Love my new scud!

Finally getting to posting about my scud I bought recently. I absolutely LOVE IT. I guess I'm one of those fanboys that raves about it when he first buys it. Hopefully it's a 'sitter'. hahaha. Here was my initial impression that I posted on another thread:

"Same boat in going from an f430 to a scud. Comparing a scud to an F430 is like comparing an f430 to a 360 or even a 355 if you hold the 360 in high regard. The difference is that mindblowing. I could put the pedal to the metal and control the 430 with relative ease and I'm no Schumacher. Putting the pedal to the floor in a scud borders on scary in terms of power. It's sensory overload with the music behind your ears, the amazing shifts, and the raw power. As an example, in the f430 i had a scud steering wheel and I noticed the rpm lights light up and could time the shifts. In the scud I literally don't notice the lights because everything happens so fast and i have to concentrate so that I don't lose control of the power. I can truly understand what the reviewers mean when they say the car rewards you for good driving but if you take it for granted and get sloppy in a scud, it will make you pay. As Clarkson said it best, 'it's like driving on the edge of a knife. You make mistake, I kill. But that is part of the thrill.'"

UPDATE:
Pros:
So the previous post was about a couple weeks after my purchase with about 100-200 miles logged. Now I'm a little over 400 miles and approaching 2 months. I'm still VERY impressed with the performance of the car. I just got it aligned and the car rides SO much better. Out of the box, it had a lot of understeer but with the help of Rad, it's much more dialed in, neutral, and planted. The power is very impressive and the butt dyno definitely feels the difference. I notice the shifts lights a little more now, but it's still weird that I don't see them as much as when I had it on my 430. I have definitely learned to respect what it can do and don't try as many shenanigans as I did the 430.

With regards to the shifts, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM. A perfect story about the scud. Someone I know who also has a scud once told me that the car makes him drive like an A.s.s.h.o.l.e. This was when I had my 430 and I thought to myself, it's probably because he drives like that all the time. Now that I have a scud, I completely understand. The reason you drive like that is because the superfast2 shifts don't come on unless the accelerator is past 50% or whatever it may be. Unfortunately, with the accelerator depressed that far, the car accelerates too fast (if there is such a thing) for posted speeds making you drive like an a.hole. It makes perfect sense! Yes officer, the car made me do it. hahaha.

Cons:
A couple things I don't like about the car. First the radio. It's absolute garbage. I have $10 computer speakers that sound better than the stock radio. I still haven't figured out how to use it (I guess I should read the manual) and find myself having to flip through a choice of mexican radio, oldies, kost, and mexican radio, so then I just give up and turn it off. Why can't you just scan through regular frequencies like normal radios?! Also, I wish the ipod connection would allow me to make my selections on my ipod rather than having to use the lame headunit. Of note, the ipod connector does work with a lightning adapter and an iphone 5. On the flip side, the bluetooth works much better than I expected. Calls are very clear and the callers can't even tell i'm in my loud scud. Second, a valve controller should be stock or it should be set to open at much lower throttle levels. I know I know. Low end torque. Why don't I remove the vacuum pumps to keep the valves open all the time? Well, I prefer the idle raspyness that you don't get once the valves are open at idle, but wished the valves would open as soon as I got going. Third, the seatbelts keep hitting the door CF when I take them off. I have learned to be very careful, but when I do forget, it hurts. Nit picky little things I know.

Conclusion:
Still learning the idiosyncrasies of the car but loving every minute of it. And man is it beautiful!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEZXBG7CR2o&hd=1[/ame]

 

Some shots:
At Eugenio's shop. He's the man! And the 2nd shot is my first wash. Such a beautiful car! I think the fence ate my head. hahaha
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I would confer with Rad, aka Scud guru (F430GT). I set mine to -2 camber 0 toe in the front, -2 camber, 4 degr toe total in the back. The stock threads don't get to the specs that I originally got from rad so I had to settle for these. So far so good.

 

I think it's standard on all the later model headunits. Mine is an 08 so there's no reason why it wouldn't be on the 09. Haven't linked it yet?

 

Thanks guys! Thanks Rad! Yeah, got my Capristo valve controller coming. It's the last piece of my puzzle. Got my windshield film (I wouldn't recommend it), MPSS's, floor mats, V1 hardwire, and alignment. I'm good to go. Regarding the seatbelts, I figured that's what the strap was for. I unhooked it for some reason, but it will now go back on.

 

Thanks Dan. Yea 6 months without a Ferrari was too long. Glad to help some great people along the way. we're doin an informal drive the day after thanksgiving if you're interested.

How's your scud?

Eddie I'm sure ur heavily modded lotus will kick my ass.

 

Yea I know. It's weird but I drive it less than my F430. I think maybe that despite loving it and being awesome the novelty of my first Ferrari has partially worn off. I still look for excuses to drive it but having 2 kids, one a 4 month old, makes me feel guilty to just take on joy rides. And taking my other daughter fast on the twisties scares the crap out of her so I find that I can only drive it when I'm by myself.

The windshield film I used, clearplex, is supposed to be the best out there. They use it for the iPhone and iPads so the clarity is supposed to be good. Maybe my installer sucked but on my windshield, I get halo'ing with oncoming headlights and distortions in the film. While its great to prevent pitting and sand blasting that I had on my f430 windshield, the sacrifice in clarity in my opinion isn't worth it. Hopefully improvements are made in film and installation in the future. Having said this, I paid my hard earned money for it so ill leave it on until I sell it.