| Author | Message | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 291 Registered: 11-2002 |
I think he has them for the 348...or when I bought mine he was in the process of designing them...give him a call....very nice guy... | ||
| P. Thomas (Ferrari_fanatic)
Junior Member Username: Ferrari_fanatic Post Number: 225 Registered: 4-2003 |
Dennis, Thanks for the re-posting on the skid plates. I just ordered mine from John today. $125 plus shipping. Thanks! | ||
| Drstranglove (Drstranglove)
Member Username: Drstranglove Post Number: 322 Registered: 4-2003 |
Does he have anything for the 348???? (please?) DrS | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 288 Registered: 11-2002 |
Dennis & Mark - I bought skid plates for my 355 from John also. An absolute must! And you are correct, easy to install, took me about 20 minutes and they are great. Excellent quality, beveled edges and they don't make the god-awful sound when you do bottom out that sounds like you left parts of the car behind you... Thanks for the tip...bought them right after your original post. FL | ||
| Dennis (Bighead)
Junior Member Username: Bighead Post Number: 100 Registered: 2-2003 |
Hey, Mark, I had the same problem. See below for the solution I found Posted on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 1:59 am: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Howdy! A handful of you out here might know me from the FerrariList, where I've been posting for some time. I just posted the following, and wanted to post it here as well -- I'm pretty excited, as I've wanted skid plates for my 355 for some time now. thx, Dennis (who actually washed a car OUTSIDE today in Boston, two days after a massive snowstorm) ========================== Ok, I just bought something pretty cool for my 355, and wanted to share with fellow 355 drivers out here. If you've ever scraped the front end of a 355, you'll know what I mean -- under the "nostrils", there is a pair of black fiberglass undertrays with semi-circular leading edges. On most front-end scrapes, it's this black undertray that takes the hit, and NOT the painted surface on the bottom of the "nostrils". It usually gets scraped and chipped and hit, but not really that big of a deal, right? After all, who's going to see it, way down there on the bottom of the front of the car? Check out these pics to get a better understanding of just what the heck I'm talking about: http://www.photoaccess.com/share/guest.jsp?ID=AB806926154&cb=PA Anyway, in the fall, while leaving a gas station, I drove over the filling lid for their underground storage tank -- those things that look like minature manhole covers. At this particular station, the lid protrudes fairly significantly up from the ground. At just the right height, at just the right angle, it caught the leading edge of this undertray, and caused a tear in it. Not a big deal? Well, this tear also happened in the front bumper cover... up and around the driving light and the turn signal. D'Oh. Well, the car is going into the bodyshop this week to get the front end touched up (way too many stone chips from too many track events), and this gash repaired. Again, see the pics to understand what I'm rambling about. So, after it's painted, what do I do to prevent the next scrape? Scrapes HAPPEN, after all -- I use my car pretty damn frequently, and sometimes it just can't be avoided. I've seen other owners make skid plates out of plywood, out of lexan, and out of aluminum. Well, I found the answer today. My mechanic (and good friend) John Tirrell, of Independent Ferrari Service in South Easton, MA, had some customers who were complaining of this problem. He's also concerned about scraping his personal 355 Challenge. One customer came in with a well-used 355 Challenge, and it had a pair of ratty looking plywood screwed into the bottom. John decided he could do better. He ended up having a machine shop make a pair of skid plates out of aircraft nylon -- flexible, with a high degree of "lubricity". The front/leading edge is beveled, to help avoid situations where the plates catch. The plates are machined to match up to, and cover, the factory undertray pieces, EXACTLY. Installation requires a drill and a screwdriver, taking even mechanically challenged nincompoops like me only a few minutes to put on. Here's the procedure: fit plate over undertray piece; drill holes in the undertray, using the plate as a guide; screw it in (using these little screw backing plates or whatever the hell professionals call them on the other side). Voila -- now your 355 has added protection against scraping, not to mention the ugly situation I face, where the scraping causes a lot more damage. He ordered a run of a dozen pair, and is selling them to his customers for $139 (plus shipping), which includes the installation hardware. I was pretty excited about this, and told him that I'd post it to the F-list if he'd offer a discount. So, if you call him at 508 238 4224 and tell him that you're an F-list member, he'll knock 10% off. I think Al Chelini had a shop that made these out of Lexan, for $100 a pair, a few years ago. These have to be better - they're nicely machined, contoured, and beveled. DISCLAIMER - I have no pecuniary gain from any potential transactions, do not remove tag under penalty of law, return your trays and seats to the full upright position, product may settle during shipping, closed roads with professional drivers, never try this at home, etc. Good luck! vty, --Dennis [here's the full thread] http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/21/207311.html | ||
| Dave (Maranelloman)
Intermediate Member Username: Maranelloman Post Number: 1519 Registered: 1-2002 |
It's true, Jim. My 550 has an enormous overhang, and I'm not sure for what purpose. | ||
| James Glickenhaus (Napolis)
Intermediate Member Username: Napolis Post Number: 1290 Registered: 10-2002 |
It is bizarre to me that F still makes cars with so much front overhang (distance from center of front wheel to tip of nose underside) My Mk-IV is easier to drive on the street than many F cars. Weird. | ||
| Jens Haller (Jh280774)
Member Username: Jh280774 Post Number: 631 Registered: 9-2001 |
Mark, Sadly the 355 and 348 are very low in the front spoiler area! Not only road legal things get difficult but also some track use. Since I drive my 348tb at the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring occasionally I had to find out that the spoiler and the front license plate scratches over the concrete when entering the Karussell which is a nearly 180� steep corner. Very nasty and annoying IMO. Only good thing about the scratches is that they usually occur under the spoiler where it can�t be seen. A black touch up paint pencil can quickly fix the scratches anyway!  Con saluti cordialissimi, Jens Haller | ||
| Modified348ts (Modman)
Member Username: Modman Post Number: 567 Registered: 11-2001 |
There is a reason why most all F-cars that are sold have repainted bottoms or front end, impossible to avoid damages, I've tried and the only way to reduce the matter is not driving the damn thing but that's not happening, cars are meant to be driven and will get chipped and dinged. I talked to a person at F of OC and was told that most Ferraris have repainted areas weather new or used. | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 355 Registered: 3-2001 |
I never scraped my 360 once whilst it was in the UK...It had nose scrape marks within a week when I moved to LA!!! I think that the clearance is worse on a 355 | ||
| Vincent (Vincent348)
Member Username: Vincent348 Post Number: 287 Registered: 4-2003 |
Hear. Hear. | ||
| martin j weiner,M.D. (Mw575)
Member Username: Mw575 Post Number: 944 Registered: 5-2001 |
Be prepared with flat black paint.My 360 and the 575 are as prone to scraping.Try to take those incline/declines at an angle-but it will still happen. Don't loose any sleep of it-along with stone chips it's the dues for driving and enjoying these great machines. | ||
| Dave (Maranelloman)
Intermediate Member Username: Maranelloman Post Number: 1514 Registered: 1-2002 |
550 has the same issues. And it's even words with the Fiorano handling package... | ||
| Mark S G Murphy (Msgm1)
New member Username: Msgm1 Post Number: 20 Registered: 2-2003 |
I have found that the ground clearance of my F355 has been a major problem in negotiating steep declines/inclines in the road. Does the 360 Modena or the 550/575 Maranello have much better ground clearance or do they have the same problem? |