Hey guys I'm wondering how cold is too cold to drive your 488? It's been in the 20-30F range in my area, but the roads are dry, I drove it a bit and it's definitely not appropriate for spirited driving of any kind. But with that said, at what temperature do you guys go for the "practical" car even if the roads are dry?
488 is Ok to drive in the cold but be careful with the tires... they are not suitable below 5 degree C.. particularly with so much HP like these cars.. very dangerous. You need to put on winter tires to drive in cold winter weather. I drove my FF all winter ❄️. Didn’t put winter tires on the 458 so it was garaged until the spring. No right answer as to drive in cold weather BUT winter tires are a must ... Have fun
Once it snows I don't drive it anymore salt is terrible for a car your gona keep. But if it did not snow yet I don't think I would take my car out in anything bellow 50 degrees and I'm in NJ.
Absolutely do not drive in 20 degree weather. There are reports of spontaneous combustion of the car when it gets that cold. 21 degrees absolutely no problem.
In Europe they drive them in the snow. The only thing to worry about is the tires having no adhesion. Otherwise there's no reason why to drive it in all weather.
I confirm.... With Pirelli SottoZero, these cars are pretty good fun to drive in all winter conditions...up to a limit of course. Being gentle on the throttle in adequate Manetino mode is the key. Image Unavailable, Please Login
488 has so much torque that it is very easy to lose traction even at higher ambient temps (40-50F). The key is warming up the tires. If ambient is 20-30F the tires will take a LONG time to get warm enough -- longer than most DD trips, so it's probably not worth using the 488. Of course you can still drive it in a pinch, but need to exercise caution, I'd suggest wet/auto mode. Good news is you can monitor the tire temps on the lefthand side TFT, modern cars are so user-friendly
Winter tyres recommended below 7 degrees C, otherwise you can’t easily get the tread warm enough to interlock with the tarmac, which is what gives grip. Winter tyres have different tread patterns with sipes (cuts into the treadblocks which fill with snow to add grip). That is not what helps you in cold temperatures though. They also have a different rubber compound that warms up easier in colder temperatures so that the face of the tread is soft enough to drop into the imperfections of the tarmac surface and generate grip. But....those tread blocks move around because they are smaller and there are more gaps. This means that big-torque cars like the 488 can experience a sensation where the warm tread blocks roll over easily and the tyre simply releases the road. Therefore, the ultimate grip and response you can get from the tyre is much less than summers in warmer weather. Enough to have fun, but not quite as much fun. Sottozeros are pretty good, as are Michelin Alpins. They try and effect a balance between winter performance and the requirements of high-torque drivetrains. You can drive any car with any tyre in cold dry temperatures but you won’t be able to do much more than tootle around the colder it gets. If it gets snowy or icy, you need a dose of brave pills to drive in a way that justifies taking a rwd Ferrari if you are using summer tyres. And even then, what really is the point?
I found that driving the car below 65 degrees F is too dangerous. You can do it but the tires never reach the proper temperature and you are exposing yourself to a potential accident.
Put the car in wet mode, don’t floor the accelerator when making a turn and just take it easy.... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hee friend Mischa .... it's just a car ... What would you do with your Lincoln ? If it's dry and no salt: DRIVE her ! Temperature does not really matter ...
This is factually not true. Summer tires and winter tires are not only different in tread pattern...they use very different compounds too. Summer tires basically turn into rocks at really cold temperatures. Winter tires are designed to still have flexibility to grip the road in below freezing temperatures. If you want to drive it in the winter, then get a set of winter performance tires for $1500. Do you really want to risk it just to save $1500?
Agreed ! I may only drive 2 or 3 times in the winter season and only if there is no snow and no salt. That for maybe one or two hundred kms in total ... so for me: no thanx. But if I would drive more I certainly would get another set of rims and wintertyres.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Not trying to be that guy, but I think I’m that guy... It’s been freezing here in Hawaii Like 70F Takes forever to get the tire temp up
Off topic, but ... what is it like owning a Ferrari in Hawaii? Are servicing options good? What about roads? seems like a nice retirement spot
Not Honolulu, I've had one of my homes there for the past 35 years and over the years the roads have become very congested. I doubt you can even get the speed above 40mph on most days, and that's the main highway. You also have to deal with some of the most distracted drivers in the country, including the tourists that are normally sightseeing, as expected I guess. There is one benefit for car manufacturers, they can eliminate turn signals on their cars and save the money, no one uses them anyway. Jim
Everything Jim said is accurate My daily driver generally shows average speed to be about 17mph on the trip computer. I stopped looking. Parking spots are notoriously small, road maintenance poor, gas expensive, traffic in some spots predictably unpredictable, road planning makes no sense, signage is a joke Add to this the tourists: as an example, over 4000 Japanese tourists arrive daily, and more than a few rent big American convertibles. Remember, they drive on the other side of the road and up to half their cars are kei. That being said, I've put many enjoyable miles on my 488. Granted, 'spirited' driving belongs in quotes simply because there's not a lot of road. There's no way I've come close to experiencing the potential of this machine. On the upside: 12 months of great driving weather a year and no road salt. There's one exotics dealer in town and I've thankfully not had to use them for anything other than annual maintenance. I've been told there are some outstanding techs there. For retirement: pros would be the location and the lovely residents Cons would also be the location. It's the most remote island on Earth and if things go poorly (either politically or personally), one is quite isolated. If you opt to live on one of Oahu's neighbor islands, health care options are limited and emergency/advanced care will not be what one is accustomed to compared to mainland urban health care centers. My advice: do it. Life is short. Apologies to OP for the thread jack Image Unavailable, Please Login
