Ciao! Did some tasteful mods to my 458 this week: -Akrapovic titanium exhaust with high-flow cats and carbon tips -Rear bumper gloss black wrap (inspired by Speciale grill) -Hill Engineering dead pedal -Hill Engineering 11mm front spacers and 15mm rear Installed all myself in my garage. Was a very interesting and rewarding experience. I think these mods improved the look, sound and feel of the car a lot. Really enjoying how the exhaust swap made the car less twitchy. Can feel the added torque too! Comments are welcome and ideas what to do next? I would like to lower the car just a bit by adjusting the coilovers. Thoughts about this? How much is recommended? Do I need to get wheel realignment done after it? Grazie ragazzi! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mikael, We’d love a video of that gorgeous Akrapovic sound! Congrats and keep enjoying in good health. Kind regards, Nuno.
Very nice to see folks wrenching their own Ferrari cars. And a very nice set up you have there, Mikael. I’d never considered the spacers, but really am liking the look on your car. Come to think of it, I also noticed my car is a bit less twitchy after installing the Kline.
Changing the exhaust seems to make the power band more linear. Responsiveness of the car is also better! I would recommend the spacers to bring the wheels closer to arches. Looks much better and you can use stock wheels. Also drives better in my opinion. I don't mind that the understeer increased a little. It was a real pleasure working on the car. Of course a lift is quite mandatory.
Small but very useful update; Footrest to passenger side. Bought this from Scuderia Car Parts. I really wonder why they didn't include this from the factory! On the drivers side I have a Hill Engineering dead pedal. Here's a link to order: https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/part/10737/ferrari/66122200/footrest-trim.html And the best thing; Only 74EUR! Image Unavailable, Please Login
I dig the wrap! Any other pictures / angles of the wrap? I've been considering doing it as well, and trying to figure out how far down to wrap. Yours looks to be slightly higher than the bottom of the rear grilles (speciale-like as you said), whereas I've seen others that are a bit lower at the same height as the grilles, and some that are even lower and add wrap below the grilles To your question regarding lowering - my car came lowered, but others have said you probably don't need a realignment, but will need to take it to a shop to get lowered. Probably $500-$1k is what I've heard? Need to lift the car and twist down the coilover rings which apparently is a bit more difficult than it sounds I've heard max maybe 30mm is possible with stock springs, and most do 20mm or so
well done Mikael -that's fantastic work ... Love the way the photos are clearly showing the workmanship -you car looks awesome! I bet the sound must be amazing ... was the footrest on the passenger side an easy installation?
Thanks! I wanted to make the bumper wrap as close to Speciale-type as possible. There is a slight rise towards the Cavallino. Showing nicely in this picture. I would definitely recommend this kind of wrap! What I have learned is that if you keep factory springs, lowering 20mm from the front and 15mm from the back is recommended. No alignment needed. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you good sir! The footrest was a 10minute install. I bought the original allen head screws that are in the parts list with this footrest. You need 4 of them. M6 and about 10mm long screws. Just drill 5mm holes to the backboard and then screw them in by hand. It will tighten up very well. Someone said that this footrest was actually in 458 options list but very rarely. So hardly nobody has it!
I ordered longer bolts from Hill Engineering. You can't use the factory bolts as they would be too short to have a secure attachment. The bolts need to be the same amount longer as your spacers thickness. So in my case front +11mm and rear +20mm. I would recommend these spacer sizes for best look. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The amount of times you read tasteful then mods, only to cringe and look away from the screen. Mikael, you have done a wonderful job and your car looks, no doubt also sounds, amazing. Very well done Is your car Rosso Scuderia btw?
Haha, thank you and pardon my French It's Rosso Scuderia yes. I was looking for a Rosso Corsa (had it on my 360) but then this car had otherwise my dream spec. And now I wouldn't change to Corsa. This color has grown on me a lot! Looks very bright in daylight.
I'm more than a little tempted to change from Corsa to Scuderia, before my spec locks. I've also gone with silver wheels and with the predominantly overcast weather, it could compensate
That footrest looks great. Does it attach to the battery cover? Any issues opening the battery compartment? Also can you send me the link to the screws you bought to attach it? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
The footrest attaches to the battery cover. Screws won't go through it and do not affect the cover operation in any way. Link to screws: https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/part/10738/ferrari/65847800/screw.html#spec You will need 4pcs of these.
Is your car lowered or is that stock height there rear has a nice stance and the wheels do not look like they stick out to far.
The car is at stock height. Front was lowered 5mm but that is just cosmetic. Spacers do wonders to the look!
Installed a Tricolore emblem today. This was an expensive factory option but can be added anytime later. Bought it from eBay. There are lots of different sellers when searching with original part number 84706300. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I made a backboard for the small licence plate I ordered from 2mm carbon fiber by water cutting. I will glue the plate at the center. This will fit nicely with the carbon exhaust tips.
Hi, Did you finally change the height of the car? Could we see more car side pictures to analyze how the spacers changed the look? great post! Many thanks!!