Hi everyone My name is Hugo and I come from Qc,Canada. Right from the start I would like to apologize for my English. I'm trying as hard as I can to write correct words and sentences but English being my second language I still can do mistakes here and there! To make a long story short I have been reading the forum for a couple weeks/months now mostly about the F355 with F129B engine as I would like to own one. I'm not in a hurry and try to find the perfect one for me but in the mean time I would like to do my homework, try to gather as much information as I can and have my garage all set-up to make the service on the car easier. I am mechanically inclined, rebuild few cars for scratch and the F355 would make no exceptions so I will work on the car by myself and be prepared to do the 3yrs timing belt service. Ive read very good articles about common F129B engines problems, the F355 buying guide and I think Ive been able to find the service manual here: All Ferraris In order to learn as much as I can before purchasing I would like to ask if you guys have suggestions about reading material or anything that could be useful to know about the car. Thanks again Hugo
Read. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/447037-helpful-information-those-search-355-a.html
Why is that not a sticky? No one knows how to search and just constantly ask the same questions day after day.
Hugo: If you PM me your address, I'd be happy to send you a CD-ROM containing: (i) the workshop manuals for the 2.7 and 5.2 Motronic ECUs and manual/F1 transmissions; (ii) owners manuals for the 1994-1995 2.7 and 1996-1999 5.2 cars, (iii) all factory recalls, and (iv) homologation papers. Good luck with your search. BTW, your English is great.
Stick with ~5 year timing belt change and you will be fine. Some have gone 6-7 years given they used high quality tensioners. Make sure to change out to Hills Engineering tensioners which last longer than the OEM.
Hugo Welcome. I am a fellow Canadian (Vancouver) but a relative newbie, 18 months with my 1999 F355 Spyder I bought with 9700 miles that just had an engine out service. Like you I am mechanically inclined but have zero time. I mean zero, 3 sons in hockey and an exec job. As a result I have been taking it to the local Ferrari Masserati dealer. I have wide open eyes and after research mostly on ferrari chat I budgeted 3k a year maintenance. Problem is that, at least in Vancouver, they don't have experience in older ferrari's so you sometimes pay for them to re learn. Other problem is customers who pay 500k for a car seem oblivious to the costs. Example I dropped my car off to get the door handle replaced. Injection molded plastic handle cost 768 with my 20% discount and they checked the squeaky brakes and I got away with a 1500 dollar bill. They recommended a brake/rotor kit for the squeeky brakes. 1950 plus about 300 to be tall I asked based on what? "We had a customer with same issue, did the replacement and haven't heard for three months! I declined. Point is I spend a lot at he dealer who actually do a good job and stand behind their work but they aren't shy to charge! You are mechanical, and if you have time buy it! Awesome car! I love it! ~Eric
Search AMOTORSPORT under Ferrari parts, you can get a complete rotor and pad kit for $550 US shipped, being in Vancouver hopefully you have a friend over the border in Washington and you can drive down and pick them up. I bought a set from Ferrari of Atlanta for $540 including shipping, you can't beat this deal with a stick ..... Well you could but why bother.
Do you have a link for Amotorsport? Can't seem to find it. <Search AMOTORSPORT under Ferrari parts, you can get a complete rotor and pad kit for $550 US shipped>
Don't know how to send the link. Go to Ferrari parts & collect abeles, home page second section I believe. Scroll down to : Ferrari 355 Front / Rear brake pads, bottom of the first page. Click on it, I sent him a private msg about your post about pads/rotors.
AMOTORSPORT Is his user name, like I am Enzojr and you are Onash ..... So don't think it is a company name.
There is (was) a website the355.com which has some good info. It's been down For the last month for two. Another source for a good buyers guide is the "other" ferrari forum. You have to buy a membership to access it but paid memberships here and there are worth the money.
Thanks for your replies and your warm welcome everyone! Eric C thank you for the link, lot of information. 355rockit, very good suggestion, the more I read about the F355 engine rebuilt the more I see the name of Hills Engineering for tensioners. I will definitely go with those when its time to rebuild. I'm also looking at information about timing belts, do you use OEM or aftermarket? efetchko, good to hear your story. I was under the impression that they would charge a fortune at the dealer to work on the car and reading your numbers, I was right! Time is an issue for me too, my son is now 18 months old and I usually have a busy week-end schedule as I race in karting and touring car during summer. But I guess that doesn't even come close to 3 kids playing hockey each and every weeks. My original plan is to work on the car during winter. If I can get the parts and a good look at technical drawings to know the assembly I should have enough time during the cold months to prepare the car for the next summer. Again that is in theory...! -------------------- I forgot to mention that the car will be used on the track 5 to 10 times per year for 2-3 15 minutes sessions per day at least. Anyone is using the F355 as an occasional track car? I would definitely not push-it beyond its limits let say 70%, so I plan on having fun and get out the car with a smile. There is some lapping events organized by the Ferrari club here in Quebec that I don't want to miss. There is no real battles for positions so there is no real risk of not returning to the pits safely. I am looking at a set of Speedline 2017 to use on the track with soft compound tires. I plan to keep the car close to stock form except for the wheels and exhaust. As I never tried a 355 its hard for me compare the brakes, suspension and car behavior but I really cant wait to try it.
Yes, sure. I've taken my car to the track and IMO it's the only place you can fully use it. My experience with the car in stock form, with exception of H&R springs, is that it is extremely well balanced and easy to drive hard. The only issue I had was that the brakes would overheat and fade after 4 or 5 hard laps. I plan to try track oriented pads the next time I go. I was running Conti extremecontact DW's, I also have a set of Hoosier R6's but have not run them at the track yet (just autox so far). I brought them with me to the track and was planning to swap them on later in the day but after encountering the brake issues, I felt they'd just overheat them more quickly so I didn't bother.
Thanks! I just took delivery of a set from Ferrari Masserati in Alanta. 500 plus 40 for shipping. Picked them up in point Roberts, I was lucky they let me through no tax no duty! I'm happy, let's see if it cures my squeel!
Hi everyone! Bobzdar, yes I was under the impression that you can unleash the full potential and enjoy driving a Ferrari only on the track! I tried a 360 and a F430 at the Mont-Tremblant track for a day and if the F355 is as funny as those cars to drive well I will be more than happy with my new car! I like you comment about the car being well balanced. You mentioned you have H&R springs with stock dampers, Im curious to know the spring rate you tested. For your brake overheating, I guess a good set of pads and rotors will work good depending on how many laps you're doing per session and if you're doing hot laps or race. Let me know what your planning to install! For me, a very good set of rotors (2 pieces floating/high carbon-ceramic) is something that worth the investment. Im looking at what's available for the F355 and try to plan ahead. I guess I will start another thread to ask if someone has measurements of the stock rotors and calculate what can be fitted with the stock calipers without adding a braket. ---------- I forgot to mention Ive missed a really nice one up for sale. The asking price was a little bit high considering the mileage but it was still in perfect condition (Please note price in Canadian and Odometer in Km's): 1995 Ferrari 355 Berlinetta ? SOLD It was exactly what I was looking for.... bah I guess there will be one for me one day!
I'm not sure the rate on the H&R springs, but they only make one set for the 355 that I'm aware of. I plan to run hawk pads, the blacks I believe as they are supposedly easy on the rotors. If that doesn't fix the problem, I'll probably pony up for the stoptech big brake kit. That and the brembo kits are really the only bolt on options available unless you can source some challenge brakes.
salut hugo je suis de st jean sur richelieu et j ai une f355 contacte moi par e mail a [email protected] je suis mecano en plus et j entretien ma voiture moi meme
Bobzdar, I had a look at the H&R website and found the kit but I couldn't find the rating of the springs.. Not that its that important but I was looking at an idea for a basic race track setup! As for the brakes I was looking to custom order rotors from company like Brembo, Endless, AP ect... I know they can do a lot of different rotors specifications and I would be interested in keeping the OEM calipers and just re-install them on a braket to clear the new bigger rotors. I will see what the options are or if someone already tried a similar setup. As you probably know already its always better to get rotors with high % of carbon/ceramic as you better change pads than rotors! Its a very good investment so I prefer do my homework and be sure of my choice! Thanks Hugo
