How to make a F355 faster?

Hey

Is it possible to make a F355 faster? I'm not talking about carbon and weight reduction and also not interested in a turbo but are there any other ways to make it faster? I only wanna do changes that the official Ferrari dealership can do.

Some info about my car:
'95 F355 GTS 6sp
tubi exhaust

I'm from the Netherlands btw so maybe some dutch people already did some changes and know some prices?

Thanks anyway,
Mike

 

I would be realy interested to hearing what offical ferrari dealership tweeks that the other Duch 355 owners have had. Becourse there arnt any that make it go faster other than challenge ECUs. There was some very rare camshafts that found there way into some early 355s like the Shuemaker 355.
If you do a search you will see that the best ya can realy do is a exhaust change, filterchange and maybe a chip change. I have all of theabove but its only realy worth about 15-20 extra bhp tops.

 

keep the revs above 5000rpm

 

If you look at some of the British mags that had reviewed with a full test of the F355, it was timed at 0-100 in 10.5 and 150 at 27 secs. That is as fast as the first generation Porsche GT3. You need to keep the revs up on these cars and I mean above 5000rpm to get power. Remember F355 have fantastic brakes and handling. Straight acceleration is not everthing.

 

My F355 continues to surprise me with its crazy handling!!! Every time I think I am entering a turn too hot, the car just sticks!!! It is amazing!!!

 

Reality - you just crossed off your list the "easy" things to do to make your car faster. The stock 355 motor is already pretty well set up to make max power from 3.5 liters, at least for a street car. Forced induction is by far the easiest way to get more power, either a turbo or supercharger. Best bang for the buck.

Chips, exhaust, cat removal will get you a few horsepower, maybe, but barely noticeable (though the sound will improve, and it will definitely be lighter if you replace the stock exhaust). Otherwise, you'll have to open up the engine. Any typical hot rod techniques can improve power, but you'll be sacrificing reliability (again, the engine is already running near the edge), and you may end up needing race gas.

No, the other things to do are to reduce weight. You can take out a LOT of weight, but you will sacrifice originality, comfort and may end up spending a lot here too. Replace seats with carbon or fiberglass buckets. Remove excess trim, carpeting, tools from the trunk, mount lighter wheels (though stock wheels are pretty light), replace body parts with fiber/carbon pieces, rip out airbags, a/c, etc.

A 355CH isn't particularly faster in a straight line compared to a street car (and any improvement really is a result of reduced weight and/or stickier tires), but it can go around a track much faster, due to better suspension/set up and the aforementioned weight reduction.

Cheapest way to make your 355 faster? Sell it and buy a 430. Or a Z06. No joke. Better yet, get the new 1098...

vty,

--Dennis
Modified 355 Street car
355 Challenge
Porsche 996
A couple of BMWs and other toys

 

thanks dennis for your post very well said.

 

NAPerformance F355 manifolds proven 16rwhp (dynograph attached from lusso64's car).

Exhausts are rumored to add a few horsepower at best.

Hyperflow Catalytic converters seem to make a big difference.

ECU's I've heard claims but no dynos.

GruppeM Intake did 17rwhp over factory if I recall correctly.

Kreis-sieg Bypass pipe (don't know how big of a diff it makes, not enough people running it).

That's about it without getting into forced induction or opening the motor up.

Every Ferrari dealership is different, I've had Ferrari dealers that order my exhaust manifolds and install them on customer's cars and I've had dealers that refuse to install them, same with some other aftermarket components, consult with your dealer first and see what they feel comfortable doing.
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Thanks for the replies! I know you need to keep the 355 in high revs, but still, I thought it might be possible to get an extra 40-50 hp with minor changes. The F355 is fast enough but you get used to the HP pretty fast lol

I've thought about replacing it for a 360/430 but I just can't do it - in my opinion, the F355 looks 10 times better than those 2

 

360s are in the same BHP ballpark as a 355 anyways. Around 315> 330. And yes MVP has seen dyno sheets for ECUs, both the guy from downunder who has a MOTEC set up. And both my read outs that show the Hamonn refueling chip has the same gains as NA Performance after market manifolds. My 355 has standard manifolds and with only the chip and De Cated Capristo makes 328RWBHP. So the question is. what gains would i get on my set up with NA Performance manifolds added? Any one want to give me some for R&D

 

wow, the torque is going down between 5000-6000?? I had a bike that did that years ago only at 9000-9500...it taugh me to stay above 9500 in the turns if I expected not to crash. I came into a turn in the wrong gear some I was about 8500-9000. after apexing I start rolling on the throttle, but unknown to me at the time the torque is dropping, so more throttle....then it hits 9500 and starts shooting up again taking the rear wheel loose in a very big way. lesson learned.

 

Yes, I can give you some for R&D Chaa for free! You only pay shipping which is $3,299

 

LOL!! nice one

 

Hay! I just thought, does not changing the brakes to big batsrd meaty ones make the 355 faster? Allowing deeper corner braking after greater speeds.

 

Absolutely.

The best return on your dollar will be to go to a good driving school.

 

Most sense you spoken all year on here dude...LOL!! joking ...

 

And just how would you know good common sense when you read it?

 

Hey 3 minutes,that was fast And you know dammed well i only read the bits i want to LOL!!!

 

Imola Racing in Germany has a 4 stage progression which they post HP increase figures for each stage. They claim an increase from the stock 380 to 450 HP. The Gruppe M air box is said to add 16 HP on a 5.2 car.

You can view the catalog @ www.dimex-group.com Go to the upper right and click on the English flag, unless you are fluent in German, then click on Imola, then accessories, then go to the bottom right and click on product list, then F355. It is outlined on page 10. Happy hunting!!

 

Hi Mike,

my car is a '95 F355 GTS 6sp as well. And I can admit: Better breakes would make me faster.
Sometimes I observe myself slowing down a little bit because I think my breakes were fading. (even if they don't, it's a matter of trust)
Maybe it's just an imagination or false alarm, but I like to stay on the secure side.
So I stop pushing the car hardly and don't call the whole engine power at highest revs.

In these situations, more power just in the higher revs (over 7.500) is not useful. So I would not pay $$$ for it.

A few weeks ago I ordered a pair of NAPerformance headers from Kevin
for our project car which is a 5.2 version with Fuchs muffler, metal cats and empty Y-pipe.
As soon as shipped and installed we can tell about improvements regarding
torque and throttle response etc.... Stay tuned.

cinque

 

Bike,
If you can't afford the GruppeM carbon fiber airboxes you can always go for the BMC carbon fiber airboxes. They give you the same extra HP that the GruppeM does but at a quarter of the price. Also expect a sweeter and slightly louder sound with them in place. Click on http://www.bmcairfilters.com/VisDetailCDA.asp?ID=40 to view them.

 

I know this is old when it says "NEW 1098" LOL.