What are the BEST options to look for on the 550?

none. i had the usual on my shopping list and don't miss any of them.....

carbon fiber - yeah its nice and shiny
daytona inserts - my fat ass is on the seat anyhow
rear shelf - don't notice it, cramped back there
shields - maybe but i rather people think the car was supra
modular wheels - gotta have $$$ and impossible to find

i'd be concerned with options that you want but could not later add without significant $$$$. like the HGTC pkg on a 575.

 

Agree with henryr that options are not very important when looking for a 550.

I hate the carbon fiber stuff. I don't like the modular wheels. I like the Daytona seats but my own 550 doesn't have them and I don't miss it. Same for the quilted leather on the shelf and roof.

What I would look for: contrasting carpets (not a fan of the all-tan interior), shields, coloured calipers, and a dark exterior colour. Piping on the seats is nice but not necessary. Fiorano Handling Pack is very rare, and I'm not sure it is a plus - the car is fine as standard in my opinion (if you don't track your 550 regularly).

All this is much less important than finding a top-quality example. Really go for the best, it's worth it.


Onno

 

B Wheels absolutely MAKE THE CAR!

Shelf is a must. Adds richness to the interior and eliminates the carpet problem.

FHP is nice when you want it but for DD'ing, the the brakes squeal like a stuck pig at every light.

CF, nice to look at but no deal breaker.

Daytonas add but not as much as 250.

Sheilds, ONLY if they happen to be there (with yellow calipers) but I'd never order them.

Luggage is nice for taking up closet space when your (once used) exercise bike simply has to go!

 

Titanium wheel centers

hehe


Yeah, I've got em
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Yeah, those are definitely worth the extra scratch.

 

575 modular wheels!

PS: And a great sounding aftermarket exhaust, is REQUIRED!
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My 550 had the Carbon Fiber package, Daytona seats and the 250GT rear shelf. I liked all of it when the car was standing still. It was all is meaningless when you are driving.

 

The 550 is pretty much perfect as it is.

Perhaps if you track it, the fiorano handling package would be a huge bonus, as its incredibly rare. The rest of the options are more personal things of what you would or wouldn't like.

For me, an absolute must are the scuderia shields, they make the car. About the biggest turn off there is on the 550 are the modular wheels, they look incredibly weird if you ask me. Very small and too much chrome for my liking.

My perfect 550 would have the following options:
Rosso corsa
black/red stitching
Fiorano Handling pack
Sport seats (they sit lower and would be a huge benefit for me so I don't have to fold double)
Scuderia shields

I'm starting to look next year. I know the car described above is incredibly rare, especially to come on the market so I won't look for much of the above. I want a good one and not something pretty to look at.

Another favorite of mine is the 550 WSR, only 34 made and all finished in grigio titanio with bordeaux interior, omp roll bar, sport seats, shields, FHP. They're super rare though, especially since 10 of them are RHD so that makes finding a LHD one even harder.

 

I personally like 550s / 575s hard loaded..

For me.. Modulars are a MUST, and i really like the quilted shelf and headliner and the Carbon interior... One option that is hard to find, but very cool is the race seats..

 

Straight pipes!
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550/575s suck. tell all your friends.

the big balla's drive the butt mounted v8's. put some strip down the middle and your good to go.

 

LOL. Good idea. The fewer people hunting for those perfect 550s or 575s, the better.

 

I think these cars are just about perfect with no options.

The one thing I would get though, would be a carbon shift knob, I just love those things.

 

Cosmetic mods don't do much for me, although I do have some of that shiny CF. Shields, Daytona seats and a quilted shelf are nice, but they are for people who look at the car while standing still with a cup of coffee in their hands. Lighter, wider wheels and an aftermarket exhaust are driver's mods and are two things that will make a 550 go faster. A better radio and a built in radar detector will make your driving experience more enjoyable. Look for a car that has already had the most expensive stuff done (wheels, exhaust, radio), because the seller's return on investment is almost nil. Then add the goodies that you think that you must have. In any event, a bone stock 550 if far from a piece of junk.

 

+1 - the stock is too quiet. The best thing would be the stock exhaust with opening valves (preferably operated by manual switch) as per later F's but such a thing is not available as far as I know. My Tubi is fine on the road but idling in a street it annoys the heck out of people. Would be nice if I could switch it off occasionally, not for myself but for them (what can I say - I'm a nice guy).


Onno

 

You have come across several people who were annoyed by an idling Ferrari V12?

What's the world coming to...

From my experience 95% of people on roads love to hear Ferraris.

 

My car came with a built-in radar detector. I like it a lot more than I thought I would.

I used to have the stock exhausts with the mod to open the flaps at idle and close them when the engine was turned off. That is better than the stock set-up where it only opens at higher rpm's. I recently bought a set of Tubis for it. I got the new "575" stamped Tubi tailpipes (the quieter "road" version, not the "corsa" race version). I left the center pipe stock. This is a very pleasant set-up if you want just a little bit of rumble at low rpm and while accelerating, but near-stock near-quiet sound while cruising down the highway (no droning sound at all).

I have the stock wheels now. The good part is they are easy to keep clean.
Any ideas on where I can buy the modular ones?
Or recommendations for aftermarket modular wheels?

 

Mine too, a K40 radar/laser detector. I'm glad it did!

Barry

 

Onno - I believe I read somewhere on another Fchat thread that there was a mod originally developed by Corvette folks that provided that functionality - essentially it was an in-car mounted switch that opened and closed the valves at the driver's discretion. Do a search and you might find it. If it does what it says it does, that would be a very appealing mod.

ketel

 

I think you're referring to the discussion at the bottom of this thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239594

starting at post 76