360 vs. f430

I think u better do a search first. This has been asked quite a bit.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65075&highlight=360+f430

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69973&highlight=360+f430

 

I had a 360...just got my 430 2 weeks ago....2 words:

DO IT!!

 

+1

 

The F430 is an amazing car. It is going to the next level (=.

 

It depends on why you own a car. They look very similar and drive very differently. Is it worth the difference? If you have the money yes, if not, consider how you drive. The motor is more powerful, chassis stiffer, and technologically better. Driving around the city, I am not sure it matters.
Getting it out and driving it on the highway or track, the diferences are dramatic and significantly positive. Best

 

The most dramatic difference for me is the shift speed (reduced latency) of the F1 system of the F430 vs. the 360. Puts a grin on my face every time I drive it!

 

shift speed and torque . the 430 5hits on the 360 , looks included IMHO . own one for a while , the body is stunning as is the interior . can't wait until the 430 successor comes out with the same shift speed as the 599 . will raise the bar again .

 

I had a 2003 360 six speed and I loved it. It always gave me trouble free service.

I got my 2006 F430 F1 in Dec of 2006. It is a faster car with a much better engine sound than the 360. The handling on the F430 is a little better than the 360. My comparison is the Lotus Sport i have. Comparing the two cars the Lotus drove more agile than the 360. The F430 is much closer and maybe only a "tick" behind the Lotus feel.

The ergonomics of the F430 are easier to live with, i.e. buttons and such are much better placed. I love the yellow clutch facia, it is just beautiful.

F430 does not make the 360 feel like a dated chasis. The cars just feel like they are tuned differently.

I bought an F1 on my F430. The F1 on the 360 was to abrubt in my view. I liked the 6 speed and whie I like the F1 I miss the hot rod feel. I bought the F1 in part because I wanted to try one for a few years and see how i like it and all of my other sport cars are 6 of 5 speed manuals. The F1 on the F430 is excellant.

I wish I could help more. i love and respect both cars.

Good luck,

Lee

 

I love the F430. You deffinatly should get it. I am also from Car-parazzi.

 

Go for the F430. Its nicer than a 360! And its faster!

 

Thats pretty sound advice I have had my 360 about a month and for around the town and country roads this is plenty of car it performs really well and is a great deal of pleasure to drive I am not sure the extra $100K or there abouts is worth it for that kind of driving. I may move to a 430 in a year or so depends on where the prices settle down at.

Martin

 

I thought of the 360 as a disappointment, and was wary of buying a 430 as it seemed so similar (in looks). I was wrong, the 430 so far, seems a very solid, and well performing car. Build quality is leaps ahead, and it drives much, much better. Not totally sold on the looks, but it does drive well, and the gearbox is great. I wouldn't buy another 360, and with hindsight I wouldn't have bought the first. Need a bit more time with the 430 before making such a judgement, but so far, I would say I would buy one (with hindsight).

BUT, the above advice from RBK is spot on. If the drive is not *that* important to you, and price is a concern, then the 360 does look very similar (but for some strange reason it is starting to look dated next to a 430 imo??). But I assure you they drive very different!

 

My perspective on this is a little different. I think they are both very similar cars, both with very similar in their shape profiles and are essentially the same in may ways.

I work in the technology field and to be frank I'm fed up with companies offering V2, arguing because its 'better' than V1.9. For the same reason I am not upgrading to Vista from XP 'just because' it looks nicer and does a few fancy things better. XP does my requirements just fine thanks. If I where to change OS it would probably be for something completely different, perhaps a Mac OS-X just for the change. Its very easy to get into the mode of being in a perpetual 'upgrade' cycle...

Anyway, even Ferrari admit that the 430 is an evolution of the 360cs with a trick electronic rear diff added, more power and stiffer chassis and next version of the software in the automatic gearbox.

Style, looks are in the eye of the beholder (like trying to convince a blonde is better than a brunette). If you'd never seen a 360 or a 430 before I think they'd both look good but for me the 360cs is the nicer looking (thats my opinion and not everyone agree's). I do agree however that over time i am getting more 'used' to the F430 looks, especially now I've been in one, poke around it, etc. Interior has definately improved a few percentage points.

If your one of those people that must have the latest and greatest, the latest sunglasses, the latest jeans, the latest phone then yes upgrade your 360 to a 430. I just question the motives if you already have a 360 though, the 360 is a challenging car to fully get to grips with (even on a track). It will give me many years more pleasure learning its handling. I run out of talent before the car does Power, 400hp is ample, its more than enough for the roads I drive on. Again its the analogy, you can never have enough memory in a PC, sure 4GB of memory is better than 2GB, but do I *really* need 4GB? Erm, no.

In summary if I was going to change car, i'd probably opt for something completely new to me, probably the new Lamborgini Gallardo Superlegger, i.e. the 360CS of the Gallardo, in fact the new rival to the F430CS if you like. Then again, right now I'm having so much fun in my 360 I cannot see the reason to change it.

 

This is a strange comment. I dont know how someone can consider a 360 a 'dissapointment' then a 430 to be so much better. What is the criteria for this conclusion? Sure the 430 has more power but it has a similar feel, interiors a bit better, powers a bit more, handlings a bit sharper, similar interior space, same mid engine configuration, similar looks (same doors, same roof, same front bonnet/hood), yes a stiffer chassis, yes a trick e-diff but if you didnt like the 360 I dont know how you'd like the 430 that much more... if anything its just like the change from Office XP to Office 2003. Yes ofcourse office 2003 is better but really worth paying again ? Only you can decide if your disposable income is worth blowing for these incremental version updates....

I am not sure I agree totally about build quality differences, I have been happy enough with my 360's build quality, cannot see a vast difference here. Gearbox wise, its just the same/similar software shift speed as the 360CS, the stock 360 automatic (sorry, f1, in marketing speak) is actually software upgradeable on the stock 360 modena/spider. (ah, back to version numbers again..).

 

Not that strange when you consider that its my opinion.

I don't think the 360 has a similar feel at all. The 360 had a nasty traction control system and understeered quite badly, despite having great initial turn in. Grip wasn't all that great at low speeds (my 355 felt like it had more mechanical grip) although it did have better (than 355) high speed stability.

The 430 interior feels a lot more quality and better put together. The 360 was not poor quality, but not as good as 430.

The most disappointing aspect of the 360 was that its handling was poor, and performance was not far ahead of the 355.

If you have a CS, then we are talking a different kettle of fish. I had a spider, and had driven both a CS and a modena. The CS was very different to both. Its F1 box was a lot better, and handling was improved.

If you have driven a 430, and still think the standard 360 is not far different, then that's great for you and you have no reason to change.

For me, the 430 was the last alternative, as the Gallardo didn't do it for me enough, and a CGT is difficult to find at £200k, £250k is not affordable for me. So far, I'm quite happy with the 430. Unfortunately it sounds pants though! lol. Enjoy your Ferrari.

 

The reputation for tricky on the limit handling on the 360 is grossly exaggerated. I think the tyres and alignment have a lot to do with the handling variances on some 360's I have been in. I was really surprised how much understeer my car had when I first drove it hard. This however really is to protect the novice driver from having to control turn in, roll induced oversteer fish tailing the rear end, how many regular drivers know how to catch the tail? How many know not to take their foot clean off the throttle (exacerbating the problem?).

There are actually inexpensive ways to massively improve handling on 360's. The stock alignment settings are a comprise designed in for optimal tyre wear. I would say before you discount the 360 altogether is try driving another example. If the cars been driven by people who bounce it onto kerbs or if the wheels have any signs of scratches or kerbing its HIGHLY likely that the alignment is WAY OUT, on mid engine cars this massively effects the drive. This may have been the case on your 360 Spider. A good specialist (not a tyre fitter!) needs to do full 4 wheel laser alignment, ideally with track spec alignment settings for the full transformation but it really makes a shocking difference. Every time I buy a car (even new ones can be awful in this respect!) I always go to a specialist and get the alignment done properly. Incidentally most people dont know but alignment should be done every time the tyres are changed, in fact every time the wheels are taken off and put back on actually!

Taking it a stage further, even ignoring the spring rates (20% too soft for the job, corrected on the 360cs) and just fitting new wheels with the same tyre dimensions as a 360CS and some more negative camber dramatically adjusts the cars attitude. Its a little bit more likely that a novice could spin the car with this configuration but with good Pirelli P-Zero's you get LOTS of feedback warning. An advanced driver training course can teach how to interpret these signals so you know you are close to the limit. Obviously stiffening up the spring rates and fitting a thicker rear anti-roll bar (just lift the one from the 360cs) and your on a whole new level again. Regarding gearbox speed on the F1, just flash the software from a 360CS into your stock 360 for the full on fast changes. All this can be done inexpensively and you'll surprise yourself how much of a difference this makes (particuarly apparent, day&night differences are felt on the track!).

 

Agree with much of what you say, the 360 can be improved considerably by changes to the geo and changing the skinny puny front wheels, they are not up to the job of gripping, but give great initial feel and turn in.

I know of a car that has had such modifications and it drove much better. It still is not powerful enough though, and you can drive with t/c off all the time, but it still isn't the safest thing. It is very tyre pressure sensitive as you point out.

A Gallardo for example will walk away.

For me, I wouldn't buy another, and wish I'd stuck with my 355 until the 430, but for someone else, it may be great. Luckily we are not all the same!

Enjoy your car.

 

Hi Trev,

Would you mind sharing your alignment settings?

BTW, I love my 360. I have had it on the track multiple times. I think the 360's exterior appearance is much nicer and more graceful than the 430 in the way that the side and hip scoops blend into the body lines. However, I have to admit that I prefer the 430's interior given that they did away with the aluminum trim at the doors and center console. I went with a black interior on the 360 specifically to reduce the contrast between aluminum and leather that you would get with a tan interior. To each his own and they are all wonderful cars to own.


Lou

 

Do you have a picture of your car? I may have a friend interested. I've been searching and I wasn't able to find one of your 360 (and also your Gallardo)?

Thanks.

 

I have a 360F1 Spider and have a 430 F1 Spider on order (my number hasn't come up yet)

I had a 355 F1 GTS and think the handling and performance of the 360 is heads and shoulders over the 355.

Looks to me like the 430 has the obvious hp advantage. (HP is like love, you can't ever get enough.) To me the timing chain over the timing belt service issue is huge. Am also considering ceramic brakes...they look great and little brake dust to clean.

So far I like the looks of the 360 better. I think it is a classier looking car. In the drivers seat the view out front looks like what I would imagine a vintage Fcar with the raised front fenders would seem like. I just love it. With the Tubi exhaust the sound is fantastic. It is the best handling car I have ever owned, Porsches and all.

 

Seriously, after owning a 360 I can't imagine needing anymore power. We can all thank the 360 for cars like the Lambo G and Porsche CGT. Now if I had more disposable income I would step up into a 430 or Porsche CGT, for the money my used 360 is all I need to satify my car enthusiast / driver needs and then some.

 

I came from the other direction. Having driven 650hp Skyline GT-R's I can honestly say extra power *is* addictive, ofcourse it is but the more important question is, is this extra power really worth the extra cash (objective?). Lets face it when real roads are really taken into account your talking about a very small amount of time on full throttle, perhaps it would be better to install NOS!

For me, no, I wouldnt even bother, I find it difficult enough to unleash the power of my 360, firstly because of congestion, road conditions, etc. and secondly because I dont drive my car everyday anyway, so its always an occasion to unleash it. Ofcourse there are quicker cars however with a nice sports exhaust fitted there really is no better sound than driving through a tunnel with the window down... pure brilliance!

 

I'd probably be more of a "look" guy myself. I know of a company in my parts that make complete carbon fiber frontends for both 430 and 360s. Has anyone heard of them? 110Motoring?