458 Intro | FerrariChat

458 Intro

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by soulsea, Aug 31, 2019.

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  1. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    Apr 14, 2018
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    Hey there …

    A couple of peeps might know me from other forums. For those who don’t let me assure you that my reputation is impeccable, which is to say I am known for my handsome comments and complete lack of snarkiness. What I lack in humor I more than make up in lazy repetition.

    After an unhealthy run of 991 911 cars (https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-gt3rs-and-911r/1130062-991-musings-and-meanderings.html), several Corvettes, AMGs, M cars, and some other stuff, I have finally decided to get my first ever Ferrari, which as I have mentioned a couple of times in other threads is a 4k mile used 2015 458 Spider. Pretty simple spec which is my thing, would rather have the daytonas but whatever, the rest of it is pretty sweet to my eyes. Lift, afs, cf everywhere, stitchity bits, and stuff.

    Haven’t had time to take pics, so here’s some from the listing from my friends at Merit Partners where I bought the car and whom I highly recommend.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

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    Tbh it’s been a while since I have been exited about a car.

    Why this over any other Ferrari old and new?

    Well, to start I thought that a mid engine one would be the place to begin this new journey, and those damn tanning salons don’t have lamps for my dome so the open top will balance me out.

    I kid? :(

    Actually I’m done with ‘fast’ non NA sports cars. For the last six months I have been staring at my GT2RS in the garage and have had little desire to drive it over my M5C dd. There used to be a time that the performance gap between an ordinary car and a supercar was huge, these days sub 3sec sedans are a norm, and all the extra performance of the 2RS over a car like the M5C cannot be extracted on public roads. And I decided a while ago that driving a street car at 160mph on track with a seatbelt a helmet and crossed fingers is not a viable long term strategy, so only fully caged cars on track for me from now on.

    All this is to say that I just don’t care any more between the hundreds of the seconds between 2 and 3 secs 0-60. I can get that out of my daily anyway and in a couple of years Toyota will be able to slap four electric motors on a Camry and it will be a sub three second car. Tesla showed the way and and the C8 is waiving this flag for everyone to see. So everyone can have their faster electric, turbocharged, supercharged, hybrid cars, I’m going back in time with my driving experiences whilst this stuff is still available. That’s why 458, that’s why I’m doing a 73 RSR 3.8 backdate, and that’s my thing. Not judging anyone else’s thing, but I want the pure NA V8 experience with a decent tranny, and the sweet spot for me (at least as a starting point) is post scud/pre 488.

    I almost bought a Speciale instead but honestly I just don’t want the mile anxiety and don’t care about being a smidgen faster … I just want to open the top, and drive this spider on country roads through the afternoon sun strobing through the trees singing at high rpm in a state of automotive trance.

    - soul
     
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  2. PhilNotHill

    PhilNotHill Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jul 3, 2006
    27,855
    Aspen CO 81611
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    Stunning car.

    There is something about white 458s that really appeal to me.

    You may want to pull the vacuum line to the muffler baffles so you can hear the engine muic throughout the rev range. If you don’t like you can just hook them back up again. Doesn’t effect the warranty.

    Thanks for the pics. Enjoy. I know you will.
     
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  3. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    Thanks Phil,

    Yup my plan for now is to indeed unplug the lines to the valves and to drop the car as much as I can on the factory suspension. That's as far as I've gotten mod wise.
     
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  4. FFan5

    FFan5 Formula Junior

    Jul 7, 2018
    533
    I would get a valve switch instead of plugging the lines. The loss of low end torque bothers me too much. On my favorite backroad I want the extra torque. Otherwise the car feels like it has turbos sometimes.

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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  5. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    I didn't realize this was an issue.

    If it's really so I will get the Forza thingie.
    But I thought the only point of that is that I can keep the valves always open and be able to choose if I want to close them. In which case it wouldn't solve the loss of torque issue.

    Thanks
     
  6. will89

    will89 Karting

    Dec 29, 2013
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    Abu Dhabi
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    Will
    Welcome and nice specc. Drive it in good health.
     
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  7. AlfistaPortoghese

    AlfistaPortoghese Moderator
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    Mar 18, 2014
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    Glad to know I’m not the only sucker for Bianco.

    Enjoy in good health, Serge. Great pics and writeup. Your 458 is absolutely stunning! Wish you many miles of happiness behind the wheel.

    Kind regards,

    Nuno.
     
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  8. italiafan

    italiafan F1 World Champ
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    #8 italiafan, Sep 1, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2019
    Welcome!
    I have read many of your threads/posts on Rennlist, seems Sampelligrino must have recruited you over here. :)
    The 458 Spider is a terrific car with a rich emotive driving experience.
    The 458 series has also proven to be very well made and highly reliable for thousands of anxiety-free miles.
    I think you chose well, and you won’t regret it.
    I too am turning my back on ridiculous horsepower wars and enjoy “driver’s” cars (including my 2018 911 GT3 manual...though may be selling in preparation for an 812 Spider).
     
  9. italiafan

    italiafan F1 World Champ
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    Curious, and I may be imagining this, but do you get the sense more “Porsche-guys” are looking at and buying Ferrari 458s? I seem to recall a discussion about this on Rennlist.
    Is Porsche doing something to turn away their fans or is it just the sweet spot now for 458s?
     
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  10. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    #10 soulsea, Sep 1, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2019
    Hard to say if this is really so or if it just appears that way from anecdotal accounts on forums, and I can’t speak for other 911 owners but if we’re true I would imagine it’s for two main reasons:

    1. NA engine which 911 GT car owners probably value more than any other subset of enthusiasts.
    2. Price, as mid gen 458 coupes are now about on par with late model GT cars.

    I think there’s a little 911 fatigue as well with a lot of people and a lot of my dealer friends feeling the market echo this sentiment, and when those owners look for an alternative, Ferrari and the 458 in particular is a natural default for the above stated reasons.

    All that said, one could also read RL and note a bunch of ferrari owners going in the 911 direction and believe that there is a trend there, so again we just don’t know if either is correct.

    I think the 458 has a lot of appeal for sport car enthusiasts in general who are coming to terms with the reality that ring times and the difference between 2.6 and 2.9 0-60 don’t mean as much as the overall public road driving experience.
     
  11. gh0st0

    gh0st0 Formula 3
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    Congrats, if you don’t mind me asking, how long did you spend researching your 458 before pulling the trigger, only real thing that bugs me is that the brake issue seems to still be unresolved
     
  12. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    Like car, buy car, research laters. :)

    Nah I did do basic research on these cars, at least enough to know that they are generally reliable. As far as the brake issue as I understand it it is extremely rare. My take on that is that if this was the case with my specific car it would have already manifested, and there's nothing in its service history to indicate such a thing. As importantly, the guys who own the place I purchased it from are friends, and they know this car well, there's no way they would sell me a car that they know is problematic, much less if it is dangerous. That's really as much peace of mind as I can get on that front, in my estimation a safer bet than say if the car were new with unmanifested potential issues.
     
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  13. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    So I just took my first half hour drive, and I have to say that I've decided that I don't need to touch the exhaust at all.

    With the top down and in race mode it's absolutely perfect to me as far as pitch and loudness.

    Something must be wrong with me. :(
     
  14. plastique999

    plastique999 F1 Veteran
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    Nov 9, 2008
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    Congrats!
    Wise choice and a fantastic platform, the 458.
    I bought my Speciale from Burt over at Merit - just a fantastic outfit.
    You will love the car top down.
    You may later want to try the S line exhaust which really perfects the F1 sound.


    Sent from my 16M
     
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  15. sampelligrino

    sampelligrino Formula 3

    Apr 16, 2017
    1,129
    Congrats Serge! Bella macchina and welcome to the ranks, white is my favorite color on the 458. That's a gorgeous spec

    Felt the same way with my 488 as many pull the vacuum lines, but I'm enjoying the car stock as from the factory for now

    Really feels like an event when you're sitting in the driver's seat compared to in a 991 :)
     
  16. buddyg

    buddyg F1 Veteran
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    Congrats I have had 2 Porsches a 993 turbo and a 996 turbo. Great cars but my dream was always to own a Ferrari, my dream has not disappointed. The 458 spider is one of the best cars ever made. Bought mine 3 Summers ago with 3000 miles and getting ready to turn 11,000 this year. Drive it!

    Enjoy!
     
  17. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    So I put half the miles on her day one than I put on the 2RS in six months.

    Grin per mile ratio is off the charts.

    Got her deep detailed today so all the previous owner and company dna is removed.

    Was going to put a gentle 20% tint on her but for the first time in a long time I think I'm going to bypass tint. I just don't see myself driving the car much with top/windows up. Plus has grey wheels and chrome badging/tail pipes, so not stormtrooper ready anyway.
     
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  18. Avia11

    Avia11 Formula Junior
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    Congratulations! Enjoy in excellent health!!
     
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  19. wthensler

    wthensler F1 Rookie
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  20. Steinhart

    Steinhart Formula Junior

    May 21, 2019
    259
    Scottsdale, AZ, USA
    enjoyed reading your intro :)

    congrats on a beautiful 458!

    IMO, best driving experience by a long shot

    I have a 991.2 TTS Cab and a 458 Spider, both are awesome but the 458 is more fun
     
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  21. soulsea

    soulsea Formula 3
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    #21 soulsea, Sep 6, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2019
    So it's been an interesting experience adjusting from the Porsche world to the Ferrari world.

    In a way it brings me back to my youth when I was willing to put up with some nonsense for the sake of great sex.

    I mean the car has moods that I have to account for. I need to give her enough 'space' to get her feelings sorted out between turning the key and pressing the start button, otherwise she'll throw a tantrum (aka CEL) ... nothing's wrong mind you, she just doesn't want to be rushed.

    So far as I can tell the car doesn't have a park mode separate from the ebrake, yet it has a pit speed button within closer reach than any other thing I actually need. I did eventually figure out that PS didn't mean Parking Serge, which in retrospect would have been both flattering and super useful.

    It's not often that a car manages to both thrill you and make you laugh, this one somehow manages it ... 19 years ago I married my wife for less.

    And I haven't even gotten to the windshield wiper button yet.
     
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  22. Chizz

    Chizz Formula Junior
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    May 21, 2017
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    Whatever you are not you more than make up for it with the smoking beautiful car.

    Well done now drive it in good health!
     
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  23. Chizz

    Chizz Formula Junior
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    May 21, 2017
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    I don’t know what it is. I have a 991.2 911tt and I just don’t enjoy it as much as my Cali T. So I know what I’m going to think about a 458 when I get one
     
  24. Steinhart

    Steinhart Formula Junior

    May 21, 2019
    259
    Scottsdale, AZ, USA
    wait, I don't know where the windshield wiper button is :eek:
     
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  25. kiryu

    kiryu Formula Junior

    Mar 28, 2016
    407
    Los Angeles
    Congrats!!!! great choice haha
     

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