430 vs 360

Which sportscars have you been in and which have you driven? I only ask because if you are like me and have only been in a few or mainly muscle cars the 360 will be the ticket!

Such an awesome car.

 

Different but similar. Have owned both. Find the right 360 and you will be happy. F1 or gated will be a question. 360's need a belt change every 3 years or so, 430's do not. 430's interior is a bit more modern. Many believe the 360 is a bit more stylish.
Tough choice and we'll all have an opinion. I'd pick a 430.

 

Not sure how long it would take you to save for the 430 but first you should take a test ride in a 360 ASAP and figure out which car you want. Car #1, 360, you can buy today and enjoy or #2, 430, you have to wait months or years to enjoy.

 

YOUR decision, it's YOUR budget, YOUR money.
Plenty of bills after purchase also!
see SCEye's post from 9/11

 

How about a 430 with around 30,000 miles they seem to be a bit cheaper than sub 20,000 mile cars?

 

With a Ferrari in general its "how much can you spend?"

You spend more, you get more. If you spend less, you get less refined, power, etc. The exception is 3 pedals. They don't make them anymore so you're going to pay $$$ for one over an F1.

Personally I don't think the 430 warrants the price differential. For the extra torque and everyone harps over belt changes like they're something that's so terrible, to me it wasn't worth the extra $$$. When you really think about it, the price differential due to belts change price alone equates to like 30-40 years of ownership.

If I spend 6 figures now I'd rather keep my 360 and add on a 599 if performance is so important. For street use I don't see much difference besides look. If you're into 0-60 "races: with american cars you're going to find ownership to be VERY expensive with launches. The cornering that the ediff enhances can in itself be spensive' as if the ediff unit has issues its $$$ to diagnose and repair. Not worth it in either case to me. I actually like the 360's interior over CF personally. I think CF is overdone and the aluminum in the 360 interior plays a very nice homage to the first aluminum Ferrari.

 

I have been leaning towards a 360 with 3 pedals versus a 430. Your post highlighting the differences was a good reminder for me, thanks.

 

Hi there,

I have the 360 Challenge, F430 3 pedals, 430 Scuderia! My order of preference:

1. F430 3 Pedals

2. 430 Scuderia

3. 360 Challenge

As for street uses 360 vs F430, I had owned and driven:

1. F430 3 Pedals

2. 360 3 Pedals

3. F430 F1

4. 360 F1

For the special version of Challenge Stradale and Scuderia! No one is better than the other! Both are excellent and special in it's own way!

Cheers

Alex

 

Again ! There's too many threads on this topic. If money isn't the object , 430 hands down . Also, I've yet to hear complaints from 360 owners.

 

I am with you on this. Not a CF fan, it is over done. And I have been thinking about adding a 599. It was the first aluminum v12 not to mention it is fun to drive.

 

Buy the best car you can afford. Quality always trumps low price.

 

It really depends on how much you are going to drive the car and what your budget is. I own a 360 and I have test driven a 430. For the extra $50K, I was not impressed. After the test drive, I told the dealership "I like my car better". As Curt mentioned, the belt change is non relevant.

I hope you plan on driving the car a lot, if so you cannot beat the 360 (less depreciation and very little difference between the cars). Just my opinion.

 

If the belt change is a concern, you better buy a Honda.

 

As a 360 owner I can only 100% agree with VRsurgeon. I think the 360 is a bit more raw and I personally prefer the styling over the 430. The sound of the 360 with the correct exhaust is one of ferrari's best for sure! Also don't rule out the f1. I have had both and actually prefer the f1. It is tons of fun to drive. Adding the CS TCU takes the f1 to a whole new level!

 

360 stick.... If you decide later on you want a 430, F1 probably...with 430
stick prices as they are, you will not lose much if any on the 360 stick.

 

I think Honda's require a belt change every 90k.

 

This. I don't think there are any "sleeper" bargains on Ferraris like there are with the 996 generation Porsches. "Buy the best car that you can afford" is very sound advice. Good luck on your search!

 

I think it's 110k on my Pilot but as I recall it was a couple of dollars cheaper.

 

I wish someone would chime in on this...the belts must be made pretty much the same. If the issue is that Ferraris sit so much and they stretch then a car that's driven a couple of times a week should be able to go the same interval as the Honda no?

 

Honda doesn't anticipate 10% of the cars life to be on the track. Different designs for timing belts as well. I don't recall honda belts being separate for each bank of cylinders.. but I could be wrong.. Tensioner design, bearing design, anticipated thermal and stress loads on the engines are different. I suppose that the engineers could have used regular $15 steel connecting rods instead of titanium right? I've learned they do things for a reason as they do. FYI I'm a 5 year belts guy.

 

Yes.

 

There is also the little gotcha about force on the belts because of RPM. The Ferrari spins about 2-3 times the RPM of a Honda. The force on the belt is a sq function of the velocity. In other words, the Ferrari puts 4-9 times as much force on the belts assuming everything else is equal. It is like the difference between being hit by a 10 lb weight and a 50+ lb weight.

 

Yeah, and Honda econobox engines don't cost $40k+ if they grenade due to a belt failure, either!