355 spider chassis, solid or not?

No problems for me and being in the UK the roads are covered in pot holes! Car seems almost as stiff as my Exige I had

 

I have a 97' Spider, no problem on street/canyon driving; the berlinetta more chassis rigidity on the track.

 

No issues for me either. I had a convertible continuously since 1978 or so and the 355 is the best chassis so far in a drop top.

A friend has a spider that was clipped and its pretty darn solid after the repair.

I am not one of the .3 % that can get 100% out of a car driving at 50+ years old.

Go for it they are a blast

 

I love my Spider, no vibration issues, or anything to make me believe its not solid or rigid. Ferrari added additional strength to the floor to stiffen it up, I read an article that its nearly identical to the GTS as far as rigidity. My top works flawlessly. The sound of the engine and exhaust with the top down is just spectacular. Also, it is the single best convertible I've ever been in. I always hated convertibles because of the wind buffeting. The F355 Spider has such great aerodynamics, (it should, Ferrari spent 1800 hrs in wind tunnel testing the Spider) you do not feel any wind buffeting at all. At 60 mph with the top down you and your passenger can have a conversation without so much as raising your voices (in 5th or 6th gear). Best looking version of the F355 is the Spider IMHO. Good luck!

 

Check but I'm pretty sure the vert has thicker sill box tubes to improve stiffness. However, IMO the entire 348/355 line are flexy flyers but I am a racer so my datapoints are a bit skewed. Each iteration of V8 improved in stiffness. Each car is progressively faster/quicker not only due to increased HP but also a chassis that allows the suspension do work as engineered.

 

Well said! After a year and a half of ownership with my Spider, I wouldn't want to part ways for another version of the car. I've had many top end cars and the F355 Spider holds its own on every twisty road I've put it on. The performance, the looks and the unreal sound that exists the exhaust with the top down on a beautiful summer day, cannot be matched. You'll only believe it when you drive one. Don't let the mechanics of the top scare you away either, it's a very simple system to use and if you know how it works, raising it or lowering it is elementary. Lastly, Hagerty pricing has valued the Spider second to the Berlinetta, third goes to the GTS. For some reason many believe that the Spider is less valuable then the other versions, however this is false information.

 

The first Ferrari race car was without a fixed roof. I think it's safe to say Ferrari knew how to create a stiff chassis when they made the 355...

 

I have a 1996 F355 Spider. I love this car. Is it stiff? Well, yes, its reasonably stiff but not as stiff as the Berlinetta. No convertible can ever be as stiff as its hardtop counterpart, even with significant frame reinforcing.

Stiffness depends on resistance to torsion. The structural property that resists torsion is moment of inertia. This is mathematically far more dependent on the distance between the outermost steel members (ie: floor/roof/side pillar elements) than how much steel is there. This is so because the distance value in the formula is taken to the 4th power whereas the steel cross sectional area remains linear. If you double the steel area, you get double the stiffness. But, if you double the distance between the same steel members, you get 16 times the stiffness! When you are dealing with several feet between the roof, floor and side pillars, both vertically and laterally, this adds up in a hurry.

In any convertible, you have basically cut the body in half vertically with now only the floor/frame element to work with instead of the much more rigid space frame made up of the floor, roof and side pillars (closed doors help a little but not very much). The remaining vertical portion of the moment of inertia is now measured in inches instead of feet, the huge advantage of the space frame now being lost. No matter how much you reinforce the frame, you just can't make up that kind of difference.

So, is a 355 Spider stiff? Yes, quite stiff considering. Compared to most other convertibles, its very stiff indeed. Just not as stiff as its hardtop counterpart. The laws of physics are against you.

 

THat was interesting, thanks

 

For some reason many believe that the Spider is less valuable then the other versions, however this is false information.[/QUOTE]

??? If Spiders are that valuable then why are there so many for sale relative to B's and GTS's? Value is a function of supply and demand. Spiders are nice cars no doubt but I would bet my left nut that Spiders are in the least demand of the three given the supply out there and therefore carries the least value, Hagerty's notwithstanding.

 

??? If Spiders are that valuable then why are there so many for sale relative to B's and GTS's? Value is a function of supply and demand. Spiders are nice cars no doubt but I would bet my left nut that Spiders are in the least demand of the three given the supply out there and therefore carries the least value, Hagerty's notwithstanding.[/QUOTE]

Don't go betting your "Left Nut" just yet, I wouldn't want you to lose something so important, so quickly. Production numbers of each model play a massive role, I believe Spiders were built in higher numbers, however I would have to double check the registry. Spiders are also plagued with misinformation regarding their roof operation. This tends to scare away many potential buyers and really motivates a sale of a Spider owner if he/she is given a high repair cost for said convertible roof. Convertible vehicles have always been a "Seasonal" item, some purchased for the warm seasons to be quickly sold during the cold. The Spider is no exception in this case. Berlinetta and GTS owners are also said the be "Purist" of the Ferrari Brand. Many don't find themselves ever wanting to sell their models, resulting in fewer selling. All of these issues play into Spiders being plentiful, but how it stands, current market value has placed the Spider in second place. Lastly, the margin between the three isn't immense, a few thousand to be correct. Let's not get carried away a make it thousands upon thousands between the three.

 

Trends account for less drop top sales
15 years ago drop tops accounted for 7-10% of new sales, today it's 1-2% in the USA
Is it from the new retractable hard tops or folks just scared of the sun, paranoia, Folks just lazy or don't want deal with a soft top.
This is something industry insiders have the finger on the pulse debating each development cycle what to do.
To me nothing as beautiful as a drop top

 

Spiders are not plagued with misinformation, they are plagued with problems. Shall we list them?

Seat potentiometer always break and stop it from working.
Micro-switches break and make the windows or the seat not work
Mis-alignment of the frame so that the fork does not drop into the right place and the top does not close properly
Rubber-bands stretch and do not pull the top hard enough to get the secondary ramps to work
Hydraulics needing to be "serviced"
Hard to operate instructions: stop, pull over, pull handbrake, unlatch by hand, push back top til it beeps, push button (remove your face from the steering wheel) until it beeps, now get out and stretch the boot cover on, get back in, release hand brake, and drive off.

Yesterday I drove a friend's Porsche 997 cabriolet. It was hot, so I pulled off the side of the road, push 1 button and within 15 seconds the top was out from under the boot cover and latched onto the car, finished. That is a top. No seat potentiometers, no window going up or down, no getting out to latch the cover on, no hand brake, no nothing ! It just works.

I am happy for the 1% of the spider owners that do not have problems. The 99% of us other spider owners all do. I have one right now that I have not bothered to fix yet.

 

Don't go betting your "Left Nut" just yet, I wouldn't want you to lose something so important, so quickly. Production numbers of each model play a massive role, I believe Spiders were built in higher numbers, however I would have to double check the registry. Spiders are also plagued with misinformation regarding their roof operation. This tends to scare away many potential buyers and really motivates a sale of a Spider owner if he/she is given a high repair cost for said convertible roof. Convertible vehicles have always been a "Seasonal" item, some purchased for the warm seasons to be quickly sold during the cold. The Spider is no exception in this case. Berlinetta and GTS owners are also said the be "Purist" of the Ferrari Brand. Many don't find themselves ever wanting to sell their models, resulting in fewer selling. All of these issues play into Spiders being plentiful, but how it stands, current market value has placed the Spider in second place. Lastly, the margin between the three isn't immense, a few thousand to be correct. Let's not get carried away a make it thousands upon thousands between the three.[/QUOTE]

Mine's a spider but the above statement is a very fair and true analysis of the spider vs Berlinetta-GTS market differences

 

If you guys honestly believe you're 355 spider has a good flex free chassis, I would invite you to drive a 95-2000 benz 500sl with the top down. That car gave new meaning to how a convertible should be.

Almost zero flex, and built so strong you could balance the entire weight of the car just on the windshield frame, with the windows up, and you could still open the door. That is a proper convertible chassis. Try that with any Ferrari.

 

The Spider's convertible roof isn't without it's faults. As stated above, many of the issues listed are design faults that can be accredited to dated technology and theory. Many vehicles from that time period had similar issues, not as annoying to say the least, however apparent. Comparisons between present convertible roof operations and rooves of 17 years ago is somewhat comical. Would you compare performance numbers of the F355/355 against a current 458?! Not exactly, as people have evolved so have vehicles. The Spiders roof isn't has horrific as many make it to be. It's not perfect however neither is the F355/355. It's maintenance regiment is absurd, engine out services, timing belts and a five valve motor have all been deleted from current models and have evolved to much better systems. With that said, did that stop you from purchasing one?! Obviously not, and you'll defend the car to anyone who attempts to downgrade it's undisputed gratness. This holds true to the Spiders roof, a repair can arise but the roof operates more then fine a majority of the time.

 

It will stop me from buying another Ferrari spider in the 355 or 360 or 430 variety. The no 6 speed non-feature will stop me from buying the 458. So, I guess I am stuck with coupes, 6 speeds from now on.

and the comparison was made to a 2006 997 Porsche cabriolet so the difference is only 10 years, or less.

 

That, I can definitely understand. Ferrari did produce better operating rooves with the next generations. For some, the damage has been done though. Some owners will not chance another Spider purchase because of bad experiences. Many will not attempt the same because of the "Stories" they have heard through the Internet. The same holds true to the car itself too, many will not go near a F355/355 because of these same "Stories". These cars are so much better then they are given credit for. The bad apple theory has plagued the cars existance, completely unnecessary and false informantion surrounding it. Lastly, the last year of the 997 was 2012, that generation has some pretty good technological advances over the earliest F355 Spider of 1996.

 

The 360 has hydraulic ram leakage issues. I just replaced one last week. Part was 1700, and approx 8 hours labor to change. I have NEVER had to replace any components in the 93-2000 sl500 and they are also,hydraulic. Why?

 

Because its a Mercedes. Let's face it -- we buy Ferraris for the engine, the sound, the handling and the beautiful styling. The engineering of everything else is average at best and in many cases below average. It's the only car that has left me stranded but its also the only car that gives me goosebumps when driving it.

 

Why would I want to drive a hideous 4000lb boat vs an agile, sexy, 355?

I also never plan on turning my 355 upside down while parked...

 

Not quite sure where this thread went, but the bottom line is if you are fortunate enough to have a choice, drive what gives you pleasure. In the canyons you won't feel much of a difference AND you cannot track a convertible without roll bars/cage, so the discussion is academic at best. As for the Merc. convertible comparison, it's no 355.

 

Well that may be the first time I've ever heard a R129 SL be called hideous.

getting pretty defensive there, huh?