360 360 Modena Appreciate Reflection Thread

Having owned mine since it was just a few months old I can safely say its a keeper.

Obviously quite a bit different in spec now than back then ) but you know what, newer cars just aren't as engaging or fun, too many computers trying to wrestle control away from you and therefore enjoyment. My modern Mclaren might be faster but it's not more engaging.



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very few cars on the planet can illicit that type of emotion....the 360 is a timeless classic...dollar for dollar an amazing machine. and an emotional one!

 

And here I thought you were going for something like this...

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Couldn't agree more with the OP. I bought my 360 just over 3 years ago with 21+K miles on the clock. Now I have about 26K and change-- with nothing but smiles and normal maintenance. I have a couple of special cars I drive so the mileage I put on it yearly is lower than most here. But every drive, every outing, is a remarkable pleasure that always delivers-- even though it is an F1

About the forum here:
Agree. A great group of guys who for the most part enjoy driving and working on their Ferrari. As a lifelong member of the PCA and Porsche owner I can say I was surprised to find that the Ferrari guys are far more "into" their cars than the P-car owners are on their forum. Seems like the Ferrari owner wants to drive their Ferrari whereas the Porsche car owner more often simply likes to be seen driving their Porsche. Big difference.

Drive hard-- live hard-- take chances-- and just enjoy the whole of it.

 

Manufacturers omit to tell you how many hundreds of kilos heavier their new models are over the previous models. This means they need a space station worth of computers to correct for all the physics "challenges" that hundreds of extra kilos of fat brings.

This without a doubt its a concern for driving enthusiasts after a raw driving, pleasure, flickable handling and outright handling enjoyment and relatively simple DIY servicing. It's got quite ridiculous really. The vast majority of the latest super cars these days are in my opinion overall LESS enjoyable than a 360. Why?

Sound and Throttle Response
Let's face it, due to ever stricter noise emissions you'll never get new car that sounds as good as the older ones from the 360 era. Period.

Horsepower wars
Due to the weaponizing of horsepower it just dominates everything now about the whole experience of new cars. For good or bad.

Turbocharging vs Normally Aspirated
Most cars are now are turbocharged to help with emissions (with associated turbo lag delays) which to me is extremely noticeable on both soundtrack and throttle responses. Ferrari engineers have worked hard to minimise it but its like trying to clean up an mp3 vs the original long play record. The only way to really make this work is via torque fill with hybrid batteries and that in turn adds even more weight so you need even more power which means you need even more compute power and complication.

Point and Squirt Driving
Driving a modern car has become pretty point and squirt. Most often you cannot stay on the gas for more than a few seconds before your into "serious consequences" territory on the road so ultimately many are less satisfying because you don't feel like you are ever taxing them. You end up using the car most of the time at quite mundane revs which are less exciting to drive. I noticed the Mclaren for instance is actually quite regular car feeling to drive a lot of the time unless your really "on it" and for that you really need a track. Driven like you Stole it, it can be a lot of fun but you really infrequently get to enjoy them at this kind of place.

Depreciation & Total cost of ownership
Let's not worry too much about this but let's just say it does have some impact on enjoyment. Newer cars simply depreciate significantly more than older fully deprecated out ones. Also with less complexity in a 360 over the modern cars they can cost less to run if well looked after, especially if you factor in depreciation. So while you may have more maintenance your lack of depreciation costs more than makes up for it in the longer term of several years of ownership. You can very easily loose the price of an entire 360 in depreciation on a newer car.

Styling
Call me old fashioned but I still think the 360 looks awesome and many members of the public have no idea if its new or not. Its a bona-fide Pininfarina classic.

Performance
Most people who are used to Turbocharged cars still don't understand how to drive a 360. They relish revs and you need to change your driving style to match. Fully warm them up and stay above 7k rpms and watch your smile grow wide. Also much the performance of a 360 can be dramatically impacted by servicing and how well done the timing belt is to spec. Get it wrong and you can loose 40hp even if timing belt is done within factory permitted tolerances.

The only things I would change today aren't styling, it's the braking and fitting of modern tires. A big brake upgrade kit is something I think would benefit all 360s. They feel under braked in stock form but even fresh fluid and new carbon pads can make a huge difference in that regard. And let's not forget to mention how much tires have improved in the last 20 years..

Sweet spot?
So to summarize, modern cars are both heavier and considerably worse throttle responses than a razor sharp normally aspirated 360 engine. If you have a Challenge style exhaust on your 360 and proper mapping to take advantage of it very little on the road sounds better or feels more hyper alert.

If you factor all things in, cost of ownership, enjoyment, performance, handling, sense of occasion, the fact your driving a stunning Ferrari artwork on the roadi, a 360 can still give you huge smiles per mile and still makes sense today as a wonderfully enjoyable car to just go for a blast in. Heck it's a proper useable Ferrari with relatively low maintenance costs and huge road presence.

Obviously all just my 2p's worth..




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@ trev. Your 2 cents worth?

More like your $20.00 worth.
Excellent points. All of them. So well said. Especially the power to weight thoughts. Spot on. I remember when the new Challenger came out. I was shocked at the weight at almost 2.5 tons.

 

Just enough of the old Ferrari magic, just enough of the new. The 360 and the 2 models either side (I would also add a well sorted 348 as they are incredible) are the pinnacle of the stable for me (F40 and F50 excluded). Never again will we see such perfect balance of tech, usability, design and beauty.

Anything newer just doesn’t do it for me. I’m sure my age has something to do with it. Then again, my 80 yr old father agrees.


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Will be really interesting to see what happens to the 360/430 spread over the next years

 

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I am from San Antonio and have lived in Sugar land since 2008. I have a 360 Spider and, like you, I sure do miss the hill country!!!!!

 

Mine now has over 63,000 miles with maintenance and a few small bugs but nothing major. It is a 2000 Spider Euro car with the gated shifter. I’ve had faster but nothing that could bring a smile to my face like this car does. And that’s before I even turn the key!

 

The 360 is sort of right in that spot where it's not rare or fragile enough to sit in a museum being oood and aaahd over, but also not quite enough of a 7-day a week car like a 911 or NSX to generate that level of obsession...

However that under-appreciated status is a massive benefit to anyone clever enough to take advantage of reasonable prices to get one of the best driver's cars ever made to take out and enjoy regularly.

 

Completely agree with Trev. I came from modified Lotus cars to a gated 360.

Over the past few years the boys at AV engineering have transformed the car. All the bushes and bearing and ‘wobbly bits’ replaced / upgraded.

The engine has been fully timed with Trevs full mapping and a 9k redline and linear torque curve and numerous patches - honestly it’s witch craft!

Braided hoses, fully reconditioned calipers and new discs and carbon pads and some CS goodness added to the suspension.

Recently added the very latest Michelin cup connect rubber plus a fresh geo to ensure optimum handling for my style of driving.

The car is now utterly transformed and I can’t think of a better ‘fast road’ car for me.

Looking at adding a CS exhaust in new year and a sensible weight loss programme plus some new seats.

Enjoying the journey!

 

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@Benwat, in my opinion this is the perfect, sensible way to enjoy a thoroughbred modern classic like the 360. First turning back the clock by bringing back the car to how it should have driven when it left the factory. Correcting all the suspension bushes and ball-joints back to factory spec makes a huge amount of difference to giving it a new car handing feel.

Then applying just enough modernization magic to make a dramatic and very considerable difference to how it drives and feels on the road. For instance I would also recommend upgrading the gearbox bush and engine mounts to those from a 430 Scuderia or Challenge Stradale. Keeps the inertia of the engine/box in check improves handling quite considerably for such little outlay. Next up modern tires, sports/fast road geometry and then a fast road instant torque response mapping for your engine with a Challenge Style exhaust and you get 7/10ths of a CS from a Modena.

Glad the boys at AV are looking after you so well! I love the 360, they are just amazing cars..

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Thanks Trev, already have a Tubi exhaust so getting the benefit from that.

I’ll add the gearbox bush and engine mounts to next piece of work.

Any advice on spring rates, want to get about 20% stiffer but not keen on spending £300 per spring to get steel scud springs, any aftermarket options you know of? Already have the CS ARB.

cheers

 

AV have worked on mine with the mapping and TCU. The starting point is a well sorted, solid base that has been fully appraised by the guys with AV accurately timing the engine etc.

The outcome - a 360 that is as you say 7/10ths a CS. Magical.


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If this is an appreciation thread then we all must post ONE picture of your 360..

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OK

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