I spent some time trying to figure this out. Some of the earlier photos they posted are from across the street of "extreme sales" in Mandan ND. All of the more recent ads with white walls and glass window garage doors seem to be photos from Exotic motorsports of Oklahoma. But not photos from their site (so won't come up in image search) but screenshots from youtube videos. Such as 2010 GT3 RS and Plymouth prowler..... For example, pause video at 1:37 and compare to photo six. https://michelautosales.com/cars/2010-porsche-911-gt3-rs/ https://michelautosales.com/cars/2000-plymouth-prowler/
It seems pretty odd that a small-town dealer like that would have the inventory their Web site suggests they have.
That makes sense, because that blue F355 spider with all the carbon fiber on the interior used to belong to a lady in Texas (a member here, I believe) and after that it was for sale for a while at Exotic Motorsports of Oklahoma.
In other news, did you guys see this F355 Spider with a few needs sell on Cars and Bids today? $92,000. I was not expecting that! https://carsandbids.com/auctions/92g2J5RE/1995-ferrari-f355-spider
When I'm looking at a used car, I see what kind of tires it has. It gives me a general idea of how well the car was maintained. When I see Sumitomo tires on a Ferrari, it makes me second guess it. Perhaps it's just a silly presumption of mine.
FYI Sumo Tumo which i also used to think were cheap trash tires turn out to be a great tire, many guys on rennlist run them on their cars and after some great reviews i read i tried them on my C2S and they are just fine.....Michelin are the best, Contis 2nd (but don't looks so good) Sumo's in the middle and look nice and round at edges. Basically they are almost as good as the top tire but for half the price.
I was pretty sure it was her car too. Met her at a couple of events with the car. Bought from Mark Eckhaus (sp) out of Florida years ago. Forgot the name of his dealership - was a very knowledgeable Ferrari guy - big Dino and 512 guy back in the day. Last I saw him was at Auburn Auto Auction in 2005. I think I talked to him about her 355 about 10 years ago. All fuzzy now. Car was loved and enjoyed. Carbon package was amazing. Had some goofy speakers on package tray. Well done, but annoying. No idea why these scam dealers and listing exist. Car is on several CL sites / cities. All the inventory and pics pilfered from other locals. I called the number. No answer and no response. Emails as well. Oh well. If someone ends up with it. Enjoy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not one of us is a good enough driver to tell the difference between Sumis and Michelins. Never understood why people spend 4X more for a tire that's like 1.1X better than the alternative. I've run Sumis on my 993 for 10+ years and my 355 came with the latest greatest Michelins, and the steering feel and handling of the 993 is quite a bit better than the 355.
Spiders are way, way, way under valued. Really a GTB is a track car, so go Challenge. GTS is a great alternative, but now having owned all 3, the Spider is the best for just driving and enjoying all the senses. Truly a beautiful top down experience. We all have opinions, ideas, wants desires, needs. I get it. I know the downside on the Spider - goofy top and seats, flaws and failures. But Damn it is a sexy beast top down. Wife even enjoys it, hair ties and all. At 6’4”, I fit better than I thought and way easier to get in. My top will probably never go back up. Maybe for winter parking, cause I will never drive top up. The GTB and GTS give more driving time and when the top has to be up, I would rather be in a GTB. I always loved the GTS, but I can’t drive with top stored and left it home to avoid any damage with my weight and seat so far back. So the Spider wins!! What a nice car!! Cheers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Huge believer in alternative tire choices. I love Sumitomo. I also like Khumo and Toyo. I run Toyo on my Vintage Turbo BMW project. But a set of Sumitomo’s on daughters Nisan Rogue. Have Coopers on Other daughters Jeep Grand Cherokee. But, since we run 18” tires on most 355’s, I am going to run Michelins. They look great. Ride great. Not a fan of directional tires on Porsches and Ferrari’s, or even Corvettes. I like asymmetrical. Quieter. Better lateral dispersion in my mind. Not a fan of Pirelli or GoodYear. I like Continentals on certain cars - run a set on wife’s 2017 BMW. More expensive is not better, but certain applications make sense. Having done tires for 30 Plus years, having great wholesale buying power and dealing with nicer cars in the past 10 years, I don’t mind paying for the right tire on the car. For me it is the look, fit and application more than anything. Yes, I will never be able to drive car and compare limits of tire since I don’t track anymore. I buy the cheapest best tire I can for the rest of my fleet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would not recommend putting low quality tires, such as Sumitomo, on a sports/exotic car. Years ago, I owned a 93 LS1 swapped RX7 and read the positive tire reviews from other owners and on Tire Rack before purchasing HTR Z III's, which were garbage. I originally test drove the RX7 on heavy aftermarket wheels with Nitto NT-05 tires and it stuck to the road even with the higher spring rate Tein drift coilovers. I had already purchased a set of Advan Ver 2s to put on, but they weren't wide enough and I didn't have sufficient traction with the staggered 235 and 265/35/18 tires. I swapped out the Tein coilovers for softer Petit coilovers and put 18x10" CCW Classics on all four corners. I didn't think that tires made a big enough difference to justify paying more, so I got the square fitment 285/30 Sumitomos. Tires are arguably the most important part of your car, as they are the only part that touches the ground. Traction was horrible with those tires and I never felt confident driving the car after that. I will be replacing my 355's tires with Michelins.
I think much of this comes down to personal preference. I ran the Sumitomo 3's on my 993 and thought they were great. NT-05's had grip but IMO very squishy/unpredictable sidewall. I prefer Michelins myself, but also feel they require more heat/aggressive driving before being capable of exceeding ultimate grip of say the Sumitomo.
Where did you get this info that sumis are low quality? you're mistaken! Anyways off this topic now lets get back to discussing 355 values
I’m 6foot 3 my spider roof never up. But difficult getting in with hood up. ( but I’m 73). I like spider shape more than gtb Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Don’t get me wrong, GTB is a stunning beauty in the automotive design. A modern take on the 308. The 348 never did it for me. I think a 348 GTB is attractive and I had a 348 Spider as my First Ferrari. Giallo even! But the 355 screams Ferrari from engine to shifter and nose to tail. Perfection. The only car prettier to my eye is the 288 GTO - the best of the best. F40 a close second. So I know why the GTB is the king. The GTS is the rarity and the spider is pure drop top sexy, with senses overload. Just need to add about 20-25% to the suppressed values Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've been trying to contact the seller of that 99 Spider for almost 2 weeks now. It's been strange for sure...never answers during business hours, I've had returned calls however but they were at odd times. I asked for more photos and videos and got no response. The photos posted are from the videos he sent me...like screen stills. So maybe he's going just off those? I don't know...weird regardless.
I tried 3 different tires on the same RX7 and the Sumitomos were the worst of the High Performance tires. They didn't grip. For stock tire sizes on the 355, I'm going with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
