How hard do you drive your F car?

I have a 840 HP Supra that I drive the **** out of... no matter what I do to it, I simply cant break it. As I get older I am thinking about stepping up to a gentleman’s sports car and picking up a 575.

My question is.... If I service it and take care of it how hard can I drive the car? If I shift at 6000 rpm the entire life of the car (after is warmed up of course) will the motor give up on me?

My fear is that I buy a 575 and have to baby it because its an "exotic" and "everything breaks"

If you compare the 575 to a Porsche Turbo I get the feeling that no matter how hard I drive the car it can take the abuse.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy?

 

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You're not crazy!

Buy one and find out.

 

The 575M engine is pretty much bulletproof. I wind mine to the redline at regular intervals. If well maintained (change transaxle oil annually vs every 2 years), no reason not to expect 100,000+ miles from a 575M drivetrain. 6000 rpm shifts are not much of a problem for a car with the rev limiter at 7600 rpm. The dual length intake manifold has barely shifted at 6000 rpm.

Drive a 575M hard all the time, though, and you are going to have some discussions with law enforcement. Unlike your Supra, there is not a whole lot of difference in feel between 80 mph and 140 mph, except everything is approaching more quickly. Easy to be going way faster than you think you are. Like Paul Frere and other test drivers have said when it started raining during high speed tests, the Maranello was the only one in the test they would have felt safe driving at near top speed. Certainly not the 911 Turbo.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Find out what, PAP? If he's crazy or not?

 

t78beast, Terry's summed it up well. You'd enjoy the 575M. It's refined but up to the task of some spirited driving.

Barry

 

What Terry said. I wouldn't worry too much about the maintenance costs though - the fines and legal costs will far outweigh them......think of the right pedal as connected to the horizon - you get the picture. 6k in 4th would get me locked up for quite some time.....

 

Gorgeous.
I love the N.A.R.T badge.

 

The reason many Ferrari drivers may not drive their cars as hard as Toyota drivers on a regular basis is not that the cars can't take it. A Ferrari is no less rugged (probably more) than a Supra. It's likely that Supra owners drive their cars harder more often because if you blow up a Toyota, it costs about 1/5 the cost of blowing up a Ferrari. We drive as we can afford.

 

Thanks, Michael. The N.A.R.T. badges are static-cling vinyl. It's my way of honoring Luigi Chinetti and displaying our colors...
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I drove the f... out of my 355 and the CS when I owned them. I am driving more gently with the 575...simply because of its nature as a GT. But I have never had any mechanical problem with any of the Ferrari I have owned. The engine is bullet proof.

Your Supra with over 700 hp will definitely feel more powerful, especially with the way the turbo engine delivers the power. The 575 is more linear in delivery but it still gains speed very quickly. You will be doing 250km/h in no time and it feels like 160 in most car. It is that stable.

There is no need to babysit the Ferrari if you use it regularly and maintain it correctly.

 

Put 10k miles on last year never thinking about anything but how much fun it is !

Like Terry said The 575M engine is pretty much bulletproof.
as is the 550, Just keep it well maintained.

But I would recommend getting a Valentine One Radar Detector and having it hard wired above the rear view mirror...that way it picks up everything front, rear, right, left.

And you don't go to jail

The more you drive it the better it likes it.

Good Luck,

Bill

 

This is how hard I drive my ferrari. I'm selling my SCCA T1 Z06 vette as of today. I won the regional title last year and now I'm bored with it. So when it sells I'll be turning my 550 into a track toy. First order of business double adjustable moton shocks!!!!! Then APR carbon wing, sticky tires, and 550 or 575 rear wheels on all 4 corners. I like square setups from racing the Z06.
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+1

 

Not at all, my 575MM shifts reline limit most of the time... when roads opens up, take it to 180+ mph several times... on and off the track events... hard heavy breaking into first corner... gone through 5 sets of tires for the past 8 years with all service up to date... two major timing belt service done... 35K miles as of today.....NEVER HAPPENED ONE SINGLE MECHANICAL PROBLEM (except one electrical instrument lighting went dark, and I changed the entire instrument)... Everything works, AC always work excellently even in hot trapical weather of Taiwan Island, Not a drop of fluid on the floor, steering wheel is still nice and straight at all speed without any unwanted vibration... still do 0 to 60MPH under 5 seconds and top speed over 180MPH anytime and chance permitted... Vs My old 993 Turbo which drop fluids all over, and my friend's 997 Turbo with broken front suspension and steering rack.... etc.... 575MM by far to me is the best trouble free Ferrari...

Alex Lin

 

There you go.....

Alex Lin

 

What are you going to do in terms of weight removal? Please be sure to post the results online.

 

send me info on your t1 vette. ive been toying with getting a track day car with options to try out "real" racing.

 

Thank you all for your reply. You have turned me into a believer, now I just have to find the right 575 for sale.... I am in no rush - if it takes 6 months to find the perfect car so be it.

Mark

 

Mark, I've owned Supras for over 20 years, and currently have 2 MKIV's, one at BPU and one highly modified, singled car, probably similar to yours.

I purchased a 550 last year for reasons, again, similar to yours. Feel free to PM me if you wish, and I'll be happy to discuss what the ownership experience is like in comparison to the Supra.

 

If you're talking about driving hard and fast on the ROAD- well that's a different animal than tracking the car-

I think you'll find one consistent thing amongst Ferrari owners- those that drive their cars frequently and drive the car in the method it was intended to be driven by the designers suffer FAR less problems than the weekend "Garage Queen" Ferrari owners.

Driving any machine hard and fast means you're eventually going to break something- but the nagging mechanical issues that plague many fcar owners DO NOT usually plague those of us who are able to drive our cars very regularly at speed.

 

I agree, Jay. In my case it was upper and lower front ball joints and the steering rack which had to be replaced at ~ 66.000 miles.

Barry

 

Barry,

Love the way you use your car!

you make me ashamed that I only have 30k....lol

Bill

 

You're catching up to me, Bill!

I take it to concours too. So clean and shiny.
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