Best Bits of the 458 - Engineering marvels?

You could do worse than take a look at this month's Top Gear Magazine. They pretty much run through the technical.

 

A production V8 engine which will spin to 9,000 revolutions per minute is rather amazing. Also they have attached all the functions they could think of to the steering wheel. The speed at which the new transmission will change gears gives maximum performance in a way that is accessible to most anyone who gets behind the wheel of a 458. Working the clutch and shift lever manually is now a thing of the past.
Finally the introduction of a new Ferrari supercar is always an occasion. The image of the manufacturer is such that customers will buy the car sight unseen simply based on the reputation of the name Ferrari.
CH

 

Don't forget 'pre fill' on the brakes and venting air pressure build up in the wheel arches. And the E-diff gives the drive much of it's characteristic when you're playing on the limit. The 458 is also notable for the clean lines of its design, removing all the fussy venting that has been a feature of most of the recent Ferraris. And, along with the developments on the steering wheel, that dash is very driver centric.

 

The most fascinating part of the car for me is the aerodynamics - especially what is going on above the wheels. There is a short movie on Ferrari's 458 site that shows the airflow over the car. It is very interesting. The air flows into the radiators from the nose and exits from the small vents in the fender by the headlights. From there, the wing mirror acts as a bargeboard separating the turbulent flow from the radiators and moving that air downwards separating it from the clean air above that eventually will make its way into the engine intake and through the wing integrated into the rear deck. The mirror on the door is controversial in its looks, but it is in an ideal location when you are looking through a corner at the track. The wing mirror is no longer in your direct line of sight. Instead, the rear view is in your lower peripheral vision and you have a clear unobstructed view of the corner. The downward sloping crease along the side of the car also has an obvious aerodynamic function when you understand how the air flow is managed.

It is an elegant and beautifully executed solution.

 

It is what ferrari has complished with it's "ride" and amazingly fun to drive "feel".

I guess it can be summed up A's the following:

The 458 is a Bussiness man's race car while at the same time being a race car driver's daily driver.

It is really two cars in one and the closest thing to flying cars that exist today.

Drive it

Track it

And you will know and feel what I am talking about.

 

Previous generations had many chips with only minimal interaction. 458 has one central brain controlling everything making the traction control, steering, brakes, suspension simply unbelievable

 

Engine
Outstanding power output of 127 CV/litre,
Specific torque is a record 120 Nm/litre.

For a normal aspirated engine at least hp is a record.There are alot of small inovations, carbon coating cilinders....

"Ferrari calls the 458’s 4.5-liter, dry-sump, flat-plane-crank V-8 the F136FB, part of the family that includes the F136I in the California model and the F136E in the outgoing F430. All share bore centers and block basics, though only with the FB does Ferrari claim a world record for specific output in a nonturbo production engine: 125 horsepower and 89 pound-feet of torque per liter. Three developments were vital: direct fuel injection, friction reduction, and better breathing. The 2900-psi injection system and shell-shaped piston crowns tailor the injection charge to be rich at the plug and lean elsewhere, cooling down combustion temperatures and allowing the lofty, 12.5:1 compression ratio that better harnesses the fuel’s energy. Piston skirts receive a graphite coating to reduce friction, and tappets get a slippery DLC, or “diamond-like carbon,” coating developed for F1 engines. Deep in the block, pumping losses are stemmed by employing three electric scavenge pumps, one for the inner-four piston bays and one each for the outer four. These pumps both return the oil to the reservoir and also better equalize the air pressure between the bays to reduce pumping losses due to “windage,” or air movement inside the block caused by piston motion. Ferrari says windage losses in the old F136E knocked almost seven pound-feet off its torque output."

Gearbox
some 40ms change, and the only thing that keeps it to be close to 0 is that the engine needs time to step down rpm.

Brakes-

Standard carbon ceramics

The brakes also feature a prefill function whereby the pistons in the callipers move the pads into contact with the discs on lift off to minimise delay in the brakes being applied. This combined with the ABS has cut the 100-0 km/h braking distance to a mere 32.5 metres.


The integration of the E-Diff and F1-Trac (now controlled by the same ECU) and their respective mappings is even greater, resulting in a 32 per cent increase in longitudinal acceleration out of corners compared to previous models.


*Electronic magnetorheological shock absorbers

The chassis of 458 is once again made of aluminum spaceframe, which is glued and welded from aluminum castings, extrusions and stamped parts. American aluminum giant Alcoa has a small plant at Maranello supplying spaceframes to Ferrari. This year it brings a new kind of aluminum alloy and a new manufacturing process - heat forming - to improve stiffness to weight ratio. For example, thickness of the roof panel, front bonnet and door skins are reduced to just 1mm without hurting stiffness. Overall, the 458 chassis has a torsional rigidity 15 percent higher than that of F430 without adding weight.

Aero

The 458 has a drag coefficient of 0.33, slightly better than its predecessor. However, it generates 360 kilograms of positive downforce at top speed, compare to 280 kg in the case of F430. Such downforce is distributed 41:59 between front and rear axle, nearly identical to the static weight distribution of 42:58. This mean its chassis balance is hardly influenced by speed

Many design elements contribute to this superb aerodynamics. For example:
The small intakes inboard of the headlamps are not styling gimmicks. They draw air transversely towards the outlets outboard of the lamps, lowering the speed of airflow over the front fenders, thus reducing aerodynamic lift.
The two intakes at the nose, which serve the radiators for engine coolant, are accompanied with winglets made of aeroelastic material. At speed the latter deform to reduce the frontal area of radiator intakes and cut drag.
The oil radiators for gearbox are situated in the tail, with air fed from the two intakes on the top of the rear fenders. The hot air from these radiators creates a base bleed effect, venting directly into the car's low-pressure zone behind the tail and reducing drag.
Engine bay cooling is implemented by the intakes located on the smooth underbody just ahead of rear wheels, where part-vacuum builds naturally to help sucking the air efficiently. The airflow goes up and exits at the outlets beside the taillights, helps generating downforce.
The engine breathes from the intakes located behind the side quarter windows. At high speed, ram air effect contributes to 5 of the 570 horsepower.


Just a few facts...more here

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q4/2010_ferrari_458_italia-first_drive_review/driving_impression_page_2

http://www.autozine.org/Archive/Ferrari/new/458.html


The last is a very complete description of 458's technology.

 

from the autozine.org link above...

"As the flat-crank V8 has the two inner pairs of crank throws situated at the same angle (the same goes for the two outer pairs, which are 180-degree out of phase to the inner pairs), this arrangement prevents air goes repeatedly from one crank throw to another crank throw, reducing windage or pumping loss within the crankcase."


very cool stuff

I assume this however is a typo?

"...this arrangement prevents air goes repeatedly..."

probably should read

"...this arrangement prevents air going repeatedly..."

 

I find it a bold move in the 458's combination of styling with engineering.

The lack of radiator grills in this thing is a masterpiece of design mixed with engineering. It's completely opposite of all other "super cars".

I was looking at one close up the other day and you can barely see the intakes for the engine comparment while the radiator grills are at an absolute minimum.

This cleans up the look and simplifies the curvy form -- giving it a totally unique look. But, this also cuts down on aerodynamic losses to improve efficiency.

Even using the radiator intake moveable fins to reduce air friction at speed is a bold move. Those fins may be "controversial", but all good design needs to step out of the box to make a statement. I'm sure many Japanese and Korean cars will be copying this in some way in the near future, without the function of course.

It's obvious to me that both Ferrari groups worked closely together to find a solution to improved aero and unique styling. I'm not sure too many companies would have been so bold to take this path.

 

It's such a simple thing but the louvers in the wheel arches are my favorite bit.