Dreaded 488 blown turbo… | Page 9 | FerrariChat

Dreaded 488 blown turbo…

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by Carbon777, Mar 30, 2024.

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  1. MANDALAY

    MANDALAY F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 23, 2013
    14,768
    AUSTRALIA
    Full Name:
    ANGELO

    Baby a turbo ?

    Over reving isn't a good idea. Thats non babying it.

    Neither is warm up and cool down.

    Turn off a turbo engine after a drive and listen to all the metal deformations crackle. On another tip let the engine idle for 2 - 3 minutes and you will hear no crackles.

    500 k plus doesnt mean that you can override common sense Your logic would therefore assume that Ferraris do not have any electrical issues ?
     
    mdrums likes this.
  2. forty1

    forty1 Karting

    Jul 4, 2024
    147
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Nico
    Your conversation style is really disingenuous and annoying so I'll step out here.
     
  3. MANDALAY

    MANDALAY F1 World Champ
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    May 23, 2013
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    ANGELO

    Really ? Wow . Was it at Zagames ? Ill find out what the reason is.
     
  4. Eric C

    Eric C F1 World Champ
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    Mar 20, 2009
    11,136
    St. Louis, MO
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    Eric
  5. ZA3879

    ZA3879 Rookie

    Dec 28, 2018
    15
    Detroit, MI
    Full Name:
    Z Ahm
    Whats a proper cool down period? Just after parking, or calm driving prior to shut off?
    (apologies on newbie question). I've been carrying Power15 warranty just for the potential but considering not renewing this year.
    I drive the 488 a LOT and dont care about mileage.
     
    mdrums likes this.
  6. Trev450

    Trev450 Formula Junior

    Mar 11, 2024
    738
    UK
    Full Name:
    Trevor H
    I would say either, really. If for example you haven't been driving the car hard, then personally I see little harm it shutting off straight away. On the other hard, after a hard driving stint, I either do a slowish period of driving for a few miles to allow things to cool down, or let the car idle for 4-5 minutes prior to turning off. I have owned a good few turbo cars over the years and this procedure has never failed me.
     
    LVP488 and blkdiablo33 like this.
  7. Carbon777

    Carbon777 Karting

    Dec 9, 2023
    87
    Westminster CO
    These turbos are oil and water cooled so unless you are tracking it for an hour, a 30 sec to 1 minute cool down should suffice. They are not failing because of cooling down but the shaft if getting work hardened. My guess is the material is bad, design is not compatible with the displacement or engine RPM.
     
    INTMD8 likes this.
  8. RockChalk58

    RockChalk58 Rookie

    Sep 18, 2024
    12
    Full Name:
    Cody Paul
    It seems when looking at the material the shaft is made out of, it has more to do with heat cycling causing fatigue and the RPM just accelerating the failure. It seems like a bad mixture that causes the failures. It makes me almost want to do Pure 800's even though I have no issues at 15k miles.
     
    mdrums likes this.
  9. mdrums

    mdrums F1 Rookie

    Jun 11, 2006
    3,721
    Tampa FL
    Seems cheaper and better to do a Pure Turbo's reliability upgrade than buy a Ferrari warranty. Turbo's will still look like stock, perform as stock with no ecu tuning, Ferrari dealer will never know and you have a better built more reliable turbo. Is my thinking wrong?
     
  10. Carbon777

    Carbon777 Karting

    Dec 9, 2023
    87
    Westminster CO
    Heat cycling is not the issue as most turbos go through thousands of heat cycles without failures. If it were fatigue failure the break would be clean and suggest the grain boundaries aligned from heat. Here what you see in the pictures is the material crystalizing suggesting that the shaft is a brittle failure. This is when the material fails suddenly and you see the surface looks like a topographical map. Now IHI makes great turbos that can live many years but maybe for this particular configuration they are failing. With so many cases of the exact same material problems, it is likely that eventually they will all fail. The good news is the hot side sheers off and drops into the exhaust in most cases, which is downstream so not likely to hurt the engine. However the unbalanced shaft or loose debris are not exactly great for the system. Hope this helps.
     
    mdrums and of2worlds like this.
  11. Carbon777

    Carbon777 Karting

    Dec 9, 2023
    87
    Westminster CO
    Well, if it is covered under warranty then it's far cheaper to go that route ~8-9K. However for the individuals out of warranty it is about half the cost as the dealer. You can get Pure Turbos without logos on the outside making determination it is an aftermarket turbo difficult. Pure 800's are the same as factory with better wheels and shafts. 900's have the same but bigger cold side for higher boost and 1000's have larger both sides for maximum peak horsepower. The cost between each is not significant in the grand scheme but in my opinion 900's are the best of both. While the 1000's make more peak HP they have been known for slower spooling and reduced mid-range HP. The midrange is what you feel mostly in a daily driver.
     
    Mk23, mdrums, BuyHighSellLow and 2 others like this.
  12. Mk23

    Mk23 Karting

    Jul 20, 2025
    69
    Thanks for the info. Couple of questions if you don't mind. First, do the 900's require ECU tuning? To me I would want a simple swap out for the 800's, but would consider the 900's if it was "plug and play".

    In regards to turbo's failing, do you know or is there a resource to determine how many or what percentage of cars this has happened to? It sounds like you're implying its an inevitability. If so, there should be some recall or goodwill from Ferrari on this, no?

    I recently acquired a low mileage 2017 488 and reading these forums have left me terrified haha. I'm self insuring but learning of Pure Turbo's has set my mind at ease at least for that issue. But what has me more concerned are the reports of cam cover/head gasket leaks. Any sense of the incidents of those? That seems to be the astronomically expensive fix with no easy "Pure turbo" type fix.

    Thanks!
     
  13. MANDALAY

    MANDALAY F1 World Champ
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    May 23, 2013
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    ANGELO

    How many failures in the 8,000 odd number of cars ?
     
  14. Vegasalvarez

    Vegasalvarez Rookie

    May 2, 2022
    1
    Full Name:
    Ignacio vegas
    Hello, good morning. I wanted to ask what turbo repair shop you recommend, or what repair kits I can buy. Best regards and thanks.
     
  15. mdrums

    mdrums F1 Rookie

    Jun 11, 2006
    3,721
    Tampa FL
    Not many....oem stock cars. Most all I ever heard about with on cars with mod'ed exhaust/ecu.
     
    MANDALAY likes this.
  16. emmholla

    emmholla Formula Junior

    Dec 15, 2018
    262
    I blew a turbo around 15-17k miles. Got it replaced under warranty. My car didn't have a tune on it or anything like that. If that were to happen again i'll be changing both sides with Pure Turbos.
     
    MANDALAY, mdrums and Mk23 like this.
  17. Mk23

    Mk23 Karting

    Jul 20, 2025
    69
    What were the signs? Did you track your car or drive it particularly hard? Did you follow a cool down period after every drive? Not that any of this is conclusive either way, just curious. Thanks!
     
  18. Mk23

    Mk23 Karting

    Jul 20, 2025
    69
    Sorry one final question. Did you have the extended factory warranty or the Power 15. I ask because I've heard 2 different things. Some say Power 15 covers turbos, others say no. Thanks!
     
  19. Shark01

    Shark01 F1 Veteran

    Jun 25, 2005
    6,585
    That is a name I keep hearing....
     
  20. emmholla

    emmholla Formula Junior

    Dec 15, 2018
    262
    I bought my car as a cpo. At the time the bumper to bumper warranty had expired but the powertrain warranty was in effect (power15). So the power 15 covered this repair.

    Generally what I've found is that if these cars are kept stop (no tune), and maintained properly. They will serve you well. Avoid long periods without use and you shouldn't have any worries. If something breaks fix it and keep driving. The car will be fine.
     
    Mk23 likes this.
  21. Mk23

    Mk23 Karting

    Jul 20, 2025
    69
    Thanks for the follow up. I bought a 2017 488 from a non Ferrari dealer about 3 months ago. 6400 miles and already nearly 8000 haha. I could get the Power 15 but it would cost about $6800. During a post purchase inspection and full service (all fluids, filters, even DCT fluid change) the dealer said the car looked to be in great condition. So I decided to forgo the power warranty and put that money in an account to self insure instead. I was happy to hear pureturbo's has what seems to be a better solution than stock for $5K. Although with labor it's still a $10K job. Anyway, thanks again and happy driving!
     
  22. MANDALAY

    MANDALAY F1 World Champ
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    May 23, 2013
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    ANGELO

    Please describe in detail why , how , where etc. 15 - 17 k miles is nothing.

    Did you buy the car new ? Is a question I always ask . That way a true representation of the car is established.

    Whats the point of allowing oil to come up to temp and allowing the temp to cool down before turning of if the first owner thrashed the crap out of it , tracked it and never respected the turbos.

    You response would be appreciated.

    EDIT

    Your answered later on that it was second hand.

    Im looking for an original owner and has a turbo failure . Im yet to see one. They are second hand cars with no real understanding what happened in its previous life.
     
  23. Carbon777

    Carbon777 Karting

    Dec 9, 2023
    87
    Westminster CO
    My car was 99% stock when it failed, no tune and just a different muffler so this is not true. Changing the muffler out doesn't make turbos fail.
     
  24. Carbon777

    Carbon777 Karting

    Dec 9, 2023
    87
    Westminster CO
    Lots of failures but Ferrari owners either get it covered or just pay the TAX and don't question the "why".
     
  25. Carbon777

    Carbon777 Karting

    Dec 9, 2023
    87
    Westminster CO
    There are not kits, where are you located?
     

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