Hi y'all On the brink of getting a 430. Exciting times.. Previous 360 owner One of the best mods I did with the 360 was the "Eric mod" - attaching a switch that could permanently leave the suspension in "regular mode" rather than the stiffer "sport setting." However, it does allow you to opt for the Sport Mode's faster shifts and more aggressive mapping. Win win. I felt it left the car more comfortable, more compliant, less naturally jittery and better equipped to deal with UK road surfaces Having confirmed that such a mod isn't available in the 430, I am a little concerned that I will find the car quite crashy in Race Mode Please can 430 owners opine on this? Obviously, the car will be stiffer in Race Mode - but is it annoying stiff for UK country B roads? Are there any set up workarounds to alleviate it (if it's needed)? Bear in mind that I found the 360 crashy on 18" starfish wheels as well.. Hard to test drive atm and obviously always going to be hard to blast a dealer car on a country road to find out in advance.. All thoughts welcome, cheers!
I've no experience in a 360, so bear that in mind. I'm a track-rat, so I like a firm suspension; we're not crusin' here. people! haha. I've found, though, that leaving the F430 in Sport Mode works really, really well for most environments. I'll switch to Race mode if I;ve got a really newly-paved canyon, but Sport mode does just fine for 95% of the driving you'll do. IMHO
May be easier to convert your F1 to a Manual then you can have your own shift/speed independent of other things like throttle/suspension/diff/traction control... (j/k... lol)
OK thanks for chipping in Jag So you never feel like you're missing the sharper shifts and mapping of Race Mode? The difference especially in shifting in a 360 (with a CS TCU) is quite pronounced between Regular and Sport. I was concerned that it may be as apparent with the 430, too? Has anyone ever tried some kind of "Bumpy Road Mode" hack?
OK thanks for chipping in Jag So you never feel like you're missing the sharper shifts and mapping of Race Mode? The difference especially in shifting in a 360 (with a CS TCU) is quite pronounced between Regular and Sport. I was concerned that it may be as apparent with the 430, too? Has anyone ever tried some kind of "Bumpy Road Mode" hack?
I have owned my 430 for 15+ years and used to track it quite a bit too. However, it is a manual so I can't speak to the shifting difference in sport vs race. I use sport 90% of the time on the street. It is quite comfortable and handling is fine if you are not really pushing it. I use race on the track and when I'm feeling frisky on a back road. The biggest difference I noticed is under hard braking. You can get quite a bit of nose dive in sport vs race. Race is stiffer of course and handling more secure when being aggressive. But race mode is not punishing for everyday driving. I did find that putting 235s on the front reduces understeer though the average driver will not notice this. BTW, race mode will let the car get WAY out of shape before the nannies kick in. Even on a track, I rarely had it cut power and only coming out of tight turns. Dave
I honestly can't tell the suspension difference between sport and race for regular driving on my roads which are harsh due to the winters here in Northern Indiana. I totally agree and made the change on mine regarding the wider front tires as hardtop suggested. Absolutely makes a difference on the understeer. We have a lot of roundabouts, so I get to test the understeer out quite regularly in the summer
Generally the sport mode is fine, watch the race mode in damp conditions as you can turn it sideways.
It occurs to me; when I acquired my car, the previous owner had installed the F1 smart relay from scud ing. This reportedly improves the shifts and some other behaviors. I'd be willing to bet that's why I don't notice the softer shifts. https://www.scuding.com/Shop/en/ecu-solutions/101-smart-emt-relay-ecu.html Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Race mode is my favourite. Increased throttle response, stiffer suspension, more direct steering, and snappier shifts. Throttle response is unreal and grabs your attention, whole mode makes car feel like a go-kart. I've found it ok for backroads but if it gets rough I'll just switch to something soft, then back up to race when smoothed out.
I tend to drive in Race mode unless the road is very bumpy (wish the F430 had a bumpy road button). It's not very harsh and I think is much more comfortable than my 2004 GT3 on the same roads.
