A) Ordering Goldrake Racing Seats in Size Large. I am 5' 7". 169 pounds. 1) I assume seats have three holes positioning (low, medium, high) for dealer to adjust height prior to delivery to customer's specifications. But given my rather short stature, does the optional 'Racing Seat Lifter' at $2530 make sense? What has been the experience of those with, and without, the optional seat lifter on the racing buckets? Image Unavailable, Please Login B) Options for cabin interior instead of 'standard' carpeting. 1) Does anyone know the cost of 'Alcantara' on the base 488? Is the 'Nero/Black' option in Alcantara truly 'black' or a lighter grey 'Charcoal' in hue? 2) Does anyone know if a material called 'Apollo Bright' is an option on the base 488. I hear it's available on the 488 Pista. If so, what is the cost of this option. Does anyone has a photo of this option to see what it looks like? C) Is the general consensus on this forum that the front lifter option is a necessity (must-have) for peace of mind & resale? It needs to be bundle with the ASF Lights. So it becomes an expensive $7000+ option! D) I will be using this car in the American SouthWest where the sun is bright & intense most of the year. Does the 'Heat Insulated Windscreen' option for $1079 actually work as represented? I had it on a previous Mercedes S class & it worked very well! Thanks in advance for your responses to these questions. Placing the order this coming week. Saludos, Eduardo
I ordered the seat lifter and the front end lifter. IMO both are must haves. The seat lifter allows for some up/down adjustability, which makes for a comfortable position change even on medium duration rides. Also, at 5’7” you may find the lifter necessary. The front end lifter I use constantly and has no doubt prevented scrapes. It’s worth the investment simply in terms of reducing anxiety.
Thanks Jamie. But you can see the conflicting opinions just below! Which leaves me in a quandary. On the front suspension lifter that is exactly what the dealer is saying to me. As for the racing seat lifter, I just don't see that many ordering this option on their 488 with the buckets. Perhaps everyone that orders them is much taller than 5'7"! It's that you Scott? I am neither cheating on Rennlisters nor Porsche AG. I have been faithful to the Porsche since I was a young adult...so I go way back with my involvement with the marque. Image Unavailable, Please Login But I am not happy with the direction Porsche AG has taken with their PTS program nor the ADM (Additional Dealer Markups) games of the P-dealers. These games might be old school in the Ferrari world...but it's all new to us at Porsche. Right now just about every old Ferrari customer that wanted a 488 gtb or 488 Spider got one! So folks like me can get a crack at one at MSRP. That will not be the case when the replacement to the 488 becomes available. I'll be at the back of the line again & will have to buy second hand at a mark-up if I want an early one. So you need to take advantage of being in the right place at the right time. And I personally think this is the logical time for someone like me that has owned 23 Porsches to give Ferrari a try. For the time being I'll be keeping the 1970 911E Targa, the 1973 914 2.0 & a 2017 .2 991 S Coupe in my garage. That's a nice combination to have! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login And we will see what happens at Rennlist going forward. Jamie knows fully well my contributions in that forum. Some of my threads have been made a Sticky & have over a million views. Image Unavailable, Please Login https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-gt3rs-and-911r/876206-reference-guide-to-pts.html But I don't like the egos of some of our newest members & the low quality of the moderators. So I have limited my posting there quite a bit. Hopefully I will be welcome in this forum as I come up to speed in things Ferrari. Now if more of you could add comments / opinions / pro & con / on the questions I have posed on this thread, I would be most grateful! Thanks! Saludos, Eduardo
I'm assuming the Racing Seat Lifter enables seat adjustment on the fly? Personally I wouldn't bother for $2500. If you need more height, have the dealer raise the seat one notch. It's a fast job as far as I heard. Nero Alcantara is a pitch black. Charcoal is a very dark grey...basically black as well. Suspension lifter is a great option to have, but not as universally desirable as it seems to be on Porsche GT cars. Personally, I wouldn't get any car without the lifter. AFS lighting is helpful for canyon driving around the turns, and a good safety feature, so you're not burning money there. Not sure on how effective the Ferrari heat insulating windscreen is, but do keep in mind that many OEM heat insulating windscreens will mess with radar detectors if you run one on your windshield. I personally just get a lightly shaded ceramic tint such as 3M Crystalline, which is very effective at blocking heat without messing with radar detectors.
I have the race seat lifter and to me its absolutely mandatory. I am 5'7" and don't find the 3 settings sufficient. The race seat lifter allows "micro" adjustments "on the fly" and depending on the type of driving its necessary to adjust the height regularly.
I optioned the race seat lifter but being 6' tall have never used it, with the seat always set at the lowest setting. I got it mainly to accommodate for my wife if she ever wanted to drive it and to future proof the resale as not everyone who buys these cars is tall and most prefer the race seats from what I hear. The front lift kit is a definite must have though. Not having that would make the ownership experience unnecessarily stressful. I couldn't count the number of times I've used it.
I have Daytona full electric seats and they are very comfortable so unless you want racing seats that would be a good alternative. I am 5’8” and the seats are fully adjustable, no fuss and no muss. As for the suspension lifter - yes do get that as it is stress reducing if you ever need it. Unfortunately you have to pay the extra cost for the afs.
I have the racing seats without the lifter and the front end lift on my 458. My opinion (and it's just that, an opinion) is that the seat lifter isn't necessary because the racing seats are very comfortable for me in the lowest position. I don't have a reason to ever move it. I'm 6'1" and 180 lbs. thin build and the seats fit me beautifully. As far as the front end lift goes, I would say that it's great to have, but not 100% necessary. The cons are: Price (main con) weight extra thing to go wrong The pros: never (or almost never) get scrapes on car When travelling to unfamiliar areas, relieves a lot of the stress that I had with other car. Sometimes, with my old car, I had to pray before going into unknown gas stations because the apron seemed too steep. With this one, I just lift the front if there's even a slight doubt. In other words, I'm giving a seat lifter a thumbs down because of price, and the front end lifter a thumbs up, but only if you are ok with the price. Sorry I can't help with other questions.
I want to thanks all of those that have chosen to respond. It's quite a diverse opinion range. Please keep them coming. They are helpful in my considerations for my MY2019 488 order! *** I have another two questions for all of you: 1) Seems like most customers that chose the Carbon Racing Seat select the 'LARGE' size for it. But a friend of mine has recommended the 'MEDIUM' size seat instead. He thinks the large for someone like me - 169 pounds, 34" waist, 5'7" - would be to wide everywhere to provide support. Image Unavailable, Please Login Any first-hand knowledge / opinions / experiences re: racing seat 'size'? 2) According to the configurator, the standard wheels come in bright 'Silver'. But they can be ordered as an option in a) 'Chromed Painted' ($2530) and b) 'Matt Grigio Corsa' ($2530). Is it possible to have them ordered in c) 'Gloss Black'? And if so, what is the cost of this option? Image Unavailable, Please Login Saludos, Eduardo
I have the front axle lift on my, and prior to lowering the car, I never had to use it. Maybe only once on a steep drive way which it would have probably cleared but did for peace of mind. So if you intend on keeping the ride height standard then don’t worry about the front axle lift. With regards to the seat lifter, depends on how you like to seat in the car. High up visibility or low down. My .2 GT3 with lwb seats seats me lower into the car than the Goldrake in the 488. I’m 5 10 but both cars I never adjust up and I don’t have the lifter in my 488. The visibility with the goldrake is similar to my GT4 with 18 ways on the lowest settings for me. And if I recall correctly, the CS with 18 ways feels a little higher than the GT4. So if you do tend to adjust up in your cs then I would recommend option the lifter. Hope this helps good luck with the purchase.
Go medium as you will be sliding around a little with the large. Alternatively, you can option with Alcantara in the middle of the seat so it holds you in. Depends on how you drive your car, if u intend on tracking it, then definitely medium. If you use it only on the road, you should be fine with large. Before I bought my current car, I had one with the large goldrake, had no big issues except when I am trying to take tight corners and I have to position myself in a way to minimise slight movement of my bottom.
Confirm this with your dealer, but I understand that the difference between sizes is just 5mm, so a large is just 10mm wider than a small. I’m 6’, 175 lb. with a 33” waist and the large size Goldrake fits me perfectly.
Consider getting the dark painted (gray) forged wheels ($6,243) before spending $2,530 on painted cast wheels. I was quoted an additional $3,800 to paint the forged wheels satin black. I passed, and although pricey, I’m quite pleased with the dark gray painted forged wheels. Or buy an OEM set painted black from the aftermarket and sell the original wheels. Probably the most economical alternative.
Car lifter is mandatory for me. It isn’t for the places you know but the ones you don’t. Just had another occasion to require it this weekend in Carmel. Seat lifter is the same. I let my nephews drive my cars who are both shorter and taller than me. Adjustments necessary. And if you sell it do you expect the buyer to be like you? Seat sizes are the same. You won’t notice the large seats to be very different but a buyer might. My large seats handle the wide range of drivers just fine! SV Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I think of the 488 car ownership as fulfillment during the time I use it and own it. Just like a house, a subzero makes your house worth far more vs a kenmore refrigerator in the house. So as it relates to the size of your racing seats, medium fits you but when it comes time to sell large seats will appeal to a greater universe of buyers. No doubt buy what you want but down the road it will matter what options that you have. This applies to the carpeting, color of he car, race vs Daytona seats, lifter, etc. but if money doesn’t matter, by all means get everything that you want. In he end, the quality of the car will dictate followed by color, options, etc. the car will sell but maybe on an extended timeframe and a lower price than you may think it is worth.
Im 6'4" and do not have the lifter. Never have found the need for it but with you being smaller, hard for me to comment on the lifter. My personal opinion on the seats is that you get manual seats. Electric seats are for those that want to constantly change seats, such as if spouses are driving. No one drives my 488 other than me- so its a set it and forget it type deal for me. Im in Scottsdale- same as you. Never have ever needed the front lifter. The 488 sits like a 4x4 unlike GT cars. I have an RS and Touring and use the lifter on those every day. On my 488, its never been an issue. Save the money and skip this option.
Eduardo, Ive been on Rennlist lately and couldn't agree with your assessment above more. The discussions on rennlist just are just snarky and outright mean. There are obviously helpful folks there but people there just seem to be worried about the cost and value of their cars. The folks on this forum for the most part are courteous and helpful on a much higher level than what I see on Rennlist. Im in Scottsdale so if you want to check out a 488, let me know. Ill be at coffee and cars this weekend for a bit in the am. Ill be with my 488.
Do not buy anything but the L gold rake seats. According to dealer, 100% of the cars they order are L. You will be severely limited on resale if you order anything but L. PM me, I have price list for 2019 spiders that has all the pricing for the options.
Totally agree. I don't have the axle lift on mine and have never felt the need for it. However, I live in Michigan and it's quite flat here. If I lived in New York City or San Francisco, I'd have the axle lift. FYI, I have a 2018 GT3 with the axle lift. That vehicle sits lower and I almost NEVER use that either.
I use the front lift on my car all the time and I live in the Chicago area where it’s usually flat. The value comes when you go into the city and use a parking ramp or many times when going into gas stations with steep entrances. I could probably get away without it if I’m very careful but the real reason I got it is without it I could not get the car on my lift. I would have had to rig up longer ramps etc but it’s so nice to just hit a button and drive right up.
Suspension Lifter ($5061) which requires ASF Lights ($2169) - Worth it? Mixed opinions here. Seems to me that quite a number of you don't think it's required. But it's useful to have just in case. But as I see it, you pay for it WHETHER you order it or not. If you order it, you pay for it upfront. If you don't order it with the car, it's really a false savings. When it comes time to sell the car, either the dealer you traded it to (or the final customer you sell it to) will discount the 488 by an amount equal or greater than the US$7K+ it would have cost you to order in the first place...because they will CLAIM a front suspension LIFT is an essential option for resale. So I will have to make a decision accordingly...and probably pay for it ahead & have the peace of mind of having it during my tenure with the car. But I want to thank all of you that gave me your thoughts on the matter. **** Which Size Goldrake Racing Seat - Medium or Large? Sadly, we do have to keep in mind resale at some future date. It might be prudent to go with the majority & opt for 'Large' size. **** Heat Insulated Windscreen ($1079) - Does it Work? Good point! I'll check with my friend Mike Valentine to see what he thinks of the interference on detectors! **** Racing Seat Manual Lifter - Necessary if I am 5'7"? According to most here, not necessary...but might be nice to have if you are on the short side. I might go for it as just a matter of personal choice. **** Rennlist Porsche Forum "...we will see what happens at Rennlist going forward. Jamie knows fully well my contributions in that forum. Some of my threads have been made a Sticky & have over a million views. But I don't like the egos of some of our newest members & the low quality of the moderators. So I have limited my posting there quite a bit." What has happened in Rennlist is unfortunate & totally preventable if the moderators understood how to discipline some of the worse offenders. But they are clueless. And as they lose their good / experienced contributors, they will be left with a field of 'minor leaguers' & 'whiners'...and nasty / negative people. I have seen with my own eyes how many knowledgeable posters they have turned off & no longer bother with the forum. We are poorer for their absence because they imparted so much thought & the perspective of years with the marque. It's surprising to me that the new owners - Internet Brands - hasn't realized they need to do something or they will lessen the value & worth of their acquisition. But it's their 'business'. If they don't car enough to do something about it, so be it. From the ashes of Rennlist, some other forum will surge that learns from the mistakes they have made! **** Local Support - SouthWest Scuderia Cars & Coffee on Mayo - Sept 1st, 2018 & Alpio's Cars & Coffee in North Scottsdale on Sat. Sept 8th! Thanks. I'll look you up on Saturday. What is the color & interior of your 488 so that I can recognize you? I also want to remind all of you in Scottsdale that my good friend Alpio Barbara puts together a very good Cars & Coffee event in North Scottsdale on the SECOND Saturday of every month at his event center - Alma School & Jomax by the Four Seasons Resort in the Troon Area! Our next one is on Sat. September 8th. We often have a few Ferrari's there (e.g. Alpio's, Ethan G. & Peter V.). It's a wonderful, peaceful setting with beautiful Palo Verdes & Saguaros and stunning views of Pinnacle Peak from the parking lots used for the C & C! So please join us there if you can! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login So you'll recognize me when you see me, I am the guy in the middle! Image Unavailable, Please Login Saludos, Eduardo Scottsdale