458 458 brake effort

I drive my 458 weekly and it's regularly serviced. The brakes function perfectly, 17k miles and stop on a dime. Over time the system will accumulate condensation if the car sits. Have you had your brake system flushed and the calipers checked?

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How do the discs look? Are they glass smooth or a bit rough? They should be smooth.

Chances are that car has never been driven hard. 7k miles on a 458 is not much. I don't think it's entirely off to assume the car was mainly used for the occasional cruise and not so many track days.

Get your service center to check the brake fluids, that's always a good idea. That stuff attracts moisture in cars that sit.

Then go out and give the car a properly good hiding, preferably at the local track. If you don't have a track, go somewhere deserted and run her hard for and hour or two, glowing discs and all.

 

Just to add. If the car has been tracked, yes it might very well need new brakes after 7k- Some that track a lot gets between 3-5k miles on their rotors.

The durability of the Ferrari CCM rotors is a joke.

 

This exactly. Have them inspected at your dealer and go from there.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

One thing I've discovered with my 488 is that the brakes bite hard and fast at lower speeds or city driving while cool. When the brakes get hot and you are pushing on the car, I found them to get noticeably softer in initial bite and feel FWIW

 

Get your brake fluid checked. Does not sound right. Could be a bit of a boiling issue.

 

Hmmm, I heard this was typical no? Even seen video reviewers comment to the same effect. Either case next time the car is in will have my dealer check

 

Two pieces of information here
- At Spa I tested a brand new 812 but for only 3 laps, so I suspect it had never been actually driven hard - and the brakes were incredibly sharper than on my 488... but I suspect the pads (that were more or less dead, and "whitened" on mycar) and the brake fluid
- After returning, my car was thoroughly checked and with 13400 km (including some significant parts on track) the rotors wear is only 20/25%.

 

488 brakes are a clear evolution on 458 brakes, as they should if they have to cope with the additional 100 horsepower and roughly 50% more torque. I like the 488 brakes’ feel a lot better if I’m honest, in any driving conditions. Seems they bite harder and sharper, and also that typical laziness of carbon ceramic brakes when cold seems to be virtually eliminated in comparison. Just my personal and flawed perception.

Regarding your 458 question: when applying brakes, pedal must feel consistent and braking should be balanced and even, without any vibrations or sound (namely when at service temperature - you may hear something when cold). With something as important as the braking system, if you feel something may be off, I strongly recommend not playing a guessing game: hand your italian beauty to an expert asap and go from there.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

I believe the 488 discs will fit on the 458. The calipers are just the usual generic Brembo calipers. So the pads should be doable as well. I believe the 458 Speciale and 488 also share brakes.

That being said, the 488 have the same issue as the 458 with discs wearing stupidly fast on track. Had a go in a 458 a few years ago in a 458 with Remmen CCST discs and Pagid pads. Insane performance and the owner said the discs lasted several times longer than OE. I believe Singer has also switched to Remmen CCST for this reason.

Just some thoughts.

 

If there's any good speed shops in your area, they can check the fluid. No need changing it if it is fine. Checking brake fluid is not difficult.
How does your brake discs look? Are they glass smooth to the touch?