used to driving American V8's the Ferrari doesn't start making real power until well after those cars have reached their redline. The 308 isn't designed to go 0-100 in 5 seconds and pop wheelies in every gear. It is designed to go at least 120 mph on any road for hours on end and still have one gear to spare. The redline is 7800 rpms but we expect it to make power at 1000.

If you don't think the 308 has enough power I think you just aren't driving it right. Don't take that as an insult because none was intended. Just try it my way and drop it down a gear and see if you still think the car lacks power.

[archiegibbs]

I agree with you Pete, when you've owned one and driven it regularly you soon learn to keep the revs up. Saying that, the engine still has plenty of torque in high gears at low revs, if you are a lazy driver you can leave it in 5th on the motorway and it will still pull well from 2000 RPM

[Pete04222]

Originally Posted by archiegibbs

I agree with you Pete, when you've owned one and driven it regularly you soon learn to keep the revs up. Saying that, the engine still has plenty of torque in high gears at low revs, if you are a lazy driver you can leave it in 5th on the motorway and it will still pull well from 2000 RPM

Agreed. You can be lazy in the car and just drive it around in 5th gear. The car will let you do that. But you will feel that the car is slow to accelerate and has a lack of power. Slam the shifter into 2nd gear and grab some carpet with your right foot! There! The 308 fast enough for you now?

[ncng]

Gcalo,

Do you remember what year? I must have missed it.
Maybe I have some pictures.

ncng

Originally Posted by Gcalo

A few years ago at Concorso he had quite a bit on display including a series of cars w/his upgrades.

It was quite impressive.

He knows what he's doing.

[ncng]

Pete,

No insult taken at all. I think all your comments are spot on. Overall I think it is more of a comment about the era of the 308 and here in the US all the smog regulations that CHOKED so many cars of the era. We went from US muscle cars and Ferrari V-12's to the SMOG era to small high revving tech control power plants. I just think adding some PASSING torque between 40-80mph
is all that is needed.

My thoughts,

Mark

Originally Posted by Pete04222

It's not a dragster. Look at the power curves. The 308 doesn't start making any real power until 4000 RPMs. That's when the car comes alive. It took me awhile to get used to it. You just have to be in one gear lower than the gear you think you should be in. If you are used to driving American V8's the Ferrari doesn't start making real power until well after those cars have reached their redline. The 308 isn't designed to go 0-100 in 5 seconds and pop wheelies in every gear. It is designed to go at least 120 mph on any road for hours on end and still have one gear to spare. The redline is 7800 rpms but we expect it to make power at 1000.

If you don't think the 308 has enough power I think you just aren't driving it right. Don't take that as an insult because none was intended. Just try it my way and drop it down a gear and see if you still think the car lacks power.

[davehelms]

Originally Posted by ncng

Pete,

I just think adding some PASSING torque between 40-80mph
is all that is needed.

My thoughts,

Mark

Thats what I am working to improve on my 77B. The previous plan was to put a 355 engine in the car as a bolt in without major mods but I just enjoy a nice stock 308 too much to make the changes. The engineering is all done now and I will wait until a homely project car with a ventilated engine comes along my way for that.

My current plan is to build it completely Smog legal, fully streetable on todays pump fuel and have it virtually stock in appearance, I may even have Troy at Hyperflow build me a set of Cats for it to complete the experiment. Getting big HP numbers out of a 2v engine is an excersize in compromise and I feel the HP is a pretty good match for the car. A strong double digit improvement in torque would round out the package very nicely. The Smog laws will not get any easier in our lifetime which rules out big lumpy cams now and hanging hair dryers in the engine bay is too far removed from stock to fit my taste for this project, there is already a TR3 with a Judson sitting next to it in the garage. Longevity is a must for this project as it is highly subject to the Shoemakers kid syndrome and is my wifes car, no more need be said on that front!

Not too long from now enginefixr and I will be working his dyno to see if its a pipe dream or real.

[Gcalo]

Originally Posted by ncng

Gcalo,

Do you remember what year? I must have missed it.
Maybe I have some pictures.

ncng

I looked through my Concorso manuals and found that it was 2006!

I thought it was later.

Time flies!

[mk e]

Here's my current idea for how to spice up a 308.....a V12

A supercharger on the stock ening is a whole lot easier though.

[Gcalo]

Folks


In case you don't know MK e is very clever and has worked wonders to get this 12 into his car.

Keep an eye on this one.

Mk e did you ever get that project done?

[mk e]

Originally Posted by Gcalo

Folks


In case you don't know MK e is very clever and has worked wonders to get this 12 into his car.

Keep an eye on this one.

Mk e did you ever get that project done?

Thanks for the complement.

No, it’s not quite done yet. It may run this fall, but next spring is more probable….there is are still of lot of items left to comlete.

[Gcalo]

Don't know where you get the time or the energy to do that.

What a project!

[mk e]

Originally Posted by Gcalo

Don't know where you get the time or the energy to do that.

What a project!

I tend to jump into things without really thinking them through…. then I’m too stubborn to walk away. Impulsive and stubborn are a very bad combination.......

[ncng]

There's a Car & Driver (i think) artical from 1980 something, one page, of someone shoe-horning a 3.0 V-12 in an early 76-78 308.

Mark