Road trip in your Ferrari. Think twice.

I decided to make a drive to my hometown in SC which is 700 miles one way. I stopped off in Jacksonville both ways to break up the trip. My friend in Jax made the trip to SC and back. It sounded like a lot of fun on paper, a road trip in your Ferrari.

I now have to have the entire front end including the fenders repainted bc of about 3 or 400 rock chips. I had about a dozen before the trip in 15 months of driving around here . No I don't have a 3M bra but half of them are above the protected zone anyway and on the fenders. Let's add in poor roads, road construction and bugs into the mix as well and constant rain the whole trip back to Florida. It felt like I burned through the bottom of the front bumper bc it scraped so many times. I don't remember the roads being that bad back home. I stopped for gas on the way to Jax and the front was black from so many dead bugs. Do I need to mention it was a horrible trip?

On a positive note, the car ran well the whole trip there and back until I arrived in Boca, then the 'check engine' lite came on. It seems to be running sluggish now or maybe it's my imagination. Maybe it got tired of the pouring rain. I just took it by the body shop today and they will begin the work on Monday. Skid plates going on as well. I will get it checked out after the paint job.

I am not one to fret over a car, even this one, but I will never make a long trip like that again in a Ferrari or any sports car. A drive through the mountains would be different but I would ship the car there and back.

Oh well, paint, detail job and a trip to the shop and I will forget all about it.

 

Pick your seasons, pick your weather.

It could be memorable ... in a positive sort of way.

 

That's a downer. I've always had a great time, sounds like you are indeed picking the wrong road.

 

It's no fun doing a trip like that if your stressing about it. Some people could care less others wouldn't even consider it. Depends on what your tolerance level is.

 

I agree. Roads are lousy. Construction areas will rip your axles off. Bugs. Critters. Bad drivers. Weather.

You really need to pick your spots and do a pre-drive on the route to check crappy road conditions.

It's only paint and skid plates. Hope the cel is no biggie.

 

But was the trip more fun than sitting in the garage looking at a parked car?

 

LOL! Just back from 6000km (=about 3600 miles) in 11 days in a 1964 Ferrari - see Australian thread "W H Lowe" rally and also Napolis' tagline!

 

Sorry to hear it. I took mine to Tampa and back a few months ago, 1500 miles total. Overall a good trip despite the boring roads. I picked up a few rock chips but not too bad. I am cautious though and try to drive apart from other cars and not follow anyone. Of course that can be hard to do. If all goes correctly I'll be driving it to CA in a bit over a month from now. Also, the Mondial doesn't have the clearance issues like so many others do.

 

Yeah.. SC roads can be rough. I blame a a decline in DMV budgets.. the potholes, oh the potholes. Sorry to hear about it. :-(

 

If anything, the 328 has forced me to learn patience.

Even though traffic doesn't move as fast as I'd like --- or even up to the speed limit -- I've learned not to tailgate.

The 328 can drive *around* potholes -- but only if I see them.
Following too closely means that I don't see the pothole in time.

Increasing the following distance not only reduces stone chips, but it gives you a chance to avoid the rougher patches of road.


And, yes, it can be difficult.

I've figured out the mental process (sic) around here:

If they're not being tail-gated, they think they're going too fast, and they slow down.
If they are being tail-gated, they think *you're* going too fast, and they slow down.

 

Whats the point of paying all that money for such a cool & awesome to ride car, and then whenever the road trip is longer than the length of your driveway use a daily driver?

Get a clear bra made for fenders etc, or alternatively, live with it and repaint affected area's every 6/12 months.

 

Back when I bought my 1st 512TR I showed up at the dealership in Ft Lauderdale, FL & Benn asked me "so wheres your transporter". I told him "I'm driving it to CT". He was astounded and said "I wish I had more customers like you"

Took me 2 1/2 days but I had fun and learned a lot about the car.

Been thinking about a roadtrip but I'd definately take the Z06, amazing car and tons of luggage room too

 

I had the same thing happen to me in a Stradale, except it was after a weekend at the track.

The reality is you can use Ferraris as cars. The question is why? So yes, next time, ship your car to the Smokies or the Dacks, have a blast, and then fly home.

Funny man. You're gonna need room for a lot of benjamins if you drive that beast cross country. Seriously how far down I-95 do you think you can make it without being stopped?

Dale

 

Would 3M have avoided a repainting job?

With the sand on the roads here, 3M or frequent repaintings is pretty much standard procedure.

You might want to try 3M after the new paint job dries.

 

Cry me a river.

 

Having driven my cars over 600K miles rock chips aren't something I worry about.
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I like to refer to this as "patina". This helps me create the illusion that I'm adding value as I drive it. ;-)

 

I agree that trips appear like good ideas "on paper" often don't turn out the way one would hope. In fact, Top Gear recently had a story where the presenters were going to drive super cars on one of the best roads in America (in Tennessee?). They got all geared up to go, started off, and realized that the speed limit was 40 MPH almost the entire route.

I, personally, love the idea of getting up on Sunday morning and taking the car out for a nice drive on some deserted curvy country roads. The reality is that I live in the Dallas area, and it takes me 30 minutes just to get to the country, and then there aren't that many curves. I usually end up behind some truck or bicycle going 8 miles per hour. Occasionally I drive a couple of hours from the Dallas area to visit family members. I've often thought about taking the Mondial on such trips and sticking entirely to back roads. The reality is, however, that I'm usually in a hurry to get to my destination, and in more of a hurry to get home. This relegates me to the highways which, honestly, aren't that fun in the Mondial. (No cruise control, loud exhaust, offset driving position, etc.)

You already mentioned the downsides of such driving with the wear and tear on the cars.

 

I drive the thing all the time. I'm not afraid of miles or a bit of damage but this was excessive for the return. Things would have been different if I had taken a weekend through great winding roads and had a blast.

I really don't like the look of the 3M bra. I'll just repaint as necessary.

 

If it's not too late, I suggest getting the mechanicals sorted prior to the paint job. The paint will still be curing and will be at its most vulnerable for the first few weeks...that's not when you want the technicians leaning on and working around the paint.

 

Good advice. Thanks Ted.

 

The only way to avoid or minimize risk of insult from rock chips is to drive no closer than 1/4mi behind ANY other car ahead, and that's nearly impossible on major interstates. If you got that many chips you were following too closely to avoid them, and you probably couldn't do so w.volume of traffic.

 

Yes, think twice. Think twice why you haven't done it before!

It's just metal, plastic, and rubber. Whatever it is, it can be fixed --or not fixed.

 

I like the looks of paint chips less. You takes your choice and you pays the piper.

But we sand the roads here, so it's a big problem just driving around town.

May the horse be with you.

 

The Boxer collected its share, easily in the hundreds. The only ones that concerned me were those deep enough to expose metal, so they got a dab of paint (a careful one, mind you, but not a sand/respray). When the restoration is done, all new marks will collect around the nose, happily.
For this reason, the shop was instructed, from the beginning, not to give it a trailer-queen paint job, because it would be driven. On roads. Real roads.
Everything will be correct, subtle lines and contours preserved, and the paint itself a beautiful new canvas for road rash, collected by doing what the car was built to do.

The 400GT that Brettski is handling for me will garner the same peppering around its face.

It is part of the "patina", added value (LMAO) or not, earned the right way. That is its value to me.

For me, it sure beats the alternative of the cars we've all seen with complex, mirror-perfect paint, detailed suspension, and some super-duper Hemi with Titanium everything in it's mega-horsepower engine that's never been started in its pitiful six years of "existence" or rolled a tire on an uncarpeted floor - ever.

Like our own grey hairs appearing, enjoy the road to that peppering around the face....with only an occasional trip to the salon for that little "youthful touch-up".