Wide Open Throttle (also posted to PCS)

[foggyjames]

(This is the second time I've posted here...hope it doesn't appear twice all of a sudden!)
An amusing tale for all...at my expense...

I've be moaning about how my 360 has lost its guts for ages....well...I found them the other day...

You see the 300 was designed to be an auto, and LHD. Somewhere in cramming in an extra pedal and swapping sides, they didn't align the throttle pedal very well. The long and the short of it is that I've been 'flooring it' for about a year, and the pedal has still been about an inch off the floor, simply because my foot has been hitting the wheelarch. Twist my foot a little, the pedal goes down another inch, and I'm hit by (within reason) a wall of torque. I've been going up some fair damn steep local hills at 30 in 3rd...unheard of for years.

Sadly, the car is still a slug, and I still need to make it faster (damn insurance), but this makes everyday motoring a lot easier. Damn my size 12 feet!

So, the moral of the story is....next time you're considering a performance modification....make sure you're getting the best out of what you have already!

cheers

James

[pettaw]

The injection model doesn't seem to do that, not mine anyway. There's not much difference between flooring it and three-quarters. In fact, it seems to me the best acceleration is from flooring it and them lifting off slightly, possibly because it over richens slightly on full. Weird huh!

Andy

[migrator]

Wide shoes and my 360 do not mix too well. I also get the side of the footwell - but it is something that I have been aware of for a long time.

I agree with the 'floor then back off' approach.

[foggyjames]

I'm not at all sure on that one...mine is a carb, so the set up is bound to be different to FI. There's certainly a big difference between 3/4 and the floor though. Having said all this, my folks are convinced that you never needed to floor it to get that power, so maybe someone has altered the throttle profile at some point, and originally it did behave as you suggest?

cheers

James

Here's a couple of mods you could try...

1/ Narrow fitting size 12's or boxers boots when driving...

All joking aside.. what about a Webber conversion for a clean crisper pickup and better fuel economy.

A K&N Filter for an extra 3-4 hp?

Stainless sports exhaust for an extra 15-20 hp

Just a thought....


Regards
Dave M

[foggyjames]

Hi Dave,

There is a twin Weber conversion kit available...although they're so rare it would probably be cheaper to fit the injection kit, then use Megasquirt to make it fast! However, if I did find the R-Sport carb kit for under £100...!

A K&N panel filter isn't a bad idea....one I've toyed with for a while, especially as its benefit tends to go beyond that suggested by the BHP figure. Trouble is once you've paid £40 for the filter, plus another ££ on a rolling road session to get the carb rejetted for it...starts to add up for not much benefit.

Exhaust is very pricy - Powerflow costs £300 - it's what the car's worth! Again you've got the rejetting costs to consider. Obviously I could do everything at once and get it jetted for it all in one go.

The other things I've considered are...1) reprofiled cam 2) lightened flywheel (the thing weighs 13kg!!) 3) removing the VC fan...reckoned to cut 5bhp!

I think the most cost effective thing I could do is sink money into the insurance and fit the turbo motor in a year or two, even if it will mean I'm spending nearly £2000 on insurance at 21...

cheers

James

[srtames]

Hi James, sounds like your main jet is blocked or possibly the secondary barrel throttle rod has got bent. a 360 has a better power to weight ratio than a 740 !
Have you had your compressions tested and the spark plug electrodes should be grey not white.

regards, Steve

[foggyjames]

Hi Steve,

It comes down to this business of margins again. The car really is running very well, so I'm not sure that anything really is wrong - it performs fairly well...but obviously more modern 16v and injection equivelents are going to be more impressive. Having said that, the V40 2.0 16v inj (ok...a little larger, but not much) isn't any faster.

I think perhaps I'm being a little hopeful - that guy with the Saxo I mentioned the other day had a VTS (0-60 in ~9s from the factory?...plus his was modified). Also, and I really don't know why, the 360 never feels fast. Dad's 940 LPT is barely any faster to 60, but it feels way more powerful...maybe its the torque?

It hasn't been starting too nicely of late, although I think this is just that the choke has been adjusted by the garage, as if you hit the choke level just right it starts perfectly.

I'll check the plugs when I get chance...I guess I need a compression tester to do the other though.

cheers

James

Wow, so there are advantages to my small feet, apart from cheaper shoes that it :)

As for the carb, I'd go with a webber on a carbed car anytime. When I get the cash my spit will be converted to twin DCOE 40's (or 45's) - but read about 3 years into that statement ;)

I changed my fiesta's carb from the standard ford to the (also standard) webber and the difference was amazing! Considering it wasn't a mod as both carbs were standard depending on what they had in stock when the engine was built it's unreal. Crisper pickup, and smother power. If any 360 had ever had a standard webber in production then get trawling thorugh the scrap yards! For my Fiesta I think I paid a tenner and it took 1/2 to remove from the scrap car and 1/2 to fit to mine. Well worth the time and effort!

Stu

[foggyjames]

I think the problem is that just cos it's a weber doesn't mean it's a performance weber. Having said that, I do know someone with a pair of DCOE 40's....:) The B19A had a Zenith carb....the B14 had a Weber for the first few years, but that wouldn't be any good for a B200.

If I was gonna change the fuelling system to anything other than a racing setup (ie: if I found the R-Sport Weber kit cheap...are they DCOEs?), I'd just get the Injection gear off a scrapper. DCOE's don't have chokes (I think?), so that makes it a bit of a pig for everyday use...

cheers

James