Whats wrong with the 458

I agree before you buy won drive the 458. I would also drive some other cars. To much money to take my word or anybodies elses. All I can add is: Of the 11 cars I own it is the least exciting to drive.

Great post

Regards

Lee

 

Good advice and this is pretty much what I am doing.

I have my cars stored in a 40 by 120 ft storage area. I have the 458 stuck way in the back so it is out of the way with the cars I prefer to drive. I hope at the beginning of the year I will drive and like the F40 the dealer has found for me. I have a freind who owned one and it was an awesome car. I also hopr I can get into it without too much trouble.

Have a great holiday

regards

Lee

 

Well written points.

 

If you are not an experienced track driver, the Scud will not beat a 458 in Race mode- just because the 458 electronic makes you faster and better than what you really are.

And even as a professional driver....: When I did my Pilota training in Maranello, my instructor (winner of the 430 Challenge championship) was repeating that he had never been as fast on Fiorano track than with the 458 - the Scuderia being included in the comparison.
And yes, the Scuderia is more fun to drive for 30min... because as a more hardcore car, it requires a much higher level of concentration- but if you really think the 458 is a Buick (as you stated in another post), I am wondering why you are not driving it in CTS OFF mode... then you would get your hardcore experience

 

It sounds like you have alot more experience than most people and for sure out does my experience.

As you point out the 458 is an easier car to drive and what you say from that makes sense, but I do not push my cars at all, I drive the speed limits etc. I have limited experience driving a scud but you can feel instantly the brutal and wonderful difference in the car.

I should try the car with some of the electric aids off. I assumedturned the electrics off the put the car at high speed turns it could bite you. I assumed the car driven normally would not feel differently. Is that wrong?

My ZR1 has many setting and if you switch it from "old fouggy mode" to competitive the cars feeels the same except the tires will smoke. Not a big thrill for me ay this stage of my life.

Thank you for your suggestion I will try what you suggest. Thank you

Regards

Lee

 

Lee- You already exposed yourself in the other thread. Although exposing yourself is frowned upon in some circles, maybe it is time to come clean here, as well.

Taz
Terrry Phillips

 

Terry is right in the other thread I owned up that I like the 458 now. I love the appearance, build quality and the engine sound. My 458 is Vellow and it is stunning. My two ferraris before were red.

I was and still am a little disapointed in the ssofter handling but it has grown on me as I drive the car. I also miss a manual shift. So I have adjusted to the car.

I will be looking at a F40 that my dealer has found for me. if I like the car and can get into it I will buy it. My plan was to trade in the 458. I am not certain I will do that.

Terry thanks for the nudge

lee

 

No, I don't have more experience than most people, there are plenty of people on this forum who are better drivers than me. But I have enough respect for money to make detailed due diligence before buying my 458: I drove on a track a LP560, GT3, GT3RS, 430, Scuderia, Aston Vantage, R8, 599HGTE before making the jump. And clearly the 458 was the best of the lot (with the GT3RS... which would have been great as a track car but not as much as a road car- too extreme for me, I am probably not a good enough driver to test its limit on open roads).

With electronics off, the 458 can bite you even at slow speed in a roundabout- just give full gas in the middle of the turn and be ready for the spin....

I believe you didn't appreciate fully the 458 because you drive it the wrong way to see the real potential of the car: below speed limits, not on a track and in a region where most of the roads are straight. Unlike the old school supercars (like the Gallardo or GT3RS), the 458 is a chameleon: if you drive it soft, it is soft- you can cruise on highway, get stuck in a traffic jam, and it behaves as well as a BMW or Benz: given how you described your driving style, that maybe the only way you experienced the 458 so far, so no wonder that you are missing the lack of "raw character". Switching off the electronics would help... but you need also to drive it hard to have the car changing nature.
If you drive it hard, it is a monster. It is impossible to drive it hard on straight roads and still respecting the speed limits... or you drive it hard for 2secs... I mainly drive it hard, on small mountain roads, and it is a blast.
Before doing that, I got trained on a track: that's the only environment where you can safely test the limits of the car. I strongly encourage you to spend two days in a 458 with an instructor on a track, in race, CT off and CTS off modes, and discover the true nature of the 458. If after that you will still be looking for a F40, at least you will know for sure what you are missing and looking for.
The 458 doesn't have a design flaw- actually what you are criticizing (the soft side) is for me the best design feature of the 458: it is two cars in one, you drive full blast on a small mountain road or a track (as fast as in a Scuderia), and after that you can cruise back home quietly and comfortably.
Hope it helps

 

Makes sense.

Thank you for your post

Lee

 

I read this entire thread hoping it would make me feel better about no longer having the financial wherewithal to purchase a new Ferrari. Was offered a brand new 458 at MSRP a couple of months ago and had to pass.

Nope. Didn't happen. I still want the damn thing. I personally like cars that are civilized to drive while possessing other worldly potential to tap into when the opportunity presents itself.

Got a new R8 Spyder, though. No 458, but it's tough to complain.

 

Gary- The real world sucks, but an R8 Spider is a pretty good consolation prize. Hang in there.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Lee,
Pimp was being sarcastic towards 09 scud. They banter about and I actually thought pimpinion's post was very funny, enough to Laugh Out Loud (LOL)
Regards,
Buxton

 

Lee let the 458 turn your frown upside down.

With CT and CTS turned off that might happen inadvertently.

I suggest leave it in sport mode until you have had an instructor and some warmed up tires.

Oh by the way, isn't great you can see graphically your tire pressure and temp for all four tires.

 

Buxton and I missed the whole thing went right over my head

Take care and enjoy

regards

Lee

 

I love how the car EVA will tell you when the motor and tires are warmed up by turning green. After everything is clear and green you can stomp on the trottle and switch to the gauges.

Actually your advice is good about sport but I enjoy race mode and have not had any problem yet but off course I am not a hard driver.

As a side bar the dealer told me the car can store 500 Cd's. You do not have to leave them in the car only place them in once so the system can copy them on memory. Really neat.

The only car I have had that I was careful with was the Shelby Cobra. Mine was only a kit car but it 642 hp and about 2400 lbs gross weight. If you got on the throttle and you where not headed straight you where going to be excited if not scared. It was high on power but low on engineering. The 458 is well balanced and at the speeds I drive does not scare me just excites me.

Take care and thanks for the post.

Lee

 

Lee, perhaps you should send your 458 to Underground Racing for a twin turbo setup. Nothing like 1000 hp to get rid of that "Buick" feel.

 

With that type of hp I would go away from buick feel to numb feel aeriously I never modify any of my cars I always leave them stock.

I find the 562 hp of the 458 quite satisfying. It makes the car well calanced as someone posted. I love the 458 exhaust sound.

if I want power the 638 hp of the Vette ZR1 can give that to me. If I really want to go fast with a nice handling feel and a great american exhaust sound then I do the Mosler. Just a wonderful car in my view.

Lee

 

+1 My cars are also unmolested! I enjoy driving them the way the factory designed them to do. Once you start down that road to modifiying you create something "else" and could wind up with an Orphan. What's the point? You have the same stratergy that I employ Lee. If I want a different ride, IE more power or more anything I simply change cars. That is the beauty of having several different cars.

 

Also you can run into problems that the factory or dealer will not or cannot help you.

My freind next door bought a Ford GT the same time I did. stock they are 500 hp he bumped his to 874 by changing the boast from 15 psi to 23. The dealer I bought my gt valled me and said the engineer who designed the Ford Gt motor and the Aston M 12 cylinder car was at the dealership. He had just retired to Florida.

Suspcious but after I short 1/2 talk he convinced me he was the real deal. I asked about increrasing the boast. He said it was boasted to the safe maximum and still provide reliability. He said the rear right rear piston will have a hole burned it within 10k miles. He also told me not to chip it because most of the chip hp increase was rpm and of very little real value and the valve train Will float at much higher rpms. He convinced me that stock is better.



Lee

 

I have driven them all as an instructor for many schools. This is my 4th Ferrari and by far the BEST. Car can do everything and ride like a Caddy if need be. BRAVO for the 458

 

5000 miles in 4 months FABOOOOO

 

About 600 miles behind the wheel of my 458 and I can see how some may find it boring cruising on straight, boring roads with the car in auto mode in 7th gear with the engine lazily turning at 1800 rpm. This mode of course is also why the car is so drivable on a daily basis and easy to reel in the miles like no other sports car I've had recently. The GT3's I've owned left me a bit worn out and tired, constantly scanning the road for bumps and awaiting that inevitable scraping sound of the chin spoiler on every trip. The constant noise/motor/exhaust sound in the cabin is great for short, spirited runs but starts to wear you out on a 100 mile trips.. The 458 can be loud when you want it and very quiet and comfortable when you and your passenger just want to enjoy a conversation. I find myself putting on miles at a faster rate with the 458 than any other sports car in recent time.

The 458 comes alive when presented with tight, twisty roads where the beast within awakens and all hell breaks loose. The very fast steering ratio and instant HP available at the smallest twitch if your right foot in the higher up rpm's, demands attention, respect and skill (still working on that ). So much so that I consider the 458 one of the most fun and adrenaline evoking cars out there. The warp speed with which it reels in the gap between you and cars in front of you between the turns is simply incredible. The 458 can feel nervous and a little scary when given less smooth or not well thought out lines through the twisty stuff but rewards you when one executes a smooth, well planned entry and exit. Even in the auto mode, braking heavy while setting up for the next turn evokes a series of crisp downshifts which are accompanied by a symphony of motor sounds, popping and overrun burbles that make every sprint rewarding and unforgettable driving experience. I don't know about others but for me this is as good as it gets right now. I'll take a melodious, gutsy, naturally aspirated mid engine layout over any turbo car, even with a 1000hp.

I canceled my deposit on the McLaren because I can't imagine it exciting me more than the 458, even if it is faster and even more capable. I'm not setting lap records when I go out for a drive, I want to be excited and stimulated on each trip, the 458 delivers.

 

Great review.

 

Nothing wrong with a 458! I don't believe Top Gear are the definitive judges!

The car has just been given the WPCOTY Award - Enough said given its a view of journalists aound the world

Those lucky enough to have one ENJOY!

I know I would! To me they are arguably the most elegant Ferrari that has been produced since the 355- Just my 2 cents

 

I have now owned my 458 for three months and simply said I love it more than when I first got it. The car is so capable and just leagues above anything else I have owned. I have done a few setup changes to the car that in my opinion bring out a little more of the car.

I will be taking it out for a track event in June and look forward to seeing what the car is capable of. I am sure it will be beyond my max!

Cheers,

Rb