What do you check on a regular basis?

I use my 360 Spider 3 or 4 times a week. I bought it to use it and I love it.

However, I do treat it like a normal car and just hop in and go.

But, apart from the water and oil levels, which never appear to change, is there anything else I should be checking, say on a weekly or monthly basis?

Any advice greatly received!

Thanks

J

 

tires, on a per drive basis
oil leakage from under tray

 

As above drips and tires.

Note how she cranks. When the starter slows down, replace the battery. That or every 3-4 years put a new one in.

The theory behind this as the battery holds less charge the alternator works harder to charge it, ultimately leading to its early demise and rebuild.

 

........ 3 or 4 times a week. Wow Justin , so how many miles do you have on it? I drive mine only on weekends because the weekday traffic here is murder.

I keep it on a trickle charger and check underneath for anything dripping, tires, oil and rad fluid before starting it. I don't just hop in and go because I like to have it warm up for at least 5 mins then keep it under 4K until I see an oil temp increase . I hop in and go on my Honda truck. I bought this car as a keeper or until my son puts me in a home to get his hands on it

 

My oil cap used to get loose. The dealer fixed the threads and now I no longer have the problem but I still regularly check the caps for tightness.

 

The most important thing that I check is that I still look cool in it !

 

You better check yourself, before you wreck yourself.

 

The leather.

I know this seems like a stupid response, but my experience is the leather is constant maintenance. The dash needs to be treated or the dreaded bubbles will appear after it snaps the front air vent and warps it. Then, don't forget about the seat and bolster. Using the car as much as you do (which is great by the way) the seat will get dirty and the bolster will certainly wear quickly unless it is cared for.

 

Once a year jack up each wheel and grab the tire at 0 and 180, push top and pull bottom, look for looseness. Wheel bearings and suspension joints do wear faster on these cars then others.

Also if you really love your car, Ferrari did not put a separate filter into the fuel system, only a small screen at the bottom of each pump. I pulled my fuel pumps and cleaned the screens, its not technically difficult but it was a royal pain. On my 360 Challenge they were full of crud like broken gasket material and general fuel garbage.

 

Thanks! Yes, battery is a month old so it's hopefully got a bit of life left.

 

Thanks Fred!

Yes, I use it a lot. We go away for weekends in it, cruise along the coast and take it on some back roads. Sometimes I even go to the supermarket in it! The roads are bit busier than normal now as there are a lot of tourists in Southern Spain in July and August but normally the roads are relatively quiet.

I'm doing about 200 - 300 km per week.

I get in and go but I also limit it to 4K revs until oil pressure is at the right level. I am careful with it and only cane it through the tunnels

 

Good point Chris. I haven't done anything to protect the leather on the dashboard.

Are there any particular products I should be using or just a normal leather cleaning product?

I have the carbon seats and they are wearing incredibly well.

 

Thanks for the heads up on that. I'll add these to my annual maintenance plan

I am planning on doing as much as possible myself!!

 

This is a good discussion for new owners like myself. Thanks for starting it Justin.
Currently my dash is almost perfect and I'm trying to keep it so. Once per month I rub it down with McGuire's Leather Care and always use a sunshade when parked in the sun.

 

Bottle of McGuire's Leather Care ordered!! Cheers

 

I regularly check my garage just to make sure I really do own a Ferrari and it's not just a dream

 

LOL! So true!

 

Just so you understand, the problem with the leather "bubbling up" is partly do to the leather shrinking but mainly due to the foam and adhesive breaking down underneath the leather. This just happens over time.

Most of the time it will first show on the passenger's airbag above the glove compartment, then the problem will show up on the dash. It just started on my 2003. This is common on both the 360 and 430s.

 

Thanks for that. I think it may be happening on my car then. I noticed the airbag cover isn't quite right, the leather appears a bit loose on it.

I will take a better look tomorrow.

 

in that case, shouldn't we just put some padding under the dash leather and problem solved?

seriously, my leather is in top condition, just the bubbles are annoying me

 

Check tires (may save you some $)
Check your local "spotters" thread to see if anyone sniped you recently (good for ego boost).
Check the cabin to make sure none of the F-car babes (encountered on your previous drive) left any underwear in the car (may save your life).

 

I check to make sure that I can see my reflection through the paint gloss.

On top of what others has mentioned which I do as well, another thing I consistently monitor is the priming time of the F1 pump. It should be less than 10 seconds. If it's more then the pump is going out.

I'd rather replace it before it breaks my F1 system which cost an arm and a leg.

 

hahahaha, one very honest dude!

 

Let us know when you finally do.

 

Thanks for the tip. I took the car out for a spin this morning and listened to the priming time of the pump. It was about 5 seconds so looks good