Newbi Bumpy Ride

I have owned my 2003 Modena for about a year now and during this time have put about 1,000 miles on it. This being only over the last two weeks. My reason is that I work and live out of the country for long periods at a time.

Now for the newbi question. My car is absolutely fantastic in every way but it rides rough. By this I mean you can feel every bump in the road. Is this a normal Ferrari ride? Do they have shocks that need to be replaced. The car has 14,333 miles on it. Is there anything that can be done to give it a more comfortable ride?

 

With the car sitting so long possibly the tires are messed up???

Yes it is sensitive but not extremely.

Maybe you can drive another to compare???

 

As above: Tires develop flat spots if they sit too long resulting in a lumpy ride.


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The Modena isn't a Porsche 911, it has a race car at its soul. It's a weekend sports car... and it's going to be a firm ride.

As above consider the tires, they may be irregular from sitting. You can also ensure the "sport" switch is turned off. If you have sport racing seats in the car you can try switching to regular or daytona seats. Other than that.. its a high performance sports car my friend. Stiff suspensions go with the territory. Mileage is so low I shudder to think mechanical or shock issue.

 

I had an amazing difference in ride going from P-Zero's to Pilot Super Sports. PSS's were much more smooth. And having the sidewall protection is nice too. I'll switch my car from sport to normal when I feel it getting a tad rough.

 

I concur with others' feedback:


1. Check and see if you're set to "sport" mode; this will have the effect of firming up the suspension and ride.

2. Check the date codes on your tires. Besides having been parked for the last year, the generally limited use of the car under previous ownership (13K miles in its first ten years) might mean that it's riding on some hardened, out-of-date tires, which would be not only uncomfortable, but unsafe.

 

My first was a 360 spider. I was very surprised at how bumpy the ride was. You get used to it.

 

360s don't ride as well as the more modern 458s and Californias with their Magenride shocks, but I find the level of comfort acceptable. Tires make a big difference in ride and handling characteristics. Unfortunately, there aren't many choices that come in OEM 18" wheel sizes. I like the Bridgestone RE-11s best, but they're not approved for the EU because their speed rating is less than the OEM spec (it's not a problem in the US unless you're routinely traveling at sustained speeds over 149 mph). Michelin only has the all-season variant of their Pilot Sports in OEM sizes. I'm not a fan of all-season tires, even high performance ones, because they compromise dry, warm road grip. You can still get the original P-Zeros if you want. I would avoid the Bridgestone S-02s, as they are quite outdated in design. Note that many people choose to upsize so they can use the excellent Michelin Pilot Super Sports. But beware that the suspension geometry is such that larger sizes can interfere with the front fenders under extreme compression (like in track or extreme back road driving), even though it may look like there is a lot of clearance. Some people (like me) have had to have their fenders rolled to clear even OEM sizes on stock wheels. You can see this for yourself. Just take a close look at the 12 O'clock position on the front fenders of some 360s and you will often see some moderate bulging. Not all cars, but many, especially if they're driven like they're meant to be.

 

Is your "check engine" light on by chance? If any one of your (three) accelerometers are faulty, the ride will be rock hard.

 

Interesting. Why is that?

 

My mechanic once told me why but I have completely forgotten since then. I do know this is the case though because it has happened to me more than once.

 

Surely it's no worse than sport mode? The shocks have only two settings, normal and sport. If a sensor is faulty I can see it defaulting to sport but I don't see how it could get any harsher than that, just due to an sensor fault.

 

The CEL has nothing to do with the damper ecu.....

 

It's way worse than sport mode.

 

I would imagine, if you had a faulty accelerometer, it would not detect any bumps and would not activate the active suspension.

 

It was horrible! I was getting codes for the front and the rear (the transverse and the rear lateral) accelerometers. When the engine light would come on, I had to pull over and shut the car off the ride was so bad. They are not one of those "stay on" codes when you shut the engine off. I purchased some used accelerometers from a local exotic auto wrecker. They lasted about a day. I purchased new from Daniel at Ricambi and haven't had a problem since. Stupid me for purchasing used electronic parts!

 

These codes were on the CanBus? Ferrari specific?

 

When you get some failures on the suspension system, the actuators go to full hard, which is way stiffer than Sport.

 

I guess that's proof that the active elements really work.

 

I will try to find them again. There is a "front" accelerometer (in the trunk), the "transversal" accelerometer (behind the front bumper) and the rear which is underneath the passenger side rain gutter. There are different codes for each one (thank goodness). Since the diagnostic computer actually tells you in plain English which one it is, I didn't pay much attention to the actual numbers.

 

The OP might not have driven a 360 before buying it.
these cars are firm on the road, and on our roads they seem quite bad.

But like Kurt and other say, these are real sports cars. I can't imagine a soft ride in a Ferrari sorry.