355 - F355 subdued after Tubi manifold upgrades | FerrariChat

355 F355 subdued after Tubi manifold upgrades

Discussion in '348/355' started by goodcoffeecode, Jul 17, 2025 at 8:17 AM.

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  1. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    Hi all,

    Bless me, forum, it has been some years since my last post ;).

    Interested to see if anyone else has experience this please...

    Just picked up my 355 from my main dealer and drove it the 30 minutes to home. It was in for the big "belt change" service, so I also supplied them with a pair of new tubi manifolds from eurospares to fit whilst the engine was out.

    Idle sound and "pootling" in traffic below 3k revs sounds "tighter", but that could mainly be due to the major service work.

    However, when revs get above 4k, everything sounds more subdued and muffled than it used to. I've only spent 30 mins with the new parts, but there's no longer the obvious "step" in sound I used to get with the OEM manifolds. They would properly scream!

    I'll see if it changes over the next few weeks in case things need to bed in?

    Thanks for any thoughts.

    P.S. I chose to do the upgrade because the OEMs were at risk of splitting.
     
  2. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
    Consultant

    Nov 29, 2001
    13,547
    San Carlos, CA
    Full Name:
    Mitchell Le
    #2 yelcab, Jul 17, 2025 at 8:39 AM
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2025 at 8:53 AM
    Yes, that is how it sounds. The stock headers do sound louder with the bypass valve opened. The Tubi headers sound good, but not good and loud.

    By the way, if you want loud. Fabspeed headers, stock Y-pipe, Capristo muffler. That combo is insane in a long tunnel. I was fortunate enough to be right behind that car. However, after many years of owning and driving different models of 355 (95-99) with different exhaust system, I profess to love the Tubi headers and Tubi muffler. Loudness for the sake of loudness is no longer my thing.
     
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  3. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    Thanks Mitchell. Isn't that the whole reason for the exhaust bypass "flap", though? Manageable when you just want to cruise, but F1 character when you want to push on?
     
  4. INTMD8

    INTMD8 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jun 10, 2007
    6,753
    Lake Villa IL
    Start by making sure the bypass valve is opening. Check the vacuum lines. The hard line between the valve and solenoid can also crack.
     
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  5. ShineKen

    ShineKen F1 World Champ
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    Aug 3, 2007
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    Nostradamus
    Need more details of your exact exhaust setup. 2.7 or 5.2?
     
  6. Timmo

    Timmo Formula Junior

    Aug 26, 2017
    680
    Continental Europe
    Not sure I would consider the stock exhaust "loud" by any margin. As mentioned above, is the valve even opening?
     
  7. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    5.2.
    I think everything is stock except the exhaust (which is Remus, I believe) and now the manifolds.
     
  8. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    Just got it back form a major service, so would that be possible? I think I'd assumed that they failed over time, but I'll give it a check over the weekend.
     
  9. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    Had a chat with the Ferrari mechanics who did the manifold replacement work. They think that the Tubi has a higher flow rate than the OEM, so the difference between "valve open" and "valve closed" might have narrowed.
     
  10. INTMD8

    INTMD8 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jun 10, 2007
    6,753
    Lake Villa IL
    Why would it be impossible.
     
  11. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    Let's go with "unlikely" then :). I'd like to think these mechanics would have, say, forgotten to re-attach something, but you never know.
     
  12. INTMD8

    INTMD8 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jun 10, 2007
    6,753
    Lake Villa IL
    I think I've maybe seen more cars that have -just- been serviced. Things not being put back together after they have just been taken apart is more likely to me than anything else.
     
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  13. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
    Consultant

    Nov 29, 2001
    13,547
    San Carlos, CA
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    Mitchell Le
    Gentlemen, I just installed a set of Tubi headers on a 5.2 F355 that already has a Tubi muffler. The reason was the stock header had a big hole in it. It was surprising to me that after install, the by-pass valve when opened did not produce the loud I was used to getting. I went through all the vacuum lines, switches, and signals, and the actual valve itself, etc. I even installed a manual by-pass valve control and drove that around with the valve open ALL THE TIMES for a day. I finally concluded that the Tubi Headers do not act the same way as the stock headers. I removed the manual bypass valve control and took the car on an aggressive long drive and found that ... I like the sound. It is what it is.
     
  14. ShineKen

    ShineKen F1 World Champ
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    Nostradamus
    I’ve always felt the stock 355 headers produced a nice pitch, particularly on a 2.7. There has been some discussion over the years the Tubi manifolds lose some pitch, but difficult to confirm. Might even have an effect on a 5.2, but not a 2.7. One would only have to be changing the manifolds and nothing else to know for certain.

    Perhaps @johnk... can chime in.
     
  15. ShineKen

    ShineKen F1 World Champ
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    I asked another member about Larini 3-2-1 manifolds vs stock manifolds on a 2.7. Nothing else changed. Has Nouvalari muffler.

    “I'd say the Larinis are slightly 'sharper' and higher. The stock manifolds are hard to beat (partially because they are so thin) but I think these do. Definitely not a degradation in sound like many say about the Tubi manifolds.”
     
  16. goodcoffeecode

    goodcoffeecode Karting

    Dec 18, 2021
    71
    Devon, UK
    Full Name:
    Chris Arnold
    Hmm... this is all a little worrying. I felt I couldn't continue with the OEM manifolds in case they split and ruined the engine. I thought I'd done my research and Tubi came out top. All the praise was around build quality, but I don't think I ever came across any negatives about how it might change the engine note. That is, after all, probably the main reason any of us buy a 355 :(
     
  17. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 11, 2004
    11,218
    CT
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    John Kreskovsky
    My car has an early Tubi muffler and high flow cats. I put Tubi headers on the car back in 2021, I think the idle has a little more of a low rumble but honestly, above 4 or 5 grand it just screams. I couldn't say there is much of a difference. As an old audiophile and speaker designer I know that comparing sounds from memory is very, very subjective. My car is a 2.7.
     
  18. ShineKen

    ShineKen F1 World Champ
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    A Capristo muffler should fix ur issue.
     
  19. betterredthandead

    Oct 11, 2023
    15
    Full Name:
    Bizzy butt
    Check the exhaust valve, don't trust that they did it right the first time. Even Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale let me leave with a none functioning valve after work they had done.
    Tubi headers was the way to go to keep the high pitch sound.
    If you want to minimize that sound then go with a fabspeed.
     
  20. ShineKen

    ShineKen F1 World Champ
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    Nostradamus
    Wire the bypass open and see if it sounds the same.
     
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