Test drive: what to look for?

Apart from ensuring that the wheels stay bolted on, what to look for in a test drive of a 355?

 

Click on the link in Sig - plenty of reading in there

 

awesome thanks dave!

 

Funny you mention that, since my rear wheels regularly loosened up to the point of the wheel bolts falling out and vibration causing the engine to shut down. Left me stranded a few times, so checking the bolts actually isn't as crazy as you think

 

Remember, it's not a pleasure cruise so make sure the top is up/on (for other than B models). You can't hear anything otherwise.

 

Really...or you jest?
Tighten wheel bolts to 75lbs.
Be certain that the bolt inserts are free of paint on the surface where the bolt locates.

Both are important.
Wheel bolts working loose in 380 bhp vehicle is plain dangerous.

 

Make sure the carpet is not interfering with the accelerator pedal.
Don't be surprised at the idle of 1100 rpm....normal.
Do not be scared of taking it to 8000 rpm....all the amazingness is above about 5000.
355 is not your normal sports car.
Don't be worried if 2nd gear is hard to find when cold...normal...go to 3rd.

 

Make sure the engine is completely warmed up before taking it above 4000 rpm. So much to soak in before the drive, then during the drive and finally after you parked. This is why we get PPI's. Or take an educated friend.

 

Make a point to check the coolant temp gauge (between speedo and tach) after car has been running at least 15 mins and keep your eye on it the whole time.

Also oil temp gauge (cluster by radio)

Coolant should be between 190 and 200F

Oil around 220F

 

Nope, true fact. Happened a few times after servicing at my local dealership. I think their torque wrench must have been broken. I bought one myself and kept it in the trunk and retorqued every couple of weeks after that and never had the problem again.

And you're right about the dangerous part. The first time it happened, the rear driver's side was wobbling so badly the car shut down. One bolt has fallen out completely and the others were very loose. Tire pressure and bolts... check them!

 

I usually do 80 ft/lbs on the wheel bolts (std on most cars), but was told by a dealer and also a tech that there was a service bulletin on the F355 (and others in the class) to torque to ~90 ft/lbs due to bolt loosening. If you overtighten, you could crack the inserts. I am not sure what is 'overtighten' since I feel 90+ is overtightening.

 

Well i may increase to 80lbs but 90 i think may put too much pressure on the inserts.

Those conical inserts have to have clean faces...no paint on them.
If there's paint this can soften and cause a gap that will cause the bolt to loosen.

 

Most ham handed shops use an air impact wrench and torque the bejesus out of the lugs on the cars they service. It would take a huge amount of overtorquing to crack something, particularly if you torque them in the proper pattern. If you manage to crack your wheels at 90 ft/lbs, there was something wrong with the wheel to begin with. Most large torque wrenches aren't even that accurate anyway.

But you do need to be careful to use the proper tightening pattern to avoid warping the rotors or putting undue stress on the wheels that could lead to them cracking. Also I would highly recommend using some thread anti-seize to ensure that the bolts do not bind so you get the proper torque reading. Also makes them easier to remove later.

 

Do you have that bulletin? Please post if you do, Thank You.

 

Make sure before the test drive you ask the all important three questions.

1. Whos baby's that?

2. What's your angle?

3. I'll buy that?

Then your done.

Have a happy drive home. Lol

 

Casey
It's not the wheel that cracks with over tightening the bolts.
It's the aluminium thread inserts.
I had 7 out of 20 of mine cracked when i replaced them with the Hill Engineering ones and all were covered in paint from when the wheels were painted.