Every 12 months regardless of mile driven unless you drive a ton of miles. Peoples opinions on how many miles would trigger an oil change before 12 months will vary. Personally if hit 5k miles in less than 12 months then I would probably change it at that point.
changing the oil/filter is probably one of the easiest things you can do by yourself.....loads of threads here on how to go about it...... get the right oil (there are loads of threads here on the oils you can choose), get some right tools if you have none at the moment, read the threads very very carefully and ask if you're lost and get the oil replacement kit, eg like the ones sold by Ricambi and you're good to go........ well if you still don't feel confident/comfy doing it yourself, then get the oil/kit first and take it to someone who has worked on 355s before
Don't forget about gear box fluid, coolant and brake fluid. I change the gear box fluid and coolant every other year. Get the moisture level checked in the brake fluid to indicate if it need flushing.
Replacing your fluids is something that any Ferrari owner can do themselves or with a buddy. It pays to learn this and put it in practice. The only pain is getting rid of the used fluids afterwards. Sure there are places to go but it's a pain packing it up and shlepping that crap down there. I've got about 4 gallons of junk saved up. Can't wait to visit my local Pep boys. Find some like-minded Ferrari owners in your area and form a support group. Fill out your profile so we know where you are. There might be some on these boards near you that are willing to help.
Go to ferraridatabase.com and download an owners manual and a workshop manual for your F355 for free. The OM contains the maintenance schedule you should follow.
Did my 1st oil change and wasn't as bad as i thought. Worst part is removing under tray. Only 8.5 quarts came out is that normal?
Simple, but very time consuming with all the various fasteners to remove the under trays. One way to speed things up (tip courtesy of aeroengineman) is to use a hole saw, and cut a hole under the remote sump drain plug. Use a shipping tube plastic cap to seal it back up. No removal of under trays that way. Probably shaves 30 minutes off the job..and saves lots of frustration.
Sounds about right if you didn't undo the lower oil line from the block to the oil tank (or is the cooler?). That line is the lowest point in the system and from what I have read will hold onto nearly a quart. Your car could have also had less than the 10 quarts or so that is specified it holds. In a baffled oil tank in a dry sump system as the 355 has you could be a quart low and it would effect anything.
Yeah i did both sump and oil pan. I checked dip stick before oil change and oil level was right in the middle between low and high
If you are concerned that you didn't get all the old oil out you wouldn't have if you didn't remove the oil line. Not a big deal, but now you know what extra to do next time. If you are concerned that the car was running around low on oil before you bought it, don't be. The 355 has so much oil for a reason. If you were running around with 9 quarts in there nothing bad would happen.
