How did Ferrari reduce the weight in 355s compared to earlier V8s?

Air pumps? Are talking 308 with reactive mufflers here or a 355?

 

The 355 has a mechanical air injection pump.

 

hello Dave.

With all the ferraris i've weighed and dyno'd, I've never seen a discrepancy btwn what the owner's manual says for weight or HP.

My car weighs 1450kg with full fuel and has 231rwkw...just like the handbook says is should. (you'll have to do the conversions )

 

3200 pounds for the 355 Challenge sounds quite reasonable. Do you have a Euro model? No A/C? 355 TB or TS version? Different seats than 355 road cars?

Air bags in the 355 Challenge?

Power steering?

 

it's got everything in it....but no air bags. it's a "B", of course, standard seats, air conditioning, power steering...everything. I though all challenge cars were the same...no "euro/US" thing. It's a factory challenge.

 

Thanks. I only asked because I didn't know the particulars about the 355 Challenge.

I'm truly surprised to learn that your car has power steering and air conditioning!

That almost sounds like a setup for a street legal car, and I was under the impression that 355 Challenge cars were not street legal.

A/C on a track car...I would have lost a bet on that one.

 

it IS street legal (here)! it's back to road specs apart from brakes, suspension and exhaust (more or less)

 

Figured I'd add some fuel to the fire. I weighed some front wheels:

348 - 17 x 7.5 28.6 lb

355 - 18 x 7.5 22.0 lb

360 - 18 8 7.5 20.6 lb

I think this trend is present throughout the car. Shave a few pounds here and there and a couple hundred pounds adds up fast. The previously mentioned door scoops are about 20 lb difference alone.

Pick up a 348 front bumper with your eyes closed and you'll think it's tied to the floor. I really like 348's, but in stock trim, they're pigs weight-wise. 355 took things one step further with more features, but lighter construction all around.

We make various carbon fiber/kevlar body, interior, and engine bay panels for these cars, so we get a lot of before and after weight feedback. I bet I could shave 500 lb from a 348 without breaking a sweat. 400 from a 355. Maybe a bit less to keep it street legal with the original comfort level. If someone really wanted to get clever, these cars could be re-engineered to lose probably 800 lb. I'm really just pulling that number out of my a$$, but I'm in the ballpark.

Very little about either the 348 or the 355, with the possible exception of the engines (which I can not pick up) screams "light-weight." A lot of 348 parts are just retarded, though.

 

Those are good numbers and great points about weight savings. Were the wheels weighed with or without rubber mounted?

 

So can anyone weigh the 348 and 355 front bumpers for comparison?

 

Without rubber - your point may be valid about tires, but "larger" tires often have thinner sidewalls, and different brands weigh different amounts.

I can not weigh the bumpers right now, but the 348 bumper is hand-laid chopped strand fiberglass in polyester resin, while the 355 bumper is press-molded fiberglass - still heavy but a little more efficient.

From memory, they are both about 1 billion pounds.

Everyone should know that these are actual bumpers, not just bumper covers like the polyurethane things found on almost every other late-model car. The Euro bumpers (at least 360 and 430 - I cannot confirm but suspect it may be the same case for 348 and certainly for the 355) have less internal reinforcement and weigh less.

 

Found this thread whilst doing a search on con rods.

My 348 comes in at 3,124 lbs (1,420 kg) with:

- half a tank of fuel
- 360 carbon seats
- carbon exhaust heat shields
- 355 wheels
- tomtom sat nav unit

If half a tank equals 10 imperial gallons. each gallon is 3.4kg.....so that's 35kg of fuel or 75 lbs.

Subtracted from the 3,124 leaves a dry weight of around 3,049 lbs.

That's 219 lbs less than a standard 348 but still 73 lbs heavier than a 355.
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The biggest thing they took out from the 348 line-up was the reliability. Not sure what that weighs, but judging from all the 355 problems, it must have been a bunch.

 

Even the 355 Challenges with no air bags (or air bag computers...perhaps not even exhaust emissions air pumps, either) weigh 3200 pounds *dry* in the real world.

Gravity is apparently less burdensome in Italy...


*but hey, some wise guy above claims that this thread is a "train wreck," so what do I know?!

 

The 348 stock wheels are very heavy indeed. When I changed mine out for 360 wheels and tires, I was stunned how much lighter the 360 wheels and tires were. I would bet that the 348 tires actually weigh the same or more than the 348 tires, because the 360s have a much lower profile. And wheels and tires are a great place to save weight, because it makes the suspension so much more responsive.

 

ooooh... did'nt read that bit. i'll have a look.

Has anyone actually weighed a 355 on this forum yet ND?

Wait till you pick up 360 challenge wheels. They are unbelievably light.

 

i weighed my road going 355ch with a full fuel tank.

1450kg...pretty much exactly what my handbook says.

i've also, just out of interest, weighed a 512BB, and F40 and a testarossa with full fuel and they also weighed almost exactly what the handbook said.

 

And the claimed 355 weight is 2976 pounds by the factory (or is that the claimed 355B weight)?

 

I would think that was the 'B' .................... mine also has a monster stereo system which weighs in at about 100 lbs........ ..... I really should ditch the stereo ......

The 355 exhaust is just too heavy as well....... after I get my custom setup on there..... I will save over 80 pounds from stock with a very solid HP gain too.... !!