| Author | Message | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1008 Registered: 11-2001 |
sorry for the interminable delay. haven't had much time to focus on this. i am in need of a standard, stock, set of dyno curves for the 550. does anyone have one they can post or email me ([email protected])? the 355 sales brochure has one that i've scanned. but the 550 sales brochure has the torque curve weighted to the car weight (though they don't say what weight they used, so it's hard to back it out). i'm looking for one that is "normal". i've searched the car mag sites and nobody seems to have one posted there. tia, doody. | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 690 Registered: 2-2002 |
I got back behind the wheel of a 550M after a very long time on Friday... and it all came back to me why I love this car soo much.. There is just sooo much torque available all the time... 4th Gear is just sensational.. and post-100mph acceleration is devastating. The natural crusing speed is around 130mph..... The V8s are fantastic little racers but from where I was sitting they just don't have the outright muscle... In the 550, wheelspin available at small throttle openings in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and even 4th IN THE DRY..... | ||
| eli (ali) Latif (Ninja_eli)
New member Username: Ninja_eli Post Number: 44 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks for the info Mitch, although it is a little over my head he he he. Thing is it sounds good with a tubi, and the stock sound is sooo horribly tinny, I'm sure they could have got it a little better than that without sacrificing performance or sound/emissions legislation? Mind you, they are the experts so I guess they do know what they are doing. Just a little sad that it couldn't have sounded as good as a 355. Bloody fast (and fantastic) cars though. | ||
| Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member Username: Mitch_alsup Post Number: 451 Registered: 4-2002 |
"Why oh why did they make such a cock up of it with the 360s sound?" The sound was sacrificed for Torque in the mid range. Thats what makes an F360 so much stronger than an F355. In an F355, each inlet is a single velocity stack with throttle and fuel injector. In an F360, each inlet is a pair of inlets one goes straight the other goes to the opposite plenum with two bends. | ||
| eli (ali) Latif (Ninja_eli)
New member Username: Ninja_eli Post Number: 43 Registered: 5-2002 |
Hi guys, Was with Manu and the other Ferrari's and can confirm that 100+ the 550 is ridiculously fast. It so powerful that the 355 feels slow. To be honest, the only cars that I have been in/against that will keep pace or take it are the 996TT and 993TT. I was astonished at the pace of what is essentially a very heavy car. Very, very fast. 355 was wrung out to the max, F1 style gearchanging and all that, but the 550 just kept pulling away, hard, very hard. And it wasn't that I was a crap driving, the 360s were also way behind. Still think the 355 sounds the best though. Why oh why did they make such a cock up of it with the 360s sound (sans tubi of course). Mr Doody, although I have resolved my problem, and will no longer be looking at a 550, I'm still very interested for the comparison. BTW, for your info got the cambelt, big service and everything repaired (i.e. wing mirror, scapes here and there, alloys refurbished, bits and pieces etc) for well under $4,000 all in. BTW, thanks for your advice before  | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 953 Registered: 11-2001 |
apologies for the delay. it's gonna be another week or so since i'm waiting for the 550 to come back with its stock exhaust. no sense in not comparing that in the document. doody. | ||
| EFWUN (Efwun)
Member Username: Efwun Post Number: 385 Registered: 2-2003 |
You know, Ross, I don't know what that time would be. I think a lot of testers only recently started testing 0-150, realizing that a lot of these cars are so quick that 0-60 and even 0-100 is a function of launch. I generally cite to a combo of C&D, Auto Motor und Sport, and other Euro mags. (Not that I don't believe in R & T, their engineering editor is a really erudite guy, but they don't post 0-150results, too socially conscious, or something!) I don't place too much weight on Ferrari's numbers, they seem to use rocket boosters to get their data!! If I had to guess, I'd put the 512TR at around 30sec to 150, similar to the 355. | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Member Username: Ross Post Number: 953 Registered: 3-2002 |
efwun, where did you find those stats? would you happen to know what the 0-150mph time for the 512tr is by chance? | ||
| Mark S G Murphy (Msgm1)
New member Username: Msgm1 Post Number: 13 Registered: 2-2003 |
355 -vs- 550, Come on Doody, We are waiting! | ||
| EFWUN (Efwun)
Member Username: Efwun Post Number: 354 Registered: 2-2003 |
0-60mph is a poor comparison for the 550, because the car is basically spinning the wheels all the way up. The 550 takes approximately the same time to 150mph (22sec) as the Porsche 996 Turbo, while the 360 takes approximately 29 sec from 0-150mph. After about 100mph, the 360 will be a fading speck in the 550's mirrors. I know everyone will rage and carry on about this, but EVERY magazine that ever instrumented these cars and reported the data will confirm these approximate numbers. 355s are a little slower than 360s, from 0 on up. | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 683 Registered: 2-2002 |
Hi Ross - I missed it mate - FFSH???... To be honest I don't have ANY idea what I want anymore.... 360 Spider/Murcielago/550/575M...? I sway in the wind... | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Member Username: Ross Post Number: 939 Registered: 3-2002 |
manu, your prayers may have been answered...did u see the 97 550 rhd in the times on sunday for �55k? | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 682 Registered: 2-2002 |
On a recent thrashing session with 4 Ferraris (2 360Ms, 1 355, and 1 550) I can CONFIRM that the 550 is quicker than ALL of them... I'll qualify this by saying that there is virtually zero accelerative difference between all three models up to around 70mph..... It's perfectly possible that the 550 may even be marginally slower than the 360 up to this speed but there is no question that the V12 power starts to tell beyond 85mph... At one stage I was following in a 996 C2 and in front of us we had 2 360s and a 355 absolutely wrung out on the redline trying to stay with the 550 in the lead... and all they were doing was falling back... the 550 just kept pulling on them...... | ||
| noel smith (Noel)
Junior Member Username: Noel Post Number: 146 Registered: 2-2003 |
whatever it's worth i raced a 550 in my old 355 out of a toll both and beat it, not badly, just enough to brag. | ||
| Warren L. (Warren)
Junior Member Username: Warren Post Number: 176 Registered: 2-2002 |
Mr. Doody, I've been waiting patiently for your follow up post. Can you post maintenance records for both cars? Ie. what is the 15K service like for a 355 Vs 550? Which car has a faster 0-60? How does the 550 handle at high speeds Vs the 355? | ||
| Jamil Jamal (Jameel)
Junior Member Username: Jameel Post Number: 75 Registered: 9-2002 |
I'm looking forward to reading your post. One simple quesition I have. Which car gets more "gawkers"? | ||
| Jason (Arnaget)
New member Username: Arnaget Post Number: 12 Registered: 3-2003 |
Doody, I'm looking forward to reading your review.. Could you comment on the differing exhaust qualities and perhaps the different reactions you may get from people depending on if you're in the 355 or 550? thanks.. | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 917 Registered: 11-2001 |
after three and a half months in winter storage, i finally freed the 355 this morning to enjoy today's sunny, near-sixty-degree weather here in boston. yes, the top is down! many folks have emailed me or posted here and elsewhere asking for my opinions on comparisons b/w the two cars. i put the 355 into storage last year a couple weeks before i acquired the 550, so i wasn't able to side-by-side compare them except from memory (and we know how fast that can get fuzzy as we advance in years!). so now i can do that side-by-side math and i'm planning to put together and post a writeup comparing the two monsters. if anyone has specific questions or areas of comparison, i'm all ears. in part this is a pointless exercise because these two cars are really quite different in so many fundamental ways. but i want to do it anyway :-). the secondary markets are whacking them both price-wise that anybody thinking of buying one may likely be able to afford the other, which opens up even more questions of comparison. so, in about a week i hope to post something informative, if not educational. hopefully it'll be useful to somebody so as not to be just mental masturbation on my part :-). feel free to post or email any questions you'd like covered and i'll do my best! they're both six-speeds. they both have about the same mileage (6K and 5K). they were built four to eight weeks apart (05/99 and 06/99 --- nearly sisters!). i've had neither on the track, so this'll just be road experience. doody. |