MSW HGTC & FHP Sway Bars (Finally!)

Do we have a read on timing for these bars and the pricing?

 

Thank you

 

Another great product from MSW. Thank you for the hard work.

Would the 22mm bar add enough oversteer to compensate for the use of rear spacers?
Rear spacers seem quite popular with 550 owners as they fill rear wheel arches quite nicely but they increase understeer.

 

I remember when I bought my 575, 04 with FHP, in 2015 from a Ferrari dealer. There was a sharp speed bump on the service road near the dealer. I went over it really slowly, about 2mph. I was surprised to feel a rebound on the other side. Down the bump, to the bottom, and a little return upwards and down again. The car is pretty firmly suspended and it seemed out of place, but apparently that's the way they are set up.

I guess ultimately it's a mid 90s chassis, already skips on mid corner bumps in a way more modern Ferraris don't, and a firmer set up might exacerbate that.

Note: we have a lot of mid corner bumps here in the UK.

 

Agreed; As mentioned in my earlier post, the rear sway bar alone goes a long way to fix the suspension balance.

To stress: for non-fhp cars the offered bar here is a no-brainer. Just like the steering controller this is how the car should have been setup from factory.

Bounce is also a function of tires. From what I remember, my car would be quite unsettled back when I was on Pirellis but was better on my Bridgestones after they broke in. I’ll report about speed bumps after spring returns and the salt washes away.

 

For some reason they made the 575 softer and it really needed the FHP to perfect this.

Perhaps they did it as a money making grab?

Ultimately the standard car suffered from Porpoising more IMO.

 

My car does not have the FHP and it has a lot of travel when it goes over a speed bump. It's almost as though the nose dives into the speed bump and then bounces higher after going over this.

During driving as well the car suffers from porpoising when changing gear with the throttle fully depressed.

I hope that this helps.

 

I have brand new Pirelli's on mine and I have to say this is the first Maranello that I have driven that doesn't want to spin all the time in 2nd gear. So, this alone makes me want to keep them.

And I do agree that the Pirelli's are softer, but in a really nice way.

I have Bridgestones on my Roma and that feel rock hard to me!

My preference over the years has always been Michelin PS CUP's especially on my GT3's. Having stated this, the Maranello is a different car and I would never drive it like a GT3.

 

The Michelin MPSS and MPS4S were so far superior to the Pirellis, I could not believe it.

 

Thanks John. I completely agree that the weight of the car should not be considered... lightly - sorry for the pun. On a heavy performance car I believe the suspension needs to keep a certain suppleness or compliance so that the car has time to "settle" on its suspension when it is being driven hard and pushed into corners, precisely to avoid breakaways. It seems to me that the "active" suspension does a good job of adapting the dampening to the driving dynamics depending on the driver's inputs. Whilst many cars of a lesser weight can be made to react (very) well when increasing both the rear ARB diameter and the rear track width, it would be interesting to see how this would affect the handling of a heavy car like the 550, should you and your friend have the time to test your 22mm ARB with rear spacers of different sizes.

 

Pirelli's are nice and soft new....and turn to lead bricks in 3-4 years. For GT cars, I agree w Taz on MPS4.

Personally, I run Bridgestone RE-71R in factory sizes on slightly wider wheels (19x9/19x11) as currently I will activate traction control in 3rd gear at 30mph on full throttle with warm tires...and that is before the ECU maps. I was trying to give the car the best chance to stay compliant. That said they are STIFF tires. Ride definitely suffers but its not uncomfortable. I use the same tires on TR and E31.

For steering balance and spacers, remember you can also outspace the fronts to count the rears. Turn in with +28 (roughly a 15mm spacer) helps keep it manageable. Also, remember you can tweak the tire pressures to add or subtract some steering push and rebound.

 

yes, just for the avoidance of doubt the car did snuff out the response within one cycle..it’s just that I expected there to be no noticeable rebound at all, especially on a car fitted with what Ferrari termed as a racetrack handling package.

 

No porpoising at all with my FHP car. I did notice it on the early press 575 I drove. In general I am very happy with the FHP handling, it’s tight and tough and controlled, any harder would make it hop and skip over here. The rebound issue was over a low speed speed bump, not saying it bounces or floats on a fast road, it does not. I wouldn’t change anything in mine, suspension wise, I don’t think. You feel the flatness of the rear. I think these thicket rear bars sound ideal for anyone who doesn’t have.

Having said that I did get the steering set up as “fast road” by the Ferrari Centre, even better turn in now, and have to keep an eye out for oversteer!

 

Please elaborate? Special alignment? or something else

 

Likely less toe in. Trade between turn-in and straight-line stability.

 

I think in 3 - 4 Years most tires will be past their used by date. I find that the Pirelli's are the most superior tire up to the first 500 - 750 miles then they turn to ****e!

I have have Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on my TDF and I find them quite soft and compliant on the road Having stated this, when pushed hard they can get a little hairy which is fun! I also note that they are way longer lasting compared to the Pirelli's

A friend of mine just put Michelin Pilot Sport Cups on his TDF and he said the handling was far superior.

 

Quick update.... MSW (John) and I have worked out the launch of these roll bar 'kits'. Initial production will be for 19mm bars with associated hardware. We expect these will be complete and ready for customer deliveries in approximately 6-weeks. Our initial lot size is somewhat modest, as we'll need to confirm the manufacturer's ability to hit specific timelines before asking for larger quantities and/or product variations.

The initial lot will be priced @ $899 + shipping ($10 FedEx ground, within the continental USA). International shipping rates depend on your specific country/postal code.

If you are interested in a reserving one of these 19mm bars, please contact me directly.

 

Ferrari softened up the 575 in response to complaints the 550 did not ride well enough. The feedback from nearly day one was they went too soft so developed the suspension packages.

 

That car is very sensitive to rear toe. People are tempted to reduce it. Not a great idea.

We found factory alignments with as much as 11mm toe in on the front but always excessive. One reason they had a reputation for eating tires.

It is rare when one of those does not benefit from a good alignment from someone who understands it.

 

I knew personally the engineer who was the Ferrari liaison with the tire companies back then. They spent a lot of time on the track with many different tires from all 4 of the suppliers. Every car manufacturer, even Ferrari, chassis tunes cars to keep lawyers away from their front door. It is not done to please the most talented drivers in their base of customers.

 

Fantastic!!! I think this is great mod for stock suspensions.