360 wheels

Hi folks

New New Zealander 348 owner here from Japan.

Sadly I dont understand Japanese so I have to look outside for support and I found this great website. Super cool.

I am wanting to put some 360 wheels on my 348 to give a somewhat more modern look. Will they go straight on or is some modification required?

Thanks

 

I'm just about to do the same thing with my 1994 348 ss2. You'll be OK, but you'll need a few things like new lug bolts and slightly different tire size in the rear.

Here's what I've found:

LUG BOLTS
The 348 tends to have longer than typical lug bolts. I think the typical 348 uses 55mm bolts all around. As a Serie Speciale though, mine were 55mm front and 80mm rear. (measuring the shank only, not the head). The 360 wheels will need the more typical 52mm lug bolts all around, so it's likely that you'll need those along with your new wheels. I found plenty of them on eBay.

As I mentioned, my car is a 1994 Serie Speciale, so my original wheels are a bit different than most 348s because Ferrari made a big change to the rear wheel offset in the SS and the Spiders by thickening the wheel at the hub. This change let them move the rear wheels so they'd sit 25mm further outward, it also improved handling and negated the need for the 25mm spacers that so many 348 owners had been installing.

In any case, that's why they needed the extra long rear lug bolts (80mm). On the front, the wheels are 3mm thicker at the hub than the 360 wheels, so that accounts for the slightly longer lug bolts (55mm). Neither should be used with the 360 wheels. As I said earlier, you'll need 52mm lug bolts. (see pics)

TIRE SIZING
Stock 360 tires were perfect for the front, but seems a bit too big for the rear.
Stock 360 = 215/45-18 and 275/40-18
I Used = 215/45-18 and 275/35-18

The offset values for the 360 wheels will make both front and rear wheels stick outward roughly 17mm further than the SS, Spider or early-with-spacer-cars. (add 25mm more to the rear if you're comparing to an early car without the 25 mm spacer).

With 360 wheels on my 348, the front wheels seem perfectly situated but I was a little concerned with the rears. The stock 360 rear tire size didn't leave enough room to even slide my fingers between the tire and the front edge of the rear quarter wheel opening. I down sized to 35-series and it seems far more appropriate and reduces my fear that they'll rub the quarters over big bumps.

I've included a few pictures.
The first two are comparisons of the the 55mm bolt verses a 52mm bolt in a 360 wheel.
The second two are taken from the rear bumper area, looking forward at the wheel. The left side has the 360 wheel (with 40-series tire) and the right side has the stock 348 ss2 wheel.
The final picture is obvious.

Good luck! I think 360 wheels look fantastic on a 348!

Tom in New Hampshire USA
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Check out FerrariAds for Brent Lachelt's 360 modulars cut to fit the 348 perfectly. Smokin' deal.

 

heya.....
just a quick question.....will the usage of the original 348 lugs (55mm) cause the 360 rims to not fit properly on the 348? will there be freeplay? (if not what would the issue be) sorry if the question sounds trivial but i am curious.
thanks

 

Should be no problem. The shank of the lug bolt will be taken up by the brake rotor.....I think.

 

Actually, I had the same question, so I put a 55mm lug bolt into the hub without the wheel on the car and turned it probably 5mm past where it would have stopped if the wheel were on.... and everything seemed fine. So I think the slightly longer bolt would be alright. My main concern was with the actual "latch" point where the bolt grabbed onto the car.... I wanted that as close to the wheel surface as possible, since I figured it'd provide the best "snug" fit and the best resistance against torque forces. The other thing that worried me was that I had no idea how deeply the female threading goes as the bolt hole passes through the hub and I didn't want a longer bolt actually passing through the threaded section beyond where the inner most bolt thread would still be able to bite. Nonetheless, the 80mm bolts from the rear wheels would definitely not work, they bottom out in the hub long before they could seat the wheel. For me I suppose it's just a matter of having the front bolts match the rear bolts, so I ended up with 20 of the 52mm versions. I'm probably a bit OCD.

 

Cheers to everyone who contributed with answers and more. Your help time and advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you from the far east.

 

as in the 348 brake rotors would have a threaded groove to take in the little extra (3mm extra) of the 348 lugs when fitted to the 360 rims? and that is fine right? no damage done? it's safe?

i have 360 wheels on my '91 348 and they I have been using the standard 348 lugs since day one. (clocked in about 12000km so far) however i have read numerous threads whereby everyone keeps saying to change the lugs and it has been bothering me a little as to whether having the standard lugs are somewhat dangerous or not? so I gather from this thread that the standard 348 lugs can be used with no issues and no danger on the 360 rims provided that it's an earlier model 348 with 55mm lugs all around..... it will still give a snug fit with no freeplay. Correct? sorry guys once again....but too much reading gives a little paranoia and this is to clarify that......if it should't be used, i'll get the shorter 52mm lugs right away....