Hi, Has anyone installed coilovers on their cars? I read that article from Aldous voice saying it was a bad idea... I went to check a car out today, suspension light is on because the car has coilovers. The ride felt tight from the test drive. I am curious to hear feedback about this. Thanks!
These cars come with coilovers from the factory fyi light on could be a sensor Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk
what "coilovers"? As stated the car is factory supplied with coilovers Is it possible the factory units were changed out for another make?
I meant aftermarket fixed rate coilovers instead of the ones that are part of the standard adaptative suspension system. No idea of the brand and the current owner doesn't know either, I'll have to figure it out at the PPI...
if aftermarket that might explain the suspension error message I know of one who did this and then removed the lamp behind the suspension error indicator so he did not have to look at it Best find out though if those coilovers are properly compatible You can look up these accessory coilovers to get an idea https://motonsuspensionusa.com/collections/all/Ferrari-360-2001
Thank you for the link, I'll check it out. I guess a more reasonable solution to get rid of the light would be to reinstall a stock setup, but that'd probably be nonsense financially speaking even I I was finding a good second hand one... I tend to trust the analysis from Aldous voice, though... https://aldousvoice.com/2013/02/15/ferrari-360-active-suspension/ It's an interesting point of view. Still on the Quattroporte Sport GT S, they ditched the skyhook for fixed rate suspension... Generally speaking I assume that if the setup is done properly, you could still end up with a very good result with non adaptative ones.
If its already got aftermarket coilovers it may not be such a bad thing depending on how you look at it. Yes its a modification and some may see that as a negative but I wouldn't change them unless they are too firm, damaged or making the car handle in an unexpected way. The only way to know is to drive a few examples and see how this compares or get someone familiar with 360s to drive the example on some twisty challenging roads. If its well setup why change? There are ofcourse lots of different coilovers available depending on the price paid you really do get what you pay for in that market. MOTON coilovers for example are much better than the factory kit but need to be fitted and more importantly setup right. You might also find the ride height could be a lot lower which benefits handling but makes it harder to live with on the road with speed humps, etc. The main benefit these days (other than potential for better handling) is that actually these older factory struts are all getting a bit tired by 20 years mark (!) so these newer fitted coilovers are probably working much better just because they are less worn than what they replaced. The whole point of the adaptive suspension was so that you had less ride comfort compromises and still very good high speed handling. I.e. better (softer, less firm) ride comfort at low to moderate speeds and better handling and stiffer ride at higher speeds. There is always a compromise to be had so these adaptive suspensions of this vintage are never as good as fixed rate dampers for ultimate handling. That's why in fact the 360 Challenge dropped the adaptive dampers for fixed rate ones. My main consideration if looking at a vehicle with coilovers on is to do a very detailed check on the vehicle. In my experience those who upgraded to coilovers are probably tracking the vehicle, which ofcourse places more stress on bushes and brakes, etc. Nothing wrong with that if its well maintained but just something to consider. If there is no record of relatively recent gearbox bush, engine mounts and ball joints being done on a 360 then I would just add them to list of "consumables" that need to be replaced to make the car handle well. If you want to enjoy the handling of the vehicle the upper and lower bushes on all the struts should be done too and again fitting coilovers should have replaced these bushes anyway.
Hi Trev, thank you for the detailed answer. Yes I guess the key would be to know more about the setup that is on the car which goes through a detailed inspection. The car felt good cornering and braking but I don't have a recent point of comparison with a standard one. The current owner has no clue despite owning the car for 8 years since the coilovers were fitted by the guy that sold him the car. He just did adjust the ride height higher at the front because it was scraping in his parking garage. I have nothing against the fixed rate setup and I don't mind firmer rides (although stiffness is also adjustable). I guess if the ones on the car are good I'd take it to a shop to get it setup nicely and corner weighted at the same time. I lived with many cars that didn't have an adaptative suspension
So look closely at what is there before you buy. Look for brand name or some indication of what the product is, and then do research on that
Out of curiosity, what suspension package are you using on your personal 360? Stock adaptive or aftermarket fixed rate dampers?
These.. https://www.intraxracing.nl/en/products/shockabsorbers/ferrari/236-f430+spider%2c+challenge%2c+scuderia%2c+gtc%2c+gt3%2c+gt3+scuderia/4124-1k2%7crace
Did you get rid of the suspension warning light? Can this be done with the AV ECU reflash? Just an hypothetical question since that reflash would be one of the first thing on my shopping list
I would measure the resistance of a stock shock and put that resistor in place of the original shock. I did that with my cayenne and it worked perfect.
This is a very good idea Same that I am doing with the airbags to deactivate them Airbags are a worthless creation
A new thread on how to do this would be great for electron morons like me. I wish 'we' knew someone who's capable of explaining a diy . Oh yeah, actually 'we' do. Hey Ian (Qavion) what's up brother?
So basically each shock has magetic fluid in it. When a coil in the shock has an electrical current applied to it, it generates a magnetic field that aligns the magnets in the fluid, stiffening it. You measure the resistance at the plug at the shock. This tells you the resistance of the coil in the shock. THe computer "thinks" this is what it should be at all times. When the resistance is zero (0) the computer knows something is wrong with the shock. Haven't measured the resistance of the shock on the 360, but on my cayenne it was 3.6 ohms. You measure, you then go on ebay and buy 4 resistors that match the resistance in ohms, and you plug it into the harness instead of the shock. *boom* done.
believe it or not but this magnetic shock concept was actually developed by GM to be used on the military Hummer versions! amazing to see this on Ferrari's!
