hello, i wanted to lower my 458 italia but my dealer told me that i cannot do it since mine has lift kit. i'm wondering if because ferrari is not allowing them to do it or is it really not possible with lift kit? anyone have any idea? or even better, is there ways to get around it? appreciate your expertise!
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=295336&highlight=lowering+458 There is another thread on FChat which I can not quite find. Ps. lowering may interfere with warranty I imagine.
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One question - why? Certainly respect each owner's desire to make the car the way they want, but you got know that 100s or 1000s of designer and mechanical engineering hours were spent on the exact height for the stock F458....
+1 But each their own. Lowered cars do look amazing however, giving it that extra aggresiveness. Not sure how the dynamics of it work and the functionality on the road i.e. bumps and speed breakers etc. But I agree with the above.
Two questions: 1. Why is the 458 ride so high? 2. Does lowering (with intent to improve looks) impair the car's handling?
yea i agree, i don't think lowering really makes the car better for the road. although ride height does come into play at the track. but for me it's more for the looks. lol i keep my mclaren mp4-12 and 458 side by side and the gap between tire and fender is very different between them. i've seen a white 458 lowered and it looked amazing.
Answer to 1: Most likely for practical reasons. It's just easier to drive around town with pot holes, bumps, etc. 99.9999% of the miles these things do are not on the track or anything near their limit. Lowering it may reduce the CG but it also increase the chance for body damage in normal driving conditions. In addition, the US has certain heights for bumper standards and this may also have an effect. Answer to 2: I believe it does, but you nee a complete re-alignment of the car to put it in the proper specs for that height. Lowering the car will lower the CG and that has to help. If it wasn't, the the challenge cars wouldn't be set up so low. However, the caveat is that under most circumstances, you won't feel any difference. People who lower cars most often do it for aesthetic reasons, not functional reasons.
Pretty much every car coming out of the factory is higher than it ought to be. Get your dealer to check the heights after 1k miles (the car settles during this period). Geo will be miles out so I always get my cars recalibrated (which usually includes lowering them to get them to factory specs). Also the factory do not give an exact ride height. It is +/- 5mm, so all this talk of lowering it will ruin what engineers have carefully put together is a myth. The engineers are rolling them out of the factory all over the place.
There is at least one lengthy thread on this subject, specific to the 458, where some of the more technical people on this site suggest that lowering causes significant handling issues due to suspension geometry changes and aerodynamics. Others argue that these compromises affect the car little at street cruising speeds. I suggest you search if you are really interested.
You definitly can lower the 458 with the front lifter...I had one of mine done.The front shocks must come off and then a groove is machined into the shock so the retainer that holds the spring can be reposistioned. The rear shocks don't need the groove. I had the dealer do it and it worked out fantastic both in terms of looks and handling. It is a bit complicated so some dealerships may not have a tech qualified to do this.I'm lucky my local dealer has a tech that placed 2nd in some global competion and is just incredibly gifted. My spider is here this week and before I take delivery I will have it lowered.With the front lifter I never had any problems with clearance.Just need to plan ahead so you can raise the front..I think it's money well spent
Any time you change the suspension, getting the RIGHT alignment is critical. When you lower the car or make other changes, you'll also have to find the right alignment settings, as "factory spec" was likely defined at the old height.... In terms of the variances (+/-5mm), that is often a function of variable weight on board - eg. do you have 20 gals or 2 gals of fuel? Race seats or full electric? front lift (40kg)? etc. Measure your ride height with you in the car, and out of it. your own body weight affects it.... I would fill the fuel halfway and get a competent shop to corner balance the car and align it. Alignment is half the battle, getting weight and corners set is equally important. If you change the settings (eg. lower it), make sure your shop knows how to make it drive better, not just look better. Me personally? The 458 does look meaner when lowered, but it's a road car and we drive it, stock height is fine. I'm more adamant about making sure the tire pressures are set properly. At 750 or so miles I am going to have our race shop set the corners and realign it.
I'd be very surprised if any new car leaving the factory had 'stock' alignment. All I am doing is what the factory should have done in the first place. The fact is they don't. Ive been told the manual says load up the car with a full fuel tank and simulate driver and passenger weights. Then take the measurements. Two different UK dealers have done exactly that independently. Extract from the 16M manual below. The only way you will know is to check your car against the manual... Image Unavailable, Please Login
apologies if i was unclear....completely agree with your point about how the cars leave the factory, let alone after the shipping and trucking! Was trying to emphasize the element of adding corner weights/balance to the equation, and that changing ride height makes original factory ideal spec (+/- variance) less relevant.
http://prostores.exotica-motorsports.com/xcart/Novitec-Sport-Spring-Kit-Ferrari-458-Italia.html In stock and will work with or without lift system.
There's some really good posts here. What it means in the end is that you can do it but you have to do it properly, including the proper alignment. Just dropping the car will make it worse handling and chew up tires. The downside is a greater chance to scrape the nose, bottom, or rear defuser (aside from the costs involved of course).
Personally I cannot stand my sportscars looking like 4x4s. I've had every Ferrari I've owned....all except the FF....dropped. Not only asthetically more pleasing but the cars feel more planted thru the twisties. As for damage and whatnot...all valid points...but just be a little bit more careful and cognizant of where the corners are. To the OP...the Italia w/lifter can absolutely be lowered as others have said. Just make sure its done correctly and an alignment is performed afterwards. Dealer dropped is preferred.
Last time I checked there were no hills in LV. A drop of .5" to .75" makes a huge difference visually. And the negative effects are negligible.
Oh my you haven't seen the potholes! I scraped the nose of my F430 getting out of my parking garage and added skid plates. I've never hit the nose of my 458. I think the nose is closer to the wheelbase and perhaps the electronic shocks help keep the nose from squatting when it hits a strong bump.
I understand why many owners lower their cars. I choose not to (1) for the practical reasons cited (handling issues and increased damage potential); and (2) my eye inevitably goes to the wheel wells where the unevenness between the tire perimeter and the wheel well announces, "I am a lowered Ferrari." Having said that my sense is that the California looks better overall lowered. I don't have that sense with the 458. Different strokes....
