Finally tested F8 on a track!

F8 and 488 are so close. No body cares about our driving ability.. its not a prerequisite to enjoying any car. I wont be able to "Observe" a 2.9 vs 3.0 sec 0-60 difference or that extra downforce effect. A better driver in the 488 will beat me in the F8 all the time and twice on Sundays.

 

Exactly

Exactly my point. The F8 is still far more substantively different compared to the 488 than the 458 coupe is in comparison to the spider.

I am not proclaiming that the F8 represents a monumental improvement over the 488. My claim is that their driving dynamics should be easily differentiated.

 

Is the 'hot tube resonator" piped in the driver side only or both sides of the cabin?

 

no clue why people are jumping on the OP for sharing with us his experience in the F8, especially being one of the first on here to do so

You keep mentioning significant changes, IMO 488-> F8 is not the same jump as 458-> 488 on paper. 488 had 50% more downforce, turbo for first time, displacement drop, massive torque increase, lower redline, very different exhaust note. Casually driving 458 after 488 or 488 after 458, you do almost immediately feel noticeable differences in driving dynamics.

F8 seems *to me* like a facelifted 488 with similar torque, extra 50 hp on a related engine, to quote Ferrari 10% more downforce, with many technical developments that I doubt most would even begin to understand or feel as different from the 488 unless driving both back to back repeatedly. There is already so much "car" with the 488 in most situations that I'd imagine to peel the onion to detect the differences between F8 and 488 would be tough for the average Ferrari owner, including myself

Aside from exterior looks which is very much subjective, the biggest difference I can see is GPF and the resulting hot tube solution personally

 

a bit of a lower pitch, slightly less loud than 488 as expected.

 

Correct, the F8 is a homologation car that replaces the 488 so the 488 can be 'end of series' so Pista production can continue as long as possible (10% carryover into CY2020 based on CY2019 total production) without requiring the 488 (Pista/GTB/Spider) to comply with new RDE/WLTP regulations Ferrari will be required to adhere to. This is also why the Pista was released a year ahead of what it would normally of been. The F8 is the car that allows Ferrari to continue the "458/488" series for a couple more years before a complete redesign as EU2022 regulations will require (i.e. chassis changes).

 

Tubes are present from both sides of the engine, while I am not certain of the exact placement I am sure it is balanced so the sounds can be equally appreciated within the cabin. Otherwise you would be listening to half the engine ("V4 ?") if only one pipe/tube was utilized.

 

All the following reviews (and there are many more) point out that the F8 performs substantively differently than the 488:
driving.ca;autocar;thedrive;EVO;autocarindia;autoweek;whichcar;carsales.com etc.

 

Because Ferrari will ban them from reviews if they don’t. Look at the NBA with China. Follow the money.

 

I took one of my last drives of the season today in the 488 with both exhaust valves permanently open. I am in a hold on finalizing my F8 order as the sound is so perfect at idle and driving in the 488, I just don't want to give that up. I really like the body modifications and engine upgrades but I really want a non-Europe GPF delete. I'm not holding our with much hope.

 

As previously stated, these two are the same car save F8 having an extra few hp, and a GPF. Recent user reviews confirm they can barely notice any difference other than a slight change in sound. Frankly I'm really not surprised to hear this - In fact I would have been surprised to have heard differently.

Coincid if you have ordered an F8 expecting big things then you will need to prepare yourself and manage your expectations accordingly.

I recall when Porsches 991.2tts Exclusive Series was reviewed which had an extra 40hp along with a few extra tweaks and not one solitary person could tell the difference in performance anywhere.

Jo Sta7 commenting that Ferrari is reputed for censoring Journo tests and penalizing those who go against their in-house claims is also not news.

I'm not sure what some of the previous 488 naysayers were expecting with F8 especially considering it's not a track focused car and is built to deliver very much along the same vein as the 488GTB. So essentially what is on offer is a 488 GTB with some powder puff cosmetic changes and a complimentary 50 hp so it can keep pace with the HP wars going on.

 

I have realistic expectations given the fact that the 488 is not a car I would ever have an interest in owning. If the F8 fails to provide the compelling and engaging driving dynamics I demand, I will not keep it. For the F8 to satisfy my preferences and priorities, it would have to elevate the thrill factor of the 488 by a substantial quantity. Contrary to many in this thread, I fully expect to easily discern the driving differences between the 2 cars but whether the distinction will be sufficient is another matter.

 

You’ll be selling it then. It’s a much better looking and slightly more dynamic 488.

 

Until I drive the F8 all this discussion is merely banter.

 

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying here? I mean based upon the obvious it simply doesn't make sense diving head first into a car highly unlikely to deliver to your personal expectations to then take a significant hit. Seems rather masochistic IMHO. Perhaps buying a used 488 and fiddling around with the exhaust is a much better option?

True, but there is a common thread appearing amongst those here who have driven the car independent of any situation which may necessitate obligatory comments favorable to the maker providing the car.

 

Awesome review !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You really need to step back away a bit from your own ego.

Getting any closer and you'll end up in its gravitational pull and start orbiting.

 

Reading at some comments it seems the most important factor in the driving experience is the price tag:
- Pista, 50 hp more and 90 kg less then the 488 - and price increased by 50%: on a different planet
- F8, 50 hp more, 40 kg less than the 488 - but price only increased by less than 10%: the same car
By this analysis, since the F8 is the same as the 488, the Pista is also on a different planet compared to the F8, although it has the same power and only 50 kg less, while with 50 hp more and 40 kg less one cannot tell the difference between the F8 and 488.
This does not really add up for me, but I am logically narrow minded

 

Your analogy actually makes sense - following it, it seems you do get what you pay for then. I mean with Pista being on a different planet being 50% more - and obviously worth the ticket - whilst the other two are stuck together trying to orbit one another as the same entity....just one trying a bit harder to be different than the other but not really pulling it off convincingly enough.

 

He meant on which side of the cockpit the resonator resides. The answer is on the driver's side.

Why would a car that takes a page out of Pista's book not be substantially better than the base 488? Additionally, why would you question the car's merits? When was the last time that a Ferrari was a disappointment driving-wise?

Don't bother mate. Sometimes people offend others unintentionally; we have all done it in real life too. No need to worry about such trivial matters. For what it's worth, I quite enjoyed your review.