Any Singapore Ferrari owners?

hi lung, tried to pm you but dun seem to be able to do that...maybe you can pm me and see if it works? hope to learn something from you abt the 355... cheers.

 

Cannot pm u too. What u need to know?

 

lung,

I have a question. Do you wait for the engine oil to warm up before accelerating ? I know some owners perform quite a show waiting for the oil to heat up but I myself do not. Also, what would be the optimum temp ? Some say over 50 deegrees at least - HS does not make any such recommendations.

anyone else ?

 

Engine components and oil are all designed to work at an optimum temperature range.
Kinda of like frying an egg with a cold pan, just doesnt add up does it?

dont rev hard with cold engine, doesnt take long for cars in our climate to heat up though.

 

Absolutely...I believe should always take it easy till the oil warms up. I cringe when people start up a cold engine and (really) rev it with the car stationary.

One unusual thing I noticed however with my ex-355 was that when going fast on the NS highway the oil cools down significantly - like almost back to the "cold" range - begs the question whether it means we need to slow down to warm it up again..strange.. but I think you know what i mean.

 

This is a good question.
I usually let the car idle for about 3-5mins before driving off. In the 355 I use to drive using gears 2-4-6 for the next 5-7mins.

In the 430, its on "snow" on the manettino where it changes revs under 3000. I will change into "Sports" or "Race" mode once the water/oil temp starts moving up.

On the Testa, it takes about 15-20mins for the car to warm up and get the oil circulating properly. A real pain.

The problem for me is that by the time the car wars up I would have already reached the office

 

Small world!!!

 

Agree with Spaing77 and RO1, a cold engine shouldn't be revved hard. To elaborate further, the engine oil in a cold engine will flow back down to the sump, warming it up will allow the oil to sufficiently circulate through the engine parts. I think there's no hard rule for the temperature in a country like singapore compared to somewhere with really cold weather. I don't think there's any modern car manufacturer that actually recommends warming up.. for the casual owner it's like "troublesome, this car must warm up first before using." But it's good to know warming up is better for the engine parts in the long run.

Actually not strange come to think of it,when going fast, there's a higher airflow going into your radiators without the need of your radiator fans to draw in, hence cooling the engine oil better. Furthermore when you're in the higher gears in high speed, your engine rev is actually lower so making the oil being cooled further. There's no need to actually slow down since it won't actually become a cold engine again when you're driving.

 

Hey SFChallenge, are you Alrasvee in www.exoticspotter.com ?

 

I've seen old chevys or thunderbirds which have had their "behind" cut up and cnverted into a couch, very nice.

Missy Elliot has a 355 converted into some kind of a couch/console for TV/entertainment....In her Florida South Beach pad

 

Hi SF,

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, the 3.6 Turbo was a special car. Trying to locate a pristine 3.6 Turbo S Slantnose in Jakarta for 3 years now but has been elusive. I was offered that car in 2000 but couldn't afford it then. A pity.

Regarding the DIno, I am not sure about the barn find. However, I know of a famous ex-Soeharto photographer having a red Dino in his house in Kemang. Saw it about 10 years ago. Habbibie doesn't own a Gullwing in Indonesia. Its more likely a R129 SL modified to look like a Gullwing. However, he is nuts about anything German so maybe he may have one in Germany.

Interestingly, before the '80s, people are allowed to import completely built up cars in Indonesia. So, a few people managed to get their hands on some interesting cars. My friend just bought a '74 (?) 365 GTC with about 30K km. Then there are others like 512BB, E-type, etc. Most collectors in Indonesia can only collect more modern Ferraris now unless they stash it overseas. Most famous one here has about 12. From 308GTB to Modena.

 

Yes. I believe so. Modern car manufacturer do not actually recommend warming up. I have read manuals which point out that a stationary car that is started is heating up (rather than just warming up).

Thanks to all who weighed in with views. I agree with Trailerz that there's no hard and fast rules for the temperature in a country like singapore compared to somewhere with really cold weather.

Warming up is not just important but critical in cold weather but in tropical Singapore, is it really necessary to go to similar lengths when the car manufacturers do not actually recommend it ?

In fact, if engine heat up is really required, "damage" is caused as soon as the engine is started ie switching on the car and letting it idle already causes damage if in fact warming up is needed.

To truly avoid damage where warming up is needed, an engine heater should be used BEFORE the engine is started.

Secondly, in cases where engine heat up is really needed, 3 to 5 minutes heat up is not sufficient anyway to avoid damage. In cold weather, where heating up is really needed as the lube actually becomes gooey, a heater is used to pre-heat the engine for 1 - 2 hours before driving.

Thus, if all you need is a 3 to 5 minute engine warm up, you have to ask if the engine lube really needed warming up to begin or it could have been driven without the "warming up" ie is the warming up exercise a tad pretentious when done in Singapore ?

 

Isn't there a photo of the dino on this site ? It looked like it was in some kind of car workshop that was supposed to be in Indonesia wasn't it ? - as for Habibie owning a 300SL Gullwing, I have seen a photo of him standing next to one.

 

Actually the main issue here with cold engines is with doing hard revs. In a cold country, the engine and pistons that have contracted and the thickened lubes would cause the damage, hence the heater is essential but I think is irrelevant here in singapore.

If there's no recommendation from manufacturers, I would be assured that tolerance for the small inevitable wear during starting of the engine would have been taken into the design consideration of the engine. If normal starting of the engine in normal temperatures would make taking off the engine block frequent, then its the manufacturer's liability and would be considered a design fault. Anyway you need the engine to run in order to lubricate it.. no need to lose sleep over this issue.

Maybe I'd do what lung does put it in auto for maybe 5 mins to keep the revs low.. or just floor it once you reach the expressway.. I would do that because the number of traffic lights on my route to the expressway would have warmed up the engine sufficiently.

 

In Singapore, with synthetic oil, oil thickening isn't an issue. Also, with modern oils, if you use your car frequently, a residual layer of oil stays at teh top of the engine for a few days, so piston/head scoring from dry, cold start ups is virtually non-existant.

The reason I need to warm up (before driving) is more to do with the gearbox. In the modern cars (i.e. 360s on) the gearboxes are more forgiving and I presume have automated systems for managing the coming together of the gears. In the older cars with mechanical gearshifts (i.e. 308s etc), there is a HUGE difference in the gearbox feel and flexibility between cold oil/engine and warm. Hence the need to drive gently at first, feel every shift carefully (not just jam in gears) and to allow the engine heat to bring all calculated expansion tolerances into line.

To this end, it is NOT pretentious to do so. It is something a good driver, who understands the workings of their car, would do.

FF

 

Yes. Use of an engine heater is irrelevant here. Its overkill. Just like the so called need for engine warm up in a place like Singapore by remaining at idle is overkill.

There is no real need to stand a car idle (Ferrari or otherwise) for 3 to 5 minutes in Singapore for the engine oil to heat up before driving off to avoid engine damage.

If the engine oil is really in a state where using it unheated will cause damage, then starting the car engine unheated will cause damage straightaway with or without standing the car idle ie staying idle for 3 to 5 minutes is not going to avoid the damage its meant to avoid.

Think about it - If it only takes 3 to 5 minutes to heat up then what sort of heating up are we talking about ? Its probably not needed as the lube is probably not in a state where is needs heating up.

Anyway, the Ferrari manual states as follows for under "Start Off and Driving Away the car":

"Do not run the engine at speeds over 4000 rpm until the oil temperature has reached at least 65- 70 degree approximately."

It does not require the car to be at idle however. For F 1 transmission, there is no 4000 rpm restriction. The manual states :

"Do not run the engine at high engine speed until the oil temperature has reached at least 65- 70 degree approximately."

My point is many people do things without asking or thinking why they do it - and from what I have read and seen, the so called engine warm up by remaining at idle for 3 to 5 minutes when its a "sports car" in singapore is one of those things.

Based on the owners manual for the new Ferraris, you can drive off straightaway but wait for the engine to warm to 65- 70 degrees before revving

 

I'd agree on the old cars as I have a 40 year old car as well. I have to choke to start on some days when using it. But that's not what I was talking about. New car owners are adopting these practices as well without asking if they need to. That (I am sure you would agree) is a very very pretentious practice.

 

I ws going to say that but felt it would be too inflammatory.

Touche.

FF

 

Nah, its a friendly discourse. No one specific was targetted. Except for a few, we are all big boys here. I thought this was an interesting issue as recently I saw someone (a gallardo owner but not a chatter here I believe) made an incredible fuss over starting his car and the overkill was hilarious.

 

aiyo ... just drive sensibly when engine is cold .....

some people like to warm up their cars in the garage before driving off,
nothing wrong with that practice.

.

 

if its not needed - then you have to ask why they do it ..

 

Quite a lot of chat on this here & it's a subject elsewhere pretty often as well. My Ferraris happen to be over 15yrs so I'd make a point of idling for 15secs+ before moving off from cold start & never rev above 4K rpm while going easy on the gearbox. My problem is my journeys are usually 4km+/- & less than 15mins, hardly enough to "warm up" the gauge but as we know, those Veglia instruments are hardly accurate. My radiator fans kick-in only about 5mins after start. I think the 5.0 block has a 12litres capacity & do the 360 & later models have a dipstick to check oil level every 500km? My E-class doesn't & uses onboard system to check which was a pain to me as I still prefer the old skool.

I've had a classic bike which had a viewing glass from the crankcase to view the oil level & when the engine is running, you can see the oil actually flows within the engine pretty fast like a blender so I guess it's the same for any combustion engines. While other cars I've had from Japanese to BMWs, Alfas & Mercs, they warm up pretty fast. Maybe the sensors are more sensitive.

 

speaking of which, anyone can recommend a place in Singapore for instrument repair specifically tachometer repairs for an old car

thanks in advance.

 

My mechanic for Merc knows people who can fix the plastic gears for the meters but I've not tried them before. He's behind the Dunearn Rd Caltex kiosk. Or just go down to those old workshops in Alexendra Village, maybe they'll know.