3200 GT visit to Surrey Rolling Road.

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Nice and early this morning I paid a visit to Charlie at Surrey Rolling road. First 3200GT he has ever had on the rollers so he was quite interested as to what it would make.

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And the magic figure?

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On the whole very happy and it kind of confirms our suspicions that the figures for these cars were downplayed for whatever reason.
 
allandwf

allandwf

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Nice. Mine is definately quicker than my old 4.2 Cerbera, and it made 360hp. I've been meaning to get mine done sometime when a "day" is organised, so can compare against other marques.
 
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If you want me to organise a day for Maserati owners I can do it! I did put this meet from Pistonheads up in the events but didn't get one reply :(

There were Tuscan's, Sagaris and other TVR's there today too allan.
 
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Elliott653

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I once put my father's Lexus is200 in that particular rolling road for a laugh. It didn't quite get over 400bhp.

Eta: Date dependent. But, i'd love to put my QP on Vixpy's RR.
 
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As I said on the other thread there is no such thing as ever needing to adjust them from what I can gather.
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

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Well I it does seem that some of them came from the factory with valve settings out. I agree, though, that it seems astonishingly unlikely that this was deliberate by Maserati to limit power.

C
 
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MAF260

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My old 3200 certainly had the settings out. It always felt like it had plenty of power, but I had everything checked and set correctly when I had the cam chains replaced. I couldn't believe the difference - the car was a lot faster afterwards and the specialist confirmed the settings were incorrect beforehand. I had the extensive service history of the car, only 2 owners before me (who were next door neighbours!) - no engine work had been carried out other than servicing.
 
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And can you explain what was set? Apparently it needs specialist factory equipment to set the timing and is generally done after and engine rebuild as far as I can gather.
 
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MAF260

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Contigo said:
And can you explain what was set? Apparently it needs specialist factory equipment to set the timing and is generally done after and engine rebuild as far as I can gather.
Click to expand...
I can't remember exactly as it was a few years ago. Fairly sure it was the valve timing. Giallo did the work when they changed the cam chains. I'm sure Mathew at Giallo could tell you exactly what it entails.
 
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anotherdom

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I used to drive a Noble M12 GTO 3R. That car does have the inlet cam retarded one tooth from the OEM setting, quite deliberately and apparently in order to reduce valve bounce at high revs. One of the mods required as you approach 450bhp is to replace the valve springs with higher spec Piper items, and reset the cam timing to standard. I can speak authoritatively on this, as I did the work myself, and the subsequent rolling road setup was with Trevor Jasper, who did much of the original engine development.

So, is it possible that Maserati would 'handicap' the output of their engine by swinging the cams? Absolutely, but I would agree that it is easier achieved through mapping.

In any case, your 3200 looks very healthy - congratulations!

Dom.
 
Almichie

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timkee330ci said:
I found this website while searching for timing adjustment.
http://www.centuryperformance.com/valve-adjustment-procedure.html
Very detailed procedures. I hope my indy know his stuff like this guy.
Click to expand...

This is for adjusting the tappets; I.e. The clearance between the cam and the lifter. This doesn't adjust cam timing per say but can have an effect if not done correctly (keeping a valve open or lifting too late). The only way to adjust the actual timing of a cam is to physically rotate it one way or another in relation to the crank. As I understand it the timing gear on our cars is adjustable (moveable) but only when you gain access to the chains at the back of the engine and needs to be set with a DTI. Best to have it checked and adjusted when renewing the chains and guides as it is fairly labour intensive.
 
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karatemaserati said:
is this accurate?? the 3200 is only 370bhp on paper... or has it been tweeked?
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368bhp on paper but Maserati were very conservative in their figures. I wanted to check to see if this was true and it seems that on mine it certainly is. Manual 6 speed with contactless throttle body and pedal pot wire fix. Car is absolutely standard and pulls like a train.

I am trying to arrange a rolling road with other owners too if anyone is up for it?
 
allandwf

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I think a few more rolling road sessions are required before making any conclusion. All rolling roads seem to vary wildly, and are really only good for comparisons, saying that, if there is a session up here in the future I will try and get mine on it , just to see ;)
 
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