| Author |
Message |
Dave (Maranelloman)
Advanced Member
Username: Maranelloman
Post Number: 2769
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 8:34 pm: | |
Dale, those are good observations. Slow in/fas out is always great advice, as Mitch says, especially with a car as heavy as the 550. I routinely brake earlier & longer on track in the 550 compared with the M3 (due in part to the 550's extra weight & also the extra speed it generates!).
The 550 is extremely well balanced, but carrying lots of momentum through corners really does take a high level of smoothness. Jimmy Page is right about the tires, though: the Pilot Sports I have on my 550 now are NOTICEABLY less grippy than the PZero Assimetricos I had previously (never tried the Goodyears), so the car really understeers more in tight track corners.
As for braking, 2 suggestions: (1) go to a straight, leverl DESERTED road & accelerate ot 80 or 90, then declutch and NAIL the brakes with all your might. Despite the ABS pulsing, I thionk you will be very surprised at how good the brakes on the 550 really are for a 4000 car!! and (2) don't EVER think about diabling your ABS... |
Pat Pasqualini (Enzo)
Member
Username: Enzo
Post Number: 921
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 7:51 pm: | |
Dale if you are serious I just looked at a Daytona coupe and a Testarosa for sale I could grab some numbers for the Daytona if you would like?
Pat |
wm hart (Whart)
Intermediate Member
Username: Whart
Post Number: 1620
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 7:47 pm: | |
Hate to admit it Dale but don't know about the case. Email me a caption or cite and i'll read it.
As to my driving ability, thank you for the kind words. I won't argue with you cause it would seem silly, but while i do like speed, i don't think i am fast of hand or eye. I am also becoming more conservative in my driving, even if that is totally irrelevant.
However, this may be pertinent to your discussion of 550 v. Daytona. It seems to me that, reliability issues aside, you will get more of a "buzz" at lower speeds in the Daytona, for all the obvious reasons: noise; no power steering; not as lux or as damped, mechanicallly or acoustically; more primitive engineering (not necessarily a bad thing), etc. The real luxury here is being able to make that choice. Interestingly, the cars now sell for about the same price. |
Dale W Spradling (Drtax)
Member
Username: Drtax
Post Number: 354
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 6:39 pm: | |
>> Maybe its just my personal limitations as a driver, but<<
Bill, you crack me up. I'm sure that you can drive circles around me and most of the rest of this board with one hand tied behind your back. Anybody who hotruns a GT2 has got to have serious jones for speed.
Interesting about the P-Zeros, which is what I have on my car. I'm finding that they really dig in, particulary on asphalt roads. I guess I'll wait till I wear them out and then try something else.
Right now, I'm having almost more fun than the law allows, except for that damn seatbelt buzzer. That's got to go.
So what do you think? Am I crazy to be thinking about mirgrating backwards to a Daytona?
Thx
ps {Let me see if I can sneak this past Wayne.} Is the recent UHaul copyright case that big of a deal or is it a dud? Haven't read the case yet, but I'm trying to understand the Judge's logic. Apparently, it's okay to violate a copyright so long as a consumer chooses to do so. Am I understanding this correctly? |
wm hart (Whart)
Intermediate Member
Username: Whart
Post Number: 1618
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 7:32 am: | |
Dale: The 550 will do much to disguise bad driving without getting you into trouble. It is a big, heavy car, with considerable body roll on hard corners. The tires make a huge difference: i found the P Zero, my tire of choice on the smaller ferraris, to be a little to "spongey"; after having tried them, the Bridgestones andthe Michelins, i settled on the Goodyears, which were stiff but sticky.
You have to drive it like a big car. Maybe its just my personal limitations as a driver, but i've spent alot of wheel time in 550s, driving backroads, the PCH, etc. and its just not as tossable as an 8 cyl. ferrari. That said, it will go like hell, and while you can't exactly throw it into a corner, you can carry a fair amount of speed in. This of course, only applies to the sport mode being on, since the car is too soft in the normal mode for hard cornering. (Also, make sure your wheels are truly round. That can make a big difference in behavior, too, particularly if the previous owner hit a few big potholes). |
Dale W Spradling (Drtax)
Member
Username: Drtax
Post Number: 348
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 6:33 am: | |
Mitch, I'm an old motorcycle guy who learned about traction budgets a long time ago, often the hard way. On the street, you never know what's gonna be around that next bend. My philosophy is "in cool - out hot." That is, I love to really power out of turns.
With the Maranello, I'm having to adjust my internal guideposts. The car is so smooth and powerful (I have the stock exhausts) that I tend to forget how fast I'm going and how much weight I'm packing. Fortunately, the car suffers fools gladly and very late braking is no problem. Of course, things get herky, jerky when I over cook an entrance. So I'm guessing that smoothness counts, even on the track.
That said, this is one fun car.
Dale
|
Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Intermediate Member
Username: Mitch_alsup
Post Number: 1016
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, September 07, 2003 - 10:21 pm: | |
"2. Late braking is not a good thing. "
There is a myth about late braking and it being good for lap times, etc. This myth is false. The only reason to use late braking is to screw up your opponents line MORE than it screws up you line into a corner, and take the position. It is not the fast way around. Braking is one of the last things a driver actually learns to do correctly. |
Dr. Shelbee (Shelbee)
Member
Username: Shelbee
Post Number: 485
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, September 07, 2003 - 10:11 pm: | |
Close enough |
Dale W Spradling (Drtax)
Member
Username: Drtax
Post Number: 340
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, September 07, 2003 - 8:53 pm: | |
To Dave and other 550 owners...
I'd love to get your impressions on driving this car.
Yesterday, I took my car on a hot run around the central part of Texas, through Gay Hill and Union Hill. (Don't laugh!) And, here are my initial impressions:
1. Smoothness counts. A 550 is deceptively slow and deceptively light. Truth is that is a heavy car. Second truth is that this is a very fast car, but you don't feel that you are going that fast. You concentrate on making smooth shifts and next thing you know, you're doing 140.
2. Late braking is not a good thing. I understand that most racing school emphasize late (and hard) braking as a way of turning in. But, in a Maranello braking late can lead to having way too much fun, particularly on the street. Granted I haven't switched off the ABS yet. But, it is still somewhat disconcerting to feel the ABS start pulsating when I don't think that I'm braking all that hard. I mean....I'm not all that scared. Or at least, not yet. Should I be?
3. So far, this car feels best when you brake hard before turn in, lock on to a groove, and then power out of a turn.
Granted, I haven't had a chance to take this car on a track yet. So ferget about apexes and all that technical stuff.
In fact, I'm thinking that a Maranello is not really a sports car. It is, instead, an American Hot Rod. Point that muther and shoot.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance, Dale
|
|