Finally tested F8 on a track!

Hi guys,

Long time since i posted something here, newborn baby, work, busy life etc.

(BTW I have 2019 488 Spider)

Last week I got a call from my dealer asking if I am interested in testing the brand new F8 on a track (it is an exclusive event for 488 and 812 owners), so I immediately said yes i wanna try it.

so today was the event and I just got back home and wanted to share my thoughts and opinion on F8.

Feel and Look:
- hmm not much difference to 488 except the back of the car and LED on the wheel has more colors as you push (Not just reds), I think i noticed first red then as the RPM goes high the red turns to blue (and maybe other colors too but not sure)

Performance on the track:
- I am an average track driver, and i could not feel any difference. Maybe pro drivers could feel the difference IDK. The track was 3.5 miles long. I asked someone else during the event and he seemed to be a good driver, he thought the performance is a bit better than 488 inside the track.

Sound:
- Outside sound was awesome to my ear. And I think it is quite similar to 488 but maybe a bit louder while Idle.

- Inside sound (while driving with closed windows), here I felt the big difference to be honest. I felt F8 has a better sounding inside than 488. You could hear the engine screams clearly inside! Which is something I really like about F8.

sorry I don’t have photos as the organizer did not allow us taking picture or using GoPro while doing the track.

it was a great experience and loved F8 especially the sound inside the car. (I am big fan of car sound and appreciate the musical tone of Ferrari) of course it is not like NA 458, but still very good to my taste.

here some photos that I sneaked to take em during the event:

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And finally some giveaway gifts from the dealer:

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Sorry If i did not go into deep technical stuff as I am not that much a technical person.

Regards
Hendry

 

Did I not read somewhere that with the F8, they are piping sound into the cabin? This could explain the reason for the better sound inside.

 

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apparently it is so

 

Interesting that your objective observation contradicts this

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/f8-sound-are-the-press-cars-the-real-deal.611044/

Is it possible your F8 could be tuned like some press cars in the past?

 

This review is not edifying or informative on any level. To be incapable of discerning any performance or driving differentiation between the 488 and the F8 is stupefying. The latter has 50 extra horse power, 40 kgs. less mass, an engine with numerous improvements, greater downforce, significant aero dynamic upgrades etc and the driver deems them indistinguishable on a track. WOW!

 

Not really fair, it is informative in exactly that conclusion: he couldn't tell the dynamic difference.

 

No offense to the O.P. but I remember your postings from your first track day and you were gearing up to it earlier in Spring of 2019. There was one person that you answered to and your response was puzzling. I went back to that thread from April 2019 and you also said they had F8's there for customer testing.

The speed would be very, very noticeable in an F8 compared to a 488.

The puzzling part was that you didn't know the location or the name of the track that you were at.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/finally-my-first-track-with-my-488-spider.597989/#post-146554341



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It is pretty new official and professional track in the middle east.

I got an invitation to attend this event which they also revealed F8 as part of the event.

Will try to find the location/details of the track and share it here

 

That is sad. Any experienced super car owner and driver can or should be capable of differentiating the driving dynamics and capabilities of 2 different cars. We are not discussing subjective preferences but rather objective metrics and technical characteristics. I have not ever driven 2 different car models and not been capable of experiencing observable unique qualities of each.

 

Interesting that I got info that completely contradicts your experience in terms of sound. My friend did however not feel a huge difference in speed and performance either, and he is a fairly seasoned and trained driver at this point. He did think it was faster, but not to the extent of mindblowingly different. Different, but still very 488 like.

Were there cars other than the red one?

 

With all due respect. I think it's somewhat arrogant and disrespectful to characterize someone elses driving abilities as "sad", when you yourself have not experienced the car in question. You have no way of telling whether or not he is right as the weight and power differences are fairly subtle all things considered.

Something worth noting regarding the weight difference. If you have an F8 with full electric seats and no exterior carbon vs. a 488 with CF seats and CF exterior parts, the 488 is more than likely the lighter car. Not saying this is the case at this event, just saying it might not be a huge deal. And we also know that Ferrari weight claims occassionally are way off. Unless you weigh two cars, I don't think you can truly claim the weight difference as a major contributor. And adding to this, a 40 hp difference is not that huge either. I think the major difference has to be found in the ESC system. And checking up on the info I got today, that is exactly were I was told it was. Better TC and ESC dynamics. But for sheer speed and breaking, not much of a difference to sense.
Now the guy I'm associated with can drive. He drives the Radical cup currently, does several trackdays per month year round, Pilota, GT4, and is gearing up for next years Challenge series. He has a pretty good grip on this I'd say. So according to him at least, the power and weight difference is not the party piece of the F8, but rather a more subtle evolutiòn of the ESC and chassis.

Just some food for thought.

 

For god sake i was just sharing my personal experience and i mentioned i am not a technical person per say. Whats with all negativity i see above. Maybe it is better not share unless i am 100% technical person!

 

It comes down to personal experience and opinion. They did not allow me to bring my 488 near F8 to do a video comparison. So what i shared here is what I remembered. Did they tune the car or something, tbh no idea.

 

I mentioned at the end of my original post that due to my experience, i could not tell the difference in the track as they allowed my 2 laps only. And I mentioned some good driver and experienced person i met there who told me that the performance is better than 488 on the track

cheers

 

exactly what i said in my post. And remember they allowed me to do two laps only.

 

I would generally tend to agree but it depends upon how much time OP has spent behind the wheel of a 488gtb and in what conditions etc.

Also, as F8 is essentially the same car, the difference in dynamics may be harder to tell without having a 488gtb there to drive back to back - keeping in mind the 488 is a very fast and capable car. 50hp on top of 660hp is also not as easily felt as say 50hp on top of 400hp.

This is why 488 is a bargain in comparison and, it won't be long until the F8 fuss dies down and hits the used market in numbers to where prices of these two will come into close line. The only main difference to most will be the minor change in look, and looks are subjective as we all know. Many will still see the GTB as the better looking version and the general public won't be able to tell the difference (as usual) anyway.

 

none taken.

I remember my post regarding the track in spring 2019. And i took a snapshot video of F8 but it was only for a show. They did not allow anyone tp test it that time.

as per the puzzling part, hmm i thought I answered the question that this track located in the middle east and it was very new track.

why did not i provide other details about the exact location .etc.
Because i am posting videos on my YouTube channel driving on highways reaching 300-310 Km. So i guess it is not a good idea to reveal everything as the location is very restricted and it is pretty easy to take my car to nearest police station for minimum 2 months!

any other puzzling ideas?

 

Yes there were two or three cars for tracking testing. Red, silver and some color that looks dark silver

 

Thanks you

much appreciated your feedback

 

I do have 488 spider but i know it is heavier than GTB.
A friend who cam to the track with me, could no tell the differences until i explained the exterior is bitt different (showing him some photos)

 

The sad part has nothing to do with his driving ability but rather his lack of perceptivity in distinguishing the driving capabilities and characteristics between 2 car models. I concur that the 488 and F8 are conceptually similar in many respects but the significant changes incorporated in the latter would inevitably result in salient noticeable differences in their respective driving dynamics.

 

Don’t listen to the noise Hendry2019. I like the post, appreciate the experience, and enjoyed the comparison. I’m not sure why people get so negative. Can I ask where they did the event?


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Again one would only hope F8's differences are significant enough to easily notice but I suspect they aren't, simply because 488's chassis has already been developed to a stage where any improvements are felt as just a minor polishing up on what was already there to begin with. I find that Pista feels different due to having the track focused set up, but driving it, it is clearly still very much a 488 from behind the wheel.

 

This is also how I have found it. The general public really can't tell the difference and it's only the hard core Ferrari enthusiast that can. For example I had a Ferrari guy (well he said he was - supposedly owned a 488gtb spyder) asked if my Pista was a Pista. Like duh. I've also had a few others come up and comment on it and all have asked is that a 488.....wow looks great etc. Not one has asked if it's a Pista for the simple reason they clearly had no clue what a Pista even was. One had even asked about the stripe as being something I'd put on the 488. Yep - sad but true.

 

The problem is that you are basing his lack of abillity on something you have not experienced. You are reading some stats regarding weight and power, which is very common knowledge that is usually not spot on with Ferrari..

Fact is that you base all your negative comments regarding the OP's abilities as well as the cars performance attributes on zero experience. You may not like what people who are now testing the cars say as you have one coming, but fact is that currently the OP has more experience than you with the F8, and thus is better qualified to say what it is and is not.

 

The irony now is that the harsher critics of 488 appear now prepared to pay the ticket for an F8 under a belief the revised driving experience will manifest as some kind of major revolution.