Will 328 concave wheels fit on an ABS car?

Anyone know if the pre-1988.5 wheels on the 328 (concave) will actually work on an ABS car (1988.5 -1989)? I am not fond of the look of the convex wheels used on the later ABS models. However I figure Ferrari had good reason to put them on there. I prefer the older style wheels and want to know if they are something I could swap if I come across a nice ABS car.

Sean

 

No they won't fit. There were suspension changes for the ABS cars. There are aftermarket wheels I believe from speedline that might fit your eye.

 

Darn!

 

Just for the sake of education . . . what is it about the older wheels that make them not fit on an ABS 328? Do they rub somewhere, are the offsets wrong ?? Just curious now.

 

This thread should answer your curiosity. The main issue is the offset differences between the two styles.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212386

 

The Mondial 8 workshop manual explains:
"Very low offset (10.8mm at the ground) to improve stability under braking conditions and to minimize kick-back on steering wheel"

They probably could have achieved this by simply changing the wheel offset and the wishbones to set the swivel axis farther out but in order to accomodate the ABS the entire suspension is a different design with a "live" stub axle to feed rotation through to the inboard-mounted sensor, instead of a fixed one.

Personally I prefer the convex wheels!

 

So do I, Andy, not only because my GTB and my GTS have indeed convex wheels, but visually I always associate concave wheels with the 308; I don't know why, but to me I prefer the 328 with convex wheels...

 

Thanks to all who replied. My "clue" bag continues to fill up.

 

If you want to know that actual offset differences:

Concave:

Front - 7" +11.15
Rear - 8" + 11.35

Convex:

Front - 7" +38
Rear - 8" + 63.5

Go find an offset calculator and monkey about with the differences and you will see exactly why they don't work.


Supposedly the newer suspension does away with some of the less robust aspects of the older style suspension (fragile stub axles, etc.). I have heard this from several sources but I cannot confirm if there is any truth to it as I don't even know what a stub axle is.

 

Sherpa,

I have already written this, but there were two reason given;
One, to simplify the spare parts procurement, as the triangles, etc...for the "new" suspension are the same as the "Mondial" parts (see the parts catalogue). The period bulletin says "reason for the change: standardisation with the Mondial parts".
Two, to lessen kickback and reactions into the steering wheel when driving on bad revetment roads; according to the period magazines I have, this was achieved: "Sport Auto", the french leading sports cars magazine at this time said, in its June 1988 edition: "with the new suspension, the 328 is now cured of its main drawback, it is now not at all tiring to drive, when driven for a long period of time on bad revetment roads".

Best

 

Thats all true, but there was likely the third reason which nobody would have known at the time the change was made, which was ability fit ABS at a later time. It would not have been possible to fit ABS on the old setup because there is nowhere for the toothed wheel to fit. The Teves ABS system is an old system and uses a large sensor and toothed wheel which are located inboard of the bearing. So when they changed they used an ABS-compatible design.

 

True Andy, we discussed it in another thread a few weeks ago and you illustrated it convincingly with pictures of the front uprights.

Perhaps we could add as a "caveat" that the datas for tuning the geometry of the front suspension, such as toe-in, etc...is indeed different for the cars with the "older" suspension and concave wheels, and those with the "newer" suspension and convex wheels...so don't get mixed-up here and have the correct driver's manual for your car!