|
|
|
#1
06-21-2005, 04:36 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
First drive - 360 rental report!
Hi everyone,
Vroooom! As I mentioned last week in this () thread, I rented a yellow 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena in Vegas this past weekend. We had the car from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday and put 301 miles on it. Overall: great experience and a lot of fun! I had never rented an “exotic” car before, and I highly recommend it as a mini-vacation idea. Lots of fun and a great way to see some sights and places you normally wouldn’t. I had been to Vegas many times in the past, but never ventured off the Strip. On Saturday, we took the Ferrari to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the small town of Overton for lunch, and then through the Valley of Fire on the way back to Vegas. This was a great loop and made for some excellent driving roads. No accidents, no tickets, and only one stern warning from the Park Ranger. Sunday morning was just a short trip out to Red Rock. Best roads: some of the small side roads around Lake Mead (nice twistys), and the trek through the Valley of Fire (great views; neat place!). I had never driven a Ferrari before and got a lot out of it. Notables: - The sound. Now I know what you guys are talking about! Wow! 4500 to 8500 is just simply ridiculous. I was also very surprised how well sealed the cabin is with the windows up. With the windows down, the car can go from very quite to very loud. - Handling. Very tight, superb. Super solid chassis with no shake over bumps and very confidence inspiring. Much easier to drive fast than any car I’ve driven. - The brakes. Again, wow. I’ve driven Porsches with nice brakes but this just seemed to be on it’s own level. Easy to modulate, dead straight, and a TON of grip. - The rear view. Never quite saw it from this angle, but it was very cool - the engine intake sits right in your side view mirrors, and the engine sits right in the middle of your rear view mirror. Neat. - The shape. I just never get tired looking at nice Ferraris. Disappointments: - Lack of low end torque. The car was fast, but really was kind of a pig at low RPMs. This is exacerbated by the very tall gearing. More torque and shorter gearing would greatly improve the car. - Hard to see behind you. Lane changes were tough for me, because there is a pretty big blind spot in the mirror, and you can check even by turning your head. Oh well, I guess just a good reason to drive faster than everyone else. - The rental wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t as well cared for as your typical Ferrari (or possibly just driven a lot more). The car had 22,000 miles on it. The paint had a lot of chips, and was covered with that protective film all over and a lot of the edges were visible. Because of the film’s edges, the car really only looked good from 5-10 feet, which isn’t like your typical Ferrari. - The rental also had trouble shifting. 6th gear was sometimes –very- hard to get into. It just wouldn’t go, you’d have to put it back in 5th, and then try again. Probably not typically, just something wrong with this car. - Wacked out temperature gauge. Again, not sure if its just this car, but the water temp would get really high really quickly when driven fast for 1-2 minutes. In fact, when this first happened the red temp light came on, so I pulled over and called Rent A Vette (the rental shop). The said its normal, and provided it doesn’t stay there and start blinking, every should be ok. Is this really the case? I can’t imagine that a $140k car would behave like this. I really don’t think the car I drove could survive a 20-minute session on the track. Granted, it was in Vegas and it was a 100 degrees out side, but this still seems very strange to me. The oil temp gauge was always right about 180-200. My personal “fun car” is a highly modified Porsche 914-6. It has an Andial built 3.6 liter engine, 915 transmission, 993TT front brakes, C2T rear brakes, carbon fiber lids, leather interior, etc. Given the cars’ similarities (mid engine, rear wheel drive, 3.6 liters), and differences (Ferrari vs 914, etc.) I thought it would be interesting to compare vital specs between the two (see spreadsheet below). That’s it! Fun car, I’d really like to try a 360 CS now… -Steve Last edited by siverson914; 06-21-2005 at 04:55 AM. 
|
|
#2
06-21-2005, 04:37 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Pictures...
|
|
#3
06-21-2005, 04:41 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
xls:
|
| Non-Sponsor Ads |
|
|
|
#4
06-21-2005, 04:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
xls2:
|
|
#5
06-21-2005, 04:47 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
914:
|
|
#8
06-21-2005, 07:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Sounds like you had a great experience out there! I had a blast through the Valley of Fire in that very car about a month ago in, and it's a screamer.
BUT I do have to nitpick with a few of your comments -- Quote:
As for the film, perhaps you haven't seen a 360 that's had the film on it before, but the edges are _always_ visible....(it should probably be called a "nearly invisible" bra...  But it's far less visible on a yellow car than on a red or black car. And most of the 360s I see these days have the film, so it is pretty typical actually...Quote:
Great pics, btw...thanks for sharing! nlh
|
|
#10
06-21-2005, 07:54 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Beautiful 914!
Talk about tough shifting! I always had trouble with 2nd gear on the 915's :shrug:
|
| Non-Sponsor Ads |
|
|
|
#11
06-21-2005, 08:37 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
And I really find the low end torque to be quite good, similar to GT3. Maybe earlier 360s had different mapping or something? The bad shifting and overheating were definitely problems. I've never had either on my car, even on hot track days. Gary
|
|
#12
06-22-2005, 02:15 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
> As for the film, ... the edges are _always_ visible...
Yes, I understand, but this car seemed to have more film than normal. It was not only on the front bra, but also around the wheel wheels and mirrors. Plus there were lotsa bugs out (or maybe they just die easily at 100+ mph  ), and the car got pretty dirty in 300 miles and the dirt really made the edges show up. If it was my car, I'd rather live with some rock chips than how the film was presented on that car. Rock chips give a car character. Plus, I've seen some cars with the film applied with greater care. The edges can be made to wrap around seams or under badges/mirrors, so it is less obvious. > Talk about tough shifting! I always had trouble with 2nd gear on the 915's : Oh, I agree, the Ferrari shifted much better than my 915, except when it literally wouldn't go into 6th. I don't know what's up with that, I'm pretty certain it wasn't driver error. But it should shift better than a 21 year-old Porsche transmission (it's from an 84 911). > You've got to be the first person I have heard say "tall gears" when talking about a 360. I'll admit, I really thought you were wrong until I just checked the math (see spreadsheet below). I'm quite surprised that's how the gearing works out. Maybe it just felt that way to me because the powerband is "peakier" than most cars I'm familiar with. My car used to have the old Porsche 901 transmission which did about 80 mph in 3rd and 100 mph in 4th. I've also driven a track prepped Caterham which did max 120 in 5th (probably limited by both gearing and aerodynamics ). That's short gears.> ... overheating were definitely problems. I've never had either on my car, even on hot track days. Good to hear. It may have just been a sensor/gauge issue, but if it was accurate, this car would not have come close to being able to survive a 20 minute track session. And don't get me wrong - while I do have a couple of nit picks and everything wasn't -perfect-, I loved the car and had a great time. It's all about compromises and the Ferrari's strength far outway any weaknesses. It was -a lot- of fun to drive! Another note, and part of my motivation for renting it: I'm 6'6" (38" inseam) and found that I fit fine in the 360. Not roomy, but definitely comfortable and had pretty good driving position (would like to figure out if its possible to bring the steering wheel closer). I was originally considering a 355, but could not come even close to fitting in it. -Steve
|
|
#13
06-22-2005, 02:31 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
More pictures...
|
|
#15
06-22-2005, 10:51 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
...for the wrong girl...
ROFL!
"girl appeal: F360 - high, for the wrong girl 914-6 - high, for the right girl" That's pretty good, sums it up perfectly. Sounds like you had a great trip. I had a Maser coupe reserved with these guys, for a trip down to Sedona. In the end I decided I'd just save the cash to buy my own, and canceled the reservation. I seem to remember that it was gonna cost around $1600 for maybe 3 days and a few hundred miles. Last edited by Indytim; 06-22-2005 at 10:52 PM.
|
|
#16
06-23-2005, 01:05 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
In the US, the Modenas seem to be about a $ grand a day. In Europe it is about half that (liability discount due to lower ratio of lawyers per capita?). There is also a package that it put on by a group of enthusiasts where you pay $600 and spend a day switching between 360, Gallardo, 911TT, etc....I keep seeing it in one of the Brit classic car rags...I am thinking it is time for a business trip !
http://www.rent-a-vette.com/car-rental-rates.html PS, Viper is $349 a day, but they probably make you take out obligatory life insurance...
__________________
"Oh, bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round.
|
|
#18
06-23-2005, 07:09 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
__________________
Ricambi America: The Ferrari Parts Specialists. All New, All Original, All Genuine.
|
|
#19
06-23-2005, 05:52 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
The fee was $1100/day + $2/mile. Ended up being about $1600 or so... I was happy with everything about RAV except for some unexpected "administration fees" and taxes that I wasn't told about up front. I challenge them on that and they said it was because they are at the airport/etc/etc. Whatever, still worth it.
> BTW, I like your 914-6! I've heard they're quite go-kartish in their handling. Is this accurate? > The 914/6 is a legend of a car. The market hated them, the owners loved 'em. Yes, I love my 914. It's such a fun car to drive, and it may have similar performance specs, but very different experiences. I've actually owned the car for almost 14 years now - I got it right before I turned 16 and have owned it since. I originally bought it for $2600 and have since put many multiples of that into it. A 914 feels like it handles like a go cart, until you drive a Caterham (1200 lbs). And a Caterham feels like a go kart until you actually drive a shifter kart (500 lbs). But yes, the 900 lbs weight difference between the 914 and 360 makes a huge difference and makes for two totally different experiences. -Steve
|
|
#20
06-23-2005, 06:05 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I must say I expected different results based on my own experiences with that very car being the first F-car I had ever driven. However if you find your self just as happy or even happier with your present car then you have the game beat and you can save tens if not hundreds of thousands and be just as happy.
|
| Non-Sponsor Ads |
|
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
Whouaa
Vehicle
