Ruined my 296 with aftermarket wheels and returned back to stock

In another thread there is a great example of approx 10 mm lower with 18 mm spacers , best I have seen and the lifter still works

 

Glad you caught the issue before it turned into any damage on the road for your diffuser etc. Whenever considering springs, it's important to understand the spring rates for those springs and how they compare to stock. Some spring manufacturers are simply taking basic dimensions of the stock spring rather than doing any real engineering. You can learn a lot about the products by reaching out to them for technical support.

 

great honest post. i had four R8s. got to know that whole process well. that community is so helpful. this one too. this will be my first F car. any exotic you modify will affect its performance. and especially on track. with this kind of power and high speeds i would not mod this car unless you are a competitive level guy with lots of time and money to change back and forth. my only mods on this car will be aftermarket wheels and track tires that i can put on and off at home. want to put an exhaust but we will see.

 

I know many F car owners who never track their cars, yet make all these performance modifications. I can't understand the point. If it's a Sunday driver why do they want a lowered, hard riding car?


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Because the folks at Cars & Coffee prefer low riders.

 

My car is lowered 5mm front, 13mm on OEM springs with aftermarket (Novitec) wheels in 20/21 and it rides like OEM but looks and handles even better.

I have significant seat time in a friend's 296 that has the latest version of Novitec height adjustable springs and while his rides a smidge more firm, it is far from ruined. He is also running a 21/22 wheel/tire setup that I attribute the firmer ride quality from more than the suspension.

We both live in the extremely hilly city of Birmingham AL and neither of us have issues driving places lowered modestly but that would be challenging without a suspension lifter.

Things that I can't stress enough that effect ride quality and firmness on these cars:
- Tires themselves. Cheaper brands of tires with a higher tread wear rating are significantly harder than OEM
- Tire pressures can really change the way a car handles and rides. No doubt the larger/wider tires are even more prone to getting too hard too quickly with the wrong tire pressures.
- Alignment after lowering the vehicle. Changing the geometry of the suspension cycle changes the sweet spot in the preload of the springs. Having too much or too little caster or too much camber changes the way the suspension parts can move under the car and without proper adjustments can cause some parts to bind through sag/compression cycles.

Having the correct parts is only half of the equation. They need to be setup correctly as well.

 

The ride height from the factory for Ferrari is terrible. Lowering the car on stock or novitec springs makes a huge difference. I agree about not changing the stock tires but lowering the car a few mm (not down to the ground) makes a massive difference. My Pista had much less body roll and drove miles better with the Novitec springs. The ride height was also much better. I didnt slam it but just a few mm is all it takes.

 

I had 21/22s on my 458. They were too big and negatively impacted ride quality and performance. I had 20/21s on my F8 and I didn’t experience the same degradation in ride quality. Plus, to my eyes, it looked better. If you’re going to go with aftermarket wheels I recommend either 20/20 or 20/21 and just a modest ride height drop of around 10mm.

 

exactly.most of the "car" guys i know never track their cars. they are afraid. but they are not afraid to drive them fast on the back roads. the majority want them for show. discomfort and handling don't matter. showing off does. lol.

 

Much safer to track the car , no potholes , animals or unknown traffic to react too!

 

Your post title says, "Ruined my 296 with aftermarket wheels and retuned back to stock". But the wheels weren't the problem at all. It was the suspension you installed. How do I know? I lowered my F8 on Novitec suspension and went with 22"/21" wheels and had the same issues that you dealt with. However, on my SF90, I the left the suspension stock, but with aftermarket 22"/21" wheels. No issues at all. It actually drives better than stock because the PS4S are much better street tires than the cups that came with the car.

The wheels are not the problem. The aftermarket suspension is.

 

Ensure the tires and wheels are balanced correctly, or that will also cause issues. If the balancing is done right, everything will be fine. My car has been running 22/21” ANRKY wheels and PS4S along with proper wheel balancing for almost the entire time I’ve owned it. And it drives amazingly well in all situations. I don’t miss the stock wheels at all.

 

Lots to say on the topic with my own experience.
First the 296 has huge torque even if it is nicely adjusted at lower rpms. Remains a fact that if you have bigger rims you also have lower sidewall tires. From my experience with my 296 it has now less traction in a straight line compared to stock setup and that is with my only 21 at the rear. I do not feel a real change in ride comfort so far. The only "comfort" problem may be that the rims are much closer to the road and I have increased risks when I drive around roundabouts in Switzerland where you can actually sometimes drive over (them) with the front or rear left wheels. Same with unexpected potholes or irregularities if you are in the countryside. No beefy tires to protect your nice aftermarket wheels.
For the springs and Novitec I believe that initial springs sold for the 296 were not right for the car. Maybe the new set they sell now are stiffer and better calibrated between front and rear...
For sure, if I had to do it over I would stick to the OEM wheel setup. And lower the car with custom made springs tested by a reputable firm or F mechanic (not Novitec for sure never again).
I have seen, driven, and discussed real (not marketing stories) situations (OEM and aftermarket) of 296 being driven by their respective owners on and off the track.
The 296 is a heavy car. Under hard cornering, breaking and compression of the springs on and off the track there is very little space for the tires not to rub the inner fenders and that is for the front or the rear.
I love this car and I am happy with the looks of my modified 296 but for certain, going down the road, to modify it for aesthetical reason will not improve the driving experience in terms of comfort and you will diminish the everyday drivability (and peace of mind)
For me putting adapted and track tested custom springs is a great change on the car especially in terms of my experience for increase stability on the track and little change in ride comfort for everyday use (I put on the bumpy road mode on)
I other words, it is really tempting to think and believe that you (or I) can do better than Ferrari engineers, designers and mechanics that developed the car but we are wrong. Aesthetical changes may (and will) have consequences unless you achieve to make those changes and keep OEM specs identical.
I failed to achieve that and I have to humbly recognize this everytime I now drive my car on the road.

 

Yes, less lower sidewalls, but my tires are also wider than the stock tires, which significantly increases the size of the contact patch.

 

I do not know what to say... My tires are also wider vs OEM but I feel now more wheelspin when accelerating hard in any of the lower gears. Last time this happened to me the outside temp was high (28 degree celsius) and the tires were warm.
Just saying...

 

I’m not doubting you. Are they the exact same tires as the stock ones, just in a different size? Or are they different tires altogether?

 

No worries... I was just sharing my personal experience. Not saying it applies to everyone.
I have the Michelin PS4 on the car. 315/30/21
My feeling is that with less sidewall the car does not have the same ability to put the power down despite the tires being wider.
I may have to inflate them a little bit more...

 

Logically, it would need less inflation - a shorter sidewall makes the tire stiffer, so less air pressure could reinstate some needed softness. This is purely in theory though, I'm not sure what is advisable (apart from keeping the OEM setup )

 

Yes. That is what I think as well but with the 21 wheels the sidewall is reduced 12% and it looks like very little rubber. I always feel like I need to make sure that even when cold they are at the right pressure. I rarely am able to warm them much during normal road outings anyway..

Cannot imagine with 22's. It's like a +20% reduction...

 

What tires came on your 296 from the factory? Also, and this is the most important part, you also have an aftermarket suspension installed, correct? I’m saying from personal experience that the suspension is the problem. NOT the tire and wheel setup.

Unless you remove the aftermarket springs and try the car with ONLY aftermarket wheels installed, you actually don’t know what the problem is. My F8 had a Novitec suspension and aftermarket tires and wheels installed, and traction was way worse than stock.

Conversely, my SF90 does NOT have an aftermarket suspension installed, but does have aftermarket wheels and tires, and I have no noticeable reduction in traction. I also went from Cup 2s to PS4S, which is a much less sticky tire, but I still have a massive amount of traction.

That’s why I’m saying it’s the suspension that has caused the issues, not the larger tires/wheels. Apparently I’m the only one in this thread that’s tried both.

 

Wow. You were running an aftermarket suspension, which is what caused the traction issues. The Novitec springs do not allow the suspension to undulate under power like the stock suspension does, hence the reason you had traction issues. So, for the 3rd (or 4th time), your issue is NOT the tires. It's the Novitec springs.

What I find most interesting is that you didn't learn your lesson the first time around. You had issues with your F8 on Novitec springs, and then went and installed them on your 296. Stop messing with your suspension and then coming on here and complaining about traction issues.
Vibration after lowering on the rear - too low? | FerrariChat

 

I agree ,lowered springs reduced with reduced travel plus 21/22" wheel with lower profile tires to improve a road car.
Improvements really.