The concept of the 360/430 was great for race car but not for the street. Make no mistake I have had replaced hill units also.
This thread reminds me of the suspension on my 355CH. It didn’t have the same ball joint concept but close; the A-arms had a teflon sleeve and an inner bushing, the picture is the inner bush. These were the replacement for the flamblock piece on the road car 355. I disassembled the 16 solid bushings every 2 years to clean these and put a thin film of synthetic grease on the teflon sleeve and reassembled the suspension. If you want a car to handle well (re: 360 and 430) this is the logical way to do it, you just need to clean and lube them every couple of years I wonder how many current Challenge owners know this and pay attention to it? Image Unavailable, Please Login
A Countach is a car that requires numerous gold chains to be worn while operating said car. A satin jacket emblazoned with "Lamborghini" on the back is also a nice touch. And if you approach the driver, always start the conversation with: "yo, yo, yo sup?
I think you need to wear gas mask to deal with the gas fumes as well. Just hang it on the rearview mirror when parked. Sent using FerrariChat.com mobile app
The gas fume issue was only on the trucks with interior fuel tanks. Ours has the tank in the bed. Takes up half the bed and only holds 45 gallons. The interior tanks held 75 gallons. I like the gas mask on the mirror though.
For the 430, in my opinion, it's preferable to just replace the A-frame / ball joint assembly. When I had my F430, the ball joints went bad about 13K miles. It didn't help that I lowered the car to the same height as a Scuderia. In any case, I had my car retrofitted with Hill joints. Apparently, the process included gluing & baking. I threw them out after 1K miles and replaced with brand new, complete A-Frame OEM assemblies and never had a problem thereafter. Some people have great success with aftermarket repair parts. I've never been one of those. I go OEM unless the parts are unobtainable. + Ferrari warranties parts/ labor provide some peace of mind.
The Hill supplied parts are a higher rated heim joint made by the same company as the lower grade joint (rhymes with cheap) Ferrari purchases. The manufacturer is NMB a large and respected American company in Novi Michigan.
That's great to know. Unfortunately my own experience was different. True, Ferrari makes a lot of parts as a compromise amongst various variables: performance, safety, cost, weight, durability, etc. Many of those parts, perceivingly, fail prematurely and can be considered "cheap" by some. Then again I don't know what the engineered lifetime of those ball joints are. I just know the car handled great until they started to fail. I do know that lowering the car & larger tires probably put stress on the ball joints. Non-OEM joints didn't last much. With OEM replacements, I was happy. Nothing to argue about here.
Anything can be installed badly. The Hill replacement joints have PROVEN themselves to be a vastly better product at a vastly better price. I have been in this business over 40 years, Hill for quite a number of years, others in this conversation for a number of years as well. Your experience is with a singular car. Ferrari made a business decision to sell only complete arm assembly at an inflated price. Hill Engineering has offered an option to replace the primary wear item of a higher grade at a substantial savings. Ferraris option is comparable to only providing a complete new engine when all we needed was a new valve cover. Many of us simply cannot afford a new car when all we need is new tires.
All true...and anything can also be made Badly and Shoddily as well...even one time only. From bad lots, bad metallurgy, some worker not watching the controls or having a bad day, etc. Perhaps my case was a situation of a crappy install and a shoddy part from a "bad" lot. See how that can work? I am not trying to flame anyone or any product. I am just just providing my Own experience And Opinion. People are smart enough to consider all the data points and make their Own decision.
Most likely a bad install. HE parts are very well QC'd. So look at it this way, you're using new OEM arms and joints guarantees you will have to do it again at about the same mileage as the first time.
NMB between being ISO 9000 and supplying so many parts to aerospace industry leaves me with zero concern over their QA. Its not the Xhang Xhing bearing supply company.
No bearing on any specific manufacturer,...or Hill or anyone...but the standard is pretty much meaningless nowadays. It's like having a pulse....lowest barrier to entry. ISO 9000 "do what you say, say what you do." Chinese Companies making plastic junk for Walmart are ISO 9000. All the standard says is to have controls...it doesn't imply or guarantee any level of quality. ...and I do have an manufacturing engineering background in semiconductors. ..
Great, I am a rocket scientist, but that does not make me an expert on ball joints. Brian, however, is.
Didn't happen. That was in 2017....and 20 K miles later no issue. I refuse to be a Fanboy for any product.
Ferrari's purchasing department has a well known long and tarnished history. Then there is their pricing policy.
My experience is you start seeing them go bad at about 25k mi. 25k mi seems to be the magic number for proper lifespan of Ferrari misc parts . What was exactly wrong with your HE joint after 1k mi anyways? Another X-factor is installation of the joint itself (not the arm) since you do have to glue and bake it on your own. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Consider these? I’d imagine you wouldn’t need to pull them out for many years. https://www.rhdjapan.com/m-tecnologia-pillow-ball-bushing-kit-ferrari-f355.html “The M-TECNOLOGIA Pillow Ball Bushing Kit Ferrari F355 are direct replacement of the Stock OEM unit and specifically designed for the F355 by M-Tecnologia. As your stock rubber bushings age, the suspension loosens, and performance gradually declines. The pillow bushings from M-TEC are racing grade pillow ball bushings, insuring reliable and sustainable performance. These bushings provide a very smooth suspension, due to the Pillow ball internal parts being made of NMB. A protective guard has been installed, so that neither moisture nor dust can get into the bush, so you can enjoy it, maintenance free for many years. Many upgraded bushings dramatically increase noise but, according to M-Tecnologia, these bushings will stay quite. Noise will only be generated when the bushings is worn out, and needs replacement.”
