355 vs 348

Do 355's drive "just like" 348's or is there a distinct difference?

I really like the 355's but have only driven a 348 and wasn't impressed. Not that fast, a bit hard shifting. I may have been in a bad one. I just don't know.

Will the 355 be different and impress me? I love the looks and performance.

 

only one way for you to find out...

 

If you want a fast car (at least by modern standards) you're better off avoiding both. There are about 1,000 things I appreciate about my 348, and speed is near the bottom of the list

The 348 is a more raw experience, the 355 a bit more refined. They do drive differently. All depends on what your after.

 

The steering of the 348 being non-power assisted, is the most noticeable difference to me. The 348 has the best steering feel of any car I've driven (I haven't driven any other Ferrari but the 355 and 348 though).

Neither car has much torque. The 355 has decent power at the top of the rev range, but as has been mentioned, neither are about power.

They both smell fantastic.

 

If your looking for power or bragging rights at the drag strip neither car is going to please you.
However if you want the sweetest sound you'll ever hear buy a 355 and slap on a capristo level 3 exhaust and let her scream.

 

Where is that "Like" button when you need it?



Mike

 

you have a 510hp supercharged cat! of course both ponies will seem slower!!!

 

This question seems to come up often. When I was looking for an fcar last year I drove both along with a 360 and ended up in a 348. 348 and 355s are quick but they are not stoplight cars or dragsters-go buy a vette if thats what you are after. I have several cars that are faster/handle better than the 348. I ended up with the 348 for the following reasons:

1) I like the way it looks-cheese graters do it for me
2) I like the way it sounds
3) I like to DIY and there are plenty of people here that can help me with repairs/maint.
4) I like the way it handles
5) I like the precise non power assist steering
6) I found a great car at a great price from a great prior owner
7) I like the Ferrari community and what it has to offer enthusiasts
8) The car puts a smile on my son's face everytime we go for a ride and its the car he picks every time (priceless)

 

You're wrong, I actually have 2 of them: an XKR 175 limited edition and an XFR, both with the 510 HP supercharged engine and you're right,, not much touches them on the road.

But I saw a beautiful 355 Spyder red with tan going down the road, and I fell in love immediately. It was stunning.

I love my 456 but it doesn't excite me as much as I think it should when I get in.

I suffer from "the grass is always greener" syndrome I think.

Thanks for all the input.

 

Depends on what you consider fast. The 355 is fast compared to anything less than a z06 corvette. 375hp at 3050lbs is good power/weight. It's certainly not slow.

For me, the 355 was just a lot more car for not much more money and I like the styling better, so that's the direction I went.

The main differences:

Power steering
significantly more power (and an extra 1000rpm)
airbags
active damping (and driver adjustable)
solid shift linkage instead of cable linkage
6 gears
better aero (flat undertray and diffiuser)
It also has front brake cooling ducts, which I don't believe the 348 has.

Other than that, they are similar. The two things you mentioned being disappointed with (power and shifting) are significantly improved on the 355, so I would drive one and see if they are improved enough for you. I'm not sure what you're used to driving, but you can't drive a high winding Ferrari like a low rpm muscle car, so the torque comparisons make no sense as the Ferrari is geared to make use of the higher rpm power and needs to be driven there. I have/had both and vastly prefer the higher winding engine as it's just a lot more fun to drive. Some people can't get past the fact that you need to be 2-3k rpm higher in the rev range to get the same performance and feel, but when I go back to a muscle car the power delivery is just boring to me. I hate that asthmatic feeling when the engine gets to redline in a muscle car, where the Ferrari just keeps pulling.

It is somewhat difficult to drive the Ferrari by feel, you have to watch the tach. The couple of times I didn't, I hit the limiter. No such issue in a muscle car, you can feel when it's out of breath and sometimes I actually would shift too soon as due to the low end power, it'd feel like I needed to shift. After analysis via gtech, I should have held a few hundred rpm more for max acceleration.

0-60 in under 5 seconds and 12 second 1/4 times is not slow to me for a street car. I have been in faster cars and a lot of the modern high end cars are significantly faster, but you don't have to worry about an Altima or a v6 accord being able to hang with you in a 355 (at least not yet, in 5 years that may change at the current rate of progress).

 

The 355 is within .2 of the XKR 175 in the 1/4, so they're roughly the same speed off the line. The power delivery will be absolutely and completely different, though. If you prefer that off-idle and mid-range punch of a supercharged v8, you won't like the the 355 as it starts to make it's power where the xkr stops making it.

 

I bought my 355 F1 about 6 months ago. I came out of an '09 911S. The 911 was faster off the line. There are a lot cars that will beat you at a stop light in a 355. I really had pretty low expectations about it since it's a 14 year old car. After learning how to drive it I was pleasantly surprised. Put it in sport mode, stay above 4000 rpm and the performance it very good. It's not a slow car at all but the performance envelope is very different than most cars.

 

Quite a few differences between the 355 and 348.

Smoother shifting 6-speed vs cable-shift 5-speed. I'm not a fan of the 1st generation F1 system used on 355s.

More comfortable seats.

Power steering.

Somewhat better performance.

Improved styling (most like it better).

Wider stance and bigger wheels/tires.

Better sound (bypass valve).

 

Very good Pete. The other thing that many dont know is that the 355s chassis is 30% stiffer than the 348. Big difference in handling. There were many many improvments in the 355 over the 348 just as the 430 over the 360. The poster should take a look at the 355 and try to grab a 2.7 if he can. Mine now has over 400hp easily and redlines @9000 simply because the 95 2.7 can be modified in so many ways.

 

well said; when I was shopping, our local market had 348 spiders at 1/2 the price of 355 spiders. huge difference in steering, some difference in shifting - I'd argue a slight increase in low-end torque on the 348, with obviously more hp on the 355. 355's clearly the 'better' car in every category. There's nothing I'd want to upgrade my 348 to

 

Just curious...modified how?

 

The 2.7 can be rechipped easily. We do it up here in Toronto through the boys at Daytona. These cars were built to be faster than they are. They were detuned to meet california standards. And theres more much much more.

 

Can a 5.2 be rechipped?

 

F355 actually has a venturi device in the not-quite-flat undertray. There is a "nozel' in the front facia that directs air under the car into the underbody air channel that increases the mass of air flowing through the diffusers at the rear of the car; increasing downforce.

 

No, It cant. You have to send it out to be remapped. And I mean sent to Italy to be redone by the people who do them for Ferrari. This can only be done through Daytona in Toronto. Your car feels completely different. The mapping is done for each individual car depending on cam timing(there are 2 timing settings,cats and no cats)
type of exhaust, headers, bypass valve or nobypass valve ect. Then you can top it off with Dave Helms gold connector kit.

 

How much does this remapping cost? Do you need the car or just the ecu?

 

Not true. I know of at least two companies selling upgraded chips for the 5.2. There are probably many more.
It is a simple "pull out and replace it with the upgrade" job.

And the claimed power increase is actually larger for the 5.2 car than the 2.7

 

Really? If it could be done properly, dont you think the brains that program them from the start would do it. Ive also heard of remapping done here and many complaints of it not being right. I havnt yet heard 1 complaint from anyone having had it done through Daytona.

As for power gains for the 5.2 over the 2.7. Well the 5.2 has less to start with and has more restrictions............So I cant see it being much different.

 

You would have to call Daytona in Toronto to find the exact price and how to go about it.

 

Do you have any actual evidence that the 2.7 has more power than the 5.2? Ferrari claim the same for both cars, and looking at Fiorano lap times, a 5.2 F1 version went around a full second faster than a 2.7 manual.
It seems to me to be an urban myth peddled by those who have an almost religious attachment to the "95".

Every other car, aircraft, or piece of machinery that I've ever been involved with has been improved over the life of the model. It is a commonly held principle that the best version of any machine is the last before it is replaced, because the manufacturer has finally ironed out all the mistakes of the early versions.
A 1994 348 is superior in almost every way to a 1989 version.
A 2004 F360 is also much improved over a 1999 F360.

But for some reason the '95 stick shift crowd - oh, it has to be a stick shift! - want to buck this trend with the 355.
OK, but show me some REAL evidence as to why.

Regarding upgraded chips, have a look at www.powerchipgroup.com and enter 1995 Ferrari 355 and then 1998 Ferrari 355.

If you can't be bothered, here are the results:
1995 requires two chips to be replaced, and the power / torque goes from 280kw and 363Nm, to a max of 296kw and 384Nm.
The 1998 requires one chip, and goes to a max of 305kw and 392Nm.