355 Just How Fast?

I dont get this floaty thing that some of you are getting on here. Mine is rock steady at speeds above 150mph. It feels sure footed, grippe and controllable. I wonder why so different.

 

Honda... LOL

 

I felt the same with mine at 130mph. I even shooked the steering to get some feeling from the car's handling, and it was indeed very flat and secure.

 

Is your 355 stock? I've been out to Road Atlanta multiple times and find it hard to believe that a 355 could reach those speeds before the braking zone without extensive modifications. in my humble M3 i'm lucky to hit 125...
I've ridden in an instructor-driven 996 Turbo on slicks as well and he was hitting about 160ish.....I believe that's a more accurate number.

Regardless, glad you're enjoying it and driving as it is supposed to be driven!

 

Thats why i asked the question about the tracks these speeds were allegedly achieved on. By no one answering my inquiry/question speaks volumes to me

 

Ride heights and corner weighting.

Now, there is an effect where, if the drivers arms are not held up by the muscles in his back and rest lightly on the steering wheel, the natural undulations of the car, at high speed, pull on one elbow differently than the other and cause the driver to induce the car to weave all over the place. This gets worse as you grip the wheel harder, and abates when you just lightly rest your thumbs on the 9-3 o'clock positions.

Assuming the ride heights and corner weights are reasonable.

 

I believe that was Fangio that said:

"When I started racing, I ended each race with my hands bleeding due to the strengh I griped the steering wheel. I only started to win races when I learned to drive with my fingertips..."

 

155 in the 355 (not on a public road of course). Felt very stable.

Once, I had the wife in the 308 going at a high rate through a sweeping bend and I told her "We have a big, big problem". She turned around thinking their might be flashing lights and instead saw flames coming out of the engine compartment. Pulling the cotter pin and pressing the fire extinquisher button at speed in a bend takes some calm effort! When I braked and pulled over she asked "what should I do" and I explained getting out of the car would be a good idea. Stranded on a long section of elevated highway and she was 6 months pregnant! She is still reluctant to go somewhere in that car 5+ years later.

 

Wow, good thing you had a fire suppression system in the car!

 

The 355 is the only car I havent maxed out yet. Since I bought it 2 months ago I`ve just driven it 2 times and the max speed I reached was 240 km/h. Not bad, enough to end up in jail!
With the other cars at home (always talking about speedo speed NO gps speed)

Evo IX 275 km/h
3000gt VR4 295 km/h
celica TS 255 km/h

Despite I´ve driven the 355 so little its the one I´ve got more respect for and I don´t think I will ever test the top speed. At least in my country. When I go to the nurburgring we will see what happens in the autobahn

 

Hey enginefixr ! Yes, I finally found a great 355 and had it shipped up to here to Canada in March !

It was owned by fellow F Chatter "SKIPPER" in Cleveland and is a 1999 355 F1 Spider..in red and tan and has 34,000 "very well cared for" miles on it !

Although I'm anal about my cars....SKIPPER is in another dimension ! Which of course is the kind of owner you want to buy from. The car has had two owners and came with everything the car came with when new... right down to the origonal window sticker !

I'm really enjoying the car ! I knew that a red Ferrari would attract attention....but there isn't a kid who doesn't give me a thumbs up....or a wave. Man , I wished I'd had this car in university....I wouldn't have needed to even call a girl to get a date !

Was lucky enough to find some Fiorano sway bars, front and rear on Ebay in England so I'll be interested to see how they affect the handling.....the car is pretty much perfect in that area right now...

And I want to Thank all the fellow F Chatters for all the valuable information that I gleaned in the months prior to purchase.....it gave me the confidence to "keep on looking" when several cars turned out to be less than desirable !
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I have never really pushed my 348 spider ... maybe 110-120 at the most ... In my Testarossa however I managed 185 on the clock ... it felt rock solid and wanting more!

 

Beautiful car, Barrie.
Glad you found a good one.
Enjoy!

 

I have been in the lab finishing up a new twin bypass exhaust for a certain 2.7 355 . It is an all new design and completely insane!!!! .......... it will feature some 'firsts' for a 355 exhaust. A 5.2 version will be next. The new system to be revealed very soon ...........

 

As an owner of a 2.7, stop it, quit teasing. Please more information, pics, video...

 

That's a tall order at Road Atlanta. My 997gt3cup would get to 165 Maximum on that straight in several race days. I'm shocked the 355 would get to 160 even back there.

I'm shocked a car with 45 less HP and 250lbs more weight can accelarate so much faster.


It's cool all you guys are hammering these cars they are spectacular. I've never seen one on the open road above 135mph. The are beautiful standing still. Would love to see one cruising along in the 160's.....

 

MJA- Nobody cruises at 160, even the Germans on the Autobahn. Short bursts up to 160, yes, cruise, no. Too much work and too dangerous. 120-140 is much more manageable, unless you are a professional driver.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

meant up to 160's sorry....all 355's I've ever gone on long drives with only cruise up to 120's to 130's maybe......

Sorry Taz for misrep

My post was more about the 180 claim at road atlanta where I was racing pro

 

MJA- Affirmative. It is amazing how long it takes to get up to 160 or 180, even in a racing car. The street cars do not usually have enough horsepower and the race cars have too much downforce/drag. There are very few racetracks where you gear high enough for those kinds of speeds in sports cars. Costs you too much in acceleration on the rest of the course. Except maybe LeMans or Spa.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Totally agree. We had a small CF strip affixed by FIA ruling on our rear wings when we ran the US Grand Prix in 07' and it stopped us from going over 180 after the long reverse sweep of Turn 1 at Indy. It just takes forever. Even my old 575 Maranello would run out of room on almost any road after getting above 180.

 

Shame about the Germans slowing down.
I was there in the mid 80s and had a Porsche 928 that gave me many hours above 150 mph, 160 when the car would get there (estimated 20k miles above 140mph). There were a quite a few guys going the same speeds. The only really dangerous part (besides old tires and that kinda stuff) was when Renault 4CVs would pull out to pass a truck. Trucks are limited to 62 mph and the Renault has a top speed of about 63, so they'd get a draft and pull out to pass the truck - and take forever!! And while this is happening, you're going 2 1/2 times their speed. Good brakes are a must!

 

Changed quite a bit. You can't flash your lights or use your turn signal in the fast (leftmost) lane anymore to let someone know you're coming up or want to pass-it's illegal.

There are many more construction zones where speed is reduced (much more traffic leading to more road wear and resulting repairs), lots of traffic jams, speed limits near some towns and cities to reduce noise and a "recommended" maximum speed of 130 kilometers per hour. This means if you're involved in an accident at a speed higher than this you WILL be held PARTIALLY responsible even if you otherwise were not at fault in any way.

Then of course there are the "Greens" also working on speed reductions/limits.

 

To much noise over 125mph, that is actually better with the top down.?
MB E55 AMG at 155mph is pure pleasure on an autobahn.
This car is not for high speed - it's an adult Go Cart for accel 60 - 100 around corners.!!!!

 

Funny you menion your 540- my 540 is 10 years old (stick w/sport package) and still amazes me how stable it is at very high speeds- hit an indicated 145 in it years ago and was still pulling steadily like a freight train, and the car seems like it wants to drive on the highway from NJ to CA without stopping!

For quick blasts over the years (very rarely), 140 seems to be my max (open road type quick accelerate up brake down run). The 360 is so damn fast it gets up there before you know it (355 is essentially the same I'd assume). I've hit 140 in 3 911's and the BMW- 360 is still relatively new to me plus I'm older (more mature?) and so I've only had it up to about 135

Not to get too far off topic, but one of the most dissapointing car's I had with high speeds was a stickshift 1990 L98 corvette convertible (245hp, but something like 345 fl/lbs of torque down low). Great torque around town, but when you let it rip on a highway it weezed once it got past 80MPH- the thing was ready for the next gear about 1,000 rpm before redline, which itself wasn't too high, and in 3 years I probably only hit 115 or so in the car. The polar opposite to a ferrari motor (but fun it it's own way for lots of torque- year's ago it was considered a quick car with a 0-60 around 6 seconds)

 

175 multiple times on crotch rocket.
BMW M5 to 185 (yes it was chipped)
Ferrari 355 to 140. IMO doesn't feel stable at high speed.
Lotus Esprit V8 to 181 (verified)
Modified Viper GTS to 190+
RUF Porsche 911 to 200+
Maserati Quattroporte 140 for over 30 minutes.

When I see posts about how "fast" the 355 is and how great it is at top speed I have to ask myself, compared to what? Not knocking the car but there are cars that get to that speed comfortably and quickly, the 355 isn't at the top of the "top speed" food-chain.....

That isn't all there is to a car however.....Thats why I love the 355.