0-60 time

[Bill Blue]

While doing the 20-80 run, I decided to see what the 0-60 time is for the car. I do not particularly like that parameter. It is too dependent on driver, suspension and road conditions. Still, that is what most people can relate too.

Shifting at 5500, the time was 5.3 sec. That is measured from the time the throttle was opened until it reached 4880 rpm in third. I did not side step the clutch or power shift. No wheel spin, but some wheel hop. All that and 35 mpg.

A stock 260 Tiger's time was 8.6, the 289 was 7.5 sec. These are from Wikipedia. Now when people say "Oh, it's not Tiger", I can reply "No, it quicker than a Tiger." Problem is, they will think I am lying. After all, everybody knows a 150 cu. in. four cannot outperform a V8.

Bill

 

[Chuck Ingram]

Bill

You give me thoughts like I am too old to be thinking about.I know what the top speed of my Lister maybe capable of but not 0 to 60.Seeing I have a GPS speedometer with the feature of doing just that I might be tempted.
I think though just the feeling of downshifting around 30 to 40 MPH and flooring it and feeling oneself pushed into the seat for a second or two is enough for me.And to think once upon a time driving at 100 MPH was fun.Now 75 is just fine with me

 

[alpine_64]

Bill,

that is impressive, the thing i dont like about 0-60 apart fro the things you mentioned is also the tyre pressures, tyres and indeed how violent you want to be on the start can make a big difference to the times.

As for the stock Tiger.. the times actually are the greatest example of what you said re-driver style/ability. The MKI's 0-60 times ranged 7.8 to 10 seconds and much in between. Most were in the 8 seconds bracket but a few in the 9's and indeed a 10sec dead.

What i found interesting about the 0-60 times were the UK guys were consistently faster 0-60 (bar road and track who did a 7.8) but the USA guys almost always cleared 120mph.. where as the UK testers didn't. i think this was down to aggressiveness and rpm points. Mos US test have pictures of the car smoking the wheels, and also tyre marks showing hopping of the axle.. and the mention the rear tramp. So likely they are spinning and bouncing the time away with aggression. They also talk about shifting at 5000rpm.. and hence i assume in the top speed runs they ran the rev counter to the red line... hence higher top speeds.

The UK testers talk about aggressive starts not being possible and say tat their best times were achieved by just getting the car under way then using the torque to accelerate once on the run.. but they also talk of there being no point taking the engine beyond the 4k rpm range.. hence faster 0-60, but lower top speeds. A stock tiger with its small tyres and no traction bars will always be a tricky beast to get off the line fast.

I am always conscious of the lack of grip when i am driving my tiger.. being that mine is far from stock, but even with Dales stiff rear springs i can light the rears and tramp the axle if i plant it even on the run.. so steady power feeds are the order of the day.

Your times are really impressive, what tyres are you running.. and do you have tramp bars installed? slapper bars? Have you considered a torque arm?

 

[Bill Blue]

Bill,
Your times are really impressive, what tyres are you running.. and do you have tramp bars installed? slapper bars? Have you considered a torque arm?

Michael, I really enjoyed your comments.

I've found that even though the Duratec will rev to 7000, there is no real reason to rev past 5000. 5500 tops. This reminds me of my much younger days in the Series II. My favored route to my sisters had a steep hill with a stop at its base. No matter my shift point, the terminal speed at the top of the hill varied little as long as the shift point was 4500 or higher, all the way to redline.

I'm running stock suspension in the rear. No traction aids of any nature and I doubt that I ever will. My days of needing that sort thing are pretty history. Shocks are '68 Camaro Monroe gas, can't remember exactly which one, but of the upper price range. Tires are Cooper CS4, 185-60 X 15. Marketed as an All Season touring tire. Inflated to 26 psi.

The surface of the road is coarse aggregate bitumen pavement, it will probably be top coated within a week or so. I seldom "get on it" hard enough to cause traction problems. When I do, sometimes I get hop, other times wheel spin, but I can't "melt the tires". It all seems to be road surface dependent.

Bill

 

[DanR]

For Bill's Bomb!!!,

He let me test drive in April this year. While it was a very short run (My choice) It is a very impressive power house!

All I can say is "Do not under estimate it potential".

If I had not already committed to the V6 2.8 for one of my Alpines, That is what I'd have underway now!

Might even go that route with my next "Pine".

DanR

P.S. I told Bill then that "I like it"

 

[Bill Blue]

Dan, thanks for the nice words.

Your right, the Duratec has a lot of potential. My engine is dead stock except for the stuff I've bolted onto it, none of which was designed for performance. That is way beyond my capabilities. I'm lucky if I'm able to whip up something that will fit in place and function.

This was a difficult installation and tune for me. The tune took several years to develop, as my ignorance was tremendous. I must thank RootesRacer for his generosity in selling me the ECU, educating me and working me through all of my glitches. It did not help that the Duratec seems to have different needs than other engine. As a result of this drawn out process, I was not fully aware of the cars performance until these most recent runs. I knew it was running good, maybe 0-60 in six and half seconds. So this was a big surprise. The improvements came incrementally and were largely unnoticed. As a result, I have no idea what the "secret" might be.

As for the installation and to others that might want to do it, I had no overall plan, other than to install a 2.3 Duratec into an Alpine. As a result, I'm sure I did a lot of things that were unnecessary and there are things that could be done better. I'd like someone who has greater knowledge to evaluate what I've done and determine a better (and easier) way of doing it. I'd like to see more Duratecs in Alpines, but it isn't going to happen if my approach is the blueprint. Just too complex with too many modifications. As the creator, I'd be ill prepared for such a task, even if I was technically capable, which of course, I'm not.

Bill