Hi guys, I have just got hold of a 355 Spider, stunning car but i have a concern, when i look at the car the near side rear wheel is roughly 2 inches more off camber compared to the drivers side rear wheel when measured from the wheel arch to tyre. (it looks squat from the rear on the passenger side only. I know the adjustment is made via shims (in or out) on the rear suspension. Do Ferrari carry the shims in stock as it goes in on Friday to Ferrari Manchester for a factory recall that was never completed on it and hopefully they can look at it then. Or could you guys recommend a specialist in Cheshire/Manchester who could do it correctly and quickly. Your advice and expertise would be greatly appreciated. Zippy
Are you talking about the ride height on the N/S, or definitely camber?? 2 inches is an awful lot if you are talking about camber on one side. Has it been in a smash at all? Is it positive (Top of wheel leans towards the arch), or negative (Top of wheel leans towards the cars center) camber?
An alignment in a Ferrari starts with ride height and corner weighting. It is only after the chassis is setting properly on its suspension that alignment maters. Luckily, Ferraris have completely adjustible suspensions, and this requires nothing but the tools to get the job done. If the ride heights are not set properly, it is unlikely that the suspension can be aligned properly, and even if you get the numbers correct, it won't drive like its supposed to. Tire height to wheel arch is a notoriously poor way to measure ride height. Ride height is measured at the rear bolt where the lower A-Arm pivots to the flat and 'level' ground surface, and should be within 1.5 mm side to side after corner weighting. Finally, it is poor practice to ride height and corner weight a car with old tires on it.
Its is Negative Camber, the car did have rear end damage on the drivers side prior to me getting it (rear bumper, very slight OSR Quarter pane)l, i have just had it fully repaired and completely repainted as the previous owner had done the repairs on the cheap and it showed. I do have a suspension warning light on the dash which could be an actuator playing up, the car has sat for 3 weeks in the body shop and i didnt notice the camber problem before it went in which was 2 days after i got it. It just seems more pronounced today on the near side rear after i have driven it. Forgot to add it has brand new Bridgestone tyres on the rear which i had fitted the day after i got it. also to answer the last post the ride height is virtually identical from wheel centre to arch on both sides its just the camber is negative on the passenger side, it may well just need adjusting on both sides, without raising the car and taking a good look i couldnt say if the shims are equal on each side. I would much rather get a proffesional to sort it as wheel allignment is critical, i have had in the past had lengthy discussions with service managers and so called experts who have talked cr#p and got it wrong. The best guy i ever used was a dealer salesman from Super Tracker if i remember correctly who after several complaints met me direct and tracked one of my cars personally and agreed the 3 experts where all wrong but he sorted the problem within 1 hour. Guess what......i have lost his details. Zippy
