348 Handling?

stock wheels you want to run with the 25mm spacers. The challenge wheels don't need them. It will stick out too far. The offsets are different for the two rims.

Kai

 

I have some pictures I drew when I was doing 348/F355 suspension analysis a decade+ ago that have the change. But it has been a long time, and I woudl have to go find them.

 

For many the 348 is the first car of its kind they own. Midengine dynamics are different from front engine etc. One of the most striking features is that the midengine does everything faster than say a front engine. It take longer to move the weight on ends like a dumbell vs. spinning a top with the mass in the center. I raced a 348 with the early subframe. I had no issues. You have to learn to drive it. You can bandaid for lack of skill and make the car easier to drive. By the time the later 348 subframe came it found its way into the 355 and so did power steering and aero etc. And voila we rib these owners as having hairdresser cars. If you put a 355 engine in a 348 and the 355 could have all the stuff that makes it a 355 I'm certain there would be very little difference if any in laptime. Some would call me a 355 hater but the reason for the comparison to is highlight the direction of streetcar development for the masses (soft, safe, and pretty fashion accessories) and present a counterpoint that with the 348 its not the car but the driver. In the 60's-early 80's Ferraris were regularly tracked by their owners. Privateers went racing with Ferraris. Today a Ferrari is a fashion accessory for most. We see almost none on track today and most don't have the skills to track them either.

 

I'm curious, we should try it. Just handicap the 355 by only letting it rev to 7500 and it should be close engine wise. I honestly think you're right re the handling. The 355 is a great handling car and I seriously doubt some very minor suspension changes would ruin it or even significantly alter it unless the tires were not matched properly. That was probably the biggest advancement in handling, the move to 18” and just better tire technology.

 

I agree with this, and I have a 355! It really is just a 348 with some "updates". But man, are they pretty! Oh, and my hairstyle has been the same for 16 years... Ball cap, no gel!

Love your posts FBB. Thanks!

 

There has been no better looking modern Ferrari than the 355 but I do have a soft spot for the 599GTO. In the 60's people built crazy horsepower muscle cars that handled badly. Today we have intrusive traction control to tame the 600HP vettes, Ferraris and porsches. Drivers are doing less and less. They are learning less about driving. We are faster in automatics because it takes real skill to balance a car with heel n' toe downshifting and transferring the weight. One of the best examples of what you can drive fast in with little skill is the Nissan GTR which nearly drives itself. The 348 has nothing to help its driver. You are totally involved.

 

"Ferrari conceded there was room for improvement with the 348. Last year, the company swapped shocks and springs, modified the rear suspension geometry and made camber and toe changes, all intended to improve the ride and handling at all speeds"

"On smooth pavement and at under 100 mph, the 348 offers confident handling, with some of the most controllable and playful oversteer offered on a production car - and that's a definite improvement over the earlier 348's"

- Don Schroeder

 

I should let Don drive my car and see what he would say now.

Kai