Hi members, just just thought i'd share my latest upgrade. Having experienced issues on drive days I've been seriously looking into buying some aftermarket extended paddles and came across these genuine Ferrari ones in a marketing special emailed to me recently. I had no idea Ferrari even offered them as an option! Anyway, taking the shipping and taxes into account, these worked out similarly priced as the aftermarket version. I had the workshop do the install... Here's some pics showing the stock ones up against the optional extended version now fitted. Now these really should have been there in the first place! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree! The car should have come with these! I think the Pista comes with these (as it should!). What are the differences in feel/usability?
Hi Ash here is a before and after pic. Paulo the paddles feel really really good so far....really nice. The usability seems to be great at all angles on my drive back but I'm planning a good drive very soon so will report further - but so far my gut tells me these are just what the doctor ordered. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The paddles make a huge difference when driving. Your hands can be almost anywhere on the wheel and you can flip the paddle back whereas the shorter ones lock your hands up top or the sides which is the optimal position but in traffic, the hands on the lower part of the wheel is always nice.
Yes you are 100 right on that. I found being caught short of the paddles when you least wanted to. It's so nice to feel there is a paddle there to pull where you expect it to be. I'm really not sure what Ferrari were thinking when they made those stock paddles. Desirably the paddles move with the steering wheel like how the Porsche ones do.
I think Ferrari said they don't do that because you're not supposed to shift in a curve or something.
Nice opgrade imo friend Shadowfax ! Correct Paolo, When I was driving the new Portofino for half an hour, the off Ferrari Instructor was constantly pointing out that I should hold my hands centerred on the wheel and not higher. He mentionned that for that reason it was useless to buy extended paddles: it had all to do with faulty steering His words Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yeah that's what I was told too when I questioned the dealer over the short paddles earlier on but in reality sometimes it just doesn't work out that way eh. I just put it down to a rehearsed denial, made in a bid to excuse an obvious bad design. Funny how Ferrari now offer the extended version which co-incidentally is also now standard on Pista I see! Hmm. Go figure.
I am confused about the large T-shaped cutout in the optional paddles. What is its purpose? Can you feel the gaps when shifting? If not then one would think the paddles should be thinner and the extra width outside of the T-gaps are unnecessary.
The cut-out is more of a design thing I'd say. The paddles otherwise would look a bit heavy without the cutout this forcing the design into more of a taper toward each end as like you see in the aftermarket offerings. Being able to retain the width along the length of the entire paddle is the better way to go, going by how they feel at each end when lock is wound on. Your fingers never get to feel the cut-out for the simple reason the back of the paddles have a thick/wide half round ridge running along that main outer section, so your fingers find/work that area only. They feel really good - better than before, not that the feel of the short stock ones is bad or anything. These just more of an improved feel, and feel totally rigid even activating at each extremity.
Works out at @ 850 usd on today's rate. Not sure what they ask your way? P/N FR70004930. They were on a special promo at the time.....
Its amusing to see that Ferrari is finally offering their customers an extended paddle option. We have been manufacturing and selling carbon fiber extended paddles for most Ferrari models since before the 458 (let alone the 488) ever existed It is an incredibly valuable upgrade and our biggest challenge has always been getting people to try them. As soon as anyone uses them they are hooked and immediately become advocates for them. At least with Ferrari now offering this part it validates and will popularize the enormous functional advantages of having the longer paddles. They are NOT just for those owners that drive on the track. They are every bit as valuable on the road where increased access to shifting makes for a much more pleasurable and practical driving experience. To answer some of the questions that have come up here: - It appears as though Ferrari has made these paddles with their own shape merely for the style of it. You can decide whether or not you like the T shaped holes but there is no functional reason for them nor is there any reason to make the paddles chunkier as they did. When we developed our paddles we had a number of prototypes that we developed with a race team at the 24 Hours of Daytona. After trying a number of configurations in testing ALL of the drivers preferred a leaner paddle that more closely resembled the OEM paddle. This was the shape we ultimately went with so our paddles look like longer versions of the OEM ones right down to a perfect match of the carbon fiber. - Ferrari did offer an introductory pricing which varied a little by market. AFAIK this has now passed and pricing is in the $1500 range (about 40% higher) than the cost of our paddles. No doubt their packaging is prettier than ours but then again you don't drive the box around F-Chatters as always are welcome to message us for special forum pricing.
Re the design comments; the chunkier all the way along feels better/more secure/functional imo. The stock ones had that thinner/taper toward the top/end and I found a natural tendency to always feel for the thicker part of the paddle before activating - possibly because the narrower end naturally felt less robust. That said if the OEM Ferrari ones weren't available I would have bought yours because I was at the end of my rope with those ridiculous stock ones. They were truly hopeless....a total fail. My main concern with your paddles was with the carbon weave match being identical and the final price after dealing with currency exchange, shipping and taxes etc which made them appear too expensive for such a small aftermarket part imo. As a suggestion perhaps Carbonio should consider adjusting the pricing for countries outside US where the currency is weaker than the USD and, go toward accommodating for the shipping and taxes which come into the equation - which bulk the price up even more making the purchase even less attractive. Regards SF.
Look great. When I inquired about the Ferrari extended paddles at the dealership (US) a few weeks ago, I was told the price is US$1,252. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Look on ebay, there is a person in California selling them for cheaper. They can be had for about 1k out the door if you give the best offer option on there. Considering the aftermarket route pricing and OEM route pricing, it pretty similar and competitive. Both are great options none the less...anything is better than what the stock option is.