458 Spider Cowl shake

The cowl shake in my Porsche 4S cab was much worse than my 430 spider, it was so bad I got rid of the Porsche after a year.

 

I agree about the F430. Really enjoy that car. But, not about the 12C. Was driving my 12C spider today, and that baby has soul and it is super stiff. Plus it flat hauls....

 

That Bumpy Road setting shuts off after a bit - how do you have it on 90 percent of the time?

 

News to me. Mine stays on until I manually turn it off or shut down the engine...then it has to be reset.

I use it 95% of the time. Perhaps that is why I notice no cowl shake. seems stiffer than the 360 spider for sure. and stiffer than the Boxster S.

 

On the 458? Mine stays on all the time once activated. I prolly use the bumpy road setting 50% of time and I use Race mode 99% of time. Sometimes I forget to use the bumpy road setting, until my jaws start rattling.

 

+1 as much as I loved my 430 the 12C has just as much soul, the fact that is blindly fast probably helps as well.

 

It shuts off every time you move the manetino to a different setting (sport to race, for example) but stays on otherwise until you turn it off.

 

yes

bumpy road setting does not work in WET mode...it is already in the softest shock setting and quietest exhaust level.

Best

 

Back to this again!

The 458 spider is just a car. But, wow... What a car.

Yes, some people cannot appreciate subjective pleasures. For those people I would highly recommend the MAC. It's a great car and it can be sometimes purchased virtually new for a steep discount.

For the rest of us...

 

I would not trade my 458 Spider for Mac at gunpoint.

 

Not everyone wants to pay more for less, its a fair question

 

Love it!

 

I'd say they go hand in...hand

 

I did feel some cowl shake with the top down ~30 mph over a roughly repaired section of road. I drove over 150 mi and this was the only incident I noticed.

BTW it was a great day. Drove to skiing with the back window down/top up. It was in the 30Fs. After skiing drove with the top down. It was 63F in the valley and sunny.

(Have a private underground parking space at the Timbers Club where I ski in Snowmass with plenty of room to open both doors fully. also have power to plug in the charger.)

Best

 

I've got 600 miles in my 458 S. I can feel the cowl shake over bumpy patches on the 405 freeway in LA even with the top up. Much worse of course with the top down. After waiting over an year for this car the cowl shake is a serious disappointment. I had an Italia for a day and that car was tight. I also have a 991 cab and it's much tighter than the 458S with just hints of cowl shake on rough road. I can't find anywhere online on how I can stiffen the frame of the 458S. If any mechanic/engineers are reading this, I'm sure there's a market for this.

 

OP asked if there was a cure.

FWIW on the C5 model of Corvette there were/are two products to stiffen the chassis.

1) A 1/4 thick aluminum panel that replaced the OEM 1/8 steel panel that installed with OEM bolts in the original location in the middle of the car, on the bottom of the chassis under the shifter area. They call it a "tunnel plate".
2) A three piece harness bar that bolted to the rear seat mounting bolts and up to the seat belt shoulder area mounting bolts. Then the bar was secured at these upper mounts and run across the bulk head, behind the seats at, from upper seat belt mount to upper seat belt mount. I believe they called this an "upper chassis tie bar stiffener".

Then Lambo Murcies have that X brace over the engine.
Benz has bolt on front shock tower (over the engine) and rear shock braces (across/inside the trunk) for their CLK models.
Lastly, previous generation (@ year 2001) Firebirds/ Camaros had many options of under carriage weld and bolt on chassis stiffeners.

Again FWIW. Not sure if any of these ideas can be fabricated or even work for a 458.

 

cure is to get a car without cowl shake. they exist

 

Yup, I ended up selling my 458S then got a 488GTB. Much tighter structure but the engine sound sucks. Ended up getting a 812 and that car is pure heaven. Absolutely perfect.
The only future convertible I’ll be getting is one with a carbon tub.

 

Agree.

But, the 488 spider is a significant structural upgrade over the 458 spider. Downside? The exhaust note is absolutely terrible.
Enjoy the 812!

 

Old thread but I had cowl shake so bad that with the top down, I couldn't tell what kind of car was behind me through the shaking rear view mirror. It seemed to improve significantly with a change to Michelin 4S tires from the Pirellis that the prior owner put on. On the Michelins, it seems to be Ok for a convertible. Maybe the last tires were duds, but Im pretty sold on the Michelin for every vehicle by now.

Even with the cowl shake, car is better sounding and looking than the alternatives. I still love it, approaching 4 years now

 

I was really concerned about cowl shake since I have never been happy with any convertibles. I just bought a 488 spider and I am happy with it. Not as tight as a gtb of course, but better than expected and really pretty solid. Car has 13k miles on it.

This was the deciding factor for buying 488 spider instead of 458 spider.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

First proper road trip … two weeks in Spain from the UK … and no discernible cowl shake on my 458 Spider with roof up or down. The car is a 2012, new to me a month ago with 23,000 miles on the clock … currently running Pirelli P Zeros.

 

My ‘13 was not too bad around town but noticeable. On the highway, top down a different story. I remember hitting a handful of bumps in a row while entering a highway and the rear view mirror was shaking so badly I could not make out the car behind me. It was the biggest turn off about the car as it cheapened the feel. By contrast, my 718 Spyder that I had simultaneously felt like it was made out of solid stone by comparison.