360 as a daily driver

Great Video!

 

Nice video Justin.
At least you were able to give her a bit more than the usual hum drum on your way to work. I agree also with keeping the car for special drives to keep the mystique.

 

Years of driving a Z06 with an inch+ less of ground clearance than the 360, I have become completely numb to scraping speed bumps...

 

I've got 9,300 miles on my 355 Spider in 7 months.

If there's no rain and it's under 95F, I'm driving it! During July and August I pretty much only drove it at night, due to the heat. I leave the top down everywhere, including the store, the mall, restaurants, etc. My friends think I'm crazy, but life's too short to worry [and too short for me to wrestle with the damn top every hour]. Everyone has been very respectful thus far, and I try and accommodate people who want photos with it. Thankfully Las Vegas is more hospitable to people with nice stuff than, say, England, where apparently there are a lot of haters. I could see a reputedly high unemployment and economically struggling place like Spain to have similar social tension. Here, people on the street are actually pretty reverent toward the car.

There's dash wrinkling and bolster wear from the heat (which had already started before I got it in March), but those were leather issues I knew I was going to have to deal with. Going to get them re-surfaced as part of the major, probably around Christmas.

The 355 apparently heats up much faster though, since mine is up to temperature in about 2.5 miles. Thankfully my commute is about 6 miles down one main road with only moderate traffic.

Now, that said, my actual issue with 'daily driving' it is the scraping. The seller got the nose freshly repaired and painted before delivery, and I immediately scraped it from the first day on my own driveway, and eventually cracked the underside of the bumper. I've gotten to be a pro at bumps and driveways and construction zones, but even today I left a dusty white scrape from a friend's driveway despite my efforts to gently merge onto the street. Another $600-1k I've planned to fix that, after I pass 10,000 miles. I have too much fun with it to worry now.

I will say that I think a manual 360 coupe, or a paddle 430 (or newer model) coupe would make a half-decent daily driver in the American Southwest. My objective next is a V12 coupe!

 

Nice vid

 

I always read experts recommend its better to start diving promptly keeping revs no higher than 3K and thus warm the oil FASTER....

Enjoyed your video- people also fear: valets, bad drivers, stone chips, sun damage, dirt including bird_, mileage, repairs, rain, tickets and depreciation.

 

Liked your concept of simply putting it to the test

 

Fun video Justin, well done! Your exhaust note is awesome there at the end.

 

Ferraris are too nice fo DD use. I wish theyd stop trying to soften the cars into Dds

 

Great video! I think you covered all the essentials there! Should be mandatory viewing for all new buyers!

 

Well done Justin. Your introspective reflection is spot on and yes, totally agree about making every drive a special occasion.

 

Sounds really nice at the end of the video, what exhaust system do you have (headers and cats too please)

 

I have used my 360 as a daily driver for the past two years. It's great. The low~ish torque at lower RPMs makes the throttle pedal extremely manageable and easy to drive on surface streets and in highway traffic. I absolutely love my F-cars but definitely don't agree with folks that keep them in storage 90% of the year. It's a car. Drive it and enjoy it! If you can't afford the preventative maintenance cost to drive it, then don't buy it.
I also use it for weekend twisty cruises and it's a total beast! I also have a second set of wheels for when I track the car. I'm hooked for life.

 

I only got my 360 in July, but so far have done just over 5000km's and I drive it almost every day. Fantastic car.

 

I enjoy your videos. keep it up!

 

I don't see why a 360 cannot be a DD

 

at the end of the video he revises his opinion that mostly just shouldn't be. and I agree with that. because youre right, it certainly could be, for some. although 2 seaters can be limiting a lot of the time, esp if you have kids, hobbies etc. tough fitting a guitar case or hockey bag in one.

 

Agree. I didn't say it "should" be a DD, I said it "could" be a DD.

 

Yeah, that wouldn't be possible (at least not legally)

 

What a fun video! I really enjoyed the funny but realistic point of people wanting to race you. Albeit, there may be days you feel like Schumi encouraged to push with that musical symphony behind your ears. Music from the angels!
Excellent points on why it shouldn't be a DD from the practical points as well as the emotional ones.
BTW - Maximum respect for assisting the poor bug get on with its day. I do the same every chance I get.

 

Just a side comment... my 360 warms oil to the 75/80 degree mark in less than 10 minutes. Surprising to see it take half an hour in Spain.

I don't let the car idle, I just start driving slowly/lower revs before I go above 3500/4000rpm. One reason why I don't leave the car idling, is because while it can help the engine warm up, a comment on miata.net once mentioned that the gearbox won't warm up, and that too needs to warm up (including the oils inside), and a bit of gentle driving is required there too.

So idling the engine for 5-10 minutes (to warm it up) and then hammering the throttle could put undue stress on the gearbox. Might as well warm everything up together.

Dunno what the others here think about that, so don't shoot the messenger