| Author | Message | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Junior Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 132 Registered: 3-2001 |
Martin, I very much look forward to it....still haven't found a place to live yet , and my email activity is via the local Kinko's....I'll email you as soon as my life has some order Jason | ||
| martin J weiner,M.D. (Mw360)
Member Username: Mw360 Post Number: 533 Registered: 5-2001 |
Jason, Welcome to the U.S.I hope you are planning to see more of the country than spending so much time in carparks!!! Seriously,I will be spending Feb and March in Montecito (90 mi North of LA)with the 360 .Maybe we can meet 1/2 way or make some arrangements to meet. cheers, Martin | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Junior Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 131 Registered: 3-2001 |
Wayne Sat in Bristol farms carpark today (this location would be example 3 in my list of ridiculous ramps)....this one is soooo bad that it has a 'DIP' sign, watched the angled versus head on approach, and angled does indeed seem to work...I thought this was actually a better methodology than using my own car and spotter.... | ||
| L. Wayne Ausbrooks (Lwausbrooks)
Junior Member Username: Lwausbrooks Post Number: 160 Registered: 8-2002 |
Jason, you know I actually typed in a nice, complete response to your question about why approaching at an angle reduces the chances of scrape. It was long and technical and really needed a diagram to make it easier to visualize. Then I deleted the whole thing. Take your car out to the driveway and give it a try both ways. Get out and look at what's happening when it scrapes. Take someone with you to do the driving, if it helps, while you watch. You will understand instantly. No complex diagrams necessary. Then again, check this out first: http://server.ferrarichat.com/~ferrari/ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/21/107609.html?1029990410 | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Junior Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 130 Registered: 3-2001 |
Thanks for all the info (especially the good drive locations)....Eric, I know exactly what you mean by the water crossings.....There's a whole bunch of them in the flats of Beverly Hills (the scrape marks in the tarmac are like signatures of cars that didn't make it across unscathed) when you mention an angled approach, does this help reduce the chance of scraping the car? why does this work better? | ||
| Erik R. Jonsson (Gamester)
New member Username: Gamester Post Number: 40 Registered: 3-2002 |
I am currently enjoying LA roads in the GT4, I have noticed many if not most driveways require an angled approach, a few older streets even have huge water crossings in the middle which you must crawl across. Since 5 days ago I have scraped at least 6 times, sometimes at speed. No serious damage, just curbrash on the base of the valence. I must suggest to anyone Las Flores canyon which adjoins Piuma road onto Mulholland Dr. Las Flores has a signal on Pacific Coast Highway a few miles South of Malibu Canyon. Another signal South is La Tuna, which adjoins Stunt road- onto Mulholland. A lot further South is Hwy 74 between Lake Elsinore and the 5. Not quite as windy but still a fun drive. Happy curve hunting  | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
Advanced Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 2662 Registered: 5-2001 |
Jason, I was driving in LA for 4 days wqith the Spider and had no problems. The only scrapping I did was driving out of the rental car lot right by the airport with a Ford. The rest I must say I was pretty impressed with the roads over there. Better condition than here in Miami that is for sure. New York City is no comparison for anything though. They would win "The Worst Road Ever"-contest hands on. I believe a dirt road in the Amazonnis better than that. When in LA you must contact Tino. He is such a nice guy and can put a good sounding Tubi on your car. I am sure you guys can hook up for some weekend driving with his buddies. My recommendation: Angel Crest Highway. Boy, what a blast that was. You will need at least a 1/2 day, do it during the week, not on the weekends. | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Junior Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 129 Registered: 3-2001 |
I wish I had my digital camera with me...I'd like to post the top 10 ridiculous carpark entrance ramps I find....Example, Via Rodeo off of Rodeo drive, the carpark is a work of art (aesthetically)...you enter what seems a gentle wide easy access ramp, 10 feet later there's a small lip....Boom!!!! you're now at an angle that any roller coaster would be proud of.... Example 2....Brentwood Cheesecake factory carpark....at least this make no pretence to be gentle....I can honestly say I have stared into the abyss....If the fall doesn't kill the Ferrari, then the valet parking attendants waiting for you at the bottom, are sure to finish the job off | ||
| wm hart (Whart)
Member Username: Whart Post Number: 479 Registered: 12-2001 |
Now, the roads in NYC are reaally bad; potholes, metal plates, wrinkled tarmac from melting surfaces under the weight of delivery trucks braking, and all those "under construction" for 1000 years schemes (that's where the real money is, boys), and still, you see a few exotics (alot more Porsches than anything else during the morning commute), but still, not many. Get out of the city, though, and you've got some great roads. I've done LA a thousand times, and its way better than NY, and yes, once you get beyond the immediate sprawl, it opens up and there are some great roads in the country. BTW, the freeways there are far better than their equivalent here in the east, and frankly, i find that the drivers on the west coast (leaving aside ghetto drivers and farmers on their respective turfs) are generally better than east coast drivers, too. | ||
| djmonk (Davem)
Junior Member Username: Davem Post Number: 89 Registered: 1-2002 |
You don't mean Lower Alabama! | ||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
Junior Member Username: Arlie Post Number: 172 Registered: 5-2002 |
He can't be talking about Louisiana because they shipped all their bad roads up here to Arkansas. | ||
| L. Wayne Ausbrooks (Lwausbrooks)
Junior Member Username: Lwausbrooks Post Number: 159 Registered: 8-2002 |
Jason, I live in L.A. and drive a Porsche 996 with a factory GT3 body kit. The front spoiler is VERY low, but I'm not sure what 45 degree angles you're referring to (see previous thread on angles, complete with Subaru diagram). I take normal driveways at an angle, instead of head on, and rarely scrape. I have a friend that drives a 360 and he has no problems at all. Streets in astonishingly bad condition? What neighborhood in L.A. have you been driving in? Wait a minute... by "LA" are you referring to Los Angeles or Louisiana? Ha! My bad. You MUST be talking about Louisiana! Nevermind. | ||
| James Selevan (Jselevan)
Junior Member Username: Jselevan Post Number: 83 Registered: 6-2002 |
No. | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Junior Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 128 Registered: 3-2001 |
My 360 arrives from sunny England next week, and I must say that I have a great deal of apprehension about driving it in LA.....I can't believe the astonishingly bad condition that the streets are in...that in itself wouldn't prevent me from taking the car out....what I find simply unbelievable are the angles used to gain access to carparks, driveways etc. some of them are at 45 degrees....The SUV I leased nearly bottoms out on these ramps, the Ferrari doesn't stand a chance....Is there any LA Ferrari driver out there that hasn't crunched the bottom of their car??? |