| Author |
Message |
Dino Micalizio (Ingenere)
New member
Username: Ingenere
Post Number: 2
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 8:20 pm: | |
I put a set of 355 18"Challenge wheels on my 348 w/225/35's in front and 285/35's.....makes a HUGE difference in the handling. The wheels are so much lighter than stock that the turn in is lightening quick...HUGE FUN. I bought a second set and mounted slicks for the track....WOW!! |
Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member
Username: Parkerfe
Post Number: 694
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 10:45 am: | |
Dave, then the FCA must have relaxed its rules. When I had my 1986 328GTS I lost points in a FCA concours for having Goodyear GSC tires rather than the Goodyear NCT tires the car came with. And they are both made by Goodyear ! |
Chris Richardson (Boozy)
Junior Member
Username: Boozy
Post Number: 95
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 10:51 pm: | |
You can definitely go wider. I have a Spider and I am running 285s on the rear. I can go up to 295 but that's pushing it. The Spider is wider than the coupe on the rear so you can't go to 295, but I believe you can go up to 285. You can definitely do at least 275. Call SAC Wheels (www.sacwheels.com) and I know they know the exact max you can use. If you measure your rim width they should be able to tell you how far you can stretch it with the rim you have. |
BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member
Username: Bretm
Post Number: 1992
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 8:08 pm: | |
When I eventually do switch rims (right now I have stock QV rims which I admit are cool) I'll post about differences in driving. First though I have to finish the rebuild, possibly cry when looking at the remaining alloted Ferrari funds, then possibly get a job. |
Dave328GTB (Hardtop)
New member
Username: Hardtop
Post Number: 36
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 6:10 pm: | |
Frank,
FCA president and judge Paul Gilpatrick told me tire brand is not a factor in concours judging.
Peter,
I was wondering if you noted any differences in handling, grip, ride, etc. with the wider tires?
Dave |
Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member
Username: Parkerfe
Post Number: 693
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 4:41 pm: | |
Bret, at a club regional concours they would probably only notice the rims and tires though. |
Peter S�derlund /328 GTB -88 (Corsa)
Junior Member
Username: Corsa
Post Number: 121
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 4:07 pm: | |
BTW, I have 225/50-16 front and 245/45-16 rear on the 328.
Ciao
peter |
BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member
Username: Bretm
Post Number: 1982
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 3:51 pm: | |
I think the electronic ignition, test pipe, non stock rims, different fans, lack of emissions equipment, and assorted other things will make me loose more points. I'm not too worried about concours, but you are correct. |
Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member
Username: Parkerfe
Post Number: 689
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 3:38 pm: | |
If you ever plan to put your car in a FCA concours you will need to have the kind of tires that Ferrari put on that model car for that year. Otherwise, you lose points. |
BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member
Username: Bretm
Post Number: 1977
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 3:32 pm: | |
Sometimes you can mount wider tires. Ferrari almost always mounts very thin tires on the size rims they are running. Most common example is QV rims are 205 and 225, even the dealers will mount 225 and 245 on them though if you don't ask them not to if you get your rims done there. Tires have changed since then. Some people are running 285s (maybe 295s) on 355s and 360s. I'm gonna run 225s in front and 245s in back next time I change tires. it is always safe though to stick with stock, and being that the engine is pretty much stock you wouldn't see all that much difference with running wider rear tires. |
Peter S�derlund /328 GTB -88 (Corsa)
Junior Member
Username: Corsa
Post Number: 118
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 2:49 pm: | |
I'm satisfied with my AVS Sport on my 328. They have very stiff sidewalls and good dry grip. I don't care about wet grip since I always take it easy in the wet. We don't have the g-force in Sweden so I would go for AVS next time unless I'll be given a very good price on Bridgestone. They have probably the same grip or mayby better dry grip.
A guy have tried Pirelli (i think), Michelin and AVS Sport on his Maranello here in Sweden and from what I have heard he finds the AVS beeing the best tyre.
You can go for more camber and a slight toe out at the front for better turn in if you want.
Ciao
Peter |
Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member
Username: Miami348ts
Post Number: 1584
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 1:50 pm: | |
Just ordered new 255s AVS SPort.
Thanks for all your input though.
|
Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member
Username: Parkerfe
Post Number: 685
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 1:39 pm: | |
John, I didn't dyno my car , but it made a "seat of the pants" difference you can feel and hear. I would say it makes more power than adding just a Tubi does, for a lot less lira. |
John J Stecher (Jjstecher)
Junior Member
Username: Jjstecher
Post Number: 60
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 1:08 pm: | |
Martin - I agree with you completely about Pirelli tires I think that they arent that great either. Every one associates the name with Ferrari with Pirelli so everyone then assumes they are good. Mine wore to fast, and the back end broke lose way to easy. I have switched as I said before to BFGoodrich G-Forces which I think are the best tire out there right now when it comes to dry traction....sort of suck in the rain though. As far as sticking wider tires on your cars stock rims I would highly not recomend it...it is possible but on a sports car can have really bad effects. My father did that on his ZR-1 Vette and ended up blowing out the tire in a turn and put the car into a barricade. If you are going to do it make sure you get a tire with a very stiff sidewall, as the flexing there is what caused his blowout.
Frank - How much power would you estimate your cat replacement pipes got you on your 348? I am installing mine but also am sick of looking at my stock dual muffler exhaust and the 90 lbs it weighs as well. Just curious what you got with your spyder exhaust and replacement pipes? |
Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member
Username: Miami348ts
Post Number: 1581
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 12:44 pm: | |
Tnaks guys.
Frank, I have spacers on my car. Each side 30mm. Makes the car look so much better. I posted a treat that you should be able to find under keyword search "spacers 348"
I have switched from Pirelli to Yokohama AVS Sport. The P Zero were not what I was looking for in handling. Quite frankly I think a lousy tire. Also had some problem with Pirelli and they handled that very poorly. No more Ps for me, thank you.
The AVS is a great tire. Super wet handling. Like on rails. Takes about 1000 Miles to break them in. The good thing here you can actually rotate them. Take them off the left rim and mount them on the right. The treat is even on both sides.
What I was looking for was if I can mount instead of the stock 255s lets say 265s. I like the look of the 348 stock rims and would not want to change them.
|
Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member
Username: Parkerfe
Post Number: 683
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 12:15 pm: | |
I would use Pirelli tires. If you will recall part of the "fix" of the earlier 348 so called bad handling was to widen the rear track with spacers and use Pirelli P-Zero tires. You can buy the spacers too if you want to widen the rear track of an earlier 348. |
Dave328GTB (Hardtop)
New member
Username: Hardtop
Post Number: 35
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 12:04 pm: | |
If you set the camber at the minimum spec, you can increae tire life while giving up very little handling prowess. When getting an alignment, make sure the car is full of gas and weighted per instructions in the maual or you will end up with too much negative camber.
I have read that directional tires should never be used in the wrong direction because of internal construction is designed to go just one way and tire failure could result.
Dave |
John J Stecher (Jjstecher)
Junior Member
Username: Jjstecher
Post Number: 59
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 11:12 am: | |
What sort of tires do you have on your car martin? Goodyear, BF's, Bridgestone? |
John J Stecher (Jjstecher)
Junior Member
Username: Jjstecher
Post Number: 58
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 11:11 am: | |
Martin,
My 348 has done this as well it is because of the camber that the rear wheels have....go stand behind your car and look at it you can see the wheels are tilted in at a slight angle (bottom out further than the top). Almost every later model ferrari I have seen wears its tires this way. I also dont know what kind of tires you have but in most cases rotating them from one rim to the other is not an option, my BFGoodrich G-Forces are built specifically for a certian side of the car like left-rear, right-front, etc. I wouldnt go rotating them on the rims unless you want to give up some traction.
As far as fitting larger than stock rims on your 348 its completely possible. I have 355 18" rims on my car and I think it makes the car look and handle much better than the 17" OEM wheels. You can also fit 360 rims to your 348 (There is a full set for sale on eBay right now with BridgeStone tires for something like $3200). If you want to see what the 355 rims look like on a 348 like yours click on my name and look at my picture you can see them there. Also if you are looking for different rims check out www.ferraripartsexchange.com they have some great remanufactured rims on there for all Ferraris. |
Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member
Username: Miami348ts
Post Number: 1579
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 11:04 am: | |
Steve got that right on. It is the setup for the wheels. They are adjustable. However, if you change them the handling in corners will be off.
I think that 8000 Miles on a tire is pretty good. Also if you change them at 5K from one wheel to the other you can still get another 5K out of them, maybe more. |
Cmparrf40 (Cmparrf40)
Junior Member
Username: Cmparrf40
Post Number: 78
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 10:30 am: | |
Both my 348 and 355 have done this... |
Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Member
Username: 91tr
Post Number: 588
Registered: 1-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 10:15 am: | |
Do you guys know the rear toe-in and camber specs? (I'm just curious about the recommended values).
More uniform tire wear might require a (miniscule) reduction in maximum cornering ability (but that's a reasonable trade-off for a road car IMO). |
Tom Antal (Intenso)
Junior Member
Username: Intenso
Post Number: 67
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 9:48 am: | |
Martin, I too have the same wear problem on the rears of my 355. I'm curious what causes this. Tom |
Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member
Username: Miami348ts
Post Number: 1572
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 8:11 am: | |
I have to put new tires on the rear of my 348. There is excessive wear on the inside of the rears. I should have rotated them from one rim to the other to get the inside out but now it is too late. Need new ones.
Question is: can I fit larger than stock on my stock rim? Anybody done that?
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