F8 Carbonio front license holder on F8 - experiences?

Hi there,
I'm about to order the Carbonio front license plate holder for my F8 (international version for a german car).
What are your experiences with this?
Does it hold even on German Autobahn (remember we're allowed to drive 300+ ;-)
Thanks!

 

I do use it in Germany. It holds up speeds way over 300 km/h without a problem.
All the best. PAD


Gesendet von iPad mit Tapatalk

 

Cannot comment on the 300 km/h, I would like to keep my UK driving licence, but the buying experience was first class and the product design, finish and fitment were excellent.

 

https://www.italiansupercarsolutions.co.uk/


Hi,
I purchased and have had a very similar product on my car. Link above.
Been using it for the last 6 months with out any problem what so ever.
It is much less expensive.
Shipped prom the UK.
Speed has not been an issue, without wishing to incriminate my self.




Tito

 

You guys who got the plate holder installed how hard was the installation. I’m having hell of a time putting the plate thru the latch. Wire harness would not allow. No luck - called Carbonio and was told I’m the only one with the issue and after that nothing from them.



Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Has anyone got any experience with either company for a Pista?

 

Send a photo

 

There is a little more to the story that is being left out here. When this customer contacted us with his problem we immediately looked into it. This involved a dedicated trip to our local Ferrari dealer where several hours were spent looking at vehicles and doing test installs together with the techs who install these on a daily basis. The parts department was then involved and a request was sent to Ferrari to determine if there was anything about the customers car that could be different. Nothing was found to indicate a product problem or vehicle variance. With all this information gathered we contacted the customer and discussed the issue on the phone. The customer conceded that perhaps he was doing something wrong. As it happens his dealer is a Carbonio re-seller so he agreed to take his car to the dealer for them to have a look. After this call we telephoned his dealer and communicated the issue giving them a heads up to expect a visit from the customer. With the customer living in a cold weather State we could only assume that he was waiting for warmer weather to follow up with his dealer visit.

For the F8 we continue to offer the only true no-drill option that offers easy on and off while NOT blocking the S-duct. This has made it the choice for many Ferrari dealers around the world including Germany where our mounts regularly exceed 300 kph.

UK customers benefit from a Brexit special tariff arrangement we offer. All of our products ship to the UK with ALL brokerage, duties, & VAT pre-paid. The price you see at checkout from our website is a price delivered to your door with no extra fees. This makes us less expensive than any UK domestic offerings and ensures you receive authentic Carbonio products with air delivery to the UK in as little as 2 days from order.

 

I have an F8 and although I have not considered yet to get the front license plate holder, I would not spend the equivalent of 300 Pounds (Approximately $415 USD) for that latch/screw on bracket. That looks like I could even make it myself and it does not look like a quick installation or removal. It is nice to have options but if you want to compete, you have to compete and try to beat the best, especially if they have a longer successful product history.

The conditions for me to choose the front plate are: durable/high quality, esthetics (as possible) and most importantly easy installation and easy removal. The one you are recommending meets the cosmetic, seemingly the durable and possibly the high quality. What I can tell is that they didn't spend much time in the R&D and/or engineering. Carbonio seems to offer that.

Disclosure: I do not work for or have any financial ties with Carbonio.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Versus:

 

Thank you for the kind words We are first and foremost an automotive engineering firm run by car enthusiasts. We take a lot of pride in designing products that both offer clever design solutions and are the type of item we would buy for ourselves. Especially in the Ferrari world, our products are pretty unique and have no problems with competitors entering the market.

That said, we do have a problem with companies that copy our designs and IP and market them as their own. The other company mentioned in this thread is such an entity. Ironically, with the exception of their F8 mount, every one of their designs are either: 1. an exact or fundamentally substantial copy or 2. Rely on a substantial element (ie. our proprietary mechanism) to make their mount work. Besides the obvious, we have plenty of proof including orders placed directly from our site and IP traces showing them downloading our instructions as part of their 'R&D'. It is a shameless bunch that are operating out of their parent company that bends sheet metal for the HVAC industry. We do not see them as a competitor but they are a nuisance.

Regarding their F8 mount, at least it is of their own design which is a first. As noted, it is VERY expensive for what you get, is not easily removable, and places the plate right in the path of the S duct thereby blocking this engineered aero inlet. The Carbonio offering has no such compromises

 

My "kind words" are validated by your history and reputation and therefore, facts. I always say, facts are facts and speak for themselves. Compliments are not always sincere, genuine or accurate. Your product holds both.

 

Rob at Carbonio and to all the Carbonio fans, first and foremost I’ve been using Carbonio plate holders for sometime on some of my F cars.

To name a few California, Lusso, 812 SF (both versions) and now F8. Sold Lusso and the same holder worked for Portofino. So I’m a legit user of this product. Plus used their paddle shifters for my F12 which was great.

Here are some of the minor issues:

- After every drive I have to reset the holder and or re-tighten the hex screws - the plates sometimes folds at the joint or needs adjustments. I found this minor issue but still annoying at times - used locktites.

- The original SF was the worst that went on the mesh as it always remained misaligned but good thing I returned it on time. The updated SF holder is much better in orientation but comes off easily. So I use it only during I’m parked like in the city along a curbside and take them off before driving off.

- The F8 issue now - this is a whole story in its own. I saw the instructions and emailed Carbonio for a return.

Yes, Rob sent an email after I reached out and he walked me thru in his response. Also offered a return at that time when it was unopened. I tried and spent almost 1.5 hours and could not get the harness inside to move and when I did the plate would not come thru the S duct. After a few more attempts I gave up. I called him and he returned my call and said that he would visit Ferrari in Toronto to check out the F8s himself.

He replied back and said that it was easily done and that the wire harness needs to be moved out of the way and could take a bit of pressure. The issue is that the plate would not come out at the other end. I tried a few more attempts and no luck.

I responded back and told him that I will take to just dealer. I called my rep at Continental AutoSports and he had no idea about F8s but yes they do sell Carbonio holders as Rob mentioned.

After I got off the call with service department I just didn’t see the justification of paying my dealer to install and uninstall plus the cost of the plate holder and on top drive about 2.5 hours to the dealer decided I would just leave it off on the F8.

I emailed Rob after a few weeks for an exchange to return this for an 812 holder for my GTS instead. My email went unanswered. No offense here Rob but maybe answer your customer’s email would be a good idea.

Which is why I asked people on this post how difficult was it to install?

Since you opened up the entire story here on FChat let me ask you here are you willing to swap it out for another 812 holder?

Rob, I love your products and some of the minor issues I mentioned above needs correction or fixed. However, this F8 is a different issue. All I needed was some help in DIY for my F8 and that was it.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Noel first and foremost please accept our apologies for missing your email. It was an honest mistake and the last thing I would want you to think is that you were being ignored. As you would have experienced, we are pretty quick to get back to people and the lack of a reply was an oddity.

Regarding the swap out request we'll do one better. Keep the F8 mount and when you find your way to the dealer give it to them to install on your car. I will make sure they are called ahead of time as the install should only take a few minutes and can be done in the parking lot. I can't imagine you will be charged anything as the install is little more than a courtesy task. In addition I'll send you an 812 mount for your GTS tomorrow at no charge for your troubles.

 

Beyond first class! You will have my business if I decide to get something for my F8!

 

Well, here’s my two pence... I have one of their plate holders on my 2015 458 Italia... It has been absolutely superb in every respect, no issues whatsoever and it mounts and dismounts in a few seconds.

I don’t know any of these blokes and I paid full regular price for my plate holder (no discounts)... It is a very well designed and 100% reliable holder for my front license plate.

Can’t say enough good things about them! I have recommended them to several of my Ferrari friends and they have purchased numerous versions for their cars.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers!

 

Rob, I truly appreciate your gesture for coming thru and helping me out and the FChat community. Thank you for your understanding and excellent customer care. I look forward.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Which plate mount are your referring to?

 

https://carbonio.com/products/ferrari-f458-license-plate-mount?rq=mk_ferrari~yr_2015~md_458~pv_italia-coupe-spider

Cheers!

 

That is what I thought because the other one, doesn't seem that sophisticated or easy to deal with and well, very expensive for a piece of bent metal. I am surprised that anyone has paid 300 pounds for that.

 

Apologies, I should have indicated it was the Carbonio 458 plate holder that I purchased... I’m 110% satisfied with my purchase!

Cheers!

 

Yep. Couldn't count the number of times I've gone to the garage to only find the whole thing has fallen off onto the deck. I've kinda given up with mine but feel free to give it a go if you don't mind jiggering around each time you get in the car and come back. That said there is absolutely no way would I trust it staying on at speed over 140kph for very long unless you pull over here and there to reset it back into position - and certainly not 300kph! That would be asking for trouble.

I think the holder is ok if you don't drive that fast or for very far and don't mind taking the time to reset it each time you set off and return home. It seems to be more of a novelty for those who want to take pics of their car w/o the front plate on and put it back on for that drive to and from cars and coffee. So in that sense it may have certain attraction/merit?

Looking closely at the design and the contact points it needs more work imho if one expects not to be frigging around with the thing all time or having the whole shooting box fall off when you least expect it. Its not a solid solution by any stretch. Btw I did report all this last time but after assurances were given nothing ever eventuated so i figure it must have got put back into the too hard basket.

 

And Shadow is back! Long time no see. Hope you're well.

 

thanks for the reply!

 

No problem. Best to know up front the pitfalls. Had i known it wasnt a solid solution i would have bi passed the unecessary expense and saved myself the pain of having to constantly worry about the thing falling off. Pista is one of these cars where youre better off just using double sided tape to bond the plate directly to the nose or use a drilled bracket and be done with it. I cant answer for the F8 carbonio bracket but looking at their vid it appears to have a spring loaded arrangement to pull back against the contact points. With their Pista bracket there is nothing to stop it slipping off the car. As i said earlier i couldnt count the times i returned to the vehicle a few hours or even a day later after doing a full reset to find the whole shooting box sitting on the deck in front of the car. It was actually embarrassing especially when you have outsiders pointing out how your Ferrari is falling to bits. Carbonio said to me they were going to refer the problem to their design team and send me a revised remake but that was last year and i never heard from them since which was disappointing but i guess they conceded the bracket was an exercise in futility. That said it would have been nice to have had some form of follow through to keep me in the picture. To me follow through is everything so as i didnt see any of that going on i accepted the reality i mugged myself buying it in the first place. I mean its pretty crazy spending good money on something that doesn’t really work.

 

In May of last year we did communicate back and forth over a few days after discovering your issues in an unrelated F-Chat post. While we had never encountered the problems you were having, you did raise some interesting ideas of how the product could be improved upon. The biggest issue we saw was that cars that had clear bra applied to the carbon lip we attach to were susceptible to the the wrap deforming potentially damaging it. We had done all of our testing on new cars and the clear bra did not factor into our design. With an aim to distributing clamping loads we issued a design update that would both 1. offer a more secure installation that had more margin for error and 2. Eliminate the possibility of damage to the clear bra.

Luckily we have an excellent relationship with our Ferrari dealer and with some local owners who put the new design through its paces. The whole process was done pretty quickly and the new design updated the previous one in June 2020. Consistent with our promise to you, at this time, a new mount was shipped to your NSW business address in Australia. Going on memory, you mentioned that you were not in the office a lot because of Covid so it is very possible that your package is sitting on a shelf somewhere having been received by someone else. Where we shot ourselves in the foot on this one was that around that time we were changing between FedEx to UPS for international shipments. It was a messy period for us so the package was sent to Australia via air post (which has always been very reliable) but does not offer tracking. Regardless the request was never ignored and in fact has resulted in an improved product.

That said, given the other company named in this thread that has been copying us (look at their Pista mount and you will see it is an EXACT copy of our old design) we have kept the product update quiet with customers receiving the updated design while our marketing materials keep showing the old one. It's an unfortunate reality of dealing with these people that we cannot advertise some of our advancements.

Regardless the Pista mount in both of its variants is now well proven. Here are photos of cars running at both wet and dry track days at very high speeds with no problems to report.

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login