What's so special?

Whooooaaaaa.... how is it possible that someone doesn't think it's beautiful?

 

Julia, did you miss,

 

6500 doesn’t count John.

 

Heeheehee. It's fine. John likes his anyway, and I fully support that.

 

I wish I was 39!!
Good luck with your 355 journey, may it grow on you!

 

Shifting a 355 say compared to shifting a 997 is a joke..997 is addicting to shift . .There is a reason it rated low against the NSX and 993 for Gearbox In the Road & Track Comparison..I see why he makes the statement about rowing the Honda compared to the Ferrari..

 

That makes no sense, at least the 993. I've driven a g50 equipped car before and it was nowhere near as good. I've never driven an nsx, but have driven other honda sports cars and they have good transmissions, sure, but all of them feel slightly rubbery and vague comparatively. I think a lot of it is not the trans, but the engine. It revs very quickly, much more quickly than a 993, nsx or any other contemporary sports car, so you can not shift sedately like you can in those cars, even at lower revs. You end up with a herky jerky mess, especially if you're afraid of the trans and are trying to be delicate (as most new owners or first time Ferrari drivers are). You have to treat it like a rifle bolt and slam it gear to gear, heel/toe on the downshifts and it's amazing. Drive it like a 993 and it will be a rough experience or you'll be doing a lot of clutch feathering. Probably why these things go through clutches so fast.

 

So my honest answer as to what makes the 355 special. Styling. It's was unique in it's time and has carried that forward. The engine. The exhaust note is, again, unique. Other than that I don't see much. Aren't those the 2 things the make you want a 355? Talk about handling and gated shifter. Really, every hear anyone say they bought a 355 because the love the transmission? Oh, and one other thing that is probably the most important. It's a FERRARI.

So to summarize, it's pretty, it sounds like an F1 car, and it's a Ferrari. And I bet if you took away the last item it wouldn't seem so special. So what it really boils down to is that it's a Ferrari.

 

Right, Pete, like this F355 Challenge at Lime Rock Park...

 

This is all great to know. I try to shift with a good amount of mechanical sympathy and it has been tough. When driving spiritedly, I tend to shift more authoritatively and it is noticeably smoother but I always chalked that up to a throttle actuation thing/ this car is just hair getting flogged


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Could just need a gear selector alignment. I’ve driven different f cars some have shifted better than others. My Ferrari was set up perfectly before I bought it and it shifted perfectly even when cold going into second. I have found others that I have driven to be very notchy.

 

The GB oil you use plays a big role as well. I have used Amsoil severe gear for example that made it and awful experience to drive compared to what I use now.

 

Yes it does, Eric. Mobil 1 75W90 Synthetic Gearbox Oil in my Challenge car changed annually before the track season begins.

 

You pusher man. I’m too old for this ****. Hooligan.

Damn, I always wanted to run Lime Rock. Oh well, there’s always YouTube.


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I'd rather drive my old diesel pickup

Or that Ducati multistrada is fun for sure but I'm 60 something ++

 

I thought that too, at first, when I dodged this exhaust tip that fell off the F430 Challenge I pointed by at Watkins Glen...







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But then I quickly realized that my reflexes were sharp and it was just another day at the track.

Age has nothing to do with it.

 

Holy crap, nice reflex reaction!! That missile could have caused some damage!!

 

The first thing I did was flip down my face shield and then took evasive action. The exhaust tip bounced unpredictably and missed me by about three or four feet.

Ferrari attached the tip with three poor spot welds.

 

Every car has pros and cons. I am a big fan of my F355 but I prefer my 993 and 991.2 GT3 Touring from a driving feel point of view. But I also like the variety that it brings to my garage - it doesn’t have the instinctive handling, steering sharpness, tossable feel and harmonious/predictable rear end of the Porsches but the engine is glorious, it looks amazing and it has a whole bunch of quirky charm that I appreciate in contrast to the others precisely because it is imperfect. The gated shifter, weird driving position, pop up headlights, ridiculously wide doors and sills, goofy gauge placement, green gauge lighting, complete lack of basic storage, etc… are all cool to me because they are so different… If you don’t go for those things (or your versions thereof) it may not be the right car.

Oh and I’m a bit older at 45 and also a pilot although our family plane is a Mustang.

 

You’re brave!


Tim

 

I would like the local of that sign please sir!


Tim