Ferrari 360 model year differences

Hi, I am interested in buying a 360 Modena (coupe), preferably in manual.
I have read on many places that early ones had some problems which were sorted out during the models life between 1999 and 2005.

Is there any reference anywhere of all the model year changes, preferably by chassis number if possible.

Is it possible to check the changes by looking at the car?


Also i noticed in the engine bay that on some models the 2 air boxes and pipes are either polished metal or black. Is there a reason for this or is it a factory option? I have seen black boxes on both 2000 and 2004 cars. (I know there was a factory option for carbon fibre.)

Any help would be great.

Many thanks, Peter.

 

I believe the main differences is the MY 1999 did not have pre-cats (the ones in the headers) MY 2000 and later did. MY 99 through 2002 had self learn TCUs whereas MY 2003 and later had TCUs that the dealer could set the PIS (point of initial slip) which means the clutch wear should be less (some more mechanical savvy FChatter chime in if not correct).
Apart from that there may some minor cosmetic differences but you probably wouldn't notice. The other issues such as the variators etc which were fixed on later MY cars were (or should have been) through Ferraris campaigns (your dealer should be able to tell if they were and if not they will do them free of charge).
Hope this helps.
Alan

 

Cosmetic changes: early cars had a different Check engine light than later cars, post 2002 IIRC had a emblem in the dash on the passengers side. The aluminum trim on later models was painted IIRC as well vs. raw aluminum on early cars. The light vs.dark boxes on air intake are the spyder (light silver) versus the coupes (black). Challenge had the carbon and I think it was an option. Challenge grill in the back vs. body color is another optional change.
Modenas are pretty similar. Its NOT like early Mondials versus the "t"..

 

It sounds like you've not read the buyers guide at the top or looked for similar questions in the past

That would a good starting point

Having said that very little Ferrari data is ever released so you're very unlikely to find chassis number to spec change data and even if you found it it would probably be even less reliable than their production figures

 

Hi guys,

thanks very much for the replies, I also read about the motor mounts on early cars had problems too.

I will do a search as suggested and see. Thanks for clarifying the silver Vs black air boxes and of the other changes. I was initially looking at a 355 but having read so much about them and the high running costs I have decided for 360 and plus it's simply stunning! Engine in cam belt service is also a positive for me.

Cheers.

 

Peter- Go to the parts catalogs on Ricambi's or another parts house sites and you can go through the parts catalog page by page and see when the changes were made by Assembly Number, which roughly correlates to Serial Number. If you do that, you will have a pretty good map of the changes and can also publish it here for other 360 owners. Here is what it looks like for the 575M.
View attachment 575M 575 SA Updates Rev 1.8.doc

 

The motor mounts are reasonably affordable to have replaced. They are considered a wear item on these cars and get replaced when they break down. It's more an issue of mileage than model year.

 

The bare aluminum trim on my 99 seems to have a slightly etched finished and then clear anodized. My air boxes are black. I did paint them red and that lasted about five days as the reflection in the rear glass was distracting so they are back to black. I guess the aluminum finish would do the same thing. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there were a lot of major changes -- just improvements of which some where covered by the campaigns.
Alan

 

Terry, that list you attached of the 575 modifications is great, exactly what would be great to have for the 360 as well.

Thanks for that.

 

Yes, you've identified why the air boxes on spiders are silver and yet black on coupes. There is no reflection problem with spiders, but you can see the reflections quite clearly with a coupe. If you want to improve the looks of the air boxes on a coupe, get carbon fiber ones from Fabspeed or Carbonio. They're black (natural carbon fiber) and look great as well as flow a bit better.

If there are any changes beyond those mentioned in the posts above, I'm not seeing them or aware of them.

 

Yes I forgot that the Spider and Modena have different engine covers and that's the reason there is not a reflection issue with the Spider.
Alan

 

...or GruppeM!

yummy yummy GruppeM
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Wow! That's stunning, you must be so proud of that!

 

Something I would have never done myself but bless the PO.!!!

 

GruppeM is by far the best of the best

 

I always thought they looked kind of stupid being so disproportionately HUGE and then necking down the the original MAF. Despite their claims the MAF and intake would limit HP gains so it is really only for style. I guess they just aren't my style.

 

Here are Fabspeed's on a spider. I like the proportionality better, as they look sleek. Fabspeed dyno'd them showing very modest gains, so they're not purely cosmetic (although mainly so).
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It took me some time to get used to them too but they have a nice organic buxom shape to them that grows on you. They are really well made and house a sweet custom K&N cone filter x 2 that you have to buy from GruppeM for a couple of hundred bucks if memory serves. Still considering all that I like the giant sucking noise that I can hear from time to time when I am getting it on. I don't know if a stock setup sounds the same as this is the only 360 I have been in.

 

They're also easy to replace yourself if you have a set of ordinary DIY wrenches, four stands, and a small floor jack.

Considering the age of older cars coupled with a high output engine and the amount of heat soaking these cars go through, it really wouldn't matter if early cars had motor mount problems or not. After 14 years it wouldn't be unusual for ANY car to require motor mount replacement.

Motor mounts are a non issue when it comes to deciding on which year models are desirable. Fresh mounts are nice, but bad mounts are easy enough to fix.

 

You will get the sucking sound with any high flow filters. I have the K&N in my car (let's not start the filter debate again in this thread).

Fabspeed did dyno some modest improvement but only with high flow filters. I don't think it is because of the air boxes.