After six months an agonizing wait my F430 came in on thursday. first off thanks a million for the crew at ferrari of long island for their usual great service specialy to my main man himself Jack Ciaccia. he went out of his way to have the car ready for me in one day and for me to have the opportunity to enjoy it for the weekend. okay guys i know have put on 40 miles on the 430 and this is what i think about the car. there is no comparison between the regular stock 360 and the 430. 430 is in a different leauge all by itself in power, specialy the torque. compared to the CS it is still faster and for some weired reason it feels much lighter and quicker to the throtle response. the front of the car feels like she wants to take off like a plane . The f1 is much much improved over the regular 360 and better than the CS. it is not slugish what so ever off the line even at low speed and kicks ass when you romp it. The best feature on the 430 in my opinion is the exhaust. it has deep roars like a lion and it is much louder than the CS exhaust specialy on the second and third gear and when you let her rip. The handling , i did not feel it being any better than the CS. i tought that it was not as tight around corners and at time scary but that's in sports mode i still yet to try the race mode. The only regret i have is not getting the ceramic brakes. the ceramic braking system are great and a must have after owning a CS. is it worth an additional $14K? at this point i would say yes. it is a big big difference in the braking. Overall i am very happy about what ferrari has brought to the table with the 430. it has raised the bar for the competitors. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great story and thanks for the post. This really makes it harder for me to wait for late 06 or 07 when my turn rolls around. Beautiful car.
Awesome color - the F430 looks phenomenal in that color. Congratulations. Are you stepping on her hard after only 40 miles?
Eli thanks for the report. BTW I love Titanium on the 430. It looks great! I am puzzled regarding your opinion of the brakes. My understanding was that the regular brakes braked as well as ceramic and the only difference was weight and longevity. I drove a Stradale on a couple of occasions and did not find the brakes noticeably better than the 360 brakes. It possible you need some break in time before you can really judge the standard brakes. Or it is possible I am rationalizing my decision to go with regular brakes. My car is on a boat which I believe is lost in the Bermuda Triangle because it is taking so long to get here.
Fantastic colour! Can't see the interior though; what did you go for? And ali or CF trim? As for braking and handling, I do think you need to give it more miles before coming to a definitive conclusion. I found the brakes superb for normal fast road driving with only the very slightest fade after several miles of "maximum attack" twisty road thrashing. No doubt the CC brakes are better, but I'm still not sure I'm going to order them on mine. I doubt they will command a commensurate premium come trade-in time. As for handling; well I drive and review fast cars for a living and I have never been as impressed with a car as I was by the F430. Front end grip is WAY higher than the still understeer-prone CS. Put it this way, I can usually find the lateral limits on a car within a maximum of half an hour of driving it. I couldn't regularly breach the limits of the F430 after five days and 1000 miles! It is the most neutral car I have ever driven. I reckon your tyres are still too new at only 40 miles. The car I drove had a few hundred on them. Anyway, congrats and keep a look out for the June issue of Evo (coming out early May in the UK)!
Great car, that color really makes it look really special. Hope you'll enjoy it a lot. I have a small reqest on behalf of all titanium color lovers: Please can you take some pics of it in the sun or under better lighting so we can really appreciate the color. Hope that's not to much to ask for, but it would be great if you could post them somwhere in high res. THX and Forza!
I agree....My father picked up his on Tuesday, and we drove to Lime Rock today. The car is just amazing. He has 350 miles on it already (650 miles for the break in). The 6 speed manual is not notchy at all, and the drive just smooth and fast. His is Titanium with Black with Titanium stiching. Also got the Carbon Fibre vs alum trim. The 430 is much better sounding than the 360, and will not need a Tubi to get a good sound out of it. I have a Video of a take-off but 1meg and cant post it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I took delivery of my F430 yesterday. I ordered it with the CC brakes as I figured you had to use what the industry produces best to stop a car with 500 HP. Also, I plan to track the car. I wasn't sure anymore if I had made the right choice after I read a review on a ferrari forum about the handling during normal driving. Well, after more than 400 km, I can tell you it was the best decision I could take and altough the option is expensive, it essentially is a perfect match for the power of the engine. Not only are they extremely powerful but they also handle very smoothly in normal driving conditions. It is a privilege to drive this car. I just can't imagine how you can improve it further!!!
You can upload it to http://www.ferrarirosso.com/ you just need to register for free. Keep us posted.
Here is a very short Video of the take-off....The Exhaust is perfect the way it is. http://www.ferrarirosso.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=708
For those who received the F430s in the states, may I ask what were the MSRPs for both the F1 and 6-spd cars? Just would like to know to get me prepared when my name comes on the wait list. Thanks for any replies.
I got to check out the new F430 yesterday! LOVE the exhaust note...especially when the flap in it opens up and really lets the car roar. It was silver exterior on blue interior. F1 paddle shift. The front end is kinda fugly a bit in my opinion but the side and rear looks great. Looks like a nice jump up from the 360 but the 360 CS still fascinates me more.
The only part that blows my mind, is the exhaust tips look like they were an after thought. Why they are not chrome, they are ugly looking.
Nick, the ceramic brakes are defint. a head and shoulder better than the regular brakes just no comparison in my opinion. as far as your car i think that ferrari inorder to save shipping are transhipping their containers and the boats are not coming in directly and are making few stops. it is worth the wait.
tit the 430 is heavier as we all know than the CS so that would even further impact brake performance ( steel rotors ) compared to the CS ( CCB ). If there were 2 keys on the table, which would you go for? Is it too early for you to answer this question or would the answer be both. 1 for track , 1 for road. rock on
This is by far the ugliest, most gutless contrived design on the planet, and I pity the fool that has to drive one. I only say this because I can't afford it! Seriously, grats on the wonderful car!
Roger to be honest with you for the track use hands down the CS just because of the handling . for everyday use around town the 430 no question about it. they are two different animials.
