New 550 Owner | Page 7 | FerrariChat

New 550 Owner

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by rhern213, Feb 19, 2021.

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  1. F456M

    F456M F1 Rookie

    Jan 8, 2010
    3,665
    Oslo
    Full Name:
    Erik
    OK.

    well mine was probably lasting for many many years and suddenmy started to show a great increase in pressure. I was a bit afraid it was actually true as it did move up and down instead of stopping to work... We just put a new sensor in and it was perfect. For one week, the same problem again! Long story short, we put in a new one for the second time and that have been working perfectly for over a year! So it must have been a bad part I got the first time...

    The will not change regardless of what exhaust is on the car. I have the same idle rpms. regardless of what exhaust I have on it.

    :)
     
    rhern213 likes this.
  2. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Thanks, good to know a majority of these issues are just bad senders and not actually a problem.
     
  3. F456M

    F456M F1 Rookie

    Jan 8, 2010
    3,665
    Oslo
    Full Name:
    Erik
    The engine is like a Rolex watch. It can last forever if you just use and maintain the car!!
     
    forgottenkeys likes this.
  4. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Got the car back from the shop yesterday. I am happy to report some good news.

    My mechanic said he was very impressed on the quality and amount of work that was done in the previous major belt service. He went through everything with a fine tooth comb to make sure every job was done properly and the parts used were oem or better. All of the mentioned work that was stated was in fact all done, and a lot more other "while you were in there" work as well was done that he was happy with. Coolant hoses were all replaced with silicon including under manifold, water temp sensors, manifold gaskets, and other stuff.

    So we did engine oil and filters, tranny oil, brake flush, steering fluid, and a/c recharge.
    There were a couple of small hoses here and there they actually replaced free of charge that looked old and stiff. Also spot checked a few plugs just in case.
    After testing everything my mechanic said the car was running beautifully, and that it's been a while since he's gotten a 550 to work on that was as well sorted out even before it got to him. So I was very happy to know that after initially not being confident on the past service work.

    One thing remained is I will need to replace the oil pressure sender after all. The pressure was still reading constantly at max 140psi which was not fixed by the oil and filter change. My mechanic reassured me the oil pressure's were actually fine, he had cleaned the contacts just in case but it was just the sender tested bad.
    But that's something I want to replace myself, I'd like to start getting my own hands dirty. I might actually get a non-Ferrari branded VDO sender. If the Ferrari sender's constantly fail then I don't really see the point of paying 4x more than a generic VDO branded sender.

    I also wanted to share what the actual service cost was in case anyone was curious or wanted to get an idea for comparison.
    invoice details are all pictured below. Also included some outside the garage pics, including a very nice Rosso Corsa 365 GTC that was to undergo a full restoration after sitting untouched for many years.

    Happy to hear any of your opinions on the work done, good or bad!


    Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    niftyfivefifty and Qksilver like this.
  5. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,986
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Nice Queen Mother 365 GT 2+2.

    Why did you have 10W-60 put in her? It is pretty warm in Miami, but usually 5W-40 works fine.
     
  6. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    It's just what my mechanic recommended, he said in his experience with the extreme heat down here he prefers 10-60 specifically for the V12's. He's felt the oil holds up better and overall feels smoother to him, probably just personal preference. I've always been of the belief of using the lightest weight oil the car will take. but since it's my first go around with these V12's I went with his recommendation. Next time I'll switch to the 5w40 to compare.
     
  7. Qksilver

    Qksilver F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2005
    4,316
    Philadelphia
    Full Name:
    Joe
    Looking good, Rich!
     
    rhern213 likes this.
  8. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Hey all, I wanted to get your opinions on something. My pininfarina fender badges are completely faded and cracked in one spot. I was looking for a replacement but the cheapest I could find were $200 for a pair of oem ferrari emblems. I find it a pretty big gut punch to spend that kinda money on 6" pieces of plastic. I tried buying a set off ebay that were $50 for the pair. These non-Ferrari badges are actually oem emblems for Hyundai cars also designed by pinifarina, they're not cheap ebay replica knock-offs. The difference is those Hyundai emblems are about 1" longer than the Ferrari ones.

    I wanted to see what you guys think of using these emblems instead of the original Ferrari ones? Would you just eat the cost of the Ferrari emblems, or would you not even notice or care about the bigger size of the Hyunday emblems and save the money?

    Below is the size comparison, appreciate your thoughts, thanks!

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  9. Laserguru

    Laserguru Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Aug 7, 2016
    1,255
    New Hampshire
    Full Name:
    Eric
    Put 'em on. Sometime, the Ferrari tax is a bit hard to swallow. This would be one of those times
     
    rhern213 likes this.
  10. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Thanks! I'm leaning towards using the Koreans.
     
  11. Ferrari55whoa

    Ferrari55whoa F1 Rookie
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 21, 2005
    2,593
    Los Gatos, CA
    Full Name:
    Eric
    I’m frugal amd would definitely use the alternative!
     
    rhern213 likes this.
  12. NE550

    NE550 Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2017
    409
    Omaha, NE
    Full Name:
    Dave
    Nobody said these cars were cheap to own. Cheaping out now on even minor items like badges might, down the line when you decide to sell it, raise in a prospective buyer's mind questions about what else you've skimped on. In other words, you're just short changing yourself in the long run. Suck it up and pony up for the real OEM badges. It's a Ferrari, not a Hyundai.
     
    dodici, Maranello993 and rhern213 like this.
  13. AVIMAX

    AVIMAX Formula Junior

    Aug 5, 2014
    686
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    Is go with the smaller original badges, but why not just try to touch them up with some paint first? Some silver paint on the raised lettering should do the job. While you’re there, pop out the mesh in the gills and give them a coat of black paint. I did my gills over the winter.

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    rhern213 likes this.
  14. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    The passenger side piece that reads "disegno" is broken off entirely so refinishing the silver won't do it for me unfortunately.
     
  15. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    I understand, I had the same thoughts. It's not a matter of being cheap, $150 is not hurting my way of life, it's just a matter of principal for me.

    Since this is my first venture with a Ferrari my point in asking is just to understand if this would actually be something that someone else would consider as being cheap for the overall value of the car? If it is then I have no problem spending the extra money for the specific Ferrari version.

    My worry in using the alternative part is knowing this part is slightly bigger and once installed might look too big and distracting.
     
  16. AVIMAX

    AVIMAX Formula Junior

    Aug 5, 2014
    686
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    $150, about the same price of a do it yourself oil change, I’d go with the original size.
     
  17. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Alright fellas you've swayed me, I ended up buying the proper Ferrari badge and will return the others.
    I was able to make a deal with one of the ebay sellers and got the pair new for $160 so it's a bit better than the $200 I thought I would've needed to pay.
    I'm sure I would've been endlessly annoyed at knowing in the back of my mind the others weren't the proper size.

    I appreciate the thoughts on both sides!
     
  18. ///Mink

    ///Mink Formula Junior

    Sep 5, 2006
    808
    Fair Oaks, CA
    Full Name:
    Tom Mink
    Wow, the price on those sure has gone up. I bought a pair of them in 2016 from Ricambi America and they were $37 each.
     
  19. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Yeah both scuderiaparts and ricambi have them at $65-75 each, but with shipping and taxes for me comes out to over $180 total.
     
  20. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    I have a question for everyone, does anyone know what the proper silver color match is for the air vent trim? Mine are discolored in small spots and the chrome strip is mostly black, not sure if someone painted over them a while ago.

    I want to just sand them down and respray them entirely to new, but I couldn't find any real info on what the proper oem colors were?

    Appreciate any advice, thanks!
     
  21. ///Mink

    ///Mink Formula Junior

    Sep 5, 2006
    808
    Fair Oaks, CA
    Full Name:
    Tom Mink
    Silver? Not sure where you mean.

    Edit: I figured out that you're talking about the dash vents. I thought you meant the fender/hood vents!
     
    rhern213 likes this.
  22. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Yes sorry I should've been more clear, I meant the dash air vents.
     
  23. rhern213

    rhern213 Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2021
    576
    Miami, FL
    Full Name:
    Richel
    Thought I'd share my weekend escapades with the 550.
    My friend and I did a full exterior detail, took us about 6 hrs, because of some beer breaks in between.
    Overall I was very happy with the results, the finished paint now has much more depth and richness to the color than it did before. It really made the TDF Blue pop now I was impressed, and had my fingers crossed I would actually see a difference after doing all that work.
    Thankfully the paint was actually pretty good to start with, swirls were minimal so just a couple of polishing passes were needed. The biggest thing was the car had a lot of old wax or some other kind of coating that while it did keep the car protected, you could see many areas of dullness. The wheels/tires had been not fully cleaned and detailed in the pics below. I hope the effects are noticeable through internet quality pics.

    Here are all the steps we took:
    1. 3x decontamination washes to remove old layers of wax
    2. Standard shampoo wash
    3. Speed clay bar the entire car to get the surface as smooth as possible.
    4. Machine polished to clean up swirls and light scratches, including headlights.
    5. Hand buffed new graphene wax
    6. Hand buffed with wet wax spray for final coating

    Ready for a "Thank you for participating" award at the Cavallino Classic! :D
     

    Attached Files:

    SteveVT and Ferrari55whoa like this.
  24. flash32

    flash32 F1 Veteran

    Aug 22, 2008
    5,563
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Dominick
    Looks great ..

    What pad and polish did you use .. couldn't tell from pic

    Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk
     

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