360CS: test drive & questions

Today I test drove my first 360CS. What a fantastic machine! It feels so light, so nimble in a way that I only experienced in the Lotus Exige. And the chassis is so well balanced, it provides tons of feedback without ever feeling nervous, even on bumpy roads. I dare say that it gives more feedback and feels more user-friendly even than Lotus's excellent Exige Cup. I have to look at the financial side, but I'm very close to buying a 360CS, it's been a long time since I drove a Ferrari that felt so light and so brutally fast through the corners, without the extremeness of a race car - I had the feeling I could drive the 360CS gently every day to work, if so I wished.

I only have a couple of questions for the CS experts.

1) What is the real power rating? German magazines rated it at 425PS, while in Switzerland it's rated at 415... is there a real difference? Can the 425 HP software be downloaded?

2) Do hyperflow cats genuinely increase mid-range torque on this car?

Thanks
Andrea

 

when you're driving the CS, all those details you've asked about seem so superfluous. And no, I'm not trying to be coy, I'm serious. Just enjoy the sensational feeling that driving the CS in RACE mode gives you. That is all. I couldn't care less whether it had 425HP or 435HP or Hyperflows. Blipping that throttle and the backfires the car produces is just euphoric--nothing more, nothing less.

Peep this for starters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkcfuCFv2TA

The only thing, and I repeat, the ONLY thing that is perhaps a 'downside' to a CS is the lack of torque. Other than that, it is absolutely fantastic! Go for it and don't get caught up in the small details--enjoy the whole experience--in fact, that's what life is about!

 

+1

 

Well said!

 

I have to agree to that! However, if the hyperflow cats could ENHANCE the experience even further...

 

i hate to put a damper on your enthusiasm for high flow cats, but there sure seems to me to be a definite loss of low end torque. i don't know what the dyno torque/HP graphs show, but my butt dyno definitely felt a lack of punch at the low end when driving a stradale with high flow cats. you may not notice the difference unless you do a back-to-back driving comparison...which i did. i definitely felt a significant difference in low end torque when i drove a friend's hyperflow equipped stradale.

i am curious if anybody else has had the opportunity to do a back-to-back comparison of stradales with and without high flow cats?

one more thing. the US stradale has pre-cats in the headers and the euro stradale does not. the US stradale is not nearly as loud as the euro stradale. but when you put high flow cats on the US stradale (even with the stock exhaust) i'd say the car is twice as loud...but it's still not as loud as a euro stradale. now if you put high flow cats on a euro stradale i can't even imagine how loud that car would be!

 

I can't speak for the CS, but my standard 360 has no cats and makes more power everywhere. I have to assume the CS would gain the same if not more.

 

i think you are wrong about the CS.

 

That's funny, because I recall seeing a dyno curve showing that the CS gained mostly mid-range torque with the hyperflow cats, while the peak power only increased very slightly. I don't know if the curve was "doctored" or if the car had other mods, but it seemed quite clear that there was a performance improvement all around.

It would be interesting if anyone on Fchat had actually measured the car before and after on the dyno. Anyway, the CS I drove today was insanely loud, how did they make it legal I have no idea. Fantastic soundtrack, we raced down a country road at 120 mph in 4th gear, the local farmers looked at us as if we were aliens as we approached their sleepy village with this red monster... really great fun, I loved it.

 

A CS could be down on power after Fitting hyperflow CAT's if the ECU's where not reset afterwards and a full relearn done. The reason is that the engine computer softwre needs to re-learn the ignition timing, etc. and if its using previously learned info the torque could suffer as a result.

Solution is to try resetting the ECU (turn off the battery isolator switch for 30 seconds, - dont forget to have your becker radio code handy if you have one fitted!) and then drive for 20 miles. After this you should see at least 20hp gain with test pipes or 100CEL high flow race style cats.

Regards,

Trev

 

the CS is definitely a blast to drive...especially in 4th gear at 120MPH downa country road nothing better!

seriously though, i hope i'm wrong about the drop (noticeable drop) in low end torque. a before and after dyno would solve the mystery. i was leaning towards replacing my stock cats wityh high flow cats, but after i drove a stradale with high flow cats i decided against it. maybe it was a fluke. a one time "bad day". i'd like to find another stradale with high flow cats and do another test drive to make sure.

are there any stradale owners out there with high flow cats who would like to give their impressions on this?

 

Rick,

just put the f.g things in one of your cars, and we can all quit wondering. otherwise, let's table this discussion.

in the modern world, you can only go so fast, and a strad gets the job done whilst being the sexiest rig in the universe

 

Rick,

just put the f.g things in one of your cars, and we can all quit wondering. otherwise, let's table this discussion.

in the modern world, you can only go so fast, and a strad gets the job done whilst being the sexiest rig in the universe

 

You would be surprised at how LOUD the high flow cats make the stradale forget the performance ramifications for a minute. I don't think I could live with the sound 24x7 guess i'm getting old

 

But hey, you have two Stradales... why not install the HyperFlows on the other car and keep the other one stock. Then you can do some good comparison runs... and you don't have to live with the noise everytime you wanna take the CS for a ride since the other one is stock!

 

Rick, Didn't you mention that your friends CS, (in Vegas?) with the Fabspeed cats was not set up properly which may have resulted in your findings? Regardless, I personally have no confidence in Fabspeed's products or claims and believe they're not recognizedused by most Ferrari tuners.

 

Thanks for all the replies, a big point is still open though - I have looked on US, Italian and German magazines and they all rated the CS at 425HP. However, in Switzerland it's rated at 415. I need to find out if there is a difference in engine software for the Swiss market, in which case I definitely want to have it re-programmed.

 

I haven't seen anyone mention that different government agencies require the use different rating standards; SAE, DIN, ECE R24, 9768-EC, ISO14396, etc. It is all quite possible it is the same engine and ECU's, but different measurement techniques.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower

 

Another CS thread. Now I have to take mine out today! KInd of a like a drinking game and it's time to do a shot!!

I can see myself with another CS in the garage. Of course I have to get the F40 and 288GTO first.

Wish I was 25 again!!!

 

agreed! it's loud enough as is, i like to be able to soft peddle and have it be quiet [relatively] most of the time.... it's loud enough for me stock also!!!

Rick we hope to see you at the Coffee Bean in Malibu next Sundat at 9 am with one of your strads

 

To answer the question the user manual says 409 bhp. There was a thread ages ago about the discrepancy between this and the 425 (409 is consistent in both US and EU manuals). And someone got the answer from Ferrari that the extra HP came from ram-effect in "Dynamic" conditions. Which we took to mean that the air is going into the engine so fast at 170+ that you get a few extra bhp